While I was applying to law schools, I focused upon numerical considerations, such as: Is my transcript strong enough? Is my LSAT score high enough? Will my law-school grades be sufficient to land me a good job at graduation?

However, over the past three years, I have learned that while grades and test scores are important, these factors have not been what has helped me to survive law school. Instead, I have realized that law school also demands a personality trait not appearing on any piece of paper - namely, determination.

Determination is needed because the time commitment involved with law school will push even the smartest student to his or her mental, physical and, at times, emotional limits.

In addition, quite regularly, I was forced to sacrifice other important pursuits for the sake of my studies. To be sure, I am not implying that the sacrifices that I have made were not worth it; I believe they were. Nevertheless, I have decided to write about this because I think that people, especially non-lawyers, do not realize that the saying "The law is a jealous mistress" is true, and that the jealousy begins in law school.

In law school, my determination has helped to me to tame the mistress. Since I have enrolled, my loved ones often tell me, "You are always so busy, I have no idea how you do it." My answer is usually brief and something to the effect of "I do it because I have to."

In law school, as in life, tasks need to be completed and goals need to be met regardless of surrounding circumstances. Fortunately, I am accustomed to overcoming adversity. Despite the fact that I left home at 17, I financed my college education and graduated magna cum laude. As an undergraduate, I worked my way up from serving as a volunteer at the company that I worked for to becoming the head of its sales department in less than two years. In addition, although I became very ill at 21 and was told that I may have only 48 hours to live, I was not ready to give up, and I am writing this article eight years later fully recovered. I believe the tenacity that I have gained from these experiences has guided me through the rigors of law school.

This is not to say that law school has been an easy journey. Quite to the contrary, it has been challenging. During my first year in particular, I spent many nights struggling with my work, and admittedly thought about quitting more than a few times. It was my best friend who reminded me, "Just remember who you are, what you have been through, and you will be fine." A couple of minutes and a box of Kleenex later, I calmed down and was able to complete my work successfully. I was able to do so not because I suddenly became smarter, but because I was determined to finish.

From that point on, I tackled each stressful task with a reminder of why I was in law school and what I wanted out of the experience. Life would have been easier if I decided to leave, but then today, I would not be only months away from realizing my goal of becoming an attorney.

Law school has trained me to exclude the words "I cannot" from my vocabulary, and I have had to do this on a number of occasions so that I could complete my work. Learning to do this has taught me two things. The first is that I am capable of accomplishing things which I thought impossible. Second, I realized that often, when people say "I cannot," what they are actually saying is "I will not." Of course, there are circumstances where "I cannot" is the appropriate response.

Nevertheless, there are very few circumstances that are actually impossible. Law school has trained me to distinguish those circumstances from those that seem too challenging, but can actually be done. Because law school has reinforced my level of determination in this way, I know that I will be prepared to represent clients who are faced with even the most complex legal problems.

A third-year student at the University at Buffalo Law School, Rachael Vitti is a graduate of the City University of New York's John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She can be reached at ravitti@buffalo.edu.