Law School Academic Support Blog

If you were waitlisted for LSAC AATW, you made it!

The following message from Kent Lollis gives you instructions if you were waitlisted for the conference:

Colleagues: 

I am happy to report that we have been able to accommodate everyone waitlisted for the June 13-16, 2012 Academic Assistance Training Workshop.  Thank you for your patience.  Please contact Dona Vinall, dvinall@lsac.org 215-968-1227 ASAP to complete your travel reservations.  If you have questions, please contact Yusuf Abdul-Kareem, yabdul-kareem@lsac.org, 215.504.1488. 

KENT D. LOLLIS

Executive Director for Diversity Inchiitiatives

klollis@LSAC.org

Law School Admission Council

662 Penn Street Newtown, PA 18940-0040

P: 215.968.1227 ● F: 215.944.3227

LSAC.org

Two Positions at Roger Williams

Roger Williams University School of Law is currently hiring for two positions in its Academic Success Program.  For more information or to apply, please visit: http://www.rwu.edu/about/university-offices/human-resources/employment.  

Director of Academic Success: Reporting to the Assistant Dean of Students, the Director of Academic Success in the School of Law is responsible for delivering a comprehensive academic success and bar support program to instill in students the academic skills necessary to be successful in law school and in the legal profession.  The Director works closely with other constituencies within the School of Law such as the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, the Coordinator of the Legal Writing Program, the Director of Diversity and Outreach, the Faculty Director of the Honors Program, as well as members of the Faculty.  

Associate Director of Bar Support: Reporting to the Director of Academic Success, the Associate Director of Bar Support is responsible for enhancing the bar passage rates at the law school.  This will be accomplished through the development, implementation, and evaluation of a comprehensive bar examination program.  The Associate Director will be teaching a for-credit bar course. 

Mind Over Matter

Many law students are now in exams.  It is sometimes hard to keep one's perspective in the midst of hard exams.  Here are some pointers you can give students to help them stay focused and not be thrown by an exam that seemed too difficult:

• Help students realize that the grade in a course is just one grade on one set of questions on one day.
  • A student has 90 credit hours (more or less at different law schools) in the degree, and one course is just a small part of that degree.
  • It is not uncommon to know more information than a set of questions on an exam could ask in a limited time period.
  • Lots of attorneys today are practicing in areas that were not their strong courses in law school – students can have another chance.
• Remind students that other students also thought a particular exam was hard. 
  • Students need to realize that they are like their fellow classmates in regard to an exam. 
  • A student needs to resist the temptation of feeling that s/he was the only one who found the exam difficult.
• Encourage students to forget about the exams they just had. 
  • The exam is over and done with, and the student cannot change anything about it. 
  • Have the student re-focus on the next exam because s/he can make decisions that will impact studying for that exam.
  • Students can just do their best on each exam under their own particular circumstances.  That is all they can ask of themselves.
• Remind them to avoid talking with others about an exam when it is over. 
  • They will only get more stressed about the exam. 
  • They will keep thinking about that exam instead of moving on to the next one.
  • They should smile at the person who wants to talk and diplomatically say that they don’t talk about exams.  Then they should walk away.

A student who is upset by an exam needs to take several hours off and do something unrelated to law school.  If the student's exam schedule allows it, the student will probably benefit from taking the rest of the day off and getting a good night's sleep.  A fresh start in the morning will be more beneficial than studies that are unproductive because of a lack of focus.  (Amy Jarmon)