"Remedial" courses before school starts?

andrewpete93

Hello everyone!

I've heard some schools that do "remedial" courses/a crash course for students who got in with lower LSATs/GPAs that goes over how to read a case, how to take exams, etc. before school starts. Does anyone know what this is called? Or if it even exists? haha

If I'm not crazy, does anyone know what schools do it?

Thanks for any help!

Seeking Perfection

There are classes, but they are generally not considered worthwhile and they are not specifically for people with low GPAs and LSATs. They are not run by schools, but by private companies which is part of why they are expensive and not usually considered worth it.

The only course I have heard anything good about is LEEWS which comes in audio cds and a book.

As far as exam taking prep the book Getting to Maybe is the standard recommendation whether before or during law school.

Both LEEWS and Getting to Maybe focus on how to take a law school exam. Prep where you actually study the law isn't usually recommended because you don't know what your professor will focus on, but if you want an overview, reading used copies of the Examples and Explantions supplements is probably the most reasonable way to go about it.

Personally I have read Getting to Maybe and read the book copy of LEEWS. I am planning to read two E and Es(Torts and Contracts) because my school won't tell me my fall schedule until August and I want to get ahead in at least one class so I can start taking practice exams as early as possible. I'm also working on typing speed because many consider that important to succeeding on law school exams. I'm trying to get to a typing speed where how fast I can think will be the obstacle rather than how fast I can type. I think 60-70 word per minute is probably a reasonable goal for that. I started the summer at around 30 and couldn't touch type (I used all my fingers, but had to look). Now I am touch typing and am around 45 wpm as an average. I used a keyboard cover and blotted out the keys with nail polish so I couldn't look and then used typing clubs free online lessons to learn where the keys are and type racer to race against others and make practicing semi-fun.

TLDR: You are on equal footing with everyone at your school regardless of GPA and LSAT. Any prep you do should be to learn how to do well on a law school exam. This could be LEEWS, Getting to Maybe, improving typing speed, or maybe reading and working through a supplement like the Examples and Explanations series so you will be ahead and can start taking practice exams earlier.