Coping with the Competitiveness of Law School
Law school is known for its competitive atmosphere — everyone wonders where they will fall on the curve for assignments, whether they will be at the top of the class rankings, and whether they’re good enough to get a job through On Campus Interviews (OCIs). In my first two months of law school, I have certainly witnessed this competitiveness. I think my school — Windsor Law — is less competitive than other law schools, however the undertone of competitiveness is nevertheless there. And how could it not be? The law school admissions process taught us to be competitive. Only the “smartest” students, with the most extracurriculars, and the highest LSAT scores would be given a spot.
I am someone who doesn’t enjoy being competitive with my classmates. I truly believe that all my peers are intelligent and hard-working, and I don’t believe that one who may rank higher academically than someone else is necessarily smarter or more successful. So, to help calm everyone’s midterm nerves, I thought I would share some of my thoughts on combating these feelings of competitiveness.
Remember in high school when you thought, “I just have to get good grades so I can get into university”. But then, once you got to university, you realized that you had to get good grades to get into law school. Looking at law school admission requirements, you realized that you had to get an interesting job and take part in extracurriculars. You did that too. In your final year of undergrad, you told yourself that you would only get into law school if you did well enough on the LSAT. And now that you’re in law school, you feel like there are 1000 things that you have to work to achieve.
For example, about a month ago, I was told that virtually every 1L summer job requires students to submit their transcripts. When I realized this, I sighed and thought, “here we go again”. I don’t fully know why, but in this moment, my mentality shifted. I had always been the student who would miss out on parties to finish my assignments, work for hours in the library perfecting my citations, spend Thanksgiving at school because midterm season was more important than going home. I was unafraid of missing out on the enjoyments of my life because I thought, “I can enjoy myself once I make it to law school”. But now that I’m here, I realize that law school is just another rung on the never-ending ladder of success. I know I will never reach the top, not because I’m incapable, but because the top doesn’t exist. This has made me wonder whether all my stress and competitiveness is really worth it.
I want to be careful not to give the impression that I no longer care about my studies. I absolutely do. But this realization has made me consider that perhaps my academic experience can be enhanced by adopting a more balanced lifestyle. I now feel okay submitting a slightly less than perfect assignment so that I’m able to go to dinner with my friends, go to a party, or visit my family over the weekend. Experiencing the happiness that this newfound balance has brought me, suggests that maybe I don’t want to live simply for good grades or getting the best job. Rather, I want to actively choose to be happier, and if that means placing law school in the backseat sometimes, then I am okay with that.
