Meet the mysterious ‘life hack’ law student who has racked up 13 million views on YouTube

Vlogger chooses not to disclose identity online over fears of jeopardising future legal career

An anonymous undergraduate law student is the latest legally-minded vlogger to take to YouTube.

The YouTuber, who goes by the name, ‘Rose’, is the brains behind WaysToStudy, a popular channel on the video sharing website where she divulges student study tips and productivity life hacks to her 427,000 subscribers.

In one of her most viewed clips (915,000 out of her 13 million total views, and embedded below), the vlogger gives viewers a glimpse into her morning routine which involves waking up “as early as possible”, trawling through social media and catching up with schoolwork before heading off to law school. If viewers are left wondering what Rose gets up to upon returning home, there’s also an ‘after school’ offering.

In another video snippet (below), Rose shares her study routine from the first day of term until exam day. Viewers can watch the law student type up lecture notes, flick through textbooks and take notes with an assortment of highlighters. Other highlight clips include: how to speed-read, coping with deadlines and mock trial stress, and law student essential supplies — sticky notes and colourful pens galore!

It’s not just YouTube where Rose has a significant online presence. The law student also has an Instagram page, @WaysToStudy, which boasts 227,000 followers and is jam-packed with aesthetically pleasing study snaps captioned with tips to boost productivity. One pic (embedded below) shows what appears to be law books stacked high — an image most law students will be familiar with.

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Time is ticking…⏱ I only have 3 days left (including today) to prepare myself for my exam period. On Monday and Tuesday the REAL studying starts because my first exam is on Wednesday. I’m stressed out & nervous but I am doing my best to get through all the study material (look at the pile of books in the picture: that is 75% of everything I need to remember for the exams this semester ?) . Don’t take it personal if I don’t answer your DM. I try to answer as many as I can between the work I am doing but I can’t answer all of them bc I have exams. I do answer all of my comments (most of the time) so please just leave a comment if you want to ask something. How are you doing today? Are you just as stressed out as I am? ?

A post shared by WAYS TO STUDY (@waystostudy) on Jan 5, 2018 at 9:46am PST

So who is Rose? Unlike many online influencers gracing our screens, the mysterious YouTuber has chosen to remain anonymous. She has taken to her blog to explain why:

“I want to become a professor in a university or a judge in a high court like the International Court of Justice… and those people need to be taken seriously when they are going to work.”

Continuing, the anonymous blogger, who has plans to complete a master’s in international and European law, writes: “I know I have to work hard for that but it’s going to be worth it, because it’s my dream. To fulfil that dream, it is important to me to stay anonymous on YouTube, Instagram and [her blog]. I often get the question why I am never showing my face. It’s not out of insecurity but it’s a decision I made for myself when I started doing this… I want to be taken seriously by my future boss or the people when I am taking decisions for them as a judge or the students I am teaching our legal system and it’s values. I want those people to respect me when I am practising my job, and in my opinion that is not possible when my face, identity and personal life is all over the internet.”

It’s no wonder why Legal Cheek couldn’t verify her background. Conflicting reports suggest the law student is about 21-years-old and in the final year of her undergraduate degree. Though we do know she is based in the Netherlands, it is not clear exactly which institution she is studying at.

When we reached out to the mystery law student, she did have this to say:

“I started my YouTube channel as a way to visualise the tips and tricks I learned from my own experience as a law student at a university. In the future I would like to focus more on helping and inspiring students even though it might be hard to combine being a judge/professor with managing a business.”