H/S/C ?
Posted: Mon Mar 14, 2011 8:22 pm
Interested in academic route.
Law School Discussion Forums
https://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/
https://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=150281
If you want to go academic, you should probably do the cheapest route you can, otherwise you will be mired in debt forever. H or S would be better than Columbia, but not sticker price better.lawhon wrote:Interested in academic route.
don't know about S, but my understanding is that H's lipp will set you up just fine if you go into academia - it's a pretty strong program. might want to look at that and at what kind of cost of living loans you'd have to take for columbia and how well their lrap will compensate for that. if you graduate columbia with 60k in debt but their lrap won't cover you, you could end up paying more per month than if you went to harvard at sticker.alexonfyre wrote:If you want to go academic, you should probably do the cheapest route you can, otherwise you will be mired in debt forever. H or S would be better than Columbia, but not sticker price better.lawhon wrote:Interested in academic route.
Academia means Harvard if Yale is not an option.lawhon wrote:Interested in academic route.
It is entirely possible to take law classes before one enters law school. I know I have.dr123 wrote:Just curious, but how do you know you want to go into Legal Academia if you havent even been in law school class yet?
alexonfyre wrote:If you want to go academic, you should probably do the cheapest route you can, otherwise you will be mired in debt forever. H or S would be better than Columbia, but not sticker price better.lawhon wrote:Interested in academic route.
lawhon wrote:alexonfyre wrote:If you want to go academic, you should probably do the cheapest route you can, otherwise you will be mired in debt forever. H or S would be better than Columbia, but not sticker price better.lawhon wrote:Interested in academic route.
'interested'. not 100 percent sure.
debt won't be a factor either way, as i've saved up quite a bit from working. the money issue becomes more of a factor of cash in the pocket at graduation or starting at 0 (with no debt, though). curious to hear how you all think that affects the decision.
thecilent wrote:Columbia with Hamilton. Do biglaw; worry about academia later. Ball out on your 160k salary since you wont have to pay back thatt much in loans. YWIA.
Yeah well you're in a really good position. For me and many others, biglaw makes a lot of sense bc we want/need to pay down our $150,000+ debt.lawhon wrote:also, i'm amazed at how anybody could "know" they want to do anything for sure. no one knows what it's like until they're in it.
i'm astonished at how many people think the big firm jobs/lifestyle are the way to go. 80-100 hours a week, taking breaks only for minimal sustenance, making rich people even richer.
thecilent wrote:Yeah well you're in a really good position. For me and many others, biglaw makes a lot of sense bc we want/need to pay down our $150,000+ debt.lawhon wrote:also, i'm amazed at how anybody could "know" they want to do anything for sure. no one knows what it's like until they're in it.
i'm astonished at how many people think the big firm jobs/lifestyle are the way to go. 80-100 hours a week, taking breaks only for minimal sustenance, making rich people even richer.
Too scary NOT to do biglaw, if you ask me.
Plus working those 65-85 hour weeks in biglaw can payoff after a few years when you will have gained good experience and can maybe get out.
It's more like 55-60 on average (worst in NYC (up to 65-70 on average)), feast or famine at points. The unpredictability is the worst part.lawhon wrote:also, i'm amazed at how anybody could "know" they want to do anything for sure. no one knows what it's like until they're in it.
i'm astonished at how many people think the big firm jobs/lifestyle are the way to go. 80-100 hours a week, taking breaks only for minimal sustenance, making rich people even richer.
Hmm. So you think it is pretty hard to get to know professors at Harvard? Does this apply to all professors or the "superstar" ones.foxtrottortxof wrote:You have a better shot at getting to know professors very well at Stanford (at HLS, office hour sign-ups have been known to be gone two minutes after posting, for example). A greater proportion of SLS students do clerkships (which you'll want to do), which is correlated with strong professor relationships. On the other hand, the best of the best at HLS are the best-off of anyone--you can write your ticket. If you think you'll be like that, the choice gets more complicated. Also, many pre-academics go to big firms after law school, if for not very long.
Harder, but certainly not hard--by my estimation, if Stanford were a 10 for ease-of-access, 1 being fighting tooth and nail, Harvard would be an 8. That particular office hours thing was with a superstar, extremely nice, great-mentor, extremely well-connected prof. Stanford holds your hand (coddles?) more in general, and having less competition to get to know profs is part of that. HLS has lots of official mentoring opportunities on top of just office hours--you might just have to be a bit more enterprising (which I personally prefer).sarahh wrote:Hmm. So you think it is pretty hard to get to know professors at Harvard? Does this apply to all professors or the "superstar" ones.foxtrottortxof wrote:You have a better shot at getting to know professors very well at Stanford (at HLS, office hour sign-ups have been known to be gone two minutes after posting, for example). A greater proportion of SLS students do clerkships (which you'll want to do), which is correlated with strong professor relationships. On the other hand, the best of the best at HLS are the best-off of anyone--you can write your ticket. If you think you'll be like that, the choice gets more complicated. Also, many pre-academics go to big firms after law school, if for not very long.
Thanks for the information. I was impressed with how friendly the professors were at Michigan, and this was something I was worried about at Harvard.foxtrottortxof wrote:Harder, but certainly not hard--by my estimation, if Stanford were a 10 for ease-of-access, 1 being fighting tooth and nail, Harvard would be an 8. That particular office hours thing was with a superstar, extremely nice, great-mentor, extremely well-connected prof. Stanford holds your hand (coddles?) more in general, and having less competition to get to know profs is part of that. HLS has lots of official mentoring opportunities on top of just office hours--you might just have to be a bit more enterprising (which I personally prefer).sarahh wrote:Hmm. So you think it is pretty hard to get to know professors at Harvard? Does this apply to all professors or the "superstar" ones.foxtrottortxof wrote:You have a better shot at getting to know professors very well at Stanford (at HLS, office hour sign-ups have been known to be gone two minutes after posting, for example). A greater proportion of SLS students do clerkships (which you'll want to do), which is correlated with strong professor relationships. On the other hand, the best of the best at HLS are the best-off of anyone--you can write your ticket. If you think you'll be like that, the choice gets more complicated. Also, many pre-academics go to big firms after law school, if for not very long.
Being an admired person in a coveted position of power with very little external pressure makes it very easy to be a nice person. I would be surprised if you found a top school without nice professors.sarahh wrote:Thanks for the information. I was impressed with how friendly the professors were at Michigan, and this was something I was worried about at Harvard.