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When is a 1L More Than a 1L? Michigan Law's ''Summer-Starters'' Give the Answer

published May 09, 2005

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( 66 votes, average: 4.2 out of 5)
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Michigan Law does not advertise Summer Start very much, says West, but it is "the most incredible option," she says. "It is such a great idea!"

And it's a very simple one. Law students start law school early. A quarter of the entering class each year starts law school at Michigan around June 1 and spreads out their first-year required courses and early electives over the course of three semesters in a row rather than the typical two. Many summer starters graduate in December of their third year. Others take a semester off during law school to do an extended externship, work on a political campaign, or have children.


The system allows for flexibility in planning a law school career and a more relaxed beginning as well. Summer starters "had a chance to settle in before we were overwhelmed," says West, "it gave us more time to think."

West was partway through a Ph.D. program in Biology when she decided to pursue a career in law. Legal research is very different from other academic research, West says; it is "a completely different way of thinking." Summer Start at Michigan Law gave her "breathing room," she says, with time to get used to legal education.

At first, West thought she would focus on environmental law, but found herself drawn to Constitutional law this year. She hopes to work on civil rights issues after law school.

Typical first-years at Michigan Law take four required courses in each of their first two semesters, with an additional fifth elective class in the winter as well. Summer starters take three courses in the first semester over the summer, four assigned courses in the fall semester, and one assigned course plus three electives in the winter semester.

Brad Wilson, who had been out of college for three years, came to Michigan Law last summer as well. He applied early decision, and all of those who are accepted early decision start in the summer. Wilson was drawn to Michigan Law because of the school's alumni he came to know while working as a paralegal in a large New York law firm. These alumni told Wilson about Michigan Law and its collegial atmosphere. Another paralegal in his firm went to Michigan Law a year before Wilson and told him about Summer Start.

Wilson is very glad that he did Summer Start, it was "every thing I could ask for," he says. When the other law students came to Michigan in the fall, it seemed that they were being thrown into the deep end right away, dealing with a large class load while getting used to an unknown place. Summer starters knew "simple things" already, says Wilson, like where rooms were.

Summer starters also get to know the faculty better, says West, because the faculty have a much lighter teaching load over the summer. "We would be all lying out on the grass, and the professors come out and just talk with us," she recalls.

Summer starters, due to the small size of the group and having the campus to themselves, bond together early and stick together through most of law school. "Regardless of the year, summer starters are birds of a feather," says Wilson. He will graduate in December 2007 and hopes to return to New York to work in a firm there.

Lacy Carra was in the Peace Corps doing health education on the small Caribbean island of Dominica while she was applying to law school. Since her mail was routinely sent to the Dominican Republic, or to Germany ("We don't know why," Carra muses), she corresponded with Michigan Law's Admissions office via email to try to work out a good option for her starting time.

"I had no idea what I was getting into," says Carra, who believes that Summer Start was a good choice for her, allowing her to acclimate herself to both law school and living in the United States again. There were other summer starters who had been abroad as well, so Carra had "room to breathe and adjust" with other people doing the same, she says.

Carra's career goal is to do legal work on human rights, women's rights, and/ or international development. She will intern this summer with the Women's Action Center, a branch of Oxfam, in Cambodia. With the scheduling flexibility, plus a longer transcript by the end of their first (three-semester) year, many summer starters do similar programs. "It really helps with looking for jobs overall," says Carra. About half the Michigan Law students going to Cambodia this summer are summer starters.

Now that she's in her third semester in a row of law school and nearing final exams, Cara is "a little tired." Overall, she is glad she did Summer Start. "I'm really grateful for it."

published May 09, 2005

( 66 votes, average: 4.2 out of 5)
What do you think about this article? Rate it using the stars above and let us know what you think in the comments below.