August 27, 2018

Summer '18 Favorites

My favorite finds from this semester include a metal phone cord, law school podcasts and bar exam podcasts, silent song for phone, royal wedding cellist, fun fact newsletter, and Netflix recommendations. blogger style. current obsessions. summer 2018 trends. what I'm currently loving. fashion blog. makeup blog. new for summer 2018 | brazenandbrunette.com

Happy Monday everyone! So at this point, I'm pretty sure like everyone's summer is officially over 😔 But the good news is that realizing this made me want to put together this list of my favorite things I've been loving this summer! 

Related: My previous favorites


Metal phone cord


When my mom came to help me move, she brought this metal phone cord with her and I loved it so much I stole it from her and went out and also got a second one! As we all know, Apple phone cords aren't exactly the most sturdy cords on the block and usually fray after a few months. My mom had this one for about a year before I stole it from her so I know that these will last and last.

These cords do more than just last! So the metal keeps them from fraying at the edge. And if you have a cat like mine who likes to try to chew on cords, this stops that because the metal isn't as easy to chew on like the rubber cords so this will protect your pet from being electrocuted and help your cord not get bite marks in it. Best of all, they're really long so you can have it plugged in to the wall and still be able to use it while in bed! 


Law school toolbox podcasts

My favorite finds from this semester include a metal phone cord, law school podcasts and bar exam podcasts, silent song for phone, royal wedding cellist, fun fact newsletter, and Netflix recommendations. blogger style. current obsessions. summer 2018 trends. what I'm currently loving. fashion blog. makeup blog. new for summer 2018 | brazenandbrunette.com 
My favorite finds from this semester include a metal phone cord, law school podcasts and bar exam podcasts, silent song for phone, royal wedding cellist, fun fact newsletter, and Netflix recommendations. blogger style. current obsessions. summer 2018 trends. what I'm currently loving. fashion blog. makeup blog. new for summer 2018 | brazenandbrunette.com

If you've read my previous favorites posts, then you know that I've really been getting in to podcasts lately, especially during road trips. At the beginning of the summer, we had a Bar prep break so I decided to make the 8 hour drive to see Ryan for the weekend. I had already caught up on all my other podcasts that I've been listening to, so I turned on the bar prep toolbox podcast. 

You've probably all been to the Girl's Guide to Law School website by now (the OG law school blog), but did you know they make podcasts too? There's the law school podcast for 0L-3L's with everything from studying to finals to OCI's and the bar exam podcast for 3L's with everything about the Bar. The next time you're in the car by yourself, pop this in and you'll feel more prepared for law school by the time you reach your destination. 


Silent song

My favorite finds from this semester include a metal phone cord, law school podcasts and bar exam podcasts, silent song for phone, royal wedding cellist, fun fact newsletter, and Netflix recommendations. blogger style. current obsessions. summer 2018 trends. what I'm currently loving. fashion blog. makeup blog. new for summer 2018 | brazenandbrunette.com 

Speaking of listening to things in the car, here's probably the most ingenious thing I've found this summer! Literally the most annoying thing about cars today is that the second your car connects to your phone, it starts playing the first song in your iTunes album. Which would be fine except then just about daily you always here the first 10 seconds of the same song over and over and over again.

Here's the solution. Download this song that will be the first song on your phone and is just silence for 10 minutes! That gives you 10 minutes to change your car settings back to the radio or get Spotify open and going on your phone. It sounds unnecessary but trust me, once you have this song you'll be so grateful you downloaded it. Just a little solution to an everyday problem.


Royal study music


As you may have heard, there was a royal wedding this summer. And during said wedding, if you watched it then you might have seen where the coverage of it literally just focused on one guy for like 10 minutes. No, not Prince Harry. Sheku Kanneh-Mason, an amazingly talented cellist who is already more successful than you even though he's young enough to be your younger brother. 

Anyways, if you like listening to classical music while you study then I highly recommend you check him out! His music is very peaceful without making you sleepy yet it doesn't ever get distracting. Plus, won't you sound cool being able to name drop and up-and-coming cellist like a sophisticated adult!


Fun fact newsletter

My favorite finds from this semester include a metal phone cord, law school podcasts and bar exam podcasts, silent song for phone, royal wedding cellist, fun fact newsletter, and Netflix recommendations. blogger style. current obsessions. summer 2018 trends. what I'm currently loving. fashion blog. makeup blog. new for summer 2018 | brazenandbrunette.com 

I have been mentioning on here for literal years that basically the only emails I ever read are from theSkimm because most emails are annoying. But I recently found a new newsletter that I really like. While theSkimm is a little more on the serious, need-to-know side, Now I Know is just for fun and tells you a quick little interesting story, from why we have the secret service to a story of a pitcher throwing a no-hitter while on LSD. I'm sure most of you are like hi I already read enough as it is, but one thing I learned these past 3 years is that you have to have some light-hearted and non-law things to read or else you're going to end up hating reading and will never do it just for fun.

For you introverts out there, this is great to pull up and read when you're in a socially awkward position and need an excuse to get on your phone haha. And if a gunner in your class goes on this big long rant telling a story about something completely useless in class, then you can just pull this up and read through it. Plus, on Fridays he sends out really interesting news articles that I love to read, and he even will tell you how long the article takes to read so you can know if you'll have time to read it right now or if you'll need to come back to it. There's also a Now I Know book that'd be a good Christmas present for the person in your life that loves fun facts.

My favorite finds from this semester include a metal phone cord, law school podcasts and bar exam podcasts, silent song for phone, royal wedding cellist, fun fact newsletter, and Netflix recommendations. blogger style. current obsessions. summer 2018 trends. what I'm currently loving. fashion blog. makeup blog. new for summer 2018 | brazenandbrunette.com My favorite finds from this semester include a metal phone cord, law school podcasts and bar exam podcasts, silent song for phone, royal wedding cellist, fun fact newsletter, and Netflix recommendations. blogger style. current obsessions. summer 2018 trends. what I'm currently loving. fashion blog. makeup blog. new for summer 2018 | brazenandbrunette.com

No surprise to anyone, after the Bar exam, I needed some light-heartedness in my life to life my spirits. And bless my bestie for recommending both Queer Eye and To All The Boys I've Loved Before. Queer Eye is literally the perfect show for watching with in a bubble bath with a face mask on and glass of wine in hand! It gives you all the feel goods watching these people go from such low self-worth to beaming with self-confidence all because for a week they've had these 5 guys telling them how much greatness and potential they already have. I'm far from a movie crier (didn't cry during The Notebook or even Marley and Me) and yet this show had me tearing up. Here's the trailer!

To All The Boys is just a great rom com and it just came out so you've probably been seeing it all over the internet. Jump on the bandwagon and watch it because it's seriously so cute. It's surprisingly funny and honestly very realistic about what HS was like for most of us so it's more real-world than cheesy. Highly recommended for the next time you spend a night in and want something good to watch. Here's the trailer!


let's be friends!

 

August 24, 2018

How to Make Side Money As a Broke Law Student

How to make money in law school. how to make money as a student. make money from home. income for law students. law school side hustles. law school side money. how to take out less student loans in law school. poshmark promo code. thredup promo code. ibotta promo code. shop kick promo code. law school advice. law school tips. law school blog. law student blogger | brazenandbrunette.com

Welcome back everyone! I'm sure you're all killing it your first week!! I wanted to build off of my last post on saving money in law school and talk about how to actually make money in law school. In case you didn't know, I'm currently [f]unemployed so I don't exactly have cash flow coming in at the moment, much like most of y'all reading this. If you're seriously strapped for cash you can get a job if the timing is right, but if the timing isn't right then here's 5 ways I've actually made money this past year.

Related: How to balance law school and a job


Clothing resale

Make money in law school through Poshmark. Poshmark promo code. Poshmark signup code. Poshmark instant savings. Poshmark instant cash back | brazenandbrunette.com  Make money in law school through ThredUp. ThredUp promo code. ThredUp signup code. ThredUp instant savings. Thredup instant cash back | brazenandbrunette.com
   
I've been using Poshmark to make a little extra cash since college because it's so easy! And I recently started using ThredUp as well and will list my stuff on both apps to get a wider audience. What you do is just go through your closet and sell what you no longer wear. If you don't know what you no longer wear, an easy trick is just turn all your hangers backwards and then as you wash and hang up clothes you turn them the right way. After a while, you can see which stuff you never wear and that's what you sell. 

It makes sense because those clothes are just sitting there useless to you, and if you're not going to wear them, you might as well make some money off not wearing them. The buyer pays for shipping so you get to keep all the proceeds. And if you get really good at it, you can even turn it in to a side hustle buying cheap clothes and reselling them on there, like the creator of Nasty Gal did. With these, you're organizing and streamlining your closet and paying for your bills while you're at it. Sign up for Poshmark with code brazenbrunette to save $5 and for ThredUp to save $10!

Item resale

Make money in law school through 5Miles. 5Miles promo code. 5Miles signup code. 5Miles instant savings. 5Miles instant cash back | brazenandbrunette.com  Make money in law school through OfferUp. OfferUp promo code. OfferUp signup code. OfferUp instant savings. OfferUp instant cash back | brazenandbrunette.com

This is a perfect time to sell all the crap you no longer need! Most of y'all probably moved this summer and during said move, I'm sure as you were packing you came across lots of things that you never use anymore. As they say, one man's trash is another's treasure, so go ahead and try. I've actually made quite amount of money here lately selling stuff since Ryan and I had to combine our whole lives and some stuff I just had to cut or no longer needed. 

I've sold everything from extra pillows to a table that no longer fits in our apartment and it's so exciting when a bidding war unexpectedly happens and you sell something for double what you asked! And for you lazy people out there, you can require that the buyers must pick up the item so you don't have to even leave your place to sell your stuff. And again, multiple sites means a bigger audience and more potential buyers so I always list my stuff on both 5miles and OfferUp. There's other apps, but I've gotten the best results through these 2 with selling household items. Use these links to sign up for 5miles and OfferUp!

Grocery rebates


Make money in law school through Ibotta. Ibotta promo code. Ibotta signup code. Ibotta instant savings. Ibotta instant cash back | brazenandbrunette.com  Make money in law school through Checkout51. Checkout51 promo code. Checkout51 signup code. Checkout51 instant savings. Checkout51 instant cash back | brazenandbrunette.com


I use both Ibotta and Checkout51 grocery rebate apps every. single. week. I mean you have to buy groceries so why not just be strategic about it and make money doing so?? Seriously it's like  throwing money out the window if you go buy your weekly or monthly groceries and don't even look to see if at least one item is featured to get you cash back. Plus, all the time there's specials where you can get 25 cents just for buying any item at all, so it doesn't even matter what you buy! Get $10 instantly when you sign up for Ibotta and get $5 instantly when you sign up for Checkout51. Bam. Hi, you're welcome for that $15 I just gave you. Will it pay your bills? No. Will it get you a much-deserved marg with your friends? Yes. Treat yo self.

Related: How to save money on food through meal planning



Store gift cards

Make money in law school through ShopKick. ShopKick promo code. ShopKick signup code. ShopKick instant savings. ShopKick instant cash back | brazenandbrunette.com

Okay I had never heard of Shopkick until in college when I was working in a chain retail store and we'd always have these people just walk in, scan barcodes off clothes, and then leave. Like ??? But then my boss told me what's going on. See, that's all you have to do and you get points, and then after so many points, you can choose gift cards for places you already shop at like Amazon and Target! Admittedly, this isn't you making money in the form of cash like the first 3 things I've talked about, but hey we could all use a gift card.

So the next time you're wandering around the mall with your bestie or wandering around a store with your mom when you're helping her get Christmas presents, just get out your phone and go on a little scavenger hunt and get you some free gift cards. Oh and it works for online shopping too so you might as well do this when you're online shopping during study breaks. Sign up for Shopkick with code fun993020 to get started earning gift cards!

LexisNexis

Make money in law school through LexisNexis | brazenandbrunette.com

I'll admit, I didn't really get on the Lexis train until the end of my 2L year because it wasn't really a big thing at my first law school, but I really wish I had. In case you missed the downlow, what you do is set a reminder in your phone every day just to log on to Lexis and do one search. For fun, I would just pick and random word and search it to see what bizarre cases mentioned words like "buttcrack" or "hippopotamus" lol. Anyways, each day you do this, you get like 10 points. 

And then you can earn even more points by signing in at the Lexis table (you should be able to easily identify it because it'll be the table with a big line wrapped around it). At the table, you watch a short video or demonstration and can get a couple hundred points, and one time I even got a free coffee mug and some snacks so do that. At the end of your 3L year, you can "buy" from the Lexis store using your points. 

They have everything from Starbucks gift cards to Yurman bracelets and wine fridges! Sure this isn't exactly money, but hey free stuff for looking up bizarre cases? Gimme. 


And there ya go, 5 quick and easy ways that you can make some cold hard cash (or something very similar) this semester, and no signing up for focus groups or taking surveys. Admittedly it's not exactly as lucrative as having a job, but $100 extra a month goes a longggg way when you're trying to minimize how much money you need to take out in student loans.


let's be friends!

August 22, 2018

Saving Money in Law School With Meal Planning

Want to save money in law school? Meal planning (which isn't meal prepping) saves you time, saves you money, and saves you calories! Here's how to save money with meal prepping and why you should meal prep in law school. law school advice. law student blogger | brazenandbrunette.com

Hello hello everyone! I hope if you're reading this you're having a smooth transition back into the swing of things for a new semester! Oh, and I forgot to mention it in my last post, but a little life update on me, I have relocated to Houston. For all you OG readers, this means you're followed this blog as it has been based out of San Antonio, Lubbock, Dallas, and now Houston so I hope you're enjoying this little tour of Texas that we're doing together!

Anyways, back to today's purpose. I didn't meal plan my 1L or 2L year but started it the summer before my 3L year. Years 1 and 2 I lived alone so it didn't matter what I ate because I was the only one who cared, but year 3 Ryan lived with me while he was job hunting and I realized that I'd need to figure out ahead of time what we would eat or we'd end up having mac & cheese with hotdogs every night (boys lol). Even if you live alone, meal planning is still something you should seriously consider, and here's why.


Saves you time

I surprisingly had more time my 1L year than I had worried I would have. I mean, in no way was it as much as I had in college, but it was still plenty of time to make myself something and I didn't have to freeze months' worth of meals just to survive the semester. That said, the free time that you have in law school is precious and ideally you can spend it lounging on your couch binge watching Netflix with a glass of wine.

Here's where meal planning comes in. First off, it's not full-on meal prepping so calm down if you're not ready for that kind of commitment. All this is, is you spending a Saturday or Sunday deciding what you're going to eat for the week. I use this meal planning pad to easily do it. Then when the time comes, I simply make whatever I've pre-chosen. This means that on a school day/night literally 0 minutes are wasted wondering hmmm.... what am I in the mood for? It sounds little, but it's actually very nice to get that time back in your day. Plus you probably have a full Pinterest board full of food that you've been wanting to try, so if not now then when?

Saves you money

This is even bigger than the previous point. I mean, time is money, right?? This was a big factor of why I started doing this. Think about it, if you don't know what you're going to eat in a week then you usually will just go to the grocery store and throw things in your cart which you think you might eat at some time in the future. $$$ just flying out your pocket! If you know what you're going to eat in a week, then you'll only buy the ingredients for what you know you'll actually use that week. This is so important because fresh produce will go bad on you if you don't have a plan to use it and it's a waste to buy that box of noodles or whatever if you'll never actually use them.

Two other ways this saves you money. First, is my new found love for Walmart grocery pickup. I started using this during my externship when I was busy all the time and then I realized how much time I was wasting each week grocery shopping! Now I spend like 5 minutes online shopping and another 15 going to pick up my groceries and driving back home. That's only 20 minutes including driving in Houston traffic! Besides this, I spend so much less doing this because I can just type in "soy sauce" or whatever and it has all the different brands at different price points on one page, which is easier to shop than looking at all the shelves and trying to find the matching price tag. Secondly, I spend less money because I'm not aimlessly wandering and subject to temptation. I literally only buy what I will eat that week. Every Saturday evening my fridge and pantry are empty, but I have counted it up and I save about $50 a month just through the Walmart grocery app.
The second way meal planning saves you money is that you can better use rebate apps with them. What you do is take what you know you'll need for the week, scroll through the apps to see if the ingredients are featured, and choose your ingredient based off the app. Basically, Brand A and Brand B can be within 10 cents of each other but Brand B gives you a 50-cent rebate for choosing it. Now your decision just got easier and you made a little money! It's basically like coupons except instead of savings, it's cold hard cash added to your Venmo or PayPal account! I use both Checkout 51 and Ibotta to do this! Not only do they give you a sign-up bonus, but through strategically using them, you can get like $50 a month using them. For me, this means I get about a week's worth of groceries for free (because I only buy a week at a time, I don't spend much at the grocery store). You can use this in reverse as well, and can look to see what items are featured and then go look up recipes that call for those ingredients and then you can really maximize you cash back if almost every thing you buy is giving you a rebate.

Saves you pounds

It's true! Even if you try to eat "healthy" fast food, it's still fast food! Low-calorie or low-carb options still have a ton of preservatives and other stuff, so you're not helping your body at all. Abs are made in the kitchen, remember? Get in the habit of making meals for yourself! A homemade burger is still at least healthier than a to-go burger because you know what it is made from and when it was made. I think you'll be surprised just how easy it is to keep from gaining weight or even just feeling blah once you get used to making your own food. And if you have it planned that you're only going to eat healthy food, and the only food available in your house is healthy, then you're stuck to eat healthy and what do you know now you're in a good habit of grabbing blueberries instead of Oreos when you have the late-night munchies!
Plus, I always feel a sense of accomplishment like hell yeah I made that! when I take something out of the oven. Even if it doesn't turn out that great, at least I'm practicing and trying to get better so I won't end up being 35 and can't boil water so I'm put on a "worse cooks" reality show, right? Bonus points because now you can put "cooking" as a hobby of yours when someone asks and now you seem interesting.


Look, I remember when academic support suggest to us my 1L year that we make-ahead and freeze PB&J's so that we can focus on studying instead of providing nutrients for our body. That stressed me out, big time. I'm not saying you have to go that extreme! All I'm saying is that a little thought on the weekend can make the rest of your week just a little bit easier, which I'm sure we can all agree is a welcome idea in law school. Just try it out for a week and if anything, maybe you have a good idea of what to do when you get busy around finals and grocery shopping stressed you out because you think of what else you could be doing with that time (or maybe that's just me?). It's worth a shot!


let's be friends!



August 20, 2018

Handling Your Feelings Post Bar Exam

How to handle post-bar exam sadness or depression and what to expect after the bar exam. law school blog. law student blogger | brazenandbrunette.com


I said I wouldn't talk about the Bar exam until I got my results back, but I see this blog as a personal diary as well as a resource for other law students so I wanted to write this now while it's still fresh on my mind. I took the Bar almost a month ago and truth is, life ain't fun. Now I don't want to cause you new 3L's any panic thinking that you've dug yourself into a hole, but I do want to be honest for any recent grads so you don't feel alone.


Feeling useless after the Bar

Once you become a law student, the Bar is in the back of your mind for three years (see here, here, and here). Then for about three months straight it's at the front of your mind and all you can think or talk about. Seriously, you go full-on Cady Heron when she couldn't stop word vomiting about Regina George. And then after three days that fly by, it's over. The sole goal for the past three years has been attempted. And then what? 

Admittedly this is probably worse since I didn't end up landing a post-Bar job so I am currently a stay-at-home cat mom (which sounds better than unemployed millennial if you ask me), but still... You've focused so much of your time and attention and energy on one thing and then *poof* it's over. I guess it's kinda like how you hear about brides getting sad after their weddings because they'd just been looking forward to that day for so long that they don't know how to handle it after that day has come and gone. Right now, I just kinda feel like "what do I do with my life until I find out if I'm a lawyer or not??"

Obsessing over the Bar

That brings me to this point. It's better now that I'm a few weeks out, but that first week or two was pretty bad. I know everyone tells you to take the test and then not think about it (just like finals), but if you remember from 1L finals while you waited for those first grades to come back, that's a lot easier said than done. Except this is worse because I'd rather fail a law school class than the Bar any day.

Let me put it to you this way, just two days after I took the Bar my boyfriend's sweet mom set me up with an hour and a half massage. It felt great but the entire time in that quiet room all I could think about was I bet if this guy spent thousands and thousands of dollars on law school and Bar prep he would've remembered the difference between these two concepts that I forgot on test day and worse, OMFG I forgot to mention X in my essay! That would've been at least 1-2 more points I could've gotten! If there's a way to truly turn your brain off from the Bar, I haven't figured it out yet. But again, it's all I've been thinking about 24/7 for 3 months so how is my brain supposed to know to stop now?

Stressing over the Bar

The Bar mind fucks you and then doesn't stop there. The day after the Bar I woke up freaking out convinced that I had accidentally overslept for the Bar. A few days after that I had a too-realistic-for-comfort dream that what I had just taken was actually a simulated Bar exam that Barbri had just been extra about and the real thing was at the end of August so dream me went into freak out mode trying to plan what all I needed to improve and get done before the test. And yet again I had a very realistic dream that I had showed up to the last day of the Bar at lunch and so the proctors were pulling me aside telling me that I could still take the afternoon test but that my morning tests would all be zeros and my Bar prep professor (more on her in a later post) was there asking me if I thought I could still pass it even while failing all the other sections and talking to me about options to take the Bar in February.

But it doesn't stop there. Ryan has literally banned me from talking or thinking about the Bar, and for my own good. I'll sit too long and think of something that I said wrong or forgot to say (like at my massage), and then I'll just stress out. There's been times where I've just cried myself to sleep because I keep thinking about everything that I could've, should've, would've done better. 

Putting the Bar behind you

I don't write all this to say I feel depressed because I definitely don't feel that extreme, but I do feel kinda like the mean reds that Holly Golightly talks about. Like I said, I haven't figured out exactly how to feel all "well if I fail, I fail." Here's what has helped.

Having a friend who understands that they don't understand – This was one of my biggest pet peeves when people would try to relate to my struggle when they haven't taken the Bar because TBH they don't know what it's actually like. One of my friends had to take a licensing exam so she has been so understanding and doesn't try to pretend like she knows exactly how I feel. 

Having a friend who doesn't undermine your stress – This is another big annoyance. It can be really hard when you're sitting there beating yourself up over a test and someone comes up to you and goes "oh it's just a test!" Like hi um excuse me do you have $100,000 in debt and your entire future riding on this test?? Feels like more than just a test to me, feels like my entire future but ya know, NBD. 

Another annoyance is when people tell me "oh you're smart I'm sure you'll pass."  So basically this adds another stress to me because if I do fail, now what you're basically saying is that in addition to that I'm obviously stupid? These things don't help, so please don't say them to your friends.

Having a friend who doesn't try to help – The great thing about Ryan is that I can be honest with him and tell him to try not to help (as seen in my last example). I told him not to try to say anything because nothing will help and instead to just hold me when I cry over it and send me cute kitty videos when I get too sucked in to thinking about it. It's just nice to have someone to vent to without having to have them be like oh yeah I know what's like when clearly they don't. 

Not talking about it – I know like every therapist ever will tell you that talking about your problems makes them seem less, but I don't think that's exactly true with the Bar. See, every time I start to think about it, I just start spiraling down thinking about how I should've prepped more in between the exams or should've wrote something more on that question that I didn't know the answer to. 

It's just easier to remind yourself that thinking about it won't affect the outcome and to think about other things you can control, like how clean your apartment is or how often you work out. My plan is just to try to distract myself for these next three months so I can try to stay calm (which is partly why I'm not blogging about the Bar, except for this post obviously). 

Hopefully all the stress will pay off but until November, don't mind me spending hours watching videos of little kittens being cute. And if you're in the same boat as me, let's just all agree that the Bar exam never happened. Okay? K. 

August 13, 2018

Law School Questions and Answers

Questions about law school answered by a real law student. Advice on applying to law school, advice and tips for a 1L, advice and tips for a 2L, answers about the bar exam. law school blog. law student blogger | brazenandbrunette.com

Well, well, well. My first post-Bar blog! I'm not quite ready to blog about that until I get my results so instead today I'm sharing some answers to questions I got on Instagram over the weekend and elaborating a little more. Also, you might notice that the 0L/1L/2L/3L tabs at the top are a lot more user friendly so while I haven't been blogging lately, I have still been working on it for y'all! I didn't give much notice before doing the Insta Q&A so if you missed out on that, feel free to comment below or use the "questions and suggestions" box on the bottom right!




First of all, make sure you're making an informed decision on law school.


Second, once you know this is what you want, start studying for the LSAT. I suggest you do this in the summer so your GPA doesn't slip from you trying to multitask. And make an informed decision on whether you want to retake the LSAT.


Third, start the application process.


Fourth, decide on a school.


Fifth, prepare for law school.




My tip for using supplements is to remember that they're just that– supplements! If you eat an orange every day then you don't need to take a Vitamin C supplement and if you feel like you understand your classes then you don't need a supplement. Wait a few months to see how you're doing in classes before you spend money on a book that you probably won't even have time to read. That being said, I do believe that they can really help make sure you're prepared for finals.



I actually have several posts on time management that go more in-depth on these answers so I'm just going to link them all for y'all.

A breakdown of my schedule as a 1L and 2L 



Friendships in law school can be tricky because at times you'll need to prioritize getting readings done over hanging out or chatting with friends, but also it's really important that you don't let law school ruin all of your friendships. Make time for the things that are important to you in life!



As you just read, I actually didn't use a binder system so they're definitely not necessary, but my friend did and she found it really helped her for finals. I say go ahead and try it and then if it's not working for you then don't feel guilty abandoning it.



Oh the first day as a transfer student can be so weird! You have the confidence of a 2L because you've survived a year of law school already, but also have the insecurities of a 1L because you know nothing about your new school. I highly recommend seeking out a friendly face in your first class of your first day so you won't spend all day wandering around lost. And by the end of the first week or so maybe you'll have noticed the same person in a few of your classes and that's also a good person to befriend because they can be your study buddy. 

In fact, the girl that I sat by in my very first class at my new school also happened to sit by me at graduation because our last names were in alphabetical order so it was perfect that she'd by my side through the end.



I wish I would've started job hunting a lot earlier my 2L year. Because I transferred I waited until we got our grades back since I technically didn't have a GPA or transcript, which was so dumb and I could have just used my old school stats. In the end I did land a paying internship which was nice but I do wish I could've found an internship that gave me more opportunities to gain experience.

Related: The differences between 1L and 2L year and How to find legal internships 

However, one thing I don't regret is getting really involved in pro bono my 2L year. Not only did this make sure that I met my school's requirement to graduate, but I learned a lot helping with that and I'm so glad that I did.

Related: Where to find pro bono opportunities and How to squeeze pro bono time into a busy schedule


You spend your entire 1L year just trying to survive, but once you get to be a 2L I think your focus should be on building upon the previous year and always striving to be better.


Secondly, I do wish I had got the MPRE out of the way earlier since I had to study for that during November of my 3L year when I should've been using that time to study for finals.






I felt like my first semester of law school was like 2L year all over again but the last semester gets hectic fast. Graduation planning, Bar prep planning, and job hunting all kinda happen at once. I do wish I would've put more effort into job hunting because then I could be getting paid right now, which would be nice. 

Luckily, I didn't have any finals my last semester so I didn't go from taking a final on a Thursday, graduating that Saturday, and starting Bar prep the following Monday, but that's not an unusual order. Try to make your last semester easy classes and hopefully early finals so that you can get a little mental break before starting Bar prep.






These answers are short and I don't have a lot to say here because I want to wait until I get my results to do those posts. So although I don't want to write Bar posts, I do have a lot of posts planned and outlined out about all of these questions so those will be coming eventually. Check back here in November!


Since I did go to 2 different law schools, I'm planning on doing a guide for both San Antonio (St. Mary's) and Lubbock (Texas Tech) this semester. But for now, this will have to do since I'm sure most of you aren't going to those 2 schools.