Noah Niksefat is a first-year student at Loyola Law School who aims to apply his business background toward a purposeful legal career.
With the rigor of law school, studying with friends is helpful. Exam season makes this especially clear. Being able to explain, debate, and defend ideas out loud made exam preparation more effective for me.
I studied with two of my friends almost every day for two weeks. We complemented each other well, with each of us excelling in different areas. This helped me identify my strengths and weaknesses in each class. LLS students are willing to work together and support one another during exams, and we occasionally conferred with another study group while studying.
My group pushed each other constantly. In the middle of discussions, we would randomly cold-call one another. If someone stumbled, we slowed down and worked through it. If someone answered confidently, they were challenged.
The best part of the group was not academic. During breaks, we laughed a lot. We bonded over shared stress and mutual exhaustion. We also spent a considerable amount of time critiquing the local selection of restaurants on Uber Eats.
Sure, group studying can make it easier to lose focus, but it also makes it harder to avoid accountability. If someone drifted off, they were called out immediately. This kept us motivated when the caffeine was wearing off.
Studying in groups does not work for everyone, but I encourage new law students to try it. The right group, even temporarily, makes the workload feel more manageable and the experience more purposeful.
TOPICS: 1L, Exams & Finals