Last Chance to Convince Me to Not Go to Harvard Forum

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drylo

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Re: Last Chance to Convince Me to Not Go to Harvard

Post by drylo » Wed Apr 20, 2011 11:55 am

Bildungsroman wrote:
MaxWeber wrote: HLS is where the people who run the country come from
TCR is to reevaluate why you're going to law school and, when you settle on something more realistic than running the country, decide based on that.
TITCR

notanumber

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Re: Last Chance to Convince Me to Not Go to Harvard

Post by notanumber » Wed Apr 20, 2011 12:07 pm

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Mce252

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Re: Last Chance to Convince Me to Not Go to Harvard

Post by Mce252 » Wed Apr 20, 2011 12:12 pm

esq wrote:
NikaneOkie wrote: maybe true, but don't you think that if you want to run in CA that you may have an advantage demonstrating you'd gone through the CA educational system your whole life?

Adding though, that you should definitely go where feels right in this case. Go where you want to.
^This.

Stanford qualifies you for a shot at running CA. Running CA qualifies you for a shot at governor. Governorship qualifies you for a shot at running the country, if that's really what you're worried about. (When I say Stanford, I really mean that and $$$$$$$)

Harvard qualifies pretty well also. And a degree from Stanford is not necessarily the California education system. It's a private school, but I get the point.

pride09

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Re: Last Chance to Convince Me to Not Go to Harvard

Post by pride09 » Wed Apr 20, 2011 12:17 pm

Making same choice here, and picked Stanford. I agree that Harvard's best sell was when Dean Minow mentioned Barack Obama and Elena Kagan were former students of hers. HLS grads make it to the top. But I think people at Harvard tend to buy into the notion that "the next president of the United States is sitting in this room." No. Obama is the only HLS president besides Rutherford B. Hayes. An HLS grad makes it on the Supreme Court maybe once a decade.

I chose Stanford because of what others have mentioned: at this point, the name of the school isn't going to hold you back. I thought it was interesting at the clerkship panel this weekend when the moderator said, "These judges get 800 applications for 4 or 5 spots. They could go through and read every single application, resume, and cover letter, but they don't. If your resume says Harvard, you're automatically a finalist. They only do that for two other schools." Harvard is an impressive brand, but it won't open more doors than Stanford or Yale. So why not spend those three years at a school with a substantially higher quality of life.

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Patriot1208

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Re: Last Chance to Convince Me to Not Go to Harvard

Post by Patriot1208 » Wed Apr 20, 2011 12:28 pm

If you want to run for office, staying in the state you want to run for office from is your best bet.

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rundoxierun

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Re: Last Chance to Convince Me to Not Go to Harvard

Post by rundoxierun » Wed Apr 20, 2011 12:31 pm

pride09 wrote:Making same choice here, and picked Stanford. I agree that Harvard's best sell was when Dean Minow mentioned Barack Obama and Elena Kagan were former students of hers. HLS grads make it to the top. But I think people at Harvard tend to buy into the notion that "the next president of the United States is sitting in this room." No. Obama is the only HLS president besides Rutherford B. Hayes. An HLS grad makes it on the Supreme Court maybe once a decade.

I chose Stanford because of what others have mentioned: at this point, the name of the school isn't going to hold you back. I thought it was interesting at the clerkship panel this weekend when the moderator said, "These judges get 800 applications for 4 or 5 spots. They could go through and read every single application, resume, and cover letter, but they don't. If your resume says Harvard, you're automatically a finalist. They only do that for two other schools." Harvard is an impressive brand, but it won't open more doors than Stanford or Yale. So why not spend those three years at a school with a substantially higher quality of life.
I wouldnt say this definitively. Believe it or not, I have met a lot of people who prefer Boston/Cambridge to San Francisco/Palo Alto. A lot of people I know who went to stanford undergrad absolutely abhor the town of Palo Alto.

notanumber

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Re: Last Chance to Convince Me to Not Go to Harvard

Post by notanumber » Wed Apr 20, 2011 12:36 pm

tkgrrett wrote: I wouldnt say this definitively. Believe it or not, I have met a lot of people who prefer Boston/Cambridge to San Francisco/Palo Alto. A lot of people I know who went to stanford undergrad absolutely abhor the town of Palo Alto.
+1 - Stanford is great but Palo Alto is a suburban wasteland. Thankfully San Francisco is a stone's throw away, but if you're the kind of person who needs to live in a city, Stanford probably isn't the place for you.

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swampthang

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Re: Last Chance to Convince Me to Not Go to Harvard

Post by swampthang » Sun Apr 24, 2011 10:27 pm

MaxWeber wrote:after visiting both, i've initially settled on HLS over SLS---but not necessarily for the best reasons.

i want to eventually commit myself to a career in public service and try to run for elected office in NorCal (originally from CA, go to an Ivy now for UG). even though I feel that SLS would be a more "comfortable" 3 year experience (i.e. less stressful, more friendly people, healthier lifestyle, better location, easier access to profs and elite opportunities), my impression is that HLS is where the people who run the country come from, and that is a label (and network) that stays with you forever.... i had been pro-Stanford since day 1 but the history/tradition/prestige thing really got to me, quality of life be damned. so, does anyone want to talk me down from going to HLS? remind me of what i have in store (good and bad)?
You said it all right here. Difference between the two as far as where they can take you is negligible. If you want to stay in the Bay Area, that's SLS right off the bat. Add in the fact you think you would feel more "comfortable" at SLS (happy student = successful student) and I don't know why you're really even considering HLS that strongly. Blatant prestige-whoring? That's the only explanation I can come up with, but not like Stanford is significantly worse off than Harvard in that regard. Seriously, you like the school better, you want to stay in the area, they're both fantastic schools...remind me why you think you're leaning Harvard again?
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romothesavior

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Re: Last Chance to Convince Me to Not Go to Harvard

Post by romothesavior » Sun Apr 24, 2011 11:14 pm

If you prefer Harvard, go to Harvard. It isn't some egregious mistake that people on TLS need to talk you out of. You'll likely be fine either way.

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haus

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Re: Last Chance to Convince Me to Not Go to Harvard

Post by haus » Sun Apr 24, 2011 11:33 pm

concurrent fork wrote:You can still live a healthy lifestyle in Cambridge. You even get bonus exercise shoveling your car out in the winter.
I would not advise having a car while at Cambridge, it is simply not that useful. Although you could spend your time shoveling other peoples cars out.

dkt4

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Re: Last Chance to Convince Me to Not Go to Harvard

Post by dkt4 » Sun Apr 24, 2011 11:38 pm

if you're serious about running for office in norcal why would you go to harvard over stanford? i don't even kinda understand that logic.

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Richie Tenenbaum

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Re: Last Chance to Convince Me to Not Go to Harvard

Post by Richie Tenenbaum » Mon Apr 25, 2011 12:12 am

My 2 cents: When it comes down to two choices that are so close in terms of opportunities post-LS, quality of life during law school begins to matter a lot.

Now time for personal anecdotes: I know a few people who go or who went to Harvard. None of them enjoyed law school, and had the attitude of "you're not suppose to enjoy it [law school]." But yeah, that's just a small sample size, and maybe a few HLS students could chime in about how that is the minority opinion there.

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lisjjen

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Re: Last Chance to Convince Me to Not Go to Harvard

Post by lisjjen » Mon Apr 25, 2011 12:23 am

If you want to work in Cali, go to Cali. That makes the most imminent sense to me. I'm from [Mountain West State] and I have had numerous politicians and lawyers tell me to go to University of [Mountain West State] over a T10 if I wanted to go into politics in the state. When you're talking about #2 v #3, I couldn't imagine it would make that big of difference in prestige. However, when you're talking about NorCal [the region you want to end up in] v New England [a region 2,500 miles away from where you want to end up] then that seems to be a more significant issue.

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lightbulb1986

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Re: Last Chance to Convince Me to Not Go to Harvard

Post by lightbulb1986 » Mon Apr 25, 2011 12:38 am

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djfe4president

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Re: Last Chance to Convince Me to Not Go to Harvard

Post by djfe4president » Mon Apr 25, 2011 12:50 am

How are you so sure you will make it into politics??

Many people say they want to do something before going into law school and then change their minds later on...

I say SLS because it is ahead on everything you can control now..(quality of life, students....blah blah blah).

In the end, go where you will feel loved...

ooo and about the Obama-HLS comment, I agree....
Every school in the t14 would want the next president to be a rep from their school. If you have what it takes, then you have what it takes...Others will see it and they will push you towards the top

pride09

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Re: Last Chance to Convince Me to Not Go to Harvard

Post by pride09 » Mon Apr 25, 2011 11:19 am

I'm pretty sure OP decided on Stanford several days ago.

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swampthang

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Re: Last Chance to Convince Me to Not Go to Harvard

Post by swampthang » Mon Apr 25, 2011 12:04 pm

random924 wrote:The fact that you have mentioned twice, 100% unnecessarily, that you attended an Ivy for undergrad leads me to believe that the "prestige factor" of Harvard is and will continue to be important to you.
Truth. Odd that he had such a quick turnaround, especially after soliciting advice from the community, but I think he made the right choice.

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MaxWeber

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Re: Last Chance to Convince Me to Not Go to Harvard

Post by MaxWeber » Mon Apr 25, 2011 4:33 pm

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jd20132013

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Re: Last Chance to Convince Me to Not Go to Harvard

Post by jd20132013 » Tue Apr 26, 2011 1:26 am

the fact that you made this topic lets me know that in your heart you want to go to SLS

*shrug*

think about it, if you really wanted to go to Harvard you'd have just...gone.


but its your decision

legalmindedfella

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Re: Last Chance to Convince Me to Not Go to Harvard

Post by legalmindedfella » Tue Apr 26, 2011 10:24 am

If you want to run for public office in California and you go to Harvard over Stanford, not having stayed in-state for undergrad, you are absolutely insane. That's it.

Edit: I actually can't believe this is being asked - sorry for the tone, just, in California the prestige of Stanford is on par with Harvard, and in politics having credentials that say you care about and have spent time in the state matter an enormous amount. You're lucky that you're in a situation where you can go to a world-class law school and still have it speak to your connections to the state and the area. Take that opportunity.

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