09 Aug Lessons From Tutoring
Tutoring is not for the faint of heart. I have always made it a practice to meet with any prospective student prior to making any agreements. This meeting allows me to meet the student and for the student to meet me. Not everyone is going to get along; we all know that one person we met just once and automatically hated from the get-go. There is no point in trying to force a relationship and in law school you have no time for anything but success. Online law school is one of the most stressful but rewarding things anyone can do.
Know Thyself
If you have chosen to go to an online law school you know yourself pretty well and if you don’t, you will quickly. I remember the first time I cried in law school, it was during a timed contracts essay. We had just moved from Formation into Performance and I could not wrap my head around how to write an essay analysis transitioning from Formation into Performance. When I was done crying and writing a horrible essay I remember looking in a mirror and telling myself “You have finally arrived”.
Before attending an online law school I attended University of Phoenix so I had a pretty good understanding of the autonomy and self reliance that would be required. I had read the Admissions documents stating the study time required would be somewhere from 30-40 hours each week, and knowing myself, decided to take this seriously. Previously, I have never had to crack a book to get a good grade; that all changed in law school.
I knew I would put off as much of the study time as I could so I set aside time, as if it were a scheduled appointment with the IRS, and held myself accountable to the appointment. Over time everyone in my life just came to expect that there were certain times during the day in which “I was busy”. My children would ask “What time is your appointment end?” Starting this habit off early and sticking to it helped ensure my success.
If you want to be successful in your first year of law school and if you want to be successful at the FYLSE you have to know yourself; know your weaknesses. Take stock of your habits. Are you someone who will hold yourself accountable, will you do the work required, will you shrug off the reading, or do you move too quickly through things to really get the small details?
Things that you could normally ignore about yourself will be your Achilles heal. Its best to identify your short comings and address them at the onset. If you tend to slack off and need someone to hold you accountable get a tutor or study group; find a way to either hold yourself accountable or find someone who will do it for you.
Do something that pushes your boundaries, something that you wouldn’t ordinarily do. Take a calculated risk and allow yourself to crumble a little.
If you are not a detail oriented person make sure that you pay specific attention to details. If you find this an impossible task make friends with other students, preferably ones who are detail oriented, and study with them.
If you are an overachiever and often find yourself biting off more than you can chew, your going to have to spit some of those bites out to make room. I am just going to say it now, you are going to have to sacrifice.
Parents, Get Ready To Be Average
If you have kids this experience is going to teach you a lot about yourself as a parent. As a tutor, I find that the number one excuse used is children. I myself have seven kids (I am setting up a franchise lol) and I had to make hard decisions. Where I once was a type A mother, running kids here, helping kids every day with this or that, making dresses for my girls, I had to set my personal boundaries.
This was especially true when I began studying for the FYLSE. It is hard to look at your children and make the selfish statement, “I am sorry I cant help you right now I am doing something I want to do.” Even thinking like this can cause many of us to cringe; but it has to be done. Law school will not last your entire life, the FYLSE will not take your entire life, YOU WILL FINISH. The work you are doing right now will make the lives of your family, friends, and everyone around you better in the long run. As hard as it is right now to say no; the results will make up for.
Not only are you going to have to set boundaries with your children but you will have to set boundaries with your family. This means that you may have to look at your spouse and tell them you do not have time. For most of us Type A law school students not having time is a foreign concept.
Talk with your spouse as soon as you start or hopefully you have already broached this subject somewhat when discussing even attending law school already. If you haven’t then sooner than later is always best.
You Decide Your Success or Failure
One thing I have noticed is a big stumbling block for many 1L’s is that success resides in your own hands. Life is going to continue to happen; there will be family drama, there will be life drama, there will be the same difficult issues you faced every day before law school while you are in law school. The only difference is that now that you are in law school these difficulties, these simple dramas, seem to be larger, bigger, more time consuming.
They are not any more worse than before law school they just feel significantly larger because of the time constraints and massive amount of weight that is now on your shoulders due to law school. Try to keep the events happening in your life in perspective. Do not let small “dramas” become big stumbling blocks. Look at yourself and tell yourself, “I can do this”.
Too often students find themselves overwhelmed with outside life and the either consciously or subconsciously use this as an excuse. If you find that your time has been encroached upon by life, don’t just acquiesce and give in; make it work. If you or you’r spouse lose a job, try to tell yourself this is a blessing in disguise to give you more time to study, keep a positive outlook and move on. If your child starts putting the pressure on you to attend events you do not have time for, don’t automatically slip into a pit of “I am the worst parent ever”, keep your head up and attend the event (but bring your laptop and practice essays or bring a binder full of MCQ’s and work on those while at the event).
Your success lies in your hands. Do not let the world around you dictate your success. You have worked hard and will continue to work hard until the day you receive that degree! When life interrupts remember:
- Be Flexible
- Don’t Just Quit, Keep Going
- Stand Strong With Boundaries Set
- Find The Positive And Make The Best of It
If you have made it this far you know how to manage your time and how to be successful. You already know that this will be no walk in the park but DO NOT let little things get in the way or your success. It will haunt you forever if you look back and think you over reacted to a situation and that is why you never finished law school.
Not All Help Is Created Equal
Long before I passed the FYLSE, before I was properly inducted into the world of law school, I naively believed that anyone who was willing to help me or give me advice just had good intentions. Many sites out there offering to review your essay for free or to have a one time study session with you for free is pushing a specific FYLSE method. These sites, people, whatever get paid to convince you to purchase specific study materials, books, lectures, etc.
Now don’t get me wrong, I am a big believer in the more material the better but as I have walked through this journey with many students one of the most common things I hear when beginning to work with students is “I am confused,I have too much material.” Try to use the materials you are given by your school, this will ensure that you are getting good grades in your school and writing how they want you to write to pass their tests. Then ask around and stick with one or two outside assistance models to help you or you may find yourself in the same place saying, “I’m confused”.
I personally use a few different aids:
- I use Emanuel Finz Multi-state Method for MCQ’s specifically for the FYLSE
- The Kaplan Bar Review PLI Multi-state Bar Review book is what I call my 1L Bible
- I have worked with MANY students who love Flemmings materials and it works amazing for them when they can afford it
- FYLSE Real Help Materials were affordable and easily accessible
- But the #1 thing I use to pass the MCQ’s on the FYLSE is the Bracci Method
There are other materials out there that you can use and like I said above, find what works for you. Just because these are what worked for me doesn’t mean it will work for you. Everyone learns in different ways. Also, remember, these are aides, you are the one who ultimately has to do the work; write the essays and do the practice MCQ’s.