Law School Diary: Finals Studying

In this week's Law School Diaries column, law student "Elle Woods" studies for finals.

Elle's Law School Diary:

It’s law school finals season, and you can definitely tell.  People are less chatty than usual, the usually-deserted law school basement is filled with students until the late hours of the night, and the printer is consistently out of toner because everyone's printing six outlines for each class. Despite all of that, there’s definitely also a slight feeling of calamity among my classmates that didn’t exist during finals last semester.  It’s still 1L year, so exam grades are still uber important, but knowing what to expect definitely diminishes the fear.

I was surprised how non-Legally Blonde law school study groups were, at least in my experience.  Remember the scene where Reese Witherspoon tries to join the study group and Selma Blair won’t let her?  Totally not the case here.  I feel like I sort of just fell into my study groups.  They’re definitely not concrete, and it’s usually just the few people that you can stand to be around for hours at a time while you’re stressed about exams.  A lot of times it’s just a matter of having another body in the room while you’re reading, and not really about studying collectively.

I’m the type to study in cafes or restaurants, and I’m usually wandering all over Philadelphia to find “my spot.”  One friend and I study at a gelato/coffee place near our apartment almost every night.  It’s open late, the staff is super friendly, and it’s close to home.  Last Saturday, however, we watched in dismay and annoyance as a few of our classmates strolled in, presumably with a similar idea.  We intentionally try to escape other students when we’re stressing about finals, and here they were encroaching on our “secret” spot. Not so much a secret any more.

Penn Law Biddle Library - a place that I avoid like the plague.  I’m actually surprised at how few students use the library, even during finals week.  In fact, the most crowded time is probably during lunch when people are trying to cram in the reading for their afternoon classes.  There are study rooms which are convenient for when I do decide to meet with a group, but I recently realized that the walls are not at all sound proof, and the few people studying in the library tend to get pretty pissed off by any sort of noise.

I think most people have the same mindset that I do: being around law students 24/7 while studying for exams is exhausting and stressful.  So where to do we escape to to try to find solitude?  I’ve seen tons of students spread throughout the undergrad libraries, though these are obviously crowded with undergrads during finals season.  Plus I tend to get jealous watching freshmen studying from their “Intro to Writing” textbook while I’m trying (quite unsuccessfully) to shove some sort of understanding of the Dormant Commerce Clause into my head.

Another favorite spot is the Wharton Building.  As far as I know, business school students don’t really study, so that leaves plenty of opportunity for us to infiltrate and find cozy places to do our work.  There are only two problems with studying at Wharton.  First, we don’t have access to any of the group study rooms, and second, it’s sometimes hard to concentrate in a place that’s crawling with sexy men in suits (though, let’s face it, that’s not a real problem).

I think for now I’ll stick to finding random cafes in the most remote parts of the city.  And as for my favorite gelato place, I’ve given the staff very specific instructions that they are, under no circumstances, to let any other law students into the restaurant.  If they see anyone with a giant blue or red textbook in hand, they are to immediately turn their “Open” sign to “Closed.” No shirt, no shoes, law student, no service.