Harvard c/o 2016 Applicants (2012-2013) Forum

[04102014]

I went to the University of Florida, a large public institution by any measure. I only applied to Yale and UF for undergrad--I was 18, not that interested in the application process, and generally apathetic. UF was fantastically cheap, and here I am four years later and it doesn't seem to have hurt me. We have five students from here who have gotten into HLS so far--we all went out for coffee yesterday, in fact.

on that note, i was deciding between HYP and a few state schools. HYP each gave me significant financial aid packages, so it was cheaper to go to any of those Ivies than it was to go to a state school. people generally write off private schools because of the expense, but i found financial aid programs at the top to be truly excellent.

Aren't the top schools giving people below a certain threshold full rides now or something? I know Harvard has something like this.

[vzapana]

I went to the University of Florida, a large public institution by any measure. I only applied to Yale and UF for undergrad--I was 18, not that interested in the application process, and generally apathetic. UF was fantastically cheap, and here I am four years later and it doesn't seem to have hurt me. We have five students from here who have gotten into HLS so far--we all went out for coffee yesterday, in fact.

on that note, i was deciding between HYP and a few state schools. HYP each gave me significant financial aid packages, so it was cheaper to go to any of those Ivies than it was to go to a state school. people generally write off private schools because of the expense, but i found financial aid programs at the top to be truly excellent.

Aren't the top schools giving people below a certain threshold full rides now or something? I know Harvard has something like this.

basically everyone under $65k pays nothing, everyone from $65k to $150k pay at most $15k a year, and everyone from $150k to $200k gets some sort of scholarship. it's a solid deal.

[Searchparty]

In my situation, I wasn't ready to leave my home state and public school was convenient. 1500 SAT and calculated 4.0 (weighting with AP an honors as calculated by the university adcomm)... I was concerned I wouldn't get into the state school for some crazy reason. Worked out well, avoided (most) debt and still got into HLS!

ALSO... Most schools have problem giving AP exams course credit. (This) public school had no problem awarding me ~ 30 credits worth for all my AP exams. Saved time and money.

[TripTrip]

1500 SAT

I'm not an expert on the SAT, but did you also get a 280 on the LSAT?

[ph5354a]

1500 SAT

I'm not an expert on the SAT, but did you also get a 280 on the LSAT?

2 sections of 800 points. 1500 means an average of 750. Very impressive score.

[TripTrip]

1500 SAT

I'm not an expert on the SAT, but did you also get a 280 on the LSAT?

2 sections of 800 points. 1500 means an average of 750. Very impressive score.

Ah! Kudos.

[cwid1391]

On the flip side, mention you applied to HYS and the conversation gets uncomfortable. Fellow TLSers - do you have similar experiences with this? Sometimes I feel that some people are so competitive right after college that they need to maintain an image of being better off than their peers.

I get this a lot. When you mention that you are applying to law school they ask if you're going to [respective law school of UG] and when you say you're not they seem really confused. Then when they ask where you're applying and you tell them, they get sort of defensive. It was even worse before I had actually gotten acceptances because then the response was always kind of a smug "Oh yeah, you're applying to those schools?" as though I was overreaching. T14 problems...

[Searchparty]

1500 SAT

I'm not an expert on the SAT, but did you also get a 280 on the LSAT?

2 sections of 800 points. 1500 means an average of 750. Very impressive score.

Funny enough, I did end up getting exactly 750 on each section

[Searchparty]

On the flip side, mention you applied to HYS and the conversation gets uncomfortable. Fellow TLSers - do you have similar experiences with this? Sometimes I feel that some people are so competitive right after college that they need to maintain an image of being better off than their peers.

I get this a lot. When you mention that you are applying to law school they ask if you're going to [respective law school of UG] and when you say you're not they seem really confused. Then when they ask where you're applying and you tell them, they get sort of defensive. It was even worse before I had actually gotten acceptances because then the response was always kind of a smug "Oh yeah, you're applying to those schools?" as though I was overreaching. T14 problems...

I remember a coworker talking about how he had aspirations of HLS before he changed his career path, a second coworker texted me in shock as though how could he think he could get into Harvard, (and really said) that it was only for senator's sons & such. We all go to the same public school, and yet...

I never told anyone where I was applying and avoid agter graduation plan conversations so I won't have to explain HLS... Whether or not it's positive.. The reactions are awkwar

[ph5354a]

On the flip side, mention you applied to HYS and the conversation gets uncomfortable. Fellow TLSers - do you have similar experiences with this? Sometimes I feel that some people are so competitive right after college that they need to maintain an image of being better off than their peers.

I get this a lot. When you mention that you are applying to law school they ask if you're going to [respective law school of UG] and when you say you're not they seem really confused. Then when they ask where you're applying and you tell them, they get sort of defensive. It was even worse before I had actually gotten acceptances because then the response was always kind of a smug "Oh yeah, you're applying to those schools?" as though I was overreaching. T14 problems...

+1

Now that I'm in at Columbia/NYU, I don't get the smug responses as much. The fact that I have a few good friends also applying to law school and that are nowhere near the T14 makes things especially uncomfortable.

T14 problems, indeed.

[sabanist]

I posted this in the In at Harvard thread, but in case any of you admits don't check there: is anyone going to ASW who would be interested in a day trip to New Haven on Friday to poke around YLS? My flight gets in pretty early, so I have a lot of time to kill, and it's not that terrible of a drive. Having some company (and someone to split costs with) would be awesome.

[liupang]

just finished with KB interview and from what I see it went OK. Fingers crossed and I think I may not get sleep again until I get that phone call or more likely a held/reject email. It sux not knowing that uGPA is that important back in college

[trojandave]

just finished with KB interview and from what I see it went OK. Fingers crossed and I think I may not get sleep again until I get that phone call or more likely a held/reject email. It sux not knowing that uGPA is that important back in college

If you got the JS1, they're not scared of your uGPA. In fact, they're prepared to take it on. What matters most now is that they wanted to meet you and they just did, so good luck!

[Lavitz]

Interesting conversation.

You also have to factor in that statistically students who attend ivies score higher on the LSAT, so it only makes sense that they're so represented in the top schools.

I agree with this. I do think that the fact that top undergrads are so highly represented is more a factor of correlation than causation.

And while I'd like to say I think I could've at least gotten into CLS if everything else on my app remained the same but I had gone to Yale for example, I have to admit that if I really did go to Yale, there's no way the rest of my app would have remained the same. I'm sure my post-graduation experience would have been completely different, so it's impossible to prove the effect of the undergrad name alone.

Don't have time to share my story though, sorry

[wannabelawstudent]

You guys are confusing causation with correlation like a bunch of LSAT n00bs.

[jbagelboy]

just finished with KB interview and from what I see it went OK. Fingers crossed and I think I may not get sleep again until I get that phone call or more likely a held/reject email. It sux not knowing that uGPA is that important back in college

lol with you there fuck undergrad GPA ~ all thats holdin me back

[chickpea]

Do you guys think I should send a LOCI to Harvard even if I have no real updates? I was held back in February.

[RSterling]

Do you guys think I should send a LOCI to Harvard even if I have no real updates? I was held back in February.

I really think it can't hurt since it's late in the cycle and it's not like you have anything to lose. I would just think of something to say beyond "I still want to go to HLS."

[Eli]

In my situation, I wasn't ready to leave my home state and public school was convenient. 1500 SAT and calculated 4.0 (weighting with AP an honors as calculated by the university adcomm)... I was concerned I wouldn't get into the state school for some crazy reason. Worked out well, avoided (most) debt and still got into HLS!

ALSO... Most schools have problem giving AP exams course credit. (This) public school had no problem awarding me ~ 30 credits worth for all my AP exams. Saved time and money.

Just had to comment on this one. It never even occurred to me to leave the state because nobody really did it. State school was nice, I made money going there, convinced them to pay for my Harvard classes, and was slated to graduate in 2.5 years. From what I've heard, the Ivies like to hold onto you tight for as long as they can.

And to whoever was talking about their advisor - mine was the same way Optimistically suggested that I could get into U Iowa, and if I crushed the LSAT, maybe even WashU..

[ph5354a]

And to whoever was talking about their advisor - mine was the same way Optimistically suggested that I could get into U Iowa, and if I crushed the LSAT, maybe even WashU..

Glad I'm not the only one. I would love to let mine know how my cycle is going...but she stopped responding to my emails a while ago.

[Searchparty]

convinced them to pay for my Harvard classes

Elaborate?

[Eli]

convinced them to pay for my Harvard classes

Elaborate?

took [a whopping 8 hours of] Harvard classes, but they $9000+ and UG paid for them. no, they're not paying for HLS, in case someone read it that way;)

[liupang]

just finished with KB interview and from what I see it went OK. Fingers crossed and I think I may not get sleep again until I get that phone call or more likely a held/reject email. It sux not knowing that uGPA is that important back in college

lol with you there fuck undergrad GPA ~ all thats holdin me back

sux even more cuz I was one of those guys born blessed with the god of standarized test herself. My UG had a tough grading system, but it was no excuse for me not to get a 3.9+ since I aced GRE and LSAT with ease. How I wish I could just go back in time.

[chickpea]

Do you guys think I should send a LOCI to Harvard even if I have no real updates? I was held back in February.

I really think it can't hurt since it's late in the cycle and it's not like you have anything to lose. I would just think of something to say beyond "I still want to go to HLS."

Thanks, RSterling. I'll try and type something up this weekend. Hopefully they don't ding me before I finish it.

Also, I'm very much looking forward to the Mad Men Season premier next weekend

[domino]

I dunno dude. I am also good at standardized tests, but found UG difficult TBH. I worked super hard, and while I did fine, it's not like I knocked it out of the park with my GPA (though I did do well in some classes that really clicked with me). Granted, UG tests a lot besides whatever allows people to do well on tests--sustained focus, time management, ability to handle whatever personal stuff that's going on as you adjust socially--but I often thought the schoolwork itself was quite challenging.