Leveraging Hamilton Forum

[SYoshi11]

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[Dog]

Unlikely. Harvard doesn't do merit aid. A significant number of applicants turn down Hamiltons for HLS. http://hls.harvard.edu/dept/sfs/

[SYoshi11]

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[ballcaps]

i would say 100% chance they don't care.

(explicitly against their policy, common situation/choice.)

[Skool]

It doesn't hurt to ask and I don't think it's a hundred percent chance they say no either.

The amount of people who have tried to negotiate a RTK, Hamilton, or Ruby is probably small, and there's plenty of good reason for people who have been successful to STFU about it if you've gotten a merit discount at Harvard and your classmates haven't.

I would try.

[SYoshi11]

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[pylon]

Harvard Law School Grant and Loan assistance is awarded on the basis of demonstrated financial need. The School does not award “merit” or “full-ride” scholarships (which typically are not need-based) because these would reduce the resources available for need-based aid and significantly increase the debt burden of every financially needy student.

[banjo]

Take the Hamilton.

[Skool]

I mean, OP shouldn't get their hopes up, but it's rational to try.

[jbagelboy]

Thanks! Do you know what % of Hamilton recipients turn it down for H?

Irrelevant. The smart ones (who don't have family money) take the Hamilton. Take the Hamilton.

[SYoshi11]

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[whosinthehousejc]

Eh, didn't want to start a war on whether to take the Hamilton or not...but here goes haha.

My current employer (in finance) will pay 75% of law school COA if I work there for 2 years post law school (the rest would be personal loans). Anyway, that's pushing me in the non-Hamilton direction...

There is a very, very small chance I go into big law - I'll either be doing public sector work or be back at my current firm (in which case the debt doesn't matter as much).

Um, yeah. H.

[jbagelboy]

Eh, didn't want to start a war on whether to take the Hamilton or not...but here goes haha.

My current employer (in finance) will pay 75% of law school COA if I work there for 2 years post law school (the rest would be personal loans). Anyway, that's pushing me in the non-Hamilton direction...

There is a very, very small chance I go into big law - I'll either be doing public sector work or be back at my current firm (in which case the debt doesn't matter as much).

So if you want to return to your current employer, Harvard makes more sense. If you think you might want to try something else, the Hamilton gives you more flexibility.

[SYoshi11]

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[Moneytrees]

But if you have to work at your current employer for two years following graduation, wouldn't the clerkship consideration be moot?

[SYoshi11]

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[Desert Fox]

clerkships shouldnt matter much, its a temp gig.

I'm not sure how much, if any, benefit HLS has over CLS for prestigious PI or Gov hiring. Both put the same low percentages of their class into pi or gov (13% at CLS vs 14% at HLS).

What type of firm is your employer? Two years essentially sets you up as that type of lawyer.

[SYoshi11]

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[Desert Fox]

clerkships shouldnt matter much, its a temp gig.

I'm not sure how much, if any, benefit HLS has over CLS for prestigious PI or Gov hiring. Both put the same low percentages of their class into pi or gov (13% at CLS vs 14% at HLS).

What type of firm is your employer? Two years essentially sets you up as that type of lawyer.

Finance (GS/MS/BX/MBB) - just being broad, don't want to out myself.

What did you mean by "two years essentially sets you up as that type of lawyer"?

You specialize pretty early on. If you spend 2 years doing in house at GS doing M&A, then you aren't going to have an easy time trying to sell yourself to DOJ antitrust division.

I'm assuming your employer would have you do legal work right?

[SYoshi11]

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