UCI Law Question

spitzy11

So, I'm pretty set on UCI unless Berkeley and/or Vanderbilt gets back to me before April. I was going to do the Larry Law Law KTCOOLS course over the summer, but the website specifically states that they don't recommend law school prep courses.

http://www.law.uci.edu/orientation/pre-orientation.html

What do you guys think? Still do it or follow what they specifically recommend?
Thanks

westcoastbestcoast

Hey, I believe @DumbHollywoodActor attended UCI Law and he also completed the KTCOOLs. Perhaps he can chime in and give his thoughts if 0L prep helped him. I'm actually curious about this too because UCI is a top choice for me as well.

Seeking Perfection

@spitzy11 said:
So, I'm pretty set on UCI unless Berkeley and/or Vanderbilt gets back to me before April. I was going to do the Larry Law Law KTCOOLS course over the summer, but the website specifically states that they don't recommend law school prep courses.

http://www.law.uci.edu/orientation/pre-orientation.html

What do you guys think? Still do it or follow what they specifically recommend?
Thanks

I think almost all law schools recommend against substantial 0L prep. They have a vested interest in doing so.

If it works, they don't want somd people gaining an unfair advantage by paying money to take a pre-law course.

If it doesn't work, they don't want their students getting ripped off and losing money.

That said it matters to you whether it works. I would try to get ahold of reviews not published by the company. Try to find reviews which say it doesn't work as well as ones which say it does. Ask anyone you know who may have taken a course.

1L year is so similar in content across all law schools that if the prep helps most people at other law schools, I would expect it to also help at yours. If it doesn't help in general then I would expect it not to help you.

I'm not going to do a paid prep class. But I do plan to try to do as much review as possible. That is probably because the LSAT has convinced me of the merits of long term self-study over quick gain short term study in a class

DumbHollywoodActor

Greetings, 7sage. Super busy with 1L (second semester is just as intense as the first). We're all pretty stoked about the rankings here at UCI and, at the same time, just doing what we're doing.

I know that UCI encourages us not to do summer study, but I agree with @"Seeking Perfection"'s reasoning. A lot of this is because each professor has a good deal of discretion in choosing which parts of the doctrine to teach. But there are fundamental doctrines that every American law student will have to take; you're all going to need to know Offer and Acceptance, The Equal Protection Clause, and Intentional Torts no matter where you go. Also, most of these courses teach how to brief cases properly, where a students breaks down a case into. Let me be the one to tell you right now. Briefing cases, as a long term plan in law school, is a huge time sink, and gets in the way of doing things that will help you get better grades. I recommend that once you understand the mechanics of briefing, you immediately stop doing so.

I created a study group with a few people, and we went through Larry's Issue Spotting course and read Short and Happy Guide to Torts, Civ Pro, Con Law, Contracts, and Criminal Law so that we were familiar with black letter law. UCI doesn't offer Property as a 1L course but instead offers International Legal Analysis. There was one other person in my study group who goes to UCI, and we both did very well (3.7-4.0 range) in the first semester. We both have summer jobs. I'm working at the California Court of Appeal. I know of a few other members of the study group (who didn't go to UCI) that are working as summer associates at big law firms (making $$$$). You all know from the curriculum that correlation does not imply causation, but I can say that working during the summer at least demystified much of law school for me. The learning curve just wasn't as steep as it was for my fellow classmates who went in cold.

For another take on Larry, check out this: https://7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/10600/per-daves-request-0l-pre-1l-prep-advice

Nicole is 7Sage royalty.

Anyway, I'm happy to chat in more detail with you during Admitted Students Week if you want. I'll be the big bald guy (just like my picture except my eyes won't be glowing).

spitzy11

@DumbHollywoodActor Thank you so incredibly much for the guidance! It is really appreciated. See you at ASW!

twssmith

@DumbHollywoodActor Meet @necessarynaomi

Hey Dave,
Naomi is awesome! Lives in California and interested in UCI - hope y'all can meet
All the best!
T

westcoastbestcoast

@DumbHollywoodActor said:
Greetings, 7sage. Super busy with 1L (second semester is just as intense as the first). We're all pretty stoked about the rankings here at UCI and, at the same time, just doing what we're doing.

I know that UCI encourages us not to do summer study, but I agree with @"Seeking Perfection"'s reasoning. A lot of this is because each professor has a good deal of discretion in choosing which parts of the doctrine to teach. But there are fundamental doctrines that every American law student will have to take; you're all going to need to know Offer and Acceptance, The Equal Protection Clause, and Intentional Torts no matter where you go. Also, most of these courses teach how to brief cases properly, where a students breaks down a case into. Let me be the one to tell you right now. Briefing cases, as a long term plan in law school, is a huge time sink, and gets in the way of doing things that will help you get better grades. I recommend that once you understand the mechanics of briefing, you immediately stop doing so.

I created a study group with a few people, and we went through Larry's Issue Spotting course and read Short and Happy Guide to Torts, Civ Pro, Con Law, Contracts, and Criminal Law so that we were familiar with black letter law. UCI doesn't offer Property as a 1L course but instead offers International Legal Analysis. There was one other person in my study group who goes to UCI, and we both did very well (3.7-4.0 range) in the first semester. We both have summer jobs. I'm working at the California Court of Appeal. I know of a few other members of the study group (who didn't go to UCI) that are working as summer associates at big law firms (making $$$$). You all know from the curriculum that correlation does not imply causation, but I can say that working during the summer at least demystified much of law school for me. The learning curve just wasn't as steep as it was for my fellow classmates who went in cold.

For another take on Larry, check out this: https://7sage.com/discussion/#/discussion/10600/per-daves-request-0l-pre-1l-prep-advice

Nicole is 7Sage royalty.

Anyway, I'm happy to chat in more detail with you during Admitted Students Week if you want. I'll be the big bald guy (just like my picture except my eyes won't be glowing).

Thank you so very much for the headsup. Did you study black letter law via supplements and hornbooks before going to UCI? Is larry responsive to emails? Also what package did you choose for larry law law.

spitzy11

Thank you so very much for the headsup. Did you study black letter law via supplements and hornbooks before going to UCI? Is larry responsive to emails? Also what package did you choose for larry law law.

I have had experiencing emailing back and forth with no problem

Paul Caint

Nothing to add but just wanted to say congratulations - UCI is a great school!

spitzy11

@"Paul Caint" said:
Nothing to add but just wanted to say congratulations - UCI is a great school!

Thank you so much!