There’s excitement in the air on the Vermont Law School campus as we prepare for Admitted Students Day. For the first time since 2019, we’re welcoming admitted students to South Royalton to meet our faculty, sit in on classes, and experience the campus. For our guests, it’s a time of excitement and anticipation — and also a time of transition, difficult decisions and stress. We asked our current students for advice on navigating this time and settling into a law school routine. Here’s what they had to say.
“Try studying in many locations as possible in the beginning to find where you study best. During finals, I would sit at my study carrel for 10 hours a day. Sometimes I study with friends in study rooms in the library. I also like to travel to cafes around Vermont and stay there until closing with friends. As my first year was during the pandemic, I struggled to study at home because it wasn’t where I studied best. The library was closed when I was a 1L and I strongly recommend studying there. I know other students also like studying in empty classrooms or the Chase Center.
I think seasonal depression can also be a huge issue at VLS because it gets so dark early during the cold seasons. I never went through it before until I came to Vermont from Maryland and it made it really hard to study. Nancy Stone and the Clara Martin Center were really great resources during this time. I also recommend getting a happy light or borrowing one from the school library.
Speaking of cold weather, I would recommend having a pair of shoes with good traction. SoRo can be very slippery during mud and ice season.”
— Boebin Park, 2L
“I think for starting at any law school and especially at VLS I would recommend really focusing specifically on settling in during the first year and learning the basics of law in doctrinal classes. It takes time to switch into the legal world and train yourself to read cases. In terms of mental health, I recommend choosing one night a week where you know you have no impending deadlines to pretend you’re not in law school – do something fun with friends, exercise, go outside, or even just watch a movie alone/nap. If you have any other free time during the first year, I recommend looking into what type of law you’d like to pursue and talk to professors or other students who are knowledgeable about that area of law, attend webinars/events focused on topics that interest you, or join a group that pertains to your area of interest. It’s really helped me find my niche in Animal Law during my 2L year.”
— Bailey Soderberg, 2L
“Remember to take breaks. It is important to balance your academic studies with taking breaks. Law school requires a large output consistently from reading cases, cold calls, and legal memos. However, as law students, we must begin to prioritize our mental health and self-care before we become attorneys. I prioritize my self-care by creating a schedule and I factor in times for my workouts, listening to my favorite podcasts, traveling back home to Minnesota, and catching up with my friends over dinner in some of my favorite restaurants in New Hampshire.”
— Kaci Stewart, 2L