Harvard Student(s) Answering Your Questions Forum

[Searchparty]

Any thoughts about Sunstein for admin law? I've heard not so great things about him and his reviews aren't great, but it would be convenient for my schedule.

I took his class and the stuff that others wrote here is pretty accurate. That said, I don't regret having taken it. It was incoherent all semester and then the last couple weeks and during exam period it started to come together a bit. If you take it, it helps to use the commercial case brief book because he refers to cases in passing as though everyone is familiar with them, and sometimes they weren't even in the reading.

Augh. My schedule is already "perfect," but I don't want this headache. I hope I can pick up another course to drop this one. Is it a large class?

Are there any small courses not subject to the curve?

[tomwatts]

Any thoughts about Sunstein for admin law? I've heard not so great things about him and his reviews aren't great, but it would be convenient for my schedule.

I took his class and the stuff that others wrote here is pretty accurate. That said, I don't regret having taken it. It was incoherent all semester and then the last couple weeks and during exam period it started to come together a bit. If you take it, it helps to use the commercial case brief book because he refers to cases in passing as though everyone is familiar with them, and sometimes they weren't even in the reading.

Augh. My schedule is already "perfect," but I don't want this headache. I hope I can pick up another course to drop this one. Is it a large class?

Are there any small courses not subject to the curve?

Anything over 30 students is supposed to follow the recommended grade distribution. Under 30 can, but may not. Check Helios for class sizes.

Sunstein's Admin is slated for 93, according to Helios.

[Person1111]

I liked Stephenson for admin, but it's a tough class and features an absurd number of gunners/overachievers (my class had something like half of the HLR in it).

[Doorkeeper]

I liked Stephenson for admin, but it's a tough class and features an absurd number of gunners/overachievers (my class had something like half of the HLR in it).

This is pretty much every admin class.

[094320]

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[Searchparty]

Any thoughts about Sunstein for admin law? I've heard not so great things about him and his reviews aren't great, but it would be convenient for my schedule.

I took his class and the stuff that others wrote here is pretty accurate. That said, I don't regret having taken it. It was incoherent all semester and then the last couple weeks and during exam period it started to come together a bit. If you take it, it helps to use the commercial case brief book because he refers to cases in passing as though everyone is familiar with them, and sometimes they weren't even in the reading.

Augh. My schedule is already "perfect," but I don't want this headache. I hope I can pick up another course to drop this one. Is it a large class?

Are there any small courses not subject to the curve?

Anything over 30 students is supposed to follow the recommended grade distribution. Under 30 can, but may not. Check Helios for class sizes.

Sunstein's Admin is slated for 93, according to Helios.

Apparently stupid question then... Where is class size on Helios???

[despina]

Apparently stupid question then... Where is class size on Helios???

Not a stupid question at all -- it's a stupid system. Class size should be available in the general course catalogue, and should be available prior to registration, but it's not.

As far as I can tell there are two ways to see class size:
1. Add yourself to the waitlist. You'll then see it on Helios under "Your Courses - Waitlist" (column: "Program Capacity.")
2. To get a rougher idea, check out course evaluations from previous years on https://www.law.harvard.edu/academics/c ... index.html.

[t-14orbust]

Should I buy my own printer? Seems costly and hopefully unnecessary

[despina]

Should I buy my own printer? Seems costly and hopefully unnecessary

Absolutely not. You have basically unlimited free printing at the law school. Happened to have a home printer already, and the only thing I've used it for in the last two years is boarding passes for weekend flights (which is barely necessary since Logan TSA can scan cell phones, but I find that more hassle than it's worth and prefer to print mine).

[t-14orbust]

Should I buy my own printer? Seems costly and hopefully unnecessary

Absolutely not. You have basically unlimited free printing at the law school. Happened to have a home printer already, and the only thing I've used it for in the last two years is boarding passes for weekend flights.

yay

[EdSaid]

Apparently stupid question then... Where is class size on Helios???

Not a stupid question at all -- it's a stupid system. Class size should be available in the general course catalogue, and should be available prior to registration, but it's not.

As far as I can tell there are two ways to see class size:
1. Add yourself to the waitlist. You'll then see it on Helios under "Your Courses - Waitlist" (column: "Program Capacity.")
2. To get a rougher idea, check out course evaluations from previous years on https://www.law.harvard.edu/academics/c ... index.html.

You can also go into Helios and go to the add/drop part (the actual tab where you can search through classes). Then you just click on the class you are interested in and the last two lines under the professor, number of credits, and date/times, are program capacity and waitlist/open slots.

[ph14]

Should I buy my own printer? Seems costly and hopefully unnecessary

If you don't want to you don't need one. I had one and am glad I had it. Printers aren't that expensive nowadays, you can get one for thirty bucks.

[Single-Malt-Liquor]

Should I buy my own printer? Seems costly and hopefully unnecessary

Absolutely not. You have basically unlimited free printing at the law school. Happened to have a home printer already, and the only thing I've used it for in the last two years is boarding passes for weekend flights (which is barely necessary since Logan TSA can scan cell phones, but I find that more hassle than it's worth and prefer to print mine).

This depends on how close you live to campus. For instance, if you like printing and marking up your LRW assignments, printing your case briefs without going to campus first, having a printer could help.

Also, printing take-home exams at school before starting the exam seems like unneeded extra stress (computer lab doesn't open until 9AM, exams start at 8:30 there are of course other printers, but eh).

[despina]

Should I buy my own printer? Seems costly and hopefully unnecessary

Absolutely not. You have basically unlimited free printing at the law school. Happened to have a home printer already, and the only thing I've used it for in the last two years is boarding passes for weekend flights (which is barely necessary since Logan TSA can scan cell phones, but I find that more hassle than it's worth and prefer to print mine).

This depends on how close you live to campus. For instance, if you like printing and marking up your LRW assignments, printing your case briefs without going to campus first, having a printer could help.

Also, printing take-home exams at school before starting the exam seems like unneeded extra stress (computer lab doesn't open until 9AM, exams start at 8:30 there are of course other printers, but eh).

I live pretty far from campus -- going there just to print something out definitely wouldn't make sense for me. I just didn't print take-home exams (read the PDFs on my laptop at home), and I worked on my LRW brief with my partner on campus so printing and marking up there was no problem. I guess if those things are major concerns then getting a printer would make sense.

[094320]

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[Person1111]

I liked Stephenson for admin, but it's a tough class and features an absurd number of gunners/overachievers (my class had something like half of the HLR in it).

This is pretty much every admin class.

This. If you're afraid of HLR gunners, don't take admin. Or Fedcourts.

Based on my own experience and speaking to others, there is a material difference between Stephenson's admin course and other admin courses (and I think the same distinction applies to fed courts - all fed courts classes are full of gunners, but there is a very real difference between taking fed courts with John Manning and taking it with, say, Martha Field or Vicki Jackson). I still think Stephenson's class is worth taking, but you are going to have to hear some shameless gunning for 4 hours a week and you will probably get a P. Just my two cents.

[lawschoolboundfuture]

When do people think HLR results will be announced?

[wwwcol]

The HLR website was recently updated to say the week of the 21st, so most likely that Monday if they follow the historical trend of Monday results

[Mr. Elshal]

Should I buy my own printer? Seems costly and hopefully unnecessary

If you don't want to you don't need one. I had one and am glad I had it. Printers aren't that expensive nowadays, you can get one for thirty bucks.

I went with a dirt-cheap printer and was glad to have the convenience. You almost certainly will not use more than a cartridge of ink and one ream of paper, so the costs really shouldn't be prohibitive. I found it very helpful.

[gottago]

nvm

[tomwatts]

Size and location seem like the biggest differentiators. These carry along with them a ton of baggage, so location is not just East Coast vs. West Coast (and SF/SV vs. Boston/Cambridge) but also semi-urban/suburban (Harvard) vs. outside of a suburb and basically on a farm (Stanford). Think through all of the implications of each factor.

Minor differentiators include quarter vs. semester system and availability/breadth of law and non-law classes that might interest you.

[Miznitic]

probably not as bitter as you still are about harvard

Touché

[Doorkeeper]

Totally depends on what you want to do with the law degree.

Depending on your goals, things like course offerings, faculty expertise, government connections, tech connections, and geography can play big roles.

[gottago]

[Post about how my "learning" style is to sit in the back of the room and doze off and how a small class size (e.g., at Stanford or Yale) would offer "advantages" I don't care about.

Developing close relationships with profs is mostly a giant flame to me since I view any prof as interchangeable with an adjunct you pluck out of a shitlaw hearing unless the prof offers an in with a WLRK partner or a particular CoA judge, but I don't really care about clerking right now because people said it's not really relevant to transactional practice.

Also, how my UG was very boring and routine and when I was deciding I thought I'd have a better chance of not falling into a funk at Harvard compared to YS, even if Boston and its 2AM closings and no happy hour don't exactly equal Prague or w.e.

No interest in public interest so YLS's COAP didn't matter. Goals are NY V5/10/etc and HLS is at least as good.

My goals/attitudes toward learning wiped out almost all of YLS's advantages over HLS and Cambridge's striking resemblance to Prague (lol) was a good enough 5th tiebreaker]

Edited to edit out info but now editing some back so that no one gets it twisted.

[094320]

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