Open Letter to 1Ls:
7 Reasons to Get Crushendo

By Natalie White
Updated: January 6, 2022

I just finished the LSAT and my law school applications, and I’m ready to cruise through my final undergraduate classes. I finally figured out how to do college: how to pick the right answers on multiple choice tests, balance social life and sleep, and calm myself down when I realize I have a paper due the next day. Life is good. But somehow, I can’t help but sometimes feel a sense of impending doom. I learned how to handle undergrad, but am I ready to survive law school?

The first year of law school has a reputation. It’s undeniable. The Latin legal jargon, ruthless class rankings, and competitive grading curves are just some of the hazards on the road to a JD. How do I understand all the legalese? How do I memorize all nuances of the law tested on finals, not to mention the brutal bar exam? Can I still be a lawyer if I fail a law school class? I asked current 1Ls for advice and read One L by Scott Turow. I would not recommend either of these options if you have a weak constitution. The first year of law school is a going to be challenge.

As I searched for some kind of calming guidance, I came across an ad to become an intern at Crushendo. Crushendo is a law school study aid company that offers audio and written outlines, memorization tips, and flashcards to help you understand and remember the key black letter laws likely to come up on finals and the bar exam. I was excited about an internship in a new, innovative company, but I wanted to learn more about the actual product before I joined the Crushendo team. I was skeptical at first because, let’s face it, people who go to law school tend to be skeptical about most everything. But like any good future law student, I started to do my research. Do these memorization tips really work? Will the audio outlines make sense? Can a bar prep company like Crushendo actually help me crush finals?

Reasons to get Crushendo

I became an intern at Crushendo and saw for myself the impact of this product. The more I learned about Crushendo, the more excited I became (if you’ve never heard of Crushendo, check out this cool new introduction video about the company). Its products are innovative. They’re high quality. They help you master the points of law.

As an intern, yes, I am technically getting paid to write this blog. But if I did not believe that Crushendo works, I would have put someone else’s name in the byline. Crushendo is not liquid luck or a get-out-of-studying-free card, but 1Ls (and more seasoned law students) should strongly consider adding Crushendo to their academic toolkits. Crushendo even sells a 1L Outlines package.

Here are my top seven reasons why any law student should at least consider Crushendo:

1. Study smarter

The first year of law school is notoriously difficult. You will spend hours pouring over ancient casebooks with tiny print, reading hundreds of pages each week. Many students believe that if they just keep reading, keep slogging through the grind, keep having all-night cramming sessions, that they will come out on top. Your brain and your body will hate you if you do that. Study smarter! Crushendo helps you focus on the most important points of the law, in a sanity-saving way.

Giving your brain a break and adding variety to your study schedule can improve retention. You need to get away from your books, get outside, and get moving. Crushendo allows you to keep studying on the go. Listen to the law outlines while you are in the car, while shopping, or while going on a run. Studies have shown that your brain retains information better when you are exercising and moving. The audio outlines are in short, easily digestible segments that you can repeat over and over to maximize retention.

2. Memory tricks

Law requires lots of memorization. There are all kinds of ways to learn how to memorize things. Crushendo owns hundreds of proprietary memory hacks that can help you remember key terms. Plus, Crushendo provides optional classical background music with its audio outlines (you know what they say about classical music…) . You can apply the tricks you learn from Crushendo to other aspects of your law school studies. For example, as you write case briefs, put easy to remember trigger terms at the top of each to aid recall.

3. Crushendo is relatively inexpensive

Law school is not cheap. After buying all the required textbooks, it is difficult to know if you should invest in other supplements. I get that. But Crushendo is quite affordable compared to other bar prep courses and offers immediate and lifetime access to boot. That means you can use Crushendo to study for your bar-related courses throughout all three years of law school. And when you start studying for the bar exam, you’ll be that much more ahead of the game. If you are unable to afford the complete bar prep course, there are cheaper ways to try Crushendo. For example, you can buy just one outline for a particularly difficult course.

4. Get the big picture

It is difficult, especially at the beginning of law school, to understand how all legal doctrines work together in a cohesive whole. Crushendo provides a way to connect different points of law into the big picture early in the semester. You can listen to the outline for a bar-related class to see how the cases you read weave together to flesh out the black letter law. Plus, the illustrations and real-life examples bring the big picture to life in a fun and easy way.

5. Focus on the professor in class

By understanding the basics of the law using the outlines, you can spend time in class focusing on your professor’s thoughts and opinions instead of the basics of the law. A big part of law school is helping you think like a lawyer. It is a whole new perspective. In class, your job is to notice nuances, understand the rationale and policies behind rules, and competently debate arguments and counterarguments. You can’t waste class time trying to keep the basics straight. Use Crushendo to crush those basic legal rules so that you can spend class time focusing on the more sophisticated doctrines that preoccupy the person who will grade your final exam.

6. Supplement simplification

Hundreds of different supplements exist for law school students. There are case books, and simplified case books, and cliff notes to the simplified case books. You could end up spending hundreds of dollars each semester on study aids which you may or may not even read. Instead of spending hours on book review websites, and asking every 2L and 3L which supplements are even relevant, just try Crushendo. If it’s not for you, they have a 30-day money back guarantee. When you are pushed for time, you are much more likely to use the audio outlines and flashcards than read another 50 pages in some other supplement.

7. Have a life

All students struggle to balance studying, sleep, and social life, but that problem seems magnified in law school. You need to take care of yourself! You need to eat healthy, sleep, and talk to other human beings to be happy and keep your brain functioning optimally. Crushendo could be your key to managing that time. The stream-lined audio outlines, snazzy flashcards, and memorization hacks can save you time so you can have more balance in your life. As you keep that balance, you can crush your first year of law school!