In at Harvard Forum

LaCumparsita · Post by **LaCumparsita** » Mon Mar 05, 2012 2:28 pm

Welcome captain, Byz, jd5! I remember the excitement of getting in... *nostalgic wave washes over me*

brownpride · Post by **brownpride** » Mon Mar 05, 2012 7:13 pm

Checking in

lessthanjake · Post by **lessthanjake** » Mon Mar 05, 2012 10:00 pm

Checking in as well!

defrutamadre · Post by **defrutamadre** » Mon Mar 05, 2012 10:12 pm

ladybug89 wrote:All you March ASW-ers, don't forget to share your thoughts/recap the weekend for those of who can't go until April (or at all)!! i'm super excited for everyone going this weekend =D

+1!

And congrats to all the new admits!

instantwonton · Post by **instantwonton** » Mon Mar 05, 2012 11:08 pm

Yay! Congrats new admits! So far all TLSers I've met are awesome! Come hang out with us on the FB page. Feel free to PM me or ask questions on FB if you have any questions about this past weekend's ASW or anything we learned while there.

brownpride · Post by **brownpride** » Tue Mar 06, 2012 9:27 am

Who do we PM to join the FB group?

splbagel · Post by **splbagel** » Tue Mar 06, 2012 9:33 am

brownpride wrote:Who do we PM to join the FB group?

Curious1. Welcome aboard!

brownpride · Post by **brownpride** » Tue Mar 06, 2012 11:55 am

splbagel wrote:
brownpride wrote:Who do we PM to join the FB group?
Curious1. Welcome aboard!

Thanks!

Onthebrink · Post by **Onthebrink** » Tue Mar 06, 2012 12:03 pm

It has been a week since my JS2 and it is still like a dream! Loving this.

jd5 · Post by **jd5** » Tue Mar 06, 2012 2:22 pm

Anyone care to summarize the accepted students' weekend? I don't think I'm going to be able to attend one myself, as I was accepted just this past Saturday and have a wedding to go to during the second ASW, so I'll have to live off of second-hand accounts (and maybe an improvised visit of my own).

kulshan · Post by **kulshan** » Tue Mar 06, 2012 3:28 pm

jd5 wrote:Anyone care to summarize the accepted students' weekend? I don't think I'm going to be able to attend one myself, as I was accepted just this past Saturday and have a wedding to go to during the second ASW, so I'll have to live off of second-hand accounts (and maybe an improvised visit of my own).

The profs they had doing presentations and panels were all very impressive. I'm sure they deliberately picked people who would be very engaging, excited, and fun (and HLS grads mostly), but boy were they engaging, excited, and fun! The mock class was cool, the talks were informative and compelling, even the negotiation exercise, which I fully expected to be super lame, was interesting. All the other prospective students I met were interesting, down-to-earth folks with various goals and passions. All in all, very convincing.

ladybug89 · Post by **ladybug89** » Fri Mar 09, 2012 12:42 am

Did anyone dislike the ASW? From what I remember about obsessively reading through past ASW threads, there are typically quite mixed feelings about HLS. Curious whether that's no longer true, or whether the haters aren't posting, or whether it's that you've all met each other and so don't want to say negative things?

Lily Pad · Post by **Lily Pad** » Fri Mar 09, 2012 10:36 am

I wasn't actually in love with Harvard after ASW. For as much as they've been emphasizing WE, I was really surprised at the huge number of K-JD admits who were there - that may have just been a factor of it being harder for those of us with jobs to get time off for ASW though. Plus, not that it will really matter in making my decision, but it was really cold there!

annyong · Post by **annyong** » Fri Mar 09, 2012 1:32 pm

I didn't really fall in love with Harvard during ASW either, though I can't put my finger on why. I didn't see anything I actively disliked, I just didn't really find anything I was in love with either. The new facilities are certainly nice, though.

kulshan · Post by **kulshan** » Fri Mar 09, 2012 1:42 pm

It could be that it's easiest (psychologically) to like it when it is the best option you have going. Since I haven't heard from YLS, I was looking for reasons to convince myself HLS would be good for me, and I found them. But it's probably much harder when you have other compelling options on the table already. In related news, I wish YLS would just make a decision on me either way already!

sailboat · Post by **sailboat** » Fri Mar 09, 2012 1:49 pm

I really enjoyed it, though I definitely didn't feel "sold" until Monday. But then Monday was basically back-to-back hits for me. I thought the class I went to was really excellent - not focused on black-letter law, but not wholly theoretical either, more of a nice middle ground, which is right where my personal academic/professional interests lie. The panel about public interest advising was phenomenal - I really had no notion of the sheer amount of resources Harvard dedicates to public interest, and Alexa Shabecoff, the head of the public interest advising office, is clearly a tremendously valuable resource in her own right. Also, it helped to give me a sense that there's a really strong public service-oriented community at Harvard, which means a lot to me. And to top it off, I was so impressed with the professor I had lunch with. Not only is he a really big name in his field, but he was also incredibly kind, friendly, and down to earth.

(I will add a disclaimer that not everything at the ASW wowed me - the student I had lunch with on Sunday was kind of meh, and the activities fair was really informative and valuable but also made me wonder if I'm actually going to enjoy any activities in law school, ha... but I think that may be more of an issue with trying to understand the appeal of working on a journal, etc., which right now I just don't see. Oh and also, I know Klarman is a bigwig but I really had to fight hard to stay awake during his speechy thing on Sunday.)

I was pretty sure I was going to Harvard even before the ASW, but I was certainly open to the possibility I wouldn't like it and potentially would have to reevaluate my options. I was especially nervous about what the other admitted and current students would be like, so it was a relief to discover that the vast majority were a great combination of smart/intellectually curious/passionate but also friendly/fun/easy to talk to. And the one person I really didn't like is apparently going to Yale.

splbagel · Post by **splbagel** » Fri Mar 09, 2012 2:59 pm

sailboat wrote:I really enjoyed it, though I definitely didn't feel "sold" until Monday. But then Monday was basically back-to-back hits for me. I thought the class I went to was really excellent - not focused on black-letter law, but not wholly theoretical either, more of a nice middle ground, which is right where my personal academic/professional interests lie. The panel about public interest advising was phenomenal - I really had no notion of the sheer amount of resources Harvard dedicates to public interest, and Alexa Shabecoff, the head of the public interest advising office, is clearly a tremendously valuable resource in her own right. Also, it helped to give me a sense that there's a really strong public service-oriented community at Harvard, which means a lot to me. And to top it off, I was so impressed with the professor I had lunch with. Not only is he a really big name in his field, but he was also incredibly kind, friendly, and down to earth.

This was almost exactly my experience as well.

When I visited my undergrad for the admitted students day, it instantly "clicked" and I felt at home -- I remember thinking "these are my people, this place is a perfect fit for my personality." I didn't expect that same feeling at HLS, but it was still a bit disappointing to go through the first few days thinking, "these people are bright and friendly, this place has a lot going for it, but I just don't feel that intangible spark." This was my first ASW, so maybe this wasn't HLS-specific but more about my trepidation about law school in general.

Anyway, what really sold me was the OPIA panel that sailboat mentioned, as well as the opportunity to get to meet a few folks in the student practice organization I hope to join, and to get to know them over dinner on Sunday night. Those two things, plus the LIPP and the insane amount of funding for student organizations, travel, independent projects, etc, are what really convinced me that there is a like-minded community for me at HLS, and that the school is really the best place for my particular interests and goals.

It was also fun to meet a bunch of TLSers (must have been at least 20 of you that I met over the course of the weekend) and learn that some of you share my interests (hi LawGuy321, euskadi & soj!).

As I mentioned on the facebook group, as of now I'm pretty sold on HLS. Hope to see some of you there in the fall!

nametaken · Post by **nametaken** » Tue Mar 13, 2012 11:50 am

Got my award package yesterday, actually pretty pleasantly surprised.

Blessedassurance · Post by **Blessedassurance** » Tue Mar 13, 2012 11:52 am

nametaken wrote:Got my award package yesterday, actually pretty pleasantly surprised.

By mail? Did you get an email notification?

nametaken · Post by **nametaken** » Tue Mar 13, 2012 11:53 am

Blessedassurance wrote:
nametaken wrote:Got my award package yesterday, actually pretty pleasantly surprised.
By mail? Did you get an email notification?

It was by e-mail to my Harvard account (which basically just directed me to go to the financial aid page)

jd5 · Post by **jd5** » Tue Mar 13, 2012 2:40 pm

Are the financial aid application forms and information available on the website? I haven't received my acceptance package yet, but I need to send that stuff in soon, as my decision re where to attend will likely be dependent on how much (if any) financial aid I get from HLS.

tachikara · Post by **tachikara** » Tue Mar 13, 2012 3:18 pm

https://myfaid.law.harvard.edu/NetPartn ... gHome.aspx

http://www.law.harvard.edu/current/sfs/ ... cationform

You can do parts of it just going by your email, which is available on your status checker. However, some of it seems to require a login that may be provided to you in the welcome packet.

crystalized · Post by **crystalized** » Tue Mar 13, 2012 11:14 pm

I heard that Harvard has an arrangement with a bank to give a private student loan without the need for a US cosigner, is this true? If so, does anyone have any more details about this?

jd5 · Post by **jd5** » Wed Mar 14, 2012 9:39 am

Any guesstimate as to what the cutoff is for parental income above which one shouldn't expect to receive any financial aid? My parents make enough that I never qualified for aid in undergrad, but I've heard law schools (especially HYS) are more lenient, and now I have two younger siblings in college.

bogm2012 · Post by **bogm2012** » Wed Mar 14, 2012 9:50 am

jd5 wrote:Any guesstimate as to what the cutoff is for parental income above which one shouldn't expect to receive any financial aid? My parents make enough that I never qualified for aid in undergrad, but I've heard law schools (especially HYS) are more lenient, and now I have two younger siblings in college.

Hmmm. I think it's $150,000 without dependents. Less sure about this, but something like $200,000 with dependents. Keep in mind that this is the maximum. The median parental income is around $90,000 for those receiving grant aid.

Also keep in mind that assets are important, though not as important as income, and that if you'll be 26 or above by 09/01/2012 your parents income will matter less.

In at Harvard Forum

Which ASW are you going to attend?

Re: In at Harvard

Re: In at Harvard

Re: In at Harvard

Re: In at Harvard

Re: In at Harvard

Register now to search topics and post comments!

Re: In at Harvard

Re: In at Harvard

Re: In at Harvard

Re: In at Harvard

Register for access!

Re: In at Harvard

Re: In at Harvard

Re: In at Harvard

Re: In at Harvard

Resources to assist law school applicants, students & graduates.

Re: In at Harvard

Re: In at Harvard

Re: In at Harvard

Re: In at Harvard

Register now!

Re: In at Harvard

Re: In at Harvard

Re: In at Harvard

Re: In at Harvard

Register now, it's still FREE!

Re: In at Harvard

Re: In at Harvard

Re: In at Harvard

Re: In at Harvard

Seriously? What are you waiting for?