10 essential items for law school

1. A laptop or tablet and printing supplies 

First on the list is a laptop or tablet, anything that can access the internet and gives you the ability to write notes. Having a device that can access the internet is vital as most of your work and assignments will be posted to online university portals and assessments will be marked in this way, so a laptop is crucial. However, if you cannot afford what is a lot of money in most cases your university will be able to produce an alternative option for yourself. 

2. A legal skills book

A legal skills book is another vital asset to a law student. With many students not studying the law at A-level or GCSE its very important to understand exactly what university expects of you. There are many different legal skills books you can purchase, and these books will inform you about assessments essay writing and specifically how to interpret legal text. Reading and understanding this before you arrive at uni will allow you to get ahead of the game giving you an advantage on those around you.

3. Student card

Having a student or NUS card can be a vital tool to a law student, in fact, any student at all. These cards allow for students to receive student discount and this can help majorly with the purchase of books throughout your degree. You can save hundreds of pounds on what can be very expensive books through your degree. Student cards also allow you to save on your weekly shop and other items you need on a day to day basis.

4. Day/week planner

Day to day of a law degree can be fast-paced and time can be hard to find for other things like sports and socialising. Having a day and week planner can let you map out your days and weeks during your term and can stop you from procrastinating as well as giving you the time and space you need to socialise and honing in on a sport or skill you have. This is a good way of planning for seminars and lectures and makes sure you are as punctual as you can be when studying. 

5. Smart interview wear

When you arrive at law school it’s important that you have some smart wear that you can wear during your time at university. When you take a law course this is a crucial item to bring, you will need smart wear for interviews and balls throughout the year that may take place. Most law students will carry out work experience or internships during their time at university, of course, smart wear is essential when working and saves you some money buying a new outfit when you arrive at university. Also, law schools tend to hold several “law Balls” throughout the year and having smart wear can save you lots of time and effort that you could be using elsewhere during university.

6. Book light for late night reading

University accommodation is in the most part great and a very good platform for you to start your own independent life living on your own. However, student accommodation does not provide everything you would need especially when you plan to study and revise late into the evening. In most university rooms there isn’t a light close to your bed so bringing a reading or bedside lamp can help when you have late-night study sessions, or you want a late-night read.

7. Paper CV’s

At law school, it’s very important to hit the ground running and having your CV to hand can help this. Within the first couple of weeks, you will probably have several work fairs where you can look for part-time work as well as work later down the line with law firms its always good to be proactive and look to impress law firms as early as they can and they will remember you down the line.

8. File and file organisers and stationery

I feel it’s obvious to say that when you come to law school you will have to read and there will be a lot of reading to do. Alongside this, it’s important to organise your work and keep all of your work together so you can easily find it. File organisers allow you to break down your work and can help your revision as you don’t lose time looking for sheets of paper or notes that are here there and everywhere.

9. Travel items (holdalls and suitcases)

It’s safe to say that when you move to university, you’ll need plenty of luggage and space to move your stuff from home. Having a suitcase is an easy way of moving your stuff from a-b this is especially the case when your moving via public transport and don’t have the space to put your luggage in a car or van etc. Having a suitcase during your stay is also very important in case you choose to travel or want to take your dirty clothes home to wash, your parents say they don’t want you to do that but secretly they do.

10. Water bottles for long hours

Revising hard and spending long hours in the library and the law school comes hand in hand with taking a law degree. So, it’s important that you stay hydrated throughout the day and you look after your body and mind properly. Having a water bottle allows you to this and drinking water has been proven to increase memory, concentration times and your all-round academic performance. But don’t worry if you don’t have one you can normally find a very good one and some of the fresher’s fairs you’ll attend.

We hope this list is helpful to you and it takes a little pressure off of what you need and doesn’t need when it comes to becoming a law student. If we have missed any items, you think are crucial go ahead and leave a comment below or in any of our social media. We would like to thank you once again for reading this blog.