Law School Preparation Courses: Worthwhile or Waste of Time?

Inevitably every summer, incoming 1Ls ask whether a law school preparation course is necessary before starting law school. Rising 2Ls and beyond also question if such a course is really worthwhile.

My response? 

Law school prep courses are worthwhile if they teach you how to: 

• Use your syllabi and textbooks to understand the topics you’ll learn in your classes, at your law school.
• Learn the law, using your casebooks and professor preferred supplements.
• Use a system to synthesize all your materials to prepare for midterms and finals.
• Format essay exams.
• Write analysis on essay exams.  
• Use a method to take multiple-choice question exams.
• Schedule your studying into every week.    

These skills will reduce nerves about what to expect before day one, help you feel comfortable in class when you get cold called on, and, elevate you to achieve your academic goals.

1L law school preparation courses that don’t do these things are not truly preparing you for law school, especially if they:

• Consist solely of lectures on the law (because your professors won’t cover the same topics in your classes and your professor's rules will be different).  
• Cost an arm and a leg.
• Don't explain how the individual study skills combine and interact over the course of the semester (because you must understand that each skill has an academic goal).  

Make sure your 1L law school preparation course truly benefits you by preparing you for law school. If it doesn't, don't waste the money!  

I've got a worthwhile law school prep course that achieves all of the good bullet points above that won't break your wallet. Check it out here!