Harvard Law School

While Yale Law has been secure in its place at the top of law school rankings, Harvard Law School remains the pinnacle for most people outside the legal profession. Having been immortalized in movies from "The Firm" to "Paper Chase" and "Legally Blonde," Harvard Law School has also been dubbed the "H-Bomb." With it, any resume gains instant credibility and respect. Nevertheless, there is far more to attending the world's most famous law school than the unlimited career prospects and grueling academics it is reputed to command-although it is undeniable that the greatest benefit of attending Harvard Law School is the multitude of choices that any graduate has at his disposal. Regardless of whether one wants to be a judicial clerk, a law school professor, or work at one of the top 100 law firms anywhere the nation, Harvard Law School opens all doors. While Harvard Law School has more than its fair share of "gunners" going for top grades, the fact that great opportunities are available to anyone who graduates in the top half of their class greatly lessens competition.

Harvard Law School Admissions and Tuition

It goes without saying that admissions to Harvard Law requires that a student be prepared to face competition of the highest caliber, many of whom will have been out of college for several years. Annually, over 7,000 applications will be submitted for a little over 500 seats in the class. The acceptance rate is typically around 11%, with LSAT scores generally ranging from 169-175, and GPAs typically ranging between 3.80-3.95. Tuition is approaching $35,000, although Harvard Law School awards significant need-based scholarships and claims that some 80% of its student body is receiving some form of financial aid.
Like most other top law schools, Harvard Law has far more applications for each seat than it can accept, and for any given combination of LSAT and GPA, at least several potential students will present themselves for admissions. Therefore, as with Yale and Stanford, Harvard admissions has achieved of a reputation of being something of a "black box": most of the successful admits will have distinguished themselves from the thousands of other prospective students in some way, often through a combination of a strong personal statement, extracurricular activities, work experience, and recommendation letters.

Harvard Law School Legal Specialties

In contrast to Yale, which has often been seen as the breeding ground of academics and future professors, Harvard is frequently stereotyped as a more corporate-leaning school. Nevertheless, the school under current Dean Elena Kagan has done much to emphasize its commitment to public service, and also commands respect in virtually every area of legal study, particularly tax and international law. Harvard Law School is ranked amongst the top 5 law schools in the fields of tax law, international law and dispute resolution, and is ranked amongst the top 20 law schools in the fields of intellectual property law, clinical training, and trial advocacy. Needless to say, Harvard Law School has the greatest collection of legal talent and stars within its faculty. While there are too many great names to mention, a few of the most prominent include Alan Dershowitz, Laurence Tribe, and Charles Fried. While many students will have a hard time taking classes from these well-known professors, who generally spend their time researching and publishing, their being there helps build the mystique of Harvard Law School. Nevertheless, Harvard Law School's large size, with nearly 1500 students, allows for an impressive and diverse array of activities. While some smaller law schools have a single law review, Harvard Law School has 14 and this number is only growing. Harvard Law School has such a large and impressive faculty that there are few specialties that Harvard Law School is not mentioned as one of the top law schools in each field. A strong clinical program and innumerable offerings ensure that for every student there are several engaging activities. The recently renovated Langdell Law Library is also the largest in the nation, housing over two million legal texts.

Harvard Law School Quality of Life

Unlike its closest rivals Yale (which famously abolished formal grades decades ago) and Stanford, Harvard retains both a strict grading system and a student body that is several times larger than either of those two comparable schools. While most Harvard Law School alumni enjoyed their time at Harvard and were particularly happy with their career prospects upon graduating, several shared their concerns with Harvard Law School. While the large size of Harvard Law School allows for many academic and social options, it also led many students to complain about the very large class sizes, the all too high student/faculty ratio and the professor's focus upon research and not engaging students. Some students complained that "gunners" would dominate classroom discussion and continually compete with others, but generally HLS students felt that they were a minority and that most students led balanced and non-competitive lives.
Additionally, the high tuition of Harvard Law School coupled with the high cost of living in Cambridge led many students towards corporate jobs versus public interest careers. All Harvard Law School alumni, of which there are now nearly 40,000, would universally agree that Harvard Law School has an amazing reputation, however, some would argue that it is not necessarily a great three years for everyone. Because of the great academic and career opportunities that Harvard Law School offers, any accepted there must clearly consider attending but should visit Harvard Law School first. Yale Law School and Stanford Law School, the other twin titans of the legal world, also offer an amazing education in a less competitive environment, so they too should also be visited and considered.

Changes at Harvard Law School

It should also be noted, however, that under its newest dean, Harvard Law School has made many efforts to improve both the education and quality of life of its students. Harvard Law School now boasts a state-of-the-art renovation in the Hemenway Gym, which is the exclusive domain of the law students. Furthermore, to reduce the image of stadium-sized 1L courses, Harvard Law now divides its entering classes into groups of about 70 students, who take their first-year tracks together. One 1L reports on the change this system has had on the classroom environment: "My section is very close, rather diverse (including geographically and politically) and often entertaining. Everyone is brilliant, accomplished, and (for the vast majority of students) pretty laidback. In short, they are the type of people that are great to hang out with, which is comforting considering how much time we spend together...Although grades are obviously important, there is surprisingly little discussion of them. The curve is very tight, and very few students fail classes. In the end, we all know we will do well, so a lot of the pressure is off."

Contact Information

http://www.law.harvard.edu/