Harvard Class of 2017 Forum

[CyanIdes Of March]

I've wanted to go to Harvard my whole frigging life -- until I found TLS haha.

This was me, excpet replace Harvard with my state's flagship school.

[neprep]

So I had to take two long trips in the past few days, and spent most of the commute time browsing YouTube for HLS videos. I'm sure most of you have already seen these — and I also know nobody clicks on YouTube links — but in case you've missed any, or someone wants to be initiated, here are a few that I found most interesting:

• LawSchoolChannel's Introduction (akin to an HLS survey course)
  Dean Minnow addresses the incoming classes (pretty intense as far as welcome addresses go)
  Dean Minnow addresses the crowd at the 2013 Commencement
  JD Student Speaker addresses her class at the 2013 Commencement
  Interview Justice Breyer
  Interview with RBG
  Interview with Justice Thomas
  Interview with Justice Kagan

[Ren]

I've wanted to go to Harvard my whole frigging life -- until I found TLS haha.

Ditto!
I am not sure I will be able to turn Harvard down, even for Stanford (and I'll never hear back from Yale)

[CyanIdes Of March]

I've wanted to go to Harvard my whole frigging life -- until I found TLS haha.

Ditto!
I am not sure I will be able to turn Harvard down, even for Stanford (and I'll never hear back from Yale)

I sent Yale a fee waiver app but I never heard back from them (or something happened with the mail) and since it's unlikely I'd had picked Yale over Harvard (don't look at me like that I have my reasons!) I'd rather not waste the $85. I also don't think I'd pick Stanford over Harvard but I'd love to have the option.

[politics89]

I know someone briefly mentioned it awhile back but wondering if anyone else here applied for a joint Kennedy school degree. PMs if you did?

[Pneumonia]

Curious as to what some other married students are thinking with regard to housing? I'm just now finishing UG and have like zero savings and zero potential for parental contribution, but I'd like to find a place that is comfortable for two people. My spouse will be working hopefully, but not before we move this fall so I'm just having a hard time figuring out how to make everything work.

[The-Specs]

Curious as to what some other married students are thinking with regard to housing? I'm just now finishing UG and have like zero savings and zero potential for parental contribution, but I'd like to find a place that is comfortable for two people. My spouse will be working hopefully, but not before we move this fall so I'm just having a hard time figuring out how to make everything work.

My wife and I are looking at HUH (Harvard University Housing). There are a couple of apts we are very interested in and they look like pretty solid options for couples.

[cotiger]

They've announced a +4.1% COA increase for next year (+4.8% for tuition and mandatory fees). Total COA up to $81,900 for 2014-15.

http://www.law.harvard.edu/current/sfs/ ... udget.html

If completely debt-financing, that comes to a cool $315k owed at repayment. Let's hear it for some fin aid!

[Nonconsecutive]

Let's hear it for some fin aid!

Amen to that.

[TheMostDangerousLG]

They've announced a +4.1% COA increase for next year (+4.8% for tuition and mandatory fees). Total COA up to $81,900 for 2014-15.

http://www.law.harvard.edu/current/sfs/ ... udget.html

If completely debt-financing, that comes to a cool $315k owed at repayment. Let's hear it for some fin aid!

D=

[hdunlop]

Speaking of which, I'm curious for some thoughts on how stupid it is to go to Harvard with no financial aid. I've been working for seven years and am getting married this summer, and while we haven't earned a ton the expectation that we provide 50 percent of our retirement savings, plus a portion of spousal income, seemingly means I'd get at the most 10-20K over three years and likely less.

My other options aren't really in yet but I'm wondering about the CW. I got a Dean's scholarship at UCLA, wrote for the Levy at Penn and am interviewing for the Mordecai at Duke. My numbers seem competitive for the Ruby at Chicago and I'd take that over Harvard in a heartbeat not least for life reasons, but what does TLS think on HYS vs. Penn, or Duke, or UCLA for free?

[The-Specs]

Speaking of which, I'm curious for some thoughts on how stupid it is to go to Harvard with no financial aid. I've been working for seven years and am getting married this summer, and while we haven't earned a ton the expectation that we provide 50 percent of our retirement savings, plus a portion of spousal income, seemingly means I'd get at the most 10-20K over three years and likely less.

My other options aren't really in yet but I'm wondering about the CW. I got a Dean's scholarship at UCLA, wrote for the Levy at Penn and am interviewing for the Mordecai at Duke. My numbers seem competitive for the Ruby at Chicago and I'd take that over Harvard in a heartbeat not least for life reasons, but what does TLS think on HYS vs. Penn, or Duke, or UCLA for free?

It depends on what you want to do with your life.

[DrStudMuffin]

Speaking of which, I'm curious for some thoughts on how stupid it is to go to Harvard with no financial aid. I've been working for seven years and am getting married this summer, and while we haven't earned a ton the expectation that we provide 50 percent of our retirement savings, plus a portion of spousal income, seemingly means I'd get at the most 10-20K over three years and likely less.

My other options aren't really in yet but I'm wondering about the CW. I got a Dean's scholarship at UCLA, wrote for the Levy at Penn and am interviewing for the Mordecai at Duke. My numbers seem competitive for the Ruby at Chicago and I'd take that over Harvard in a heartbeat not least for life reasons, but what does TLS think on HYS vs. Penn, or Duke, or UCLA for free?

It seems recent TLS conventional wisdom has been that if you want standard biglaw, take the T-14 full ride. If you want something more difficult (DOJ, academia, etc) then HYS at sticker is still the move.

For me personally, I think I've decided that I would take a T-14 full ride over HYS at sticker. 300k at 6+ percent interest is just ridiculous, especially when HLS grads in biglaw are making the same salary as Mich/Berk/Duke grads in biglaw.

[hdunlop]

The truth is I'm not exactly sure what I want. I definitely don't want DOJ. My professional background is in national security (as a civilian) and to a lesser extent homeland security/immigration. I suspect I'll want to return to government at some point, but not out of law school. I'm interested in academia but not really legal academia (I took a shot at PhD programs in history this year, too, and bombed out of those) and probably likewise not anytime soon. I have always wanted to do law school and think I'd greatly enjoy being an attorney but am struggling to figure out exactly what my niche would be. I guess I'm hoping 1L would make that a bit more clear. The fact I'm a bit unsettled on what my precise path might be makes me very nervous about taking on debt. In my mind the crux of the issue is probably whether Harvard opens more doors over the course of a career by virtue of being Harvard or risks closing them due to debt.

[Pneumonia]

the crux of the issue is probably whether Harvard opens more doors over the course of a career by virtue of being Harvard or risks closing them due to debt.

This is a good question.

[malleus discentium]

They've announced a +4.1% COA increase for next year (+4.8% for tuition and mandatory fees). Total COA up to $81,900 for 2014-15.

http://www.law.harvard.edu/current/sfs/ ... udget.html

If completely debt-financing, that comes to a cool $315k owed at repayment. Let's hear it for some fin aid!

How did you get that $315K number? Now that I'm accepted that possible debt is becoming much more real

[cotiger]

They've announced a +4.1% COA increase for next year (+4.8% for tuition and mandatory fees). Total COA up to $81,900 for 2014-15.

http://www.law.harvard.edu/current/sfs/ ... udget.html

If completely debt-financing, that comes to a cool $315k owed at repayment. Let's hear it for some fin aid!

How did you get that $315K number? Now that I'm accepted that possible debt is becoming much more real

Used this calculator, assuming a continued +3.5% COA increase, and adding in GradPLUS loan fees (4.288%). Note that this calculator assumes 6.8%/7.9% interest on Stafford/GradPLUS, which if set right now would be 6.3%/7.3% but could rise up to 9.5%/10.5%.

[malleus discentium]

They've announced a +4.1% COA increase for next year (+4.8% for tuition and mandatory fees). Total COA up to $81,900 for 2014-15.

http://www.law.harvard.edu/current/sfs/ ... udget.html

If completely debt-financing, that comes to a cool $315k owed at repayment. Let's hear it for some fin aid!

How did you get that $315K number? Now that I'm accepted that possible debt is becoming much more real

Used this calculator, assuming a continued +3.5% COA increase, and adding in GradPLUS loan fees (4.288%). Note that this calculator assumes 6.8%/7.9% interest on Stafford/GradPLUS, which if set right now would be 6.3%/7.3% but could rise up to 9.5%/10.5%.

Gotcha. The interest rate on the GradPlus loans is 6.41%, though, right? Or is that page outdated.

[cotiger]

They've announced a +4.1% COA increase for next year (+4.8% for tuition and mandatory fees). Total COA up to $81,900 for 2014-15.

http://www.law.harvard.edu/current/sfs/ ... udget.html

If completely debt-financing, that comes to a cool $315k owed at repayment. Let's hear it for some fin aid!

How did you get that $315K number? Now that I'm accepted that possible debt is becoming much more real

Used this calculator, assuming a continued +3.5% COA increase, and adding in GradPLUS loan fees (4.288%). Note that this calculator assumes 6.8%/7.9% interest on Stafford/GradPLUS, which if set right now would be 6.3%/7.3% but could rise up to 9.5%/10.5%.

Gotcha. The interest rate on the GradPlus loans is 6.41%, though, right? Or is that page outdated.

It now gets recalculated each summer pegged to the yield rates on 10 year treasuries. That low rate was due to all-time low yields.

[neprep]

I heard there's a PACKAGE waiting for me. Could it finally be my book? Definitely not expecting anything else, unless it's CLS's five-pound box of brochures.

Also, have any of you written to the professor who wrote your book? A brief thank-you note or a "here's my uninformed opinion on your years of scholarship" type thing?

[jingosaur]

I heard there's a PACKAGE waiting for me. Could it finally be my book? Definitely not expecting anything else, unless it's CLS's five-pound box of brochures.

Also, have any of you written to the professor who wrote your book? A brief thank-you note or a "here's my uninformed opinion on your years of scholarship" type thing?

The professor who wrote my book e-mailed me late last week.

[wtrc]

Wow at another significant tuition and cost increase. With the explosion of student debt and the legal market job opportunities declining, glad to see that Harvard University is using that 33 billion endowment to keep costs affordable.

[t-14orbust]

Wow at another significant tuition and cost increase. With the explosion of student debt and the legal market job opportunities declining, glad to see that Harvard University is using that 33 billion endowment to keep costs affordable.

[Sourrudedude]

Wow at another significant tuition and cost increase. With the explosion of student debt and the legal market job opportunities declining, glad to see that Harvard University is using that 33 billion endowment to keep costs affordable.

They just got a 150 million donation for financial aid... For the undergrad college.

[anubis1911]

I was accepted a while ago now (2 weeks) and have yet to receive my official acceptance packet... At what point do I call and say it is lost?