Harvard Class of 2012 Forum

[Krswmact]

yes...im looking at the dorm options but also some of the harvard affiliated apartments. ive been pretty spoiled living in an apt and dont know if i can revert back to dorms...although there are obvious benefits.

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[dueprocess14]

Having already gone from apartment to dorm room once for graduate school, it's not the worst transition ever - knowing you're doing it for HLS really would take the edge off, I would imagine.

And "Gropius"? Mr or Ms Gropius must have been fantastically rich and charitable because otherwise I would hope Harvard wouldn't name their dormitory after what sounds like a nickname for a touchy-feely skeezeball you meet at a club.

[Haribo]

I'm not sure I want to live in a dorm again. I've been doing the hostel thing for nine months and am desperate for my own space

On the other hand, having a built in set of potential friends is very appealing.

[Haribo]

Am I reading this article correctly? Lawrence Lessig is moving from Stanford to Harvard? That's a pretty big deal

[iagolives]

And "Gropius"? Mr or Ms Gropius must have been fantastically rich and charitable because otherwise I would hope Harvard wouldn't name their dormitory after what sounds like a nickname for a touchy-feely skeezeball you meet at a club.

My thoughts exactly, zabagabe...

[iagolives]

Am I reading this article correctly? Lawrence Lessig is moving from Stanford to Harvard? That's a pretty big deal

Yeah, I know! I was reading an article from a year or two back about the shake-up many of the schools are going through b/c Dean Kagan is luring a lot of faculty to Harvard. I guess the shake-up continues!

[excelsiorcaelo]

My pen-pal, who lives in Gropius, says it's renowned for its ugliness but is the last work of a famous architect, so they can't really change it.

So I'm guessing that architect would be Walter Gropius himself.

Anyway, I've been asking her a LOT of questions about housing, and here's a snippet that might prove helpful to everyone:

It's not that we don't interact w/ the apartment people...it's just that for the most part, they have to come on campus for social interactions--i.e. we don't go to them, they come to us. Of course, they obviously have more room to throw parties and stuff, so it's not totally true that we don't go off and see them...they just have to come onto campus a lot more.

So you're right that there are two types of apartments. Harvard-affiliated housing has a lot of grad students, so you likely won't live with many other law students. They're also lotteried, but I didn't do it, so I'm not exactly clear on the process. Every Harvard-Affiliated apartment I've seen has been pretty nice, so they're probably worth the money...it's just the walk that I didn't think I'd want to live with, but if you think you'd still be willing to schlep all the way to campus for class on a cold day, then apartments are fine.

Hastings looks very nice. The problem is that it faces the wrong way. I'm telling you...it's really really annoying. The dorm faces the street and is gated, so it looks like it's close to the lecture halls and gym, but you actually have to walk all the way around to get out. It's one of the reasons I didn't live there. I just figured I'd get annoyed every time I had to go around (it's like, an extra minute of walking but you know...stress and cold don't make me a patient person).

I think that's it. Everyone I know in Gropius is pretty happy--we've made our peace w/ the whole not having space issue. The campus is small and comfortable, but it's not as nice as the Yale Law School campus. I like it, though.

My general sense from e-mail with her is that Gropius is very social. Having 20 students per floor is pretty nice that way. Hastings, on the other hand, is all divided up into entryways, which makes it harder to interact easily with the smaller number of people in it. Although I doubt it's a big problem. I'm still debating which residence I would prefer.

I've always been used to having bedrooms attached to a common room, but I think I could put up with a single room to myself for a year. I imagine that I might move into an apartment for 2L and 3L, because by that point we'll all already have made lots of friends. Unless you're a bunch of jerks.

[SparkyLives]

meh...if the only benefit of a dorm is social I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with an apartment. I've moved around a lot in my life so I know I won't have too many problems making friends in a new place.

The walk seems to be the biggest negative for me.

[iagolives]

I don't really mind walking (I already have a somewhat epic walk) but I'm really struggling w/ the dorm/apartment thing. I mean, because of my personality, my first instinct would be to live where there are the most people b/c I like to get to know everyone and be social. However, I am wondering if this would be a smart decision for law school. You need a lot of quiet study time by yourself to work and I wonder if living with a lot of people is condusive to that...

Anyway, back to final exams studying I go!

[SparkyLives]

I don't really mind walking (I already have a somewhat epic walk) but I'm really struggling w/ the dorm/apartment thing. I mean, because of my personality, my first instinct would be to live where there are the most people b/c I like to get to know everyone and be social. However, I am wondering if this would be a smart decision for law school. You need a lot of quiet study time by yourself to work and I wonder if living with a lot of people is condusive to that...

Anyway, back to final exams studying I go!

yeah, I feel like having your own space AWAY from the law school will be beneficial come finals time....

[littleboyblue]

maybe i am reading into this too much but it kind of depressed me that 1L pen pal of excel's remarked that the campus was not as nice as Yale's. it just seemed weird that even at Harvard, she still has Yale envy.

[Objection]

maybe i am reading into this too much but it kind of depressed me that 1L pen pal of excel's remarked that the campus was not as nice as Yale's. it just seemed weird that even at Harvard, she still has Yale envy.

I don't think it's necessarily Yale envy, it's just the truth. Same could be said about Michigan.

The campus isn't even close to being as nice as Yale's. In fact, the only campus that rivals Yale's beauty is Michigan's. It's a shame, too. In fact, as foolish as it might be, one of the only things that doesn't have me entirely committed to Harvard right now is the blahness of the campus. Yale's and Michigan's campus have this aura about them that Harvard's is lacking. I can see myself relaxing in Michigan's quad or finding some nook in Yale's campus to escape to; I can't that happening at HLS.

(Of course this is just my opinion, but the gothic architecture style is just so aesthetically appealing to me).

[excelsiorcaelo]

Also, I think she only brought it up because I go to Yale undergrad now. And she probably thinks that I am also applying there, although I have not in fact gotten around to it yet and am not sure that I will.

[dueprocess14]

Yeah, the Lessig coup was big for me, because he's one of the best at Stanford and very beloved by the faculty and students. Kagan is clearly on a roll!

As for housing, I'd say that's what ASW is for. We can decide if we like it better or worse ourselves... I personally hate the Gothic charms of Yale, so I would take a cement block over it. And if we're basing this on campuses, throw in an app for Berkeley and Stanford - both of their law schools are pretty ugly, but the campuses are far superior to anything Yale or Harvard can muster...To each their own!

[SparkyLives]

I really don't care about what the school looks like, besides anybody who's not impressed with Langdell hall is crazy.

[Kevin '11]

maybe i am reading into this too much but it kind of depressed me that 1L pen pal of excel's remarked that the campus was not as nice as Yale's. it just seemed weird that even at Harvard, she still has Yale envy.

I don't think it's necessarily Yale envy, it's just the truth. Same could be said about Michigan.

The campus isn't even close to being as nice as Yale's. In fact, the only campus that rivals Yale's beauty is Michigan's. It's a shame, too. In fact, as foolish as it might be, one of the only things that doesn't have me entirely committed to Harvard right now is the blahness of the campus. Yale's and Michigan's campus have this aura about them that Harvard's is lacking. I can see myself relaxing in Michigan's quad or finding some nook in Yale's campus to escape to; I can't that happening at HLS.

(Of course this is just my opinion, but the gothic architecture style is just so aesthetically appealing to me).

Don't worry, there are plenty of nooks for a relaxing escape around HLS. And if you like Gothic, you can *live* in the Gothic-style Hastings Hall. I'm a very amateur architecture enthusiast and love the variety our campus has to offer.

Also, remember the HLS campus is undergoing a major revitalization, which your class will be the first to benefit from. Click around this website! http://www.law.harvard.edu/about/nwc/project_what.htm

I hear you can fit the entire YLS inside our Northwest Corner Building...

[Objection]

Scheduled completion date of 2011 = real world completion date of 2015.

[SparkyLives]

Just throwing out a question here. Since all Harvard aid is need based, and therefore negotiation is pointless, should I start withdrawing my apps from other schools now? Since it's down to H v Y, there's no use for the others, right? I don't want to hold onto someone else's spot needlessly.

[iagolives]

Just throwing out a question here. Since all Harvard aid is need based, and therefore negotiation is pointless, should I start withdrawing my apps from other schools now? Since it's down to H v Y, there's no use for the others, right? I don't want to hold onto someone else's spot needlessly.

I've been wrestling with this too... I think I'm going to hold on at least until the middle of January and reevaluate then. People often say I'm too risk-adverse but I'm rather cautious by nature, and like to have as many cards in my hand as I can before I start laying them down.

[Objection]

I withdrew from schools I definitely wouldn't attend (WUSTL, Duke, Penn, UCLA). I still have apps everywhere else (Yale through Virginia).

I'll probably wait until late February to narrow my list down some more.

[JackieTreehorn]

I wouldn't withdraw just yet. You never know how you'll feel in a few months. Mayber your priorities will have shifted slightly and you'll realize that graduating debt free is more important to you than going to Harvard or Yale. Who knows what you'll think during ASW?

It's obviously nice to be courteous, but you don't owe a withdrawal to anyone (unless you are absolutely certain you'd never attend the school). The "Congrats on X! Please withdraw from Y" posts on LSN are ridiculous.

[pathos2025]

Hey,

I know this forum has transferred over to housing and stuff, but I just wanted to put up somewhere that I got my TS2 yesterday and so I can go to Harvard next fall!

Congrats to all you guys who heard earlier and I look forward to meeting some of you in the spring!

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[iagolives]

yeah, congrats pathos!