Harvard Student(s) Answering Your Questions

[TripTrip]

I remember seeing a post about shipping things to HLS dorms for them to put in your room before you arrive. Is that true? If so, when can we do it and what address do we use?

Thanks!

Yeah: 1585 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138

You'll need to include your mailing number which should be in your lease materials.

Do you know if this applies to commercial packages as well? Can I buy all the shit I need for my dorm on Amazon and just ship it to HLS ahead of time?

Absolutely.

[malleus discentium]

I remember seeing a post about shipping things to HLS dorms for them to put in your room before you arrive. Is that true? If so, when can we do it and what address do we use?

Thanks!

Yeah: 1585 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138

You'll need to include your mailing number which should be in your lease materials.

Do you know if this applies to commercial packages as well? Can I buy all the shit I need for my dorm on Amazon and just ship it to HLS ahead of time?

Absolutely.

IIRC there is both a minimum and maximum weight requirement for this, and they won't move anything that is visibly computer-related. There's also only a certain time window where they'll do this. I can't find the page where they explained these requirements anymore, though, so if you're planning to rely on this I would call and ask.

[nickhalden]

I remember seeing a post about shipping things to HLS dorms for them to put in your room before you arrive. Is that true? If so, when can we do it and what address do we use?

Thanks!

Yeah: 1585 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138

You'll need to include your mailing number which should be in your lease materials.

Do you know if this applies to commercial packages as well? Can I buy all the shit I need for my dorm on Amazon and just ship it to HLS ahead of time?

Absolutely.

IIRC there is both a minimum and maximum weight requirement for this, and they won't move anything that is visibly computer-related. There's also only a certain time window where they'll do this. I can't find the page where they explained these requirements anymore, though, so if you're planning to rely on this I would call and ask.

Thanks guys! I googled around and just found this page on move-in:

At the beginning of the year, you may mail packages to HLS and have them waiting in your room when you arrive. The HLS Mail Center handles all mail and package deliveries, so you should ship the packages to yourself at your Mail Center address. In order to ensure that your packages are delivered to your room, you should plan to have them arrive no sooner than 10 days prior to your move-in date.

Unfortunately, the HLS Mail Center is not able to deliver packages under 15 pounds or exceeding 50 pounds to your room, so please pack your boxes accordingly. In addition, any identifiable computer boxes, regardless of weight, should be picked up in the Mail Center for the security of your item. Should a box outside these descriptions arrive, you may pick it up in the HLS Residential Mail Center. Packages that arrive after the day of your scheduled move-in or later can also be picked up in the HLS Residential Mail Center. Please note that during the academic year, packages will not be delivered to your room – all deliveries go to the HLS Residential Mail Center where students can pick them up after receiving e-mail notification of arrival.

The Mail center is located in WCC-B086. Hours are 8am – 6pm. You can contact the Mail Staff at hlsmail@law.harvard.edu or at 617-495-3171.

[TripTrip]

Indeed. Though it helps to think of it from their perspective: they are trying to keep the mailroom from becoming over crowded while not wasting their staff's time. If you have two 10lb packages and one giant box sitting in the mailroom, they're probably going to deliver everything. Even if they don't, its like two hundred feet to go get it yourself.

Related pro tip: if you're in Gropius, the fastest way to the mailroom is to enter in through the Clinical door on Everett and take the inconspicuous sterile staircase down. You'll land right outside the mailroom (after going through two sets of fire doors). Then come back up the same staircase and exit out the other stairway door. This will put you right next to Story Hall. If you don't do that and decide to wander into WCC via the Hark, you'll walk about three times as far (probably even farther the first few times).

[Nonconsecutive]

from the website it looks like year round, but im not 100% sure... http://huhs.harvard.edu/

Year round.

[tomwatts]

Related pro tip: if you're in Gropius, the fastest way to the mailroom is to enter in through the Clinical door on Everett and take the inconspicuous sterile staircase down. You'll land right outside the mailroom (after going through two sets of fire doors). Then come back up the same staircase and exit out the other stairway door. This will put you right next to Story Hall. If you don't do that and decide to wander into WCC via the Hark, you'll walk about three times as far (probably even farther the first few times).

Also, if you have something heavy to retrieve from the mail room, you can borrow a hand truck and go out through the garage so that you can roll the whole way.

[Pneumonia]

Are cover letters required for EIP?

[jingosaur]

Are cover letters required for EIP?

EIP firms cannot ask you for a cover letter.

[Pneumonia]

Are cover letters required for EIP?

EIP firms cannot ask you for a cover letter.

Yessssssss. Thanks, this is what I thought. I was on the OCS blog or whatever and saw a "cover letter" link and wanted to be sure.

[Kluge]

"If you apply for your supplemental loan funds prior to July 1st, your loan will be processed in time to be reflect as an anticipated financial aid credit on your first eBill in early July. If you apply on or after July 1st, but before August 1st, the loan will appear as an anticipated credit on your August eBill. Applications received after August 1st will be processed daily and can be used towards your balance due in lieu of payment. If all of your financial aid is not in place by August 7, 2015 you could be placed on financial hold blocking your ability to register, add or drop classes, or receive a cash advance. Additionally you could incur a fine of $250."

It seems here like it won't be problematic to apply for my federal loans in early July, is that true?

Thank you guys, really appreciate all the questions you answer for us incoming 1Ls.

[Mack.Hambleton]

checked out HLS Dope, any other stuff like that people use often?

[foxes]

"If you apply for your supplemental loan funds prior to July 1st, your loan will be processed in time to be reflect as an anticipated financial aid credit on your first eBill in early July. If you apply on or after July 1st, but before August 1st, the loan will appear as an anticipated credit on your August eBill. Applications received after August 1st will be processed daily and can be used towards your balance due in lieu of payment. If all of your financial aid is not in place by August 7, 2015 you could be placed on financial hold blocking your ability to register, add or drop classes, or receive a cash advance. Additionally you could incur a fine of $250."

It seems here like it won't be problematic to apply for my federal loans in early July, is that true?

Thank you guys, really appreciate all the questions you answer for us incoming 1Ls.

was about to ask this as well.

[LawGuy321]

http://harvard.philo.com/

So I fell down the Google rabbit hole and somehow ended up here. Do HLS students get access to this business? And if so, is it as cool as it sounds?

Philo is only available to undergrads living on campus -- if you try to sign up with your ID, you receive that pleasant information. I also know the co-founder: good guy!

[BelugaWhale]

http://harvard.philo.com/

So I fell down the Google rabbit hole and somehow ended up here. Do HLS students get access to this business? And if so, is it as cool as it sounds?

Philo is only available to undergrads living on campus -- if you try to sign up with your ID, you receive that pleasant information. I also know the co-founder: good guy!

To make clear though, you still get basic channels. You just don't get all the channels. So yes, philio does work.

[LawGuy321]

Why does Harvard calculate overall GPA by averaging annual GPA from 1L, 2L, and 3L?

I'm assuming it's because otherwise, 1L would greatly outweigh the other years since it's so many damn credits. You take between 36 and 38 credit hours as a 1L. I took 24 my 3L year.

Not sure why they think that should matter. It seems like each credit should figure equally into the GPA. If 1L is more, so be it.

People should take Economic Analysis of Law. It's not only equity it's incentives: If people knew 1L grades so heavily outweighed the last two years, the incentive to work hard all three years is lessened for everyone (and this would be on top of a lighter grading curve, so you could get even less participation in 2L/3L than we already have). On the other hand, because 1L is the toughest for everyone (gunners and nongunners alike), it also allows people to demonstrate at the end of law school that poor(er) 1L grades are not necessarily reflective of their overall work effort, thus incentivizing people who came out looking like bottom of class to continue working hard. I know several people who worked their asses off 1L, but consistently fell on the P-H line or right below (and we know how subjective that line is). These people then went on to make straight H's in 2L/3L--which put them up for cum laude/magna.**

A final point on the fairness factor: a family emergency, or personal issues (whatever) during 1L could take down an entire semester of grades. One messed up semester 1L would then have such a negative impact that could completely destroy chances at honors, when it wouldn't have the same effect the last two years.


**I'm actually curious, considering many don't even know how grades are calculated, whether other people in similar situations give up after 1L, thinking they're not capable of making top grades... there may be a selection bias in what sorts of people even know how honors are calculated. Regardless, even if it's just incentivizing gunners who came up short on grades 1L, there could be something to say for having some of these people still working hard 2L/3L instead of checking out like half the student body. I was consistently frustrated by how involved people were in 2L/3L. Huge difference from the Business School, where everyoneis required contribute intelligently.

[TripTrip]

If people knew 1L grades so heavily outweighed the last two years, the incentive to work hard all three years is lessened for everyone

The bigger incentive drop 2L/3L comes from EIP.

For those who aren't clerking and aren't in the running for Honors, there is very little benefit to having one more H. You can't eat it, you can't sell it, no one wants to look at it and you already have a job anyway.

[despina]

If people knew 1L grades so heavily outweighed the last two years, the incentive to work hard all three years is lessened for everyone

The bigger incentive drop 2L/3L comes from EIP.

For those who aren't clerking and aren't in the running for Honors, there is very little benefit to having one more H. You can't eat it, you can't sell it, no one wants to look at it and you already have a job anyway.

Agreed. Most of the people I knew who were hustling as 2Ls / 3Ls were public interest folks (although grades don't matter as much for us, the fear of being unemployed is a powerful force); people who are just unable to turn off that inner drive no matter what the extrinsic incentives (I count myself in this group as well, though not as intensely as some of my classmates); people who maybe had one clerkship and were gunning for a second one; or maybe some people who planned to do biglaw for only a few years and were thinking of transitioning to something like a litigation boutique or using a clerkship as an exit option. Could be wrong though, since it's often hard to tell who's actually hustling when they're pretending not to give a damn about grades.

[LawGuy321]

Agree with you both. For BigLaw folks, there's ALREADY an incentive for people to slack off (and many are embracing such incentive). HLS is not going to implement big EIPs after 2L and 3L to correct incentives in that regard. Calculating grades the way HLS does probably isn't correcting for a large amount of the incentives, but it still has an effect, if only on the margins. Honors is the only thing for which grades are calculated any way, so GPA wouldn't matter for anyone not trying for it. There's still weight to getting honors, and people who are clerking one or two years out from law school will have their full transcripts read when they apply, along with whatever honors awarded.

FWIW, I appreciate how the grades are calculated, and I definitely worked harder than otherwise in 2L/3L. And I do know people who did the same to correct for less-than-par 1Ls. It's just more forgiving, and that forgiving-ness, if you will, helps correct for some people's slacking.

Note that without equal weighting by year, another incentive could come about for honors-seeking people: taking lots of credits 2L/3L, which would also increase faculty demands...so maybe HLS is just trying to save some dough?

If people knew 1L grades so heavily outweighed the last two years, the incentive to work hard all three years is lessened for everyone

The bigger incentive drop 2L/3L comes from EIP.

For those who aren't clerking and aren't in the running for Honors, there is very little benefit to having one more H. You can't eat it, you can't sell it, no one wants to look at it and you already have a job anyway.

Agreed. Most of the people I knew who were hustling as 2Ls / 3Ls were public interest folks (although grades don't matter as much for us, the fear of being unemployed is a powerful force); people who are just unable to turn off that inner drive no matter what the extrinsic incentives (I count myself in this group as well, though not as intensely as some of my classmates); people who maybe had one clerkship and were gunning for a second one; or maybe some people who planned to do biglaw for only a few years and were thinking of transitioning to something like a litigation boutique or using a clerkship as an exit option. Could be wrong though, since it's often hard to tell who's actually hustling when they're pretending not to give a damn about grades.

[Doorkeeper]

One messed up semester 1L would then have such a negative impact that could completely destroy chances at honors, when it wouldn't have the same effect the last two years.

I know multiple people who tanked 1L and then ended up getting cum laude. I also know at least 1 person who was mediocre 1L and got magna. It's not that hard to get cum laude if you choose 2L/3L classes carefully and give a small degree of fucks.

That being said, if all you want is a firm job and you don't give a fuck about clerkships, a lot of people get V5 NYC and then check the fuck out.

[Kluge]

"If you apply for your supplemental loan funds prior to July 1st, your loan will be processed in time to be reflect as an anticipated financial aid credit on your first eBill in early July. If you apply on or after July 1st, but before August 1st, the loan will appear as an anticipated credit on your August eBill. Applications received after August 1st will be processed daily and can be used towards your balance due in lieu of payment. If all of your financial aid is not in place by August 7, 2015 you could be placed on financial hold blocking your ability to register, add or drop classes, or receive a cash advance. Additionally you could incur a fine of $250."

It seems here like it won't be problematic to apply for my federal loans in early July, is that true?

Thank you guys, really appreciate all the questions you answer for us incoming 1Ls.

Anyone? The eBill information is sort of vague. Is the first eBill in July just a statement of what you will need to pay come August or are you responsible for payment/loans to be in place in July? Just trying to get a feel for if I really need to rush on accepting a loan this week. Thank you.

[tomwatts]

"If you apply for your supplemental loan funds prior to July 1st, your loan will be processed in time to be reflect as an anticipated financial aid credit on your first eBill in early July. If you apply on or after July 1st, but before August 1st, the loan will appear as an anticipated credit on your August eBill. Applications received after August 1st will be processed daily and can be used towards your balance due in lieu of payment. If all of your financial aid is not in place by August 7, 2015 you could be placed on financial hold blocking your ability to register, add or drop classes, or receive a cash advance. Additionally you could incur a fine of $250."

It seems here like it won't be problematic to apply for my federal loans in early July, is that true?

Thank you guys, really appreciate all the questions you answer for us incoming 1Ls.

Anyone? The eBill information is sort of vague. Is the first eBill in July just a statement of what you will need to pay come August or are you responsible for payment/loans to be in place in July? Just trying to get a feel for if I really need to rush on accepting a loan this week. Thank you.

I vaguely recall circumstances that suggest that you'd be fine applying for aid in early July, but this really sounds like an SFS question, not a TLS question. SFS would know and could answer you by email pretty quickly.

[foxes]

just read this on the sfs site

Potential LIPP applicants REMINDER: (From our “How Do I Choose a Loan Program?” page) You should consider the length of a private loan’s repayment term and contact the lender to ask about the possibility of formally shortening the repayment term to 10 years from the 15 or 20 year terms that are typically standard. LIPP only provides assistance on the ACTUAL required payment and, although not required, recommends that participants place all of their loans on 10 year repayment terms to maximize the LIPP benefits.

sorry for the dumb question, but why is a 10 year repayment plan better in terms of lipp? how does that maximize benefits? i read the lipp info on the site, but cant seem to figure it out is it because a 10 year plan would result in higher monthly payments, so lipp would pay more...?

[TripTrip]

just read this on the sfs site

Potential LIPP applicants REMINDER: (From our “How Do I Choose a Loan Program?” page) You should consider the length of a private loan’s repayment term and contact the lender to ask about the possibility of formally shortening the repayment term to 10 years from the 15 or 20 year terms that are typically standard. LIPP only provides assistance on the ACTUAL required payment and, although not required, recommends that participants place all of their loans on 10 year repayment terms to maximize the LIPP benefits.

sorry for the dumb question, but why is a 10 year repayment plan better in terms of lipp? how does that maximize benefits? i read the lipp info on the site, but cant seem to figure it out is it because a 10 year plan would result in higher monthly payments, so lipp would pay more...?

Yes.

[foxes]

Yes.

haha, thanks

[Kobaine51]

Lincoln's Inn Society, good time or only for goobers?