Law School Finals Approaching Quickly

I hope to write a few more posts, but most all of them will have to wait until after final exams.  I can tell many of my fellow 1Ls are starting to stress a bit about exams.  I know I am.  At least next semester we'll have some idea of what to expect.  This semester we really don't.  Having the grade for the entire class based on a single examination is what is so stressful for law students.

I plan to sleep a lot and maybe even get drunk on the night of my last final.  I've been going without sleep way too much.  I always sleep best early in the mornings, which is usually when I can't sleep because I have things to do.  I'm exhausted right now, even.  So on that note, I'm going to sleep now.

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Bad Law School Day

I suppose it was bound to happen. I had a bad day at Law School. It started with sleeping through my alarm, which seems to always be a precursor to a bad day. I think it's because I get immediately stressed by being in a rush.

I woke up late, which means I had to rush out the door and then exceed the speed limit (and managing to anger one driver because I was passing on a 2 lane road and had to squeeze in front of him since there was a curve coming up) to try to make it to class on time. You really don't want to be late to class in Law School. Many professors will count you absent just for being late and even if they don't, there are the ones who like to point out for the whole class that you're late. Not that the whole class needed pointing out. I sit on the front row so I had to go by the whole class just to get to my seat. And yes, even with all of my speeding, I was 2 minutes late to class. The instructor did not point it out, thankfully, but I'm sure everyone was already painfully aware.

That's not the worst, though. I have a pet peeve. I hate hearing a cell phone ring in class or a meeting. It's annoying and disrespectful. So I am usually SUPER diligent about making sure mine is off or on silent before I go into class. Naturally since I was in a huge rush this morning, I didn't even think about the cell phone, which was in my purse (not in its special pocket as usual, but somewhere in the middle of the vastness of space that is my purse and probably why I can't find things that are in there). I had just thrown it in, not thinking.

Sometime around 8:30, my phone goes off. I have some silly song for a ringtone (which thankfully wasn't anything awful, but it was LOUD). About this time, I'm wishing I could just crawl in a hole and disappear. The class is giggling and I am fumbling in my purse trying to find it and then when I do, I can't find the button that makes it shut up. The professor is standing right in front of me, like 2-3 feet in front of me, too. It's taking me so long to shut it off that he makes some comment about how you just want to take a hammer and smash the thing. Even though I have an expensive phone (because it's also my PDA), at that moment, I seriously did want to smash it if it would just shut the hell up. No one ever calls me that early anyhow and after I saw the number, I realized it was probably some telemarketer because it was an 800 number and they didn't bother to leave a message. Grrr! I hate telemarketers.

Of course it wasn't the telemarketer's fault. It was MY fault for being in such a rush to begin with. It was so embarrassing, though. I never want that to happen again. I almost feel like I should apologize to the instructor for being a dumbass and not turning my phone off because it did disrupt the class. I realize everyone makes mistakes, but this is one I could have done without.

Then to top it off, I get bad news at the end of the day right before I have to drive home. I had tried out for Trial Team this past Sunday. Of all the groups or things to be a part of at the law school, Trial Team was the one I wanted most. I didn't make the team. I felt like I had done fairly well, so it was a blow. I'm extremely disappointed. I won't get to try out again until the Spring, which I plan on doing again. I've been really bummed out since I found out and after the day I had, it didn't take much. I'm trying not to dwell on it because there isn't anything I can do about it now, except learn what I can do better so I have a better chance of making it in the Spring. Of all the things, I think disappointment is one of the hardest things for me to deal with...

I'll try to post more in the next day or two. I actually have a few posts in draft form but instead of working on editing one of them, I felt I needed the therapy of journaling about this day so I can get it out of my mind and move on to other things. Like reading and sleeping...

That's all for now.

=^. .^=

Philosophy of Liberty

Two Weeks Into Law School

It seems all I do is read, brief cases, study, go to class, drive to school, eat, shower and sleep. Welcome to my life.

It's entirely possible I could be spending way too much time studying, or probably more possible that I just haven't found the most efficient use of my time. I did finally break down and buy a few supplements to help put some topics in perspective, especially for Contracts.

Speaking of Contracts, I got called on the other day. I had briefed the case, but it was one that I wasn't as clear on as others I had done. I guess I gave the right information, though. It was the first time I had actually been called on. I have raised my hand to answer a question the professor has asked in class a few times. Usually I wait to see if someone else is going to answer before I volunteer, though. There are quite a few times I actually do know the answer to something, but I don't want to be one of those students who is constantly speaking up in class. I think it annoys people when the same people always talk in class and probably doesn't help with them learning the material.

We have one or two people in our section who have to talk in just about every class and it especially is annoying when they are asking a question that is unrelated to what is being covered in class, they sit in the back, and their last name is somewhat difficult to pronounce. I think one of my professors is already a bit annoyed with this particular student, even.

The whole Socratic method doesn't really bother me, but it seems to bother a few students I've talked to. I think they worry more about being asked an obscure question about a case that they wouldn't know the answer to. Of course, sometimes the whole point is for the professor to ask questions that don't necessarily have any clear answers. If you're looking for clear cut answers to everything, then Law isn't the subject where you will find them. It nearly always depends on something and each set of facts is a little different.

I personally am more concerned about the Florida Bar application than what's going on in class. I started the process already, but have tons of information I have to find out somewhere in order to complete the application. I have to find out all the places I have lived since I was 16. I'm 42 now. I've lived in 4 different states since I was 16. I have trouble remembering things at times. You get the picture? Then I have to find out all the places I've worked for the last 10 years. I've held many, many jobs and quite a few of them, I have no idea who my supervisor was or the address and phone number of the place. I can't even look them up because some are completely out of business.

And the doozy? I have to list all my financial obligations that I've incurred in the last 5 years, how much I've paid them, how much I owe, how delinquent it is, why it got delinquent, and why I haven't taken care of it. Plus I have to fill out another financial form where I list all my monthly household expenses, all my creditors, all my personal expenses, all my assets and income, and my net worth. Then there's any and all traffic violations (even those that were dismissed) in the last 3 years. If I miss anything or forget to list something and they find out, then it will appear to them that I'm trying to hide something, which is the worst thing you can do in the Florida Bar's eyes.

I think I'm going to pay to have a background investigation done on myself to help find out some of this stuff, along with the usual things of pulling all my credit reports, my Social Security earnings and motor vehicle reports. I'm just not sure where to go to get that done yet. I'd rather pay money and hopefully find out everything that's out there that can be found in hopes I don't miss anything.

Meanwhile, this weekend I want to read my assignments for the week and start outlining my classes. Guess this was probably a pretty boring post...

Halfway Through the First Week

I've been way too busy lately to post much of anything. I will give some general updates since my last post and then talk about my first week so far.

I heard back from FAMU that their waitlist was closed. I didn't pursue it very much after thinking about the accreditation situation. I sincerely hope they do end up getting their full ABA accreditation, but I decided to stick with Barry. I have a decent scholarship and with my Stafford loan, my tuition will be covered. The only thing that I know is going to cost extra is the cost of commuting, but I knew that anyhow. Part of the reason I was interested in FAMU Law was because it is a Black college and I thought it would be interesting to attend there. The other reason was it was much cheaper. I do believe things work out for a reason and so I'm happy with my decision to go to Barry.

So after spending a little over $800 on a bunch of heavy books, and having Orientation pretty much canceled due to Tropical Storm Fay, I can now say I am a law student. I'm glad that all of this is not totally new for me (being a Legal Studies graduate). I feel for those students that it IS all new to. Of course, classes, reading, studying I know will be different, and of course the grade for each course coming down to one final three hour exam (insert Gilligan's Island theme music).

Let's see... my first class was Contracts on Monday. That was the only class I had on Monday. It kinda sucks that I'm having to drive 120 miles roundtrip for one class. I also have one class on Friday, so there's another 120 mile roundtrip for one class. I have two classes on Wednesday; Contracts again and Criminal Law (which is the one class I have on Friday). Tuesday and Thursday are my busy days. I have Civil Procedure first thing, then Legal Research and Writing, and finally around 3:30 in the afternoon, I have Torts.

This driving thing is for the birds. After 2 days of driving, I was already sick of traffic. It doesn't seem to matter what time of day it is for some roads, either. Today I mapped out and found a different way to get to the law school. It involves taking many different roads (versus a fairly straight shot), but it took 30 minutes off my commute simply because I didn't have to sit in traffic and take 30-45 minutes just to go 5 miles. What a waste of gas that is. Another thing is that the person I was going to carpool with backed out. I have no idea why. So now it's going to cost me about $80 a week just in gas. I'm thankful I get decent gas mileage. I have to take all those different roads just to stay off the toll roads. Otherwise I could have added another $5 a day to my commute cost, which would have been another $25 a week. You really have to watch using some of the online directions and maps because they seem to like to put you on the toll roads. I'm wondering if they are in cahoots. Anyhow, if my drive continues to be like this morning, then it won't be as bad.

Since I am commuting and I'm in the section that has three 8:00 a.m. classes, that means I have to leave my house at 6:00 a.m. Yikes. So far this week I am fairly tired. I believe it's a combination of having to get up so early and also that I haven't slept well since school started. It's probably just me being nervous. I can tell my eyes are tired from all the reading I've done. And yes, there is a ton of reading. On the good side, I'm ahead in some of my classes because I wasn't sure how much the professor would cover. Some professors list reading assignments by weeks so it's just a general idea. But every single professor warns against not being prepared to discuss the cases assigned so I've ended up reading further ahead.

Each course seems like it will be interesting in some way. So far, Contracts has been the most arcane to me, but then it wasn't one of the courses I took at UCF. I'm already spending quite a bit of time at the library. I have time between classes on my busy days and I'm on campus for the day, so I might as well study. I have to work on the weekends, but I basically will be getting paid to study (and give out a few parking tickets as well). I think it's just going to take some getting used to having to get up so early and the fact that I have a lot more work to do now. Today I am exceptionally tired. I didn't get to sleep before 2:00 a.m. and I had to be up by 5:00 a.m. At least I'm ahead on most of my stuff for tomorrow so I plan on getting in bed early tonight. If I have time, I may go fly my radio control airplanes some before it gets dark.

I would love to get out and socialize some and get to know some of my classmates, but I am so broke it's not funny. I wanted to meet up with them before Orientation, but couldn't. Next week there's going to be some sort of Bash at the bowling alley. I have to work, though and it's hard to justify driving 120 miles to go bowling. I'm more inclined to do social activities on the days I already have to be in Orlando for class anyhow. I still plan to do some Fantasy Football this season because I really enjoy it. And of course flying RC planes is fun, plus it's something I get to do with hubby (who I'm sure isn't going to want to hear about law when I'm home). I'm also interested in some of the organizations on campus or possibly trying to get on Trial Team, etc. But for right now, I am just trying to get my feet wet and get the hang of all this reading and time management stuff (which is tough enough for us ADD types).

Well, I'm starving and I still have a 60 mile drive home so I'd better get going before it gets to be rush hour. I don't know how often I will post, but I'm hoping to make time to write something at least weekly about how my journey in law school is going or about any other topic that I might want to talk about. I won't promise that I won't get into political ranting because I can get really fired up about some things, but I hope to keep this blog mostly law school related. We shall see...

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I just took this picture of my two cats with my mobile phone. They just settled down for a nap. Gawd, Mr. Peabody looks so HUGE in this picture! :O

Getting Ready

Well, I toured the law school I was waitlisted at. I haven't heard anything from them, but have been having second thoughts about going there due to their accreditation issues. It sure would be less expensive than where I was accepted because it's not a private school, but I think I'm going to stick with the private school since they are fully accredited.

I sent my registration back and of course will be taking the standard first year classes: Civil Procedure I, Contracts I, Torts I, Criminal Law, and Legal Research & Writing I. I don't have my schedule yet. They have two sections so I will be in one or the other.

Since I am going to have to commute an hour each way to go to law school, I have also been working on setting up a carpool. I had estimated it was going to cost me around $400-$500 a month just in gas because of the high prices. I found another 1L in my county and I think we'll be carpooling at least. That should cut that amount to about half. But I also found 2 other people that commute daily but they aren't students. They work at the law school. I'm hoping it might work out that all four of us will be able to carpool at least some of the time. That would save all of us a bunch of money.

Also, a friend of mine has a friend who graduated from this particular law school and she still has all her study aids, casebooks, etc. from school. She is letting me have whatever I need. The only thing is that she graduated about 5 years ago so most of what she has probably won't be the latest editions. Sometimes you can get away with using an older edition, but it would be something I would probably check with the professor about. So the casebooks may or may not be something I can use. But she had Emanuel's flashcards for just about every subject. They have newer editions out for those as well, but what she gave me should be fine as far as for study purposes. There are also BarBri books included with what she gave me. I'm sure those might be helpful when it comes time to study for the Bar Exam. She was going to give all this stuff to Goodwill, but is happy that someone can use it. Hopefully I will be able to use some of it.

Anyhow, I guess that's all the news I have for now. I have about a month before orientation starts so I suppose I should try to enjoy all the free time I have now.

Workin' On the Waitlist

After reading a few articles on how to deal with being waitlisted, I decided to be a bit proactive and do a couple of things to hopefully keep my name fresh in their minds.

First of all, I made an appointment to tour the law school. I had hoped to do it today, but they didn't have time, so it's set up for Thursday afternoon at 2:00 p.m.

Also, I sent an email to the admissions department asking a few questions about the waitlist like how long it is, or how many people eventually get admitted, etc. I also enclosed a copy of my Final Grades because the transcript they had didn't reflect those grades yet. So my overall GPA is a bit higher than what the law school has for me.

I'm hoping that doing these things will help me get off the waitlist and accepted there. Meanwhile, I've paid half of my seat deposit at the other school where I was accepted and I will be getting a registration packet in the mail and will have to pay the remainder of my seat deposit by July 1, 2008. It sure would be nice to find out about the waitlist before I have to send in the balance of my seat deposit. I guess we'll see...

Waiting...

I figured I should post something even though I haven't actually started law school. Actually, I'm not totally sure exactly where I will be going.

I applied to two schools because those two are closest to me and I will have to drive back and forth. That's one of the problems with owning a house. I can't just pick up and move. I had originally planned to apply to three schools, the two in Orlando, and one in Jacksonville. But with gas prices going up so much, there's no way I could afford to drive to Jacksonville and back. So, it's between Barry and FAMU.

I've been accepted to Barry with a $15,000 yearly scholarship. Their yearly tuition is around $30,000, so the scholarship will pay about half of it. The rest will have to be student loans. I just heard back from FAMU and I've been waitlisted there. I think it's probably because I applied later than most people. I was waiting on letters of recommendation and that is what held me up. I'm sending them another letter of recommendation and plan on sending an updated transcript since my overall GPA went up some from the transcript that LSAC has. Also, I will go visit the school and probably call them about once a week.

Yearly tuition is about $8,000 at FAMU. Big difference from Barry, even with the scholarship. The only thing that concerns me is the accreditation situation at FAMU. The report came out recently that they have some issues and a long way to go to attain full accreditation by next June. They are provisionally accredited right now and that means that anyone graduating from a provisionally accredited law school has the same rights as someone graduating from a fully accredited law school. What worries me is if they lose their provisional accredited status next June and don't become fully accredited or the provisional accreditation extended, then I'm not sure exactly how that will affect currently enrolled students. I'm thinking I will have to talk to someone at the ABA to know for sure.

And of course being waitlisted means I get to wait. How long I have to wait to find out if there's a spot for me, I don't know. Obviously I'm not going to depend on that happening and that's why I went ahead and paid a seat deposit at Barry. Going to Barry means I will graduate with about $100,000 in student loan debt from my undergraduate and law school years. Ouch. Hopefully, I will be able to get a halfway decent paying job when I graduate so I can make those payments. I'm sure it will be a hell of a lot more money than I've ever made or even hubby and I have made together. We is poor & haven't ever made even the median income in our area. There's such a wide difference between the upper pay scale (business owners, developers, professionals, etc.) and anyone else (which make peanuts). I'm not sure if that's the case everywhere in the country, but it certainly is here. A $15/hour job here is a gold mine if you're not one of the people in the upper pay scale. Most people don't make even that much.

I can't even imagine what it would be like to actually have money in the bank and be able to pay bills when they are due instead of juggling from paycheck to paycheck. The very first thing I really want when I am making enough to at least pay the bills is an emergency fund. I don't want to get in debt anymore than I already will be (student loans, car, house, etc.) and with the economy being so uncertain now, having that emergency savings will make me feel much better. There's nothing worse than having something break when you have no money to fix it, or someone loses a job and you wonder how you're going to pay the bills until they find another job.

I just wish I knew how long I am going to have to wait on the waitlist...

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