Worried about being under-qualified for law school? I bet I had you beat. One year ago, I entered Allard having turned 21 just a month beforehand. Meanwhile, the average age of my 1L peers was 25. I took the express route to law school, motoring through three years of undergrad, writing the LSAT, and applying a year early. I was set on law school and saw no reason not to charge ahead.

But, when I showed up for Orientation Week in late August it suddenly dawned on me that I might very well be the single least prepared, least qualified, and least interesting person in the entire school. It seemed like everyone I met had either worked some impressive job, travelled the world, or pursued a post-graduate education prior to coming to law school. How on earth was I going to keep up with these people, let alone make friends with them?

But I did, and so will you. While there is no single, universal approach to law school, I’d like to offer you three pieces of advice that helped me overcome my 1L anxieties and allowed me to quickly feel at ease and at home within the walls of Allard

1. Utilize mentors

Last day of 1L!

If you can personally connect with at least one upper year student during your first month at Allard, I promise that you will have made an invaluable relationship. Mentorship might just be the most abundant commodity at Allard. It’s also one of the most important; law school will be a new and challenging experience for each of you, regardless of your background. At Allard, you need only reach out to your legal buddy, peer tutor, section mentor, or any other upper year you feel comfortable with to find someone who most likely remembers feeling exactly as you do. If you find yourself questioning your merits, remember that many if not most of those who came before you have experienced something similar

2. Stay in your own lane

In the sage words of 2017 Allard graduate Mischa Smolkin, “stay in your own lane” (and read his Student Perspective from last year). In my experience, there is very little extrinsic pressure to conform to your peers in law school. I like to think that there’s a certain maturity about law school that dissolves some of the pressures you may have felt in high school or during your undergrad. That said, leave it to law students to impose those very same pressures on themselves. In law school, it’s all too easy to start replacing your wants, goals, and needs with those of your peers. This is only made easier if you feel (as I did) like they’re more qualified than you. You all came to law school for your own reasons; remember what those are throughout your time here. Your perspective will inevitably shift and your goals will evolve while you’re at Allard. When you notice this happening, take a moment to check in with yourself and make sure these changes are happening for the right reasons.

3. You get what you put in

I’ll save the details of getting involved at Allard to Michelle Perini’s Student Perspective, but the message bears repeating: your law school experience will largely be what you choose to make it. If you want law school to be more than just school, then get involved! There are endless extracurricular opportunities offered at Allard (just check out the ALSS Sports/Clubs page), and immersing yourself in these opportunities is the single best way to truly feel like you’re part of the Allard community.

Allard Law Games Dodgeball team