Orange Edge - Worth it or not?

When I finially made the decision to go to Syracuse University for law school I had a freak out moment:

How was I going to get back into the swing of school when I've been working for the majority of the year I have had off? Am I going to take notes properly? Read actively? How in the world am I going to do with cold cut calling?

I was used to my 8-4, Monday thru Friday schedule with no homework, no projects, no tests to prepare for, no class participation, sleeping in on weekends, basically doing as I pleased and when ( although the LSAT, applications and entering checklist did take of a lot of my time this past year once the major things where done I fell into a more lax routine)

I mean yes I could read the suggested readings on the reading list, and I managed to knock out a few, but what I was looking for was something where I could get the opportunity to get back into the school mind set without being graded. 

Luckily enough my school offers this amazing program called Orange Edge. It gives participants an introduction to the first year of law school through learning how to brief cases, effectively take notes, improve study and writing skills, begin networking with peers, professors and university staff, and becoming familiar with the socratic method. In addition to all this, I got to take an exam and complete a legal writing memo. 

So I registered, paid the fee, and waited anxiously until last Monday when the 1- week course started. The first day I was excited but equally nervous. I really had no idea what to expect and I was seriously hoping that I would really gain something from this. 

First "mistake" I made was dressing casual, unlike my orientation which has a dress code for each day, there was nothing stated about what to wear for this program. I decided jeans and a t-shirt was simply enough but I immediately felt like I stuck out like a sore thumb when 95% of the class was in business casual outfits. Way to go Heather. Thankfully someone asked if there was a dress code for the week and the answer was no. The remainder of the week people were dressed casually which made me feel better.

So the Edge program was a week long program that followed this schedule:

9-11 Legal Writing - went over hierarchy of authority, took a quiz on it, worked on legal memo.

11-12:30 Law & the Legal System - learned to read / briefed cases, figure out the rules, then worked on hypos (examples), all which led us to the "final exam" it wasn't graded, just for experience. 

lunch til 1:30

1:30 - 2:30 Group Sessions - met with our fellows (2L's that were basically mentors) and discussed note taking, test taking, oral arguments, briefing, basically anything and everything law related. We got to brief a case together, work on a hypo and conduct oral arguments as a team.

2:3-3:30 members of different offices within the law school met with us; career services, student life, etc. etc. and presented on all the resources and opportunities that are available to us at the school.

Overall I found this opportunity to be completely worth my time and money. I had zero expectations walking in because I had no idea what to expect. Before the course, I was overwhelmed by how stressed out I was to start the school year. This course definitely calmed some of those nerves but while I am still nervous, the course helped show me that I can do this. Its going to be an adjustment  , from undergrad and how I approached school, and its going to take a while for everything to "click" but once it clicks I know I'm going to be okay. 

If the school you are going to offers a course like this I highly recommend it. Not only is it helpful in an academic and personal sense because it prepares you for what lies ahead, but you get to meet some of your peers & professors in a relaxed setting. I absolutely loved our instructors. They treated the courses as they would in an actual class. For the record, Cold Cut Calling is not my friend. The first time it happened I heard the question asked, answered it in my head and then I was called on. My mind went BLANK - go figure- && I tried to explain what was going on up in there but it came out like gibberish and I ended up saying"I don't know" - you're truly a winner H. The instructor then said "think about it and try again" which calmed my nerves because rather than just moving on to the next person, it forced me to think about it, and then give an  answer. After that the random-being-called-on-nerves calmed, a little. Our group was around 25 people and we all meshed really well with one another. I slightly expected the environment to be "competitive" and similar to legally blonde where Elle tries to join a study group and is immediately denied. I was pleasantly surprised that everyone, including myself, was really positive, willing to help one another and worked well together.

So, long story short, if the opportunity presents it self for you to participate in a program like the one I did, I highly recommend it. You'll meet so many great people and get a feel for what to expect from your first year at law school. With that, I am looking forward to my Orientation which starts on Monday, I seriously cannot believe its already here.