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Preparing for uni?

Chalex2016

Hi everyone, just wondering how everyone is preparing for their law degrees in September?
Iv just started reading Letter to a law student and have a few others like that on my list to read. What about everyone else? Any tips to share?
Finally feeling a bit excited now Ive Firmed my place.
Also any current law students in first year- any advice you can share on best practises?
Thanks🤓

Reply 1

evalilyXOX

I am a second year law student and here are a few things that i have picked up over the last 2 years..

1. Keep on top of your law lecture notes as before you know it, they start to snowball, and with tutorials and other assignments due, it can become really difficult to catch up.
2. Law Basics books are a god send for subjects i.e. contract law, that can be quite confusing and so simplification is really helpful.
3. Don't leave studying to the last minute ! I know they always say it in school, but really at uni it's a nightmare if you leave studying until the day before. Trust me, I learnt this the hard way with my Constitutional law exam last year the day before the General Election and I had to stay up for 28 hours straight in order to learn enough information to get me through the exam (Miraculously I passed that exam but i would never do that to myself again!)
4. Don't buy all of the books on your reading list straight away. I remember before i started uni after finishing school they sent out this list of essential reading materials worth about £300 and I foolishly bought every book on the list. Things like the course textbook are worth buying, but some books, you will only use a chapter out of it so just go to the library and save yourself the money.
If you are the type of person who spends a lot of time in the library then i would go as far as to recommend buying as few books as possible and relying mostly on the library. I have done so this semester and it has saved me just under £200 and has made me more consistent with my studying hours.
5. Get involved in lots of societies and clubs, as a distraction from law work can be a really good thing. You will drive yourself insane if you stare at a textbook all day so go out and have fun with friends so that you don't make yourself resent the course (obviously balance uni work and socialising haha)
6. Try and attend as many lectures as you can. Obviously there will be some mornings where you have a 9am lecture and you are hungover from the night before, but missing that lecture will cause more grief than that extra hour in bed is worth. Having to teach yourself something that you missed in class is obviously time consuming and really annoying, especially when it comes to the exams and you have no idea what equitable considerations is in relation to Company law since you missed that lecture as you had a heavy night of drinking the night before.
7. Accept the fact that you are not going to like or be good at everything. I have wanted to study law for a long time and at first was really disappointed when i didn't love every topic we studied - this is absolutely fine. You will find that topics that you love that makes the less enjoyable subjects more bearable.

Overall, law can be tough, but it is definitely well worth the stress. I am so glad that I chose my law degree and wouldn't want to study anything else. :smile: