In at Harvard: Class of 2016 Forum

[sabanist]

As someone going to April ASW, yes! More swag!

(Obligatory "we're number two!" post)

[Yukos]

Overall a fantastic weekend, but one thing I would've liked to do is a bar review with current students. As someone else pointed out, one of HLS's big advantages over SLS and UChi (I think, never been to Hyde Park) is Cambridge has so much going on, and it would've been great to see what a normal night going out to the bars is like there.

[TrustInMusic]

This thread is making me salivate.

Really hope I get the chance to go to the April ASW!

[andreskicdo]

so excited about the April ASW!

[yarsten]

so I'm really shocked right now- just got my aid package from Harvard. Making sure I'm correct here- the first line under "Harvard law school grant" is for the first year right? If that's the case then...

I just got a full tuition grant. At Harvard. wow.


(Note, I am married w/ one kid and 26).

wow.

[carboncopyx]

so I'm really shocked right now- just got my aid package from Harvard. Making sure I'm correct here- the first line under "Harvard law school grant" is for the first year right? If that's the case then...

I just got a full tuition grant. At Harvard. wow.


(Note, I am married w/ one kid and 26).

wow.

Wowwww. That's insane. And hopefully bodes well for Harvard's generosity for others!

[trojandave]

Overall a fantastic weekend, but one thing I would've liked to do is a bar review with current students. As someone else pointed out, one of HLS's big advantages over SLS and UChi (I think, never been to Hyde Park) is Cambridge has so much going on, and it would've been great to see what a normal night going out to the bars is like there.

After trivia a big group went to Kong. It wasn't well advertised apparently, (I heard from an 0L, not a current student) so that should be addressed for sure. I also got the feeling mainly female 0Ls were being invited. It evened out, I think, but whoever was in charge should be less fratty about it.

[canarykb]

Overall a fantastic weekend, but one thing I would've liked to do is a bar review with current students. As someone else pointed out, one of HLS's big advantages over SLS and UChi (I think, never been to Hyde Park) is Cambridge has so much going on, and it would've been great to see what a normal night going out to the bars is like there.

After trivia a big group went to Kong. It wasn't well advertised apparently, (I heard from an 0L, not a current student) so that should be addressed for sure

I was staying with friends in Boston, so I don't know about the HLS social life, but I did learn that MA doesn't allow Happy Hours. Very upsetting to me.

[trojandave]

so I'm really shocked right now- just got my aid package from Harvard. Making sure I'm correct here- the first line under "Harvard law school grant" is for the first year right? If that's the case then...

I just got a full tuition grant. At Harvard. wow.


(Note, I am married w/ one kid and 26).

wow.

Really nice, congrats! Did you pre-calculate with their published formula? If so, was this more generous than you were expecting? Fingers crossed here!

[rocktower3]

so I'm really shocked right now- just got my aid package from Harvard. Making sure I'm correct here- the first line under "Harvard law school grant" is for the first year right? If that's the case then...

I just got a full tuition grant. At Harvard. wow.


(Note, I am married w/ one kid and 26).

wow.

Congrats! Did you (and others that have heard about $) find out ~10 business days after you got the email that your fin aid application was complete?

[facile princeps]

so I'm really shocked right now- just got my aid package from Harvard. Making sure I'm correct here- the first line under "Harvard law school grant" is for the first year right? If that's the case then...

I just got a full tuition grant. At Harvard. wow.


(Note, I am married w/ one kid and 26).

wow.

Doubt it. Grants are capped at the difference between student budget (the $7x,xxx figure) and base loan (the $4x,xxx figure). I can't remember the exact numbers, but I don't think it's possible to get a full tuition grant. IIRC, the cap is around $30k+/year, then the $4x,xxx base loan makes up the difference.

ETA: See this for an explanation of how it works. Those numbers are slightly different for 2013, though.

[spicyyoda17]

so I'm really shocked right now- just got my aid package from Harvard. Making sure I'm correct here- the first line under "Harvard law school grant" is for the first year right? If that's the case then...

I just got a full tuition grant. At Harvard. wow.


(Note, I am married w/ one kid and 26).

wow.

Doubt it. Grants are capped at the difference between student budget (the $7x,xxx figure) and base loan (the $4x,xxx figure). I can't remember the exact numbers, but I don't think it's possible to get a full tuition grant. IIRC, the cap is around $30k+/year, then the $4x,xxx base loan makes up the difference.

It is very possible if you have kids because of the added expenses. I know a handful of HLS students with kids that have received full tuition grants each year.

[facile princeps]

so I'm really shocked right now- just got my aid package from Harvard. Making sure I'm correct here- the first line under "Harvard law school grant" is for the first year right? If that's the case then...

I just got a full tuition grant. At Harvard. wow.


(Note, I am married w/ one kid and 26).

wow.

Doubt it. Grants are capped at the difference between student budget (the $7x,xxx figure) and base loan (the $4x,xxx figure). I can't remember the exact numbers, but I don't think it's possible to get a full tuition grant. IIRC, the cap is around $30k+/year, then the $4x,xxx base loan makes up the difference.

It is very possible if you have kids because of the added expenses. I know a handful of HLS students with kids that have received full tuition grants each year.

If that is the case, I stand corrected. I am also married with 1 child. Awaiting my financial aid package. I hope you're right .

[sabanist]

brb adopting a cat and buying a baby costume for it.

[zdamico]

What are people's thoughts on how senior year, second semester grades can impact an acceptance? How low would they have to be to lose the offer?

[Spritzpiggy]

Really glad to hear y'all enjoyed the ASW. Sorry about the snow. As a current 1L who was working for (but not being paid by, to make that clear ) the admissions office trying to help sell you guys - any comments to keep in mind for next round in April?

Dont lie about every student getting offers at OCI, a couple of students did that and that was the biggest turn off of the weekend. Most of us who got in are smart enough to know that even at Harvard, 2L SA isnt a lock and when a student says different it kind of hurts a bit

This. I'm the type of person who shuts down whenever I watch infomercials and hate when people try to sell me things. According to Harvards own website there are 13 people listed under the unemployed- still seeking category 9 months after graduation. Of course that's a miniscule 2% of the class, butwhen current student reps attempted to assure me that you essentially had to swat jobs away it unfortunately colored my opinion of everything else they said because they had now lost some credibility.

Also, I only was able to visit two of the dorm options and would have liked more time for that activity.

Besides that I must admit that I was insanely impressed by every person I met - both current and admitted students, as well as faculty and staff. If attending Harvard is anything like ASW i think I'll explode with happiness. Also, the part I most appreciated was Ken Laflers presentation on financial aid and repaying loans. Was is scary? A little. But I appreciated the honest and straightforward, "just the numbers", info.

[ManOfTheMinute]

This. I'm the type of person who shuts down whenever I watch infomercials and hate when people try to sell me things. According to Harvards own website there are 13 people listed under the unemployed- still seeking category 9 months after graduation. Of course that's a miniscule 2% of the class, butwhen current student reps attempted to assure me that you essentially had to swat jobs away it unfortunately colored my opinion of everything else they said because they had now lost some credibility.

Also, I only was able to visit two of the dorm options and would have liked more time for that activity.

Besides that I must admit that I was insanely impressed by every person I met - both current and admitted students, as well as faculty and staff. If attending Harvard is anything like ASW i think I'll explode with happiness. Also, the part I most appreciated was Ken Laflers presentation on financial aid and repaying loans. Was is scary? A little. But I appreciated the honest and straightforward, "just the numbers", info.

Beyond exploring the housing options, what would you suggest that people who get there with an extra 24 hours to spend do with their time prior to ASW? -- what did ASW not cover enough?

[yarsten]

Congrats! Did you (and others that have heard about $) find out ~10 business days after you got the email that your fin aid application was complete?

For me it was actually a bit faster- I didn't send everything the same day, but I think it's been about 6 business days since my last item was received

Really nice, congrats! Did you pre-calculate with their published formula? If so, was this more generous than you were expecting? Fingers crossed here!

I calculated most of it according to the website. I guessed on the Parental contribution, since I didn't have all the numbers at that point. Their estimated budget for the year was higher than my calculation and it appears that the PC was less, because they gave me like 3 times what I calculated. Oh well, maybe that's why I'm getting out of engineering...

Doubt it. Grants are capped at the difference between student budget (the $7x,xxx figure) and base loan (the $4x,xxx figure).

yeah, they gave me a student budget of $114k for 1L year ( ) which is probably how it worked out.

I have subsequently begun my massive wave of withdrawals. Good luck to those still waiting!

[ManOfTheMinute]

Anyone notice that the parent's web real estate form take longer to go "received" that other forms? Every other form has been within 24 hours, and another form I submitted a few hours after the web real estate form were received yesterday morning... hmmm

[Spritzpiggy]

This. I'm the type of person who shuts down whenever I watch infomercials and hate when people try to sell me things. According to Harvards own website there are 13 people listed under the unemployed- still seeking category 9 months after graduation. Of course that's a miniscule 2% of the class, butwhen current student reps attempted to assure me that you essentially had to swat jobs away it unfortunately colored my opinion of everything else they said because they had now lost some credibility.

Also, I only was able to visit two of the dorm options and would have liked more time for that activity.

Besides that I must admit that I was insanely impressed by every person I met - both current and admitted students, as well as faculty and staff. If attending Harvard is anything like ASW i think I'll explode with happiness. Also, the part I most appreciated was Ken Laflers presentation on financial aid and repaying loans. Was is scary? A little. But I appreciated the honest and straightforward, "just the numbers", info.

Beyond exploring the housing options, what would you suggest that people who get there with an extra 24 hours to spend do with their time prior to ASW? -- what did ASW not cover enough?

Well I got there ahead of time but was lucky enough to have someone show me around the Harvard square/Cambridge area. If you've never been before I would definitely suggest that since it gave me a feel for he atmosphere beyond the law school and made me feel less insulated. Go to a bar and grab a drink and strike up some random conversations (just know that there is no happy hour... ever).

[facile princeps]

Congrats! Did you (and others that have heard about $) find out ~10 business days after you got the email that your fin aid application was complete?

For me it was actually a bit faster- I didn't send everything the same day, but I think it's been about 6 business days since my last item was received

Really nice, congrats! Did you pre-calculate with their published formula? If so, was this more generous than you were expecting? Fingers crossed here!

I calculated most of it according to the website. I guessed on the Parental contribution, since I didn't have all the numbers at that point. Their estimated budget for the year was higher than my calculation and it appears that the PC was less, because they gave me like 3 times what I calculated. Oh well, maybe that's why I'm getting out of engineering...

Doubt it. Grants are capped at the difference between student budget (the $7x,xxx figure) and base loan (the $4x,xxx figure).

yeah, they gave me a student budget of $114k for 1L year ( ) which is probably how it worked out.

I have subsequently begun my massive wave of withdrawals. Good luck to those still waiting!

Wow, congrats on that incredible offer! I assumed they wouldn't have increased anyone's student budget by that much. I'm shocked, impressed, and optimistic at the same time.

I'm assuming this is solely because you are married with one kid, correct? That is, there isn't anything else that could have possibly accounted for the generous budget, right?

[yarsten]

Wow, congrats on that incredible offer! I assumed they wouldn't have increased anyone's student budget by that much. I'm shocked, impressed, and optimistic at the same time.

I'm assuming this is solely because you are married with one kid, correct? That is, there isn't anything else that could have possibly accounted for the generous budget, right?

As far as I know. A couple of things that I know raised our budget-
-my wife won't be working (she'll be taking care of our kid)
-we will have a car (they give an allowance for that)
-there were a couple of questions about insurance, I think we'll be using the school's insurance policy

That's about it. They didn't break it down by parental contribution/etc. as far as I can tell, but I thought my estimated PC would make a bigger dent in my aid- my parents make roughly biglaw starting salary. I did put a note in the comments section that I've been married for x years and haven't received aid from parents that entire time, but I doubt they took that into account.

[spicyyoda17]

Wow, congrats on that incredible offer! I assumed they wouldn't have increased anyone's student budget by that much. I'm shocked, impressed, and optimistic at the same time.

I'm assuming this is solely because you are married with one kid, correct? That is, there isn't anything else that could have possibly accounted for the generous budget, right?

As far as I know. A couple of things that I know raised our budget-
-my wife won't be working (she'll be taking care of our kid)
-we will have a car (they give an allowance for that)
-there were a couple of questions about insurance, I think we'll be using the school's insurance policy

That's about it. They didn't break it down by parental contribution/etc. as far as I can tell, but I thought my estimated PC would make a bigger dent in my aid- my parents make roughly biglaw starting salary. I did put a note in the comments section that I've been married for x years and haven't received aid from parents that entire time, but I doubt they took that into account.

Yarsten - I pm'ed you - holler back.

[facile princeps]

Wow, congrats on that incredible offer! I assumed they wouldn't have increased anyone's student budget by that much. I'm shocked, impressed, and optimistic at the same time.

I'm assuming this is solely because you are married with one kid, correct? That is, there isn't anything else that could have possibly accounted for the generous budget, right?

As far as I know. A couple of things that I know raised our budget-
-my wife won't be working (she'll be taking care of our kid)
-we will have a car (they give an allowance for that)
-there were a couple of questions about insurance, I think we'll be using the school's insurance policy

That's about it. They didn't break it down by parental contribution/etc. as far as I can tell, but I thought my estimated PC would make a bigger dent in my aid- my parents make roughly biglaw starting salary. I did put a note in the comments section that I've been married for x years and haven't received aid from parents that entire time, but I doubt they took that into account.

Thanks.

[ManOfTheMinute]

Is there any swag bag for HLS' ASW?