Debunk A Law School Myth

One of the biggest myths about law school is that it is extremely competitive. Before I applied for law school, I was told that it would be nightmarishly competitive, that people would not cooperate with each other, and even that people would actively work to sabotage each other. This is not true at Loyola. I have found that, while there is competition, the competition is not so strenuous or extreme that people are unwilling to work with each other. In fact, the method of instruction in law classes forces students to work together to an extent because the quality of one student’s preparation to answer questions can help or hinder other students who are in class. Beyond that, while there is competition, there is also cooperation. One student’s gain is not another student’s loss. Indeed, one student’s gain can be another student’s gain as well.

Another myth that I was told about law school is that it is "elitist." There is a common belief that law schools are exclusively made up of students from the upper and upper-middle classes. At Loyola, I have found that this could not be further from the truth. Rather than being filled with an exclusive preserve of people from privileged backgrounds, my classes have been filled with people from a variety of different classes and backgrounds. Because of this, the discussions that occur during class are lively and interesting and enable me to learn from people from very diverse backgrounds contributing different perspectives.

There are many myths about law school, but I have found that relatively few of them are true. While I can’t speak for all law schools, Loyola has been a welcoming, yet challenging, place where, for the most part, students work together. There is a great sense of community at Loyola, and in all of my experiences, the professors have been extremely interested in the success of students.