I'm not going to pretend that enrolling in summer school is relatable. The six-month subject that you typically endure in six months is crammed into one month with an extra emphasis on doing all the readings and being under the spotlight when you're on-call. I will die on a hill convinced that being on call is not too different from being coerced to speak about aliens when you know very little about them. But this isn't the complaints hotline, aka 1800IDGAF. There are some next-level benefits with enrolling in summer school, besides the fact that you're getting one step closer to finishing your degree. This article reveals three closely guarded summer school secrets to make your life much easier moving forward.
Secret [1] Putting an END to laborious referencing
I'm not here to expose either of these confessions, but here we go spilling more secrets. I am in total admiration of our University librarians. I'm not sure if this applies to you. Still, at my University, we have two law librarians who are notable points of contact for questions about assignments and, more importantly, referencing. I value how important it is to reference well due to academic integrity. But the irony of having to reference when your last two brain cells have the same integrity as a pet fish in a tutu is too much for me at 4.00 AM.
Over the years, I've found that keeping a Bibliography or referencing as I go is much easier. But most libraries over software such as EndNote help you save time referencing, and better yet. It's also compatible with Microsoft Word, so you won't have to adjust your other AGLC4 formatting options.
However, I was chatting to our law librarian about this, and they advised that it can be a bit of an ordeal to understand the software and learn how to use it during the semester if you're studying full-time. As such, a secret about summer school is that since fewer students are around, you have ample time to spend with the law librarians and ask about how to improve your referencing or, better yet, learn how to use EndNote.
I'd sign off the previous paragraph with a sinister threat such as 'happy referencing', but it would obscure my true motive, which is to help you survive referencing without a career crisis this year. I know you can do this. You don't want to, but you can.
Secret [2] Share your struggle
Yes, there's the #metoo movement, but I also love hearing, "I haven't started either" or "I don't know why I find it so difficult to calculate damages", and have someone else say, "me too." I understand it's not always feasible, but I hope you have someone to chat with at Law school and especially do summer school with. Many students during summer school connect through FB groups, so it's a great way to build connections and stick together during a quarter-life semester.
Secret [3] The annual report card
It would not surprise me if other students also feel as though they're in survival mode at University, working three jobs, studying full time and trying to have a physique that is not too dissimilar from your favourite potato mash. Having your independence whilst studying involves no one side-eyeing you and asking why you're going to bed at 8.00 AM, which is amazing. However, once the semester is over, there's this bizarre relief from not having to do anything to the loud, awkward silence of not having four subjects at once. In this silence, we have the second secret- the annual report card.
I might be alone in this pitch that I'm about to STAN, but I think we should be given a skills report card at the end of every semester. Yes, we receive feedback from our tutors and lecturers throughout the semester. But there's no time other than summer school when I think about the long-term growth and failures we've overcome.
I dare you to log into your student portal and make your own report card. What does your personal inventory say about you? What skills does the feedback from your tutors indicate that you need to work on? Let us know at editor@survivelaw.com