Anna Bninski ‘23
Features Editor
Two semesters to go. While I’ll be delighted to finish law school, with the ticking of the clock comes a certain pressure to make good course selections. And, despite having been through the course lottery and add-drop rigamarole before,[1] with each new semester, I find myself making an unrealistically long list of courses, planning to attend as many first classes as I can before settling into a final schedule for the semester.
However, this course-hopping is inefficient and unnecessarily stressful. So, driven by curiosity, indecision, and a need to provide content for our first Law Weekly issue of the semester, I embarked on some highly unscientific research into what my peers prioritize when choosing their classes. (Sorry, 1Ls. You will get to make decisions eventually.[2])
Professors Do Matter (And Subject Matter Might)
“I prioritize professor reputation,” said Shinae Yoon ’23, who’s signed up to take her third class with the legendarily popular Professor Cathy Hwang. “I’m pointedly avoiding things I might encounter in practice because I figured 3L was a good opportunity to explore, so I’m in National Security Law and the Community Solutions Clinic.”
Shinae’s approach made me second-guess the priority I’d placed on bar subject classes when I first put together my schedule. After all, I’ll have to study for the bar anyway…why not have some very expensive intellectual fun this semester?[3]
Other students, while emphasizing the importance of enjoying a given professor’s teaching style, weighed subject matter more heavily. Being interested in the topic of the course was the “number one thing” for an anonymous member of the Class of 2023, who declined to speak on record due to their candor about other course-selection factors (keep reading for the good stuff).
Timing
“I try not to have anything before 9 a.m. or after 3 p.m., unless it’s a night class,” said Jennifer Scherschel ’23, who enjoys having a chunk of clear time in which to do her reading.
In a similar boat, Chris Nolan ’24 packed his schedule with morning classes. “It didn’t feel limiting,” he explained, noting that the large number of early courses enabled him to keep his afternoons pretty clear, even without making convenience the number one priority in his planning.[4]
Students’ priorities reflect many commonalities (who doesn’t love a free Friday?) and also unique concerns. Vanessa Rodrigues Moody ’23 decided to “do something different this semester” regarding timing. A brain tumor survivor, Vanessa organized her schedule around “later class options and classes that meet once or twice a week, instead of three times.” The later schedule allows Vanessa to manage morning migraines with medication and safely drive herself to school. “Hopefully, that means I can enjoy the learning much more—and also enjoy my days off more!”
Real Talk from Anonymous Sources
When off the record, members of the 2L and 3L classes shared tips for minimizing academic pain and suffering. “I look at the cold-call-to-reading ratio,” one shared. With this framework, a class with light reading and considerable cold calling is fine, as is a class with heavy reading and no cold calls. Lots of reading andcold calls? That’s a combination sure to provoke semester-long sorrow.
Another student opined that anyone not using vagrades.com is missing out on critical info. Knowing that virtually everyone will get a B+, say, allows the student to spend time more effectively by concentrating on classes with the potential for higher grades.
A classmate offered some hard and fast rules: “No Friday class. Nothing after 5 p.m. on Thursday.”[5]
Can I utilize all of these tips to forge the perfect schedule this semester? Probably not, but perhaps you will join me in trying.
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amb6ag@virginia.edu
[1] For the 1L readers who have yet to experience course selection: The Law School, unlike UVA’s undergraduate College and many other institutions, does not simply have students sign up for their courses at an individual allotted time, but rather has them rank their choices and hope. (Detailed information on this process is available on LawWeb.)
[2] Sophia Hernandez Tragesser ’24 summarized the process of navigating the lottery in combination with Add/Drop: “My first step is to flag all the classes that pique my interest, either because of their content or the professor. Then I organize them by their time slots and do a March Madness of sorts to decide which competing classes in the same bracket will move on to my top choice. Once I have an optimal set of classes that don't conflict, I assess the damage done by the 3Ls who already got their classes. I make my [course lottery] bids based on which classes have the fewest spots left.” (After switching in three classes during Add/Drop, Sophia reported that she is happy with her schedule.)
[3] $10,000 less expensive than I’d planned for! A drop in the student loan bucket, but a very welcome drop, given the Law School’s predilection for hiking up tuition.
[4] This author felt limited! The overlapping M/T/W/TH 11:30 a.m. time slot was so loaded up with good options this semester that I found myself completely unable to choose a class, and will probably end up taking nothing at all in that slot out of pure indecision.
[5] Shoutout to those who endured Professional Responsibility until 8 p.m. on Thursdays last semester.