The Academic Success Program (ASP) shows students how to develop the skills to excel in the first year of law school and beyond. As 1L students discover early on, law school is not merely an extension of undergraduate college. Law school introduces students to a very different way of learning, studying and even thinking. ASP helps students develop the skills to prepare effectively for law school classes, written assignments and exams. ASP also helps students learn to manage the new demands that the first-year experience places upon them.
ASP in the first year is designed to assist all 1L students, not just those who may be having difficulty. Few students intuitively possess the skills unique to law school success. Everyone will make mistakes, but ASP helps students avoid big mistakes early on. Just ask our Student Mentors, who attribute their academic success to attending ASP when they were 1L students.
ASP Services
ASP is located in the third-floor Student Services Suite and is open to all students. The program includes weekly workshops, meetings with ASP Student Mentors, a practice exam session and an ASP study aid library.
During the Autumn semester, ASP conducts a three-hour practice exam designed to give 1L students a preview of the law school final exam experience and learn how it differs from the undergraduate exam experience.
ASP Mentors are upper-level law students who are academically successful and want to help students develop the same skills that contributed to their success. During the Autumn and Spring semesters, Mentors hold weekly office hours in the ASP office.
The Director of Academic Success & Bar Passage Ben Alba also is available to address students’ questions and concerns about academic success and the transition to law school.
ASP maintains a library of over 400 study aids on first-year and upper-level subjects, which students can check out free of charge for five days.