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Karen's Online Law School Diary First Year of Online Law School Northwestern California University School of Law Begin Date: June 15, 2003 The most recent entries will always be at the top of this section (To start at the beginning, scroll down to the bottom of the page.) 3/2/04: I'll attempt to write more details as I find time. The first six months or so of law school were incredibly overwhelming. The biggest challenge for me has been figuring out how to learn the material. Law school materials are not spoon-fed to you as they are in other courses. There is a lot of dry detailed information, such as the rules of law, and it's up to you to learn it and assimilate it. It's not given to you in any type of narrative style, as other textbooks. Another big challenge has been learning that there are no definite answers. Of course, you can't call a burglary a defamation, that won't get you any points! But, you need to learn that there are many different arguments for the same situation. The hypothetical questions (hypos) we study are often very vague as to who is to blame for doing what to whom. That's where you can argue for either side. But after many years of taking tests in which there is a definite, correct answer to a question, it takes some getting used to. In fact, you get points for pointing out a potential crime, then explaining why it is not a crime. Your job is to show that you recognize an "issue," and show the test maker that you know that although it looks like a burglary, it isn't because...(fill in the blank). It was also scary for me to not be tested regularly along the way. We had to turn in some quizzes prior to taking the mid-terms, on the 3 subjects for first year law: contracts, torts and criminal law. These were just a credit/no credit assignment, and designed to help us learn the rules of law. However, I did not receive any actual grades until after turning in my mid-terms, which were 1/3 of my grade. So, up until that point, I was unsure of how well/terribly I was doing. Needless to say, it was stressful not being sure of how well I was doing until after I received my mid-term grades. We do have a great deal of contact with the professor, and there are many practice questions we can do online, which the professor will give individual feedback on. So, I had a clue that I understood what to do. However, it was still a bit scary. Six months into the program, I turned in my mid-terms, which consisted of three essay exams (hypos). I mailed them in, and received my grades about three weeks later, with detailed comments from my professor. I received a C in contracts, B- in torts, and a C+ in criminal law. Because of my online participation, which consisted of live chats with the professor and posted practice questions on the Bulletin Board system, my professor upped my grades a full grade. So, as of today, I have a B in contracts, an A- in torts and a B+ in criminal law. Woo hoo! Just around the five month mark, I was feeling really disconnected and lonely. I really wanted students I could talk to, at least on the telephone. I wanted a live voice to rant to, get support from. I now have a fellow student I chat with regularly, who actually lives in Canada. It made a huge difference. Now that I know I'm in good shape as far as grades go, too, I find I'm not feeling so desperate for human student contact. I should mention that I have my daughter, Shannon, who is 25 years old, my best friend, Pam, as well as my sweetheart, Doug, who are all very supportive of me. Their job is to ask me if I'm studying, keep me on track, scold me if I'm not, and tell me I can do it whenever I start whining that I can't. They've been invaluable in this experience. I have begun working with the Flemings Baby Bar home study materials. I was lucky to find a complete set on Ebay, which was used, from the October 2003 exam. I couldn't afford to buy it new right now, so was very pleased to be able to find a used set that I could start working with now. I highly recommend it. He's easy to listen to on the cassettes, funny and easy-going. The technique has vastly improved my essay writing. I would recommend using this prior to your mid-terms. I did use the Flemings essay writing workbook, which I purchased at the beginning of my studies, when I wrote my mid-terms. But I could have done even better, if I had purchased the Flemings Baby Bar home study materials even sooner. Flemings suggests learning one subject at a time, and I found this works better for me, too. When I first began studying, I tried learning all three subjects at once, but found it too overwhelming and confusing. So, I studied just contracts for two months, just torts for two months, and just crimes for two months. Then studied how to write the essays for that last month or so, while studying crimes. Then I took my mid-terms, which were open book essay exams. I am now breaking down my studying again into one subject per month. February was torts month, March will be criminal law month, April will be contracts month. I have about 13 cases I have to brief for each subject, and another assignment of definitions of rules with examples of each that I have to also do. My goal was to get those assignments done for each subject during its "month," but I'm already behind on my torts assignments, because I have been moving. These assignments need to be turned in as credit/no credit prior to my requesting my final exams. The earliest I can request my final exams is the week of May 9th. I'm shooting for taking my finals as early as possible, because I am planning on taking the June 2004 First Year Law Student's Exam, which will be held the end of June, otherwise known as the Baby Bar. The school will need time to grade my finals and send verification to the California Bar Association, prior to my being allowed to take the Baby Bar/FYLSE (Sometimes it is also referred to as the FYLSX). 6/15/03: This is my official start date of law school at Northwestern California University School of Law (NWCU). I chose NWCU because it has been around a long time, I could afford it, and as I live near Sacramento where the school is located, I could actually drive over and meet with them prior to making my decision. NWCU also offers a bachelor's degree after the first two years of study, which also swayed my decision, as I only have an AA degree right now. I am very happy with NWCU and highly recommend the school. I am in the four-year part-time JD program geared toward those who wish to take the California Bar Exam. I must pass the California Baby Bar Exam before the California Bar gives me credit for my first year of law study. I'll take the Baby Bar Exam in June 2004. If I don't pass, I'll take it again in October 2004. I will receive a BS degree after I complete the first two years of the program, in 2005. I will sit for the California Bar Exam in 2007. I'll be 51 years old. The good news is that I'll look so old, my clients will assume I've been a lawyer for years...he he. I have one professor for all three subjects, and find him very reasonably available by email or on the online chats or online bulletin board. He has the patience of a saint, and is an exceptional professor in my opinion. At first, I was disappointed that I did not have the opportunity to experience more than one professor, but I have to say, I don't see how it could be better....and it sure could be worse! Law school is stressful enough without also having to deal with a professor you don't like--and I don't have that problem, for which I'm extremely grateful. This flag is here only because I think it's really cool and I haven't found an excuse to put it anywhere else yet.
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