Harvard Student(s) Answering Your Questions Forum

[094320]

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[patogordo]

cue 20 more people asking what the typical financial aid package is

[scoopDeeDoo]

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[HarvardHopeful]

What are some of your opinions on Harvard's large class size and the benefits and/or drawbacks of it? Is it harder to get to know professors? Does anyone think they would've performed better at a smaller school?

I'm deciding between a much smaller school and Harvard. Not sure whether I should be looking at small class size elsewhere as a positive or negative and I'm curious to hear what people think. Thanks!

[ph14]

What are some of your opinions on Harvard's large class size and the benefits and/or drawbacks of it? Is it harder to get to know professors? Does anyone think they would've performed better at a smaller school?

I'm deciding between a much smaller school and Harvard. Not sure whether I should be looking at small class size elsewhere as a positive or negative and I'm curious to hear what people think. Thanks!

This was discussed just 2 pages back. Here's what I said:

How hard is it at HLS to get mentorship from faculty, given it's large faculty-student ratio. How did you make it work?

Probably easier than you would think, with the caveat that you have to make the initial reach out. I have been really pleasantly surprised in this respect. Faculty are very accessible for the most part, as long as you initiate contact.

What's HLS's "large faculty-student ratio"? We have so many professors that I can't believe the ratio is that high. Actually, the large faculty size is a hidden plus that people on TLS don't really think or talk about. More faculty means more likely that there is someone available in the field or precise area of a field that you are interested in. And moreover, it means there is a greater chance you will connect with a professor and develop a professional relationship. Think about it: 100+ people, your odds of finding someone you connect with is much higher. If your faculty is 20 people, you might just not connect or really enjoy working for/with any of the faculty. If you want to write about, say, corporate law, and there are only one or two corporate law professors, your options are pretty limited. At HLS, though, there's probably six or more corporate law professors. You see what I'm getting at.

[HarvardHopeful]

What are some of your opinions on Harvard's large class size and the benefits and/or drawbacks of it? Is it harder to get to know professors? Does anyone think they would've performed better at a smaller school?

I'm deciding between a much smaller school and Harvard. Not sure whether I should be looking at small class size elsewhere as a positive or negative and I'm curious to hear what people think. Thanks!

This was discussed just 2 pages back. Here's what I said:

How hard is it at HLS to get mentorship from faculty, given it's large faculty-student ratio. How did you make it work?

Probably easier than you would think, with the caveat that you have to make the initial reach out. I have been really pleasantly surprised in this respect. Faculty are very accessible for the most part, as long as you initiate contact.

What's HLS's "large faculty-student ratio"? We have so many professors that I can't believe the ratio is that high. Actually, the large faculty size is a hidden plus that people on TLS don't really think or talk about. More faculty means more likely that there is someone available in the field or precise area of a field that you are interested in. And moreover, it means there is a greater chance you will connect with a professor and develop a professional relationship. Think about it: 100+ people, your odds of finding someone you connect with is much higher. If your faculty is 20 people, you might just not connect or really enjoy working for/with any of the faculty. If you want to write about, say, corporate law, and there are only one or two corporate law professors, your options are pretty limited. At HLS, though, there's probably six or more corporate law professors. You see what I'm getting at.

Oops! I apologize, but thank you that advice is helpful.

[094320]

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[Pneumonia]

a predictably helpful post from tomwatts:
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... start=2889

[BlakcMajikc]

I'm going to go ahead and start compiling an FAQ in the first post of this thread. Feel free to point me towards stuff you think should be there.

Thank you in advance. Seriously.

[094320]

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[Pneumonia]

lol blew it; I meant the ph14 post that lists all of the profs and bolds those with a good reputation.
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... start=2889

maybe a lot to copy into the OP but the link is useful.

[094320]

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[wert3813]

I feel like there is decent housing talk in the 70s but I could be totally wrong.

[wert3813]

Tw also had s good one on the pros and cons Of cross registration not too long ago. I'm on my phone or I'd go find it.

[094320]

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[splat232]

I feel like there is decent housing talk in the 70s but I could be totally wrong.

There's one post in particular I remember vaguely, I think englawyer wrote it nearly 2 years ago, but I'm not sure about the timing or the poster. I checked pages 70-80, no dice.

Not sure if you saw this already but there is some housing discussion on pgs 68-69. Tomwatts has a pretty lengthy gropius write up on 69.

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... start=1700

[tomwatts]

Tw also had s good one on the pros and cons Of cross registration not too long ago. I'm on my phone or I'd go find it.

That was back here, and I also put some cross-registration information in separate post back here.

My Holmes/Ames/Dane description was here (and another back on page 69). It's a little over-elaborate, though.

A bunch of people wrote some useful 1L stuff about preparing for class back around here, if that qualifies. Or this stuff on 0L prep.

Also I think there's a good chance I know tomwatts at HLS, but don't know it.

Well, if you know someone named "Tom Watts" at HLS, you know me.

[094320]

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[roranoa]

Are there students even at HLS that just slack off and not study hard enough? I actually kind of expect there should be b/c every organization, institution, or group has one.

But then what kind of student would slack off at HLS? It says something about that person that he ir she even got in.

[tomwatts]

Are there students even at HLS that just slack off and not study hard enough? I actually kind of expect there should be b/c every organization, institution, or group has one.

But then what kind of student would slack off at HLS? It says something about that person that he ir she even got in.

I definitely know one person who knew, having gotten into HLS and having particular career goals (NYC midlaw, I think), that straight Ps would be enough to get her where she wanted to go. So she never did anything more than enough to get straight Ps. She ended up with a few Hs by accident, but she does as little work as anyone I've seen who's still planning to do law upon graduating.

(A disproportionate number of my friends dropped out/took a year off in the middle of law school/aren't doing law when they graduate, and some of them slack off even more, at least with regard to law.)

The reality is that if you want to do decent-paying but non-selective private practice in NYC, Ps are fine. The market is really, really deep. You can't do that with DC, SF, etc., but you can with NYC from HLS.

[Blessedassurance]

Are there students even at HLS that just slack off and not study hard enough? I actually kind of expect there should be b/c every organization, institution, or group has one.

But then what kind of student would slack off at HLS? It says something about that person that he ir she even got in.

people "slacking off" (whatever that means) doesn't mean you'll beat them on the curve. some people don't need to sleep in the library to get it, nor does studying hard guarantee anything.

[delusional]

Are there students even at HLS that just slack off and not study hard enough? I actually kind of expect there should be b/c every organization, institution, or group has one.

But then what kind of student would slack off at HLS? It says something about that person that he ir she even got in.

I know people who are here because they want to experience it and have no intention of being lawyers or even gaining a credential. But that is not the norm.

There is this weird phenomenon where people pretend not to be working hard for some reason. Not sure what the point of it is. It's not intrusive or anything, but they'll just randomly make comments like, "I didn't do any of the readings until spring break", and then at some point it hits you that this is a total lie.

[Doorkeeper]

Are there students even at HLS that just slack off and not study hard enough? I actually kind of expect there should be b/c every organization, institution, or group has one.

But then what kind of student would slack off at HLS? It says something about that person that he ir she even got in.

I had multiple friends in my section who were considered to be slackers. They got a range of grade and I think they all have at least V20-50 in NYC (some have V5).

[ph14]

People do generally care less as 2Ls and especially 3Ls, I think. But it's rare to see true "slacking" that you might see in undergrad as a 1L, though i'm sure there are some people. In any event, I can't see how this would really change your decision to attend HLS or the way you proceed through law school at all.

[Mista Bojangles]

Are there students even at HLS that just slack off and not study hard enough? I actually kind of expect there should be b/c every organization, institution, or group has one.

But then what kind of student would slack off at HLS? It says something about that person that he ir she even got in.

I know people who are here because they want to experience it and have no intention of being lawyers or even gaining a credential. But that is not the norm.

There is this weird phenomenon where people pretend not to be working hard for some reason. Not sure what the point of it is. It's not intrusive or anything, but they'll just randomly make comments like, "I didn't do any of the readings until spring break", and then at some point it hits you that this is a total lie.

lol. this. best brief encapsulation of HLS culture that i've seen on this board