Really Over

Graduation is this afternoon, which means my law school experience is officially over. (All my faithful readers needn't fret- I will continue this blog at least until I take the bar exam in July!) Because I'm already in the next phase (bar prep), the ceremony today doesn't seem like it means a whole lot. I mean, if I don't pass the bar, who will really care if I have a JD?

But I've been told by several people that I should take the time today to recognize that this IS a big accomplishment. I suppose that is true. Four years ago I had no idea I would do this, and three years ago I was naively and excitedly awaiting my first law school class. Here I sit today, graduating in the top 15% of my class after having been a stay at home mom for almost 20 years. I guess that is pretty cool. When I reflect on the extremely stressful and difficult personal situations that I've had to deal with while still maintaining my standing in school, I'm surprised that I made it.

So here it is. Let's celebrate! Congratulations to all my fellow graduates!

Up a Notch

Barbri classes started this morning. In addition to spending 4 hours a day in the classroom, we are expected to spend an additional 5-8 hours a day studying, reading, reviewing, and taking practice exams. Don't be surprised if I don't post much over the next 9 weeks. Doesn't sound like I'll have time to do anything other than study.

While at school, I picked up my final transcript. Nice to see "Juris Doctor- With Distinction" written there officially. And I was happy to find out I finished ranked #8 of 51 (had been 9 of 45 last year). That moves me from being in the top 20% to the top 15%, which is cool.

I should go. I have 40+ pages of Evidence to read and I'd like to do some MBE questions too!

Nine Weeks

The bar exam is 9 weeks away. I've done over 500 MBE questions this past week as a warm up, but it gets serious tomorrow when my bar review classes begin.

Because I anticipated having little in my life other than studying and sleeping the next 2 months, I spent a couple days at the coast this weekend. It was soooo nice! This picture is a poor representation, as the colors were so much more vibrant in person. I don't know if I've ever seen water so emerald green before! Incredibly gorgeous!

In other news, my daughter is coming home from MIT this morning. She is only going to be here for 12 days since she has a job back in Cambridge this summer, but I'm looking forward to seeing her. It's hard to believe she is half way through her years at MIT. I suppose that isn't necessarily true. Perhaps she will end up going back for graduate work some day. That would not surprise me.

I should get a little studying in before she arrives, as I doubt I'll get anything done for the rest of the day once she is here. Ok, off to do a few MBEs...

Bid Adieu with a 92

My final grade was posted yesterday. I really did go out on a high note- I ended up getting the highest grade in my class for that exam (92!) AND the school called to ask me if I'd permit them to post my test online (eventually) for other students to view as a sample answer. This is the first time a test of mine will be posted like that, so I thought that was cool.

My final cumulative GPA is 79.05. Before law school, I cringed at any grade under 90, but grades in the 90s are very rare in law school, and even 80s are scarce. So, I'm happy with my 79, which I mentioned earns me the "with distinction" label. I guess I won't know my ending class rank until/unless the school gives us a final transcript with that information.

In not quite so exciting news, bar prep really sucks. It seems like the more MBEs I do, the more I miss, and the more stupid I feel. I know in my head that it is mostly a matter of just doing TONS of them, but it is really depressing to continually miss so many. Makes the law school thing seem like a joke (how could I have passed if I obviously know so little?).

I suppose I should stop complaining about it and just start working.

"With Distinction"

The 3rd of my 4 grades was posted today and it guarantees I will be graduating "with distinction". (For those not familiar with my school, that designation signifies that your cumulative GPA is at least 78. I think that equates to a B on our school's scale.) I have no idea why they use that phrase, "with honors", and "with high honors" instead of the more traditional "cum laude", "magna cum laude" and "summa cum laude". All I know is that I graduated from high school and college magna cum laude, so I feel like I've slipped a level by only graduating with distinction.

I started studying for the bar using MicroMash today. Nothing like scoring under 50% on 4 tests to make me feel like I know less than I thought I did. I have a long way to go and much work to do before July 29. Sigh.

In even more cheery news, the last day of my beloved internship is tomorrow. My court appearance this morning was rather short (less than 90 minutes), but it did give me time to send the ordered discovery out. Tomorrow I'm only there for 4 hours, but I hope to get 5 plea offers out so I will have things as wrapped up as I can.

After tomorrow, my life will be studying for the bar exam full time for the next 10 weeks. What fun.

Bummer!

Two more days left of my internship. I found out yesterday that they will not be able to have me come back August-November, even though they tried to find a way to do so. And to make matters more depressing, I also found out that until my law school is ABA accredited, I can't get a job as an AUSA (assistant U.S. Attorney). While my school claims they are pursuing that, they have been saying that for the last 20 years. Nothing seems to make their claim any more realistic now than before.

Tomorrow I have my last court appearance. Very sad. I have no idea when (or where) the next one will be. I don't even have a trial tomorrow. :(

I did get another grade posted today. I had anticipated W&T being my lowest score. I got 75. I expected worse, so I guess I'm ok with that. On a bright note, if that is my lowest score (I'm still waiting for Remedies and Legal Process to be posted), then it seems likely that I will graduate with at least some honors. (My GPA should qualify me for the lowest level of honors- technically "with distinction".) That still doesn't make me feel any better though.

Going Out on a High Note

My last final was Tuesday night in Legal Process. As I mentioned previously, the test was a Performance Exam, one of the three types of of tests given as part of the Bar Exam. You are given a task to do (some document to write) , a law "library" (various cases and laws) to use, and a fact set. You have 3 hours to read the packet, organize your thoughts, and write the item using only the provided materials.

It's not really so bad. The first few we did over the semester were more intimidating because I don't think anyone is used to sitting down in 3 hours and just spitting something like that out. You have to focus and get to the point, and not try to be fancy or cover subtle nuances.

Anyway, I felt happy with my performance on that exam and expect an excellent grade on it. Speaking of grades, the first ones were posted yesterday and the rest should trickle in over the next few weeks. Only my Evidence score has been posted so far. I thought that would be my second highest score (after Legal Process). I got an 83, which is a good score, but not as high as I thought it would be.

Now that looking for a job is one step closer, I'm being hit by negative news. The county has a hiring freeze in effect at the current time, and today's paper said that the District Attorney's office here may lose 55 prosecutors due to anticipated budget cuts this year. :( Considering that I need a minimum of one year of experience to get a job at the U.S. Attorney's Office, and where I wanted to get that was with the DA, this isn't good. Surrounding counties may not have the financial woes that are plaguing Fresno, but then I would have to deal with a commute. Not sure what I'm going to do exactly. I know going civil is an option, and I could get several interviews without much problem, but I'm not sure I want to go down that road yet. But I'm going to have to figure out something in the next 6 months.

I'm now down to my last week at the U.S. Attorney's office. It just feels weird. I don't want to leave. I LOVE working there. But I can leave knowing that I did an excellent job and received invaluable experience. It also feels good to know that they will miss me!

It's still hard to believe this is the end of the law school experience. I did not think that I would enjoy it this much, nor did I realize how much it would change my life.

11 Hours Until the End of Law School

My last final finishes at 9:30 tonight. That's it. Grades will be posted beginning on Thursday and graduation is 3.5 weeks away on the 31st. It is nearly done.

It feels weird, like it really isn't supposed to be over just yet. Surely they forgot to teach me something! It's not that I want to keep going to classes and taking exams, but you can't help but get comfortable with a routine, any routine. Now another part of my life is changing. (Add that to the divorce, move, internship ending.)

It's unsettling to have so many unknowns going on at the same time. First of course, is will I pass the bar exam? How many tries will it take me? Then, will I find a job? Will it be one I like? Will I do well? And then all the personal stuff too.

I haven't been exactly pleased with how I've done on my finals so far. I have not been able to accurately predict my scores in the past, but I usually can tell generally how well I have done. It is my guess that I did best on Evidence, then Remedies, and that I really sucked on Wills & Trusts. Ugh. I don't even want to thinking about it.

Tonight's exam is a Performance Test and I expect I'll do a decent job, but with little motivation I'm not sure I'll do more than that. It ultimately doesn't matter. I will pass that class. I will graduate. The only thing up in the air at this point, with school any way, is if I'll graduate with honors or not. Not that being in the 3rd tier of honors probably counts for anything. But it would be one more scrap of something I could throw on my future resumes.

Has it really been three years already? Or has it been 10? Sometimes it is hard to tell. So one adventure ends and another begins....

Sooooo Very Cool!

I haven't bragged about my daughter on here for a while. I'm sure most readers know she is at MIT, studying Math and Computer Science. I mentioned previously that she had applied for an internship with the NSA, where she would be doing all sorts of secret stuff. : ) This internship is SO amazing! It pays for the last two years of school (which for MIT is $50k a year) and a hefty salary during those 2 years.

My daughter is so incredibly amazing and brilliant, and even though I'm her mother, I say that honestly and not with bias. (Well, ok, maybe just a little.) But I knew the odds were against her just because of the sheer number of applicants and positions available. I also have been trying to figure out exactly how I would pay for her last 2 years, considering my circumstances are not going to be the same now. I didn't want to hope for something if it wasn't a sure thing, and then be disappointed.

But, she just called. THEY OFFERED HER THE INTERNSHIP! I'm so excited for her, and relieved for me! Both of our futures just got brighter.