Tips on the first day of Orientation

Congratualtions, you've made it to the first day of orientation, a step that many people only dream of. It's OK, you can be proud of your accomplishments. Today is a special day for you.

TIP A DAY #11:

• Getting advice from upper year students.... If you are like me, you're probably pretty nervous, excited and full of questions about this beast called law school. So you're probably eager to ask a bunch of questions. It is advisable to ask upper year students for advice and information, and by and large their advice will be helpful and thoughtful, but I will add one caveat. Take everything you hear with a grain of salt. That is to say that everyone approaches the study of law in different ways. No two students have the same approach, learning styles or study habits. So, what works for one may be the worst possible advice for another.
  
  
• Top Pieces of Bad Advice I have heard:
  
• "You don't need to go to this or that orientation session, its boring."
  
• BUNK! Go to everything you can, you never know when an important tidbit of information will be handed to you.
  
• "You don't need to read for Prof AB or C's class."
• Beware of such advice, people who did well, worked hard and that meant reading before and after class.
  
• Similar to the above, "I never read for any classes."
• Again, my caution here is that you never know if this upper year student has the same career goals that you have, or if they learn the same way you do, etc. This is bad advice.
  
• "I just got a bunch of upper year outlines and notes, and I did fine"
• Really? Did they? What is 'fine'? They certainly might have, but it is always a safer bet to do your own work in preparation for classes and exams. Each year a prof does things a little differently, emphasizes a different area of the law, adds a case or two, and in some situations changes the casebook year to year. So, what an upper year student may be peddling as the gospel, might do you more harm than good.
  
  
• I think the best piece of advice that can be given is to figure out how you learn, experiment and take a little time to decide how you work best and don't be afraid to change things up if you need to. This is your career, you are in control and the investments you make now in your learning will pay off in the short and long term. For this reason, one should be take advice (other than a prof's) with a grain of salt. You are smart enough to succeed in this endeavour, but it will be a long, hard journey. People are here to help along the way, and most upper year's are helpful and want nothing more than to see you succeed. Just be careful how much weight you give to their tidbits.
  

Enjoy orientation and make sure you take some time to mix and mingle with your new classmates, now is the time before it gets crazy with readings and assignments.