Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law took first year students by surprise when they opened their doors on Aug. 21, 2017.

Eager students were immediately bombarded with critical policies, reading assignments and full schedules. The “syllabus week” saying does not apply to law school students as professors dive straight into the semester.

First year law school student Kaylee Knowlton already feels the pressure of her studies as the first week of school comes to an end.

“As for my first week, it was completely exhausting, to be honest. I have never read so much in such a short amount of time,” Knowlton said.

The readings came at an expensive price too as students were required to purchase around 14 to 20 books per semester.

“I had to get 15 books and it was $1,400 worth of books just for this semester,” Knowlton said.

Without scholarship or financial aid, students will spend $6,000 on books alone by the time they finish their four-year term at SMU.