The Importance of Study Groups

Before attending law school, I always associated the course load to consist of reading, reading and more reading. Now that I am two weeks into my second semester of law school, I realize that my assumption was not too far off. While reading is generally something we complete in solitude, understanding the material in the readings is a completely different story.

There have been numerous times where I have read a paragraph in a case or an explanation in a supplement five or more times in a row, only to end up more confused than I was before I read it at all. That is when you can lean on your peers. Sometimes it can be difficult to wrap your mind around the issue of a case or the analysis of a decision. Most of the material you learn in law school is completely foreign. You are not alone. Chances are, if you find it confusing, so do 40 other people. Working with a group to find the logic in a convoluted case, has been my saving grace during times of overwhelming perplexity.

I formed a group of friends early on in my first semester, likewise those friends became my study group. This group has grown on occasion and the more minds the merrier! While I find group work very advantageous, I will admit that I do about 70 percent of my studying on my own. The process of working through my studies and then checking in with my group on tricky material, has done me well thus far.

At Loyola, I have yet to find a single soul that isn’t willing to help, talk out a theory or completely re-explain a topic when someone couldn’t make it to class. I cannot speak more highly of the student body and the character of the students that choose to go to Loyola. It truly is a unique set of individuals. Final exams can be taxing, but working and struggling through it with your peers, makes it a little bit more manageable. Being able to grab coffee or take a walk around campus with a friend has made all the difference in my law school experience. J