Good points, Objection. Although, much less people apply to Yale b/c they self-select themselves out of YLS - the pool of YLS applicants, I imagine, are a bit more accomplished/numerically stronger than that of HLS, in general.

I was wondering if someone can point out why YLS has a relatively low bar-passage rate (91%) v. other top 10 law schools for NY (at most schools, it seems like the rate hovers around 97%).

My top choice also seems to be Yale. There are probably some intellectual environment differences, but I've never heard anyone being so unhappy at either school because of that.

Wouldn't that reflect in the 25-75 numbers? YLS has a slight advantage, but not much.



Isn't one of the knocks on YLS is that it's too theoretical? They prepare thinkers, not necessarily lawyers? Could be why.

no, not really. I appreciate the honesty. I think one can still be open about your own beliefs ( I tend to be pretty liberal on most subjects) and at the same time be tolerant of others' opinions. (I'm not, but I'm sure that Dean Koh and factulty are )

Lol, fair enough...

I got a call today from Yale. They said it would be awhile before we received binders or the email w/info. But they did ask a lot of questions as far as interests go. I was sort of caught off guard so I sounded dumb.

Anybody else get this?

Were you admitted already?

yes

So this is the 2nd phone call, then? That is really strange...

Should have hung up on them, then.

Maybe I didn't elaborate enough. They asked legal interests, club interests, scholarship interests. It seemed to be so that they could personalize the binder.

J/W if anybody else got it.

Haven't gotten it. Scholarship interests? Club interests? Huh??? I have no idea what I'd answer to that.

Yah...that's why I sounded bad

I didn't get it either. I wouldn't mind an additional phone call confirming that I am actually in. All I have is these memories. It almost feels like I dreamed the whole thing... I guess I will continue to patiently await the email...

I know how you feel. For a second there I was waiting for her to say, "There's been a mistake."

This one I know happened because I have their contact info for confirmation purposes.

So, to clarify, no Yale admit calls today?

.

I wouldn't expect any more admit calls until mid-January. I think they were getting the autoadmits (those who scored a 12 or whatever with the adcomm) out of the way. The rest of us will have to wait until late January or February.

I didn't get the call with lots of questions about my interests, but I did get an email asking me if I wanted Mr. Jacinek to forward my information to the Outlaws group. He said he'd forgotten to ask during the call.
any other queermos in the class so far?
kp429, i'd love to hear your thoughts from visiting. any ideas about where to live?

ahh..okay, good. I'm glad I wasn't the only one and that I know why

Thanks!

Haha, any idea what "scholarship" interest means? lol...

I had this concern - especially when it comes to faculty hiring. I spoke with a Yale professor about it and she had a few thoughts. First, that Yale is a school which places emphasis on ideas, thoughts, learning, etc. and so for that very reason they (the school, faculty, students, etc) are open/tolerant of all opinions. Second, Yale has a tradition of allowing opinions, thoughts on both ends of the spectrum (including conservatives) - for example, it is where the Federalist Society was founded. Third, Dean Koh does not have free reign over faculty appointments - this is done by the entire faculty. Fourth, Dean Koh wants what is best for YLS - he doesn't have a personal agenda.

If the reference to being shunned is re: Justice Thomas, I think that is a specific example with specific causes. If there are other examples, I'd love to hear about them. I do know that former Yale Dean Kronman testified in support of Alito's appointment (they were classmates, I think).

If anyone has some other thoughts on this, please add them! Thanks.

I know a couple of conservatives at YLS who seem to be happy with their choice. They do talk about the "liberal establishment" at YLS a bit, but that's everywhere.

Hey,

I visited on Saturday -- it was about 3 degrees with the wind chill, flurrying, and just a generally dreary day. Most students had already headed home. I checked out the Sterling Library (which is the main campus library) and it was breathtaking. They just renovated the lower levels of the library ("Bass Library") and it is one of the nicest two stories I've ever seen. There's an obscene amount of study space, everything is super high tech, the chairs are all leather, there are individual closed-door study rooms, the group study rooms all have huge flat-screen HDTVs, and the stacks are gorgeous. Everything is spotless and clean, and the gothic architecture is even nicer on the inside than out (imho).

I then headed over to the Law Quad and was again blown away. It's really neat that everything is basically in one place -- admissions, finaid, all of the professors offices, the library, the classrooms, the dining halls, student lounge, etc. The courtyard is really great and relatively spacious and the inside of the Law "quad" is everything you'd imagine Yale to be. I come from another "lesser" Ivy and although our endowment is large, our facilities simply do not compare to Yale's.

The gym is was nice, but not as nice as I had imagined. I am a gym rat myself and will spned a lot of time working out during my 3 years of law school so the gym was a potential selling point for me. The gym is about 9 stories high I believe -- a pool on the 3rd floor, weights + cardio on the 4th, basketball courts on the 1st.. all very nice I suppose. A lot of the weight equipment is very old and while there is an enormous amount of "options," so to speak, I was a bit underwhelmed by the facility for some reason.

As far as dorms go, I didn't get to see any of them b/c I wasn't sure exactly where law students resided. I couldn't get a straight answer from the few people I asked so I assume a lot of the students live off-campus.

Speaking of off-campus, New Haven leaves a lot to be desired. The immediate area around Yale consists of a few strips of stores, a few small clothing chains, and a few independently-owned restaurants. I was not very impressed at all and find that it might be very, VERY boring and difficult to find things to do in the "city." I come from a huge city and high school so the small size of New Haven is not so appealing to me.

Overall, the campus is small, beautiful, and cozy. The facilities truly are world-class and the law quad is really amazing. New Haven is quite a downer, however, but I think that might depend on the perspective of the visitor. If you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me or reply here. Hope this helps even a little bit!

So I ran some numbers from LSN for those of us who applied early and are still waiting (and hoping). The news is a mixed bag.

Since 2003, there are 20 accepted applicants listed on LSN with an October complete date.

14/20 (70%) heard in December
5/20 (25%) heard in January
1/20 (5) heard after January (I believe this person heard early February).

The good for October completes (of which I am one)?
- There is still a decent chance of a January acceptance.
- Many accepted applicants (particularly early on in LSN's life) didn't list complete dates. If anyone wants to go through and crunch the numbers by sent dates, that might paint a slightly better picture
- The wait for those of us for whom not knowing is the hardest part - 1 more month and then we can stop stressing over YLS

The bad?
- Well, we didn't hear in December like 70% of early applicants do.
- A relatively small sample size makes it hard to know how well these %s hold up for the entire applicant pool. In both the 03/04 and 06/07 cycles, there are no accepted October applicants listed (which I find hard to believe).

The news is considerably better for you November completes.

Since 2003, there are 41 accepted applicants listed on LSN with a November complete date.

15/41 (37%) heard in December
16/41 (39%) heard in January
10/41 (24%) heard after January (mostly February, although a few in March)

The good?
- 63% hear after December

The bad?
- Your waits have just begun.


Hope this helps some of my fellow worriers out there somehow.