I have been in higher education for well over a decade now. I went straight from undergrad to graduate school, took a short sabbatical to work odd jobs to pay my bills, went back to grad school to finish, and then immediately went into law school. In all that time, I’ve realized the worst thing in higher education is the amount of pressure there is to essentially work 60-hour weeks in order to be successful. Whether it be from the professors themselves who often preach the age old adage: “for every hour of class time, you should be studying for three!” or from your classmates bragging that they were up until 3 am last night studying while chugging their fourth caffeinated drink of the day, everyone is always being pushed to work longer and longer, to the detriment of their mental and physical health, all in the name of getting a good grade.

Now, here’s the thing. You do not need to drown yourself in work to be successful. Studying for 12+ hours a day will not help you in the long run. Sure, your grades may flourish, but a good grade should be the least of your worries when your mental health is so bad you want to die.

Truth be told, I don’t actually think your grades matter all that much. I’m aware, it’s basically sacrilege for a graduating law student to say that grades don’t matter (that much). But it’s true. In fact, I think your grades are the least important thing, not just in law school, but in your life in general. Not even a year out from graduating, I can almost guarantee that not a single person will ask what your GPA was in law school, all they’ll care about is whether or not you passed the Bar and your ability to do the job.

Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t be striving to do the best you can, because you absolutely should work hard, but you don’t have to work yourself to the bone to be successful. It is important to not make this your entire life. Never sacrifice your mental health just to achieve a good grade. This time in law school will fly by so don’t waste the limited time you have on this planet pushing yourself to your breaking point just for a grade, because how many people are going to what grade they got in a class 20 years ago?

And don’t be afraid of making mistakes! It is better to make your mistakes where you have the safety end than it is to make your first mistake out in practice where a mistake could mean the difference between your client walking free or spending the rest of their life in prison.

And remember, at the end of the day, a grade is just a benchmark that tells you how much you knew about a subject at that point in time. That’s all they are. It is not a moral failing to do below average in law school.

You know what they call the person who is at the bottom of their law school class (assuming they passed the bar)? A lawyer.