Stanford v. Harvard? Forum

[englawyer]

And San Francisco, FWIW, is my favorite US city.

+1. hopefully stanford lets me in and my personal situation works out that I can go there

[lawyering]

And San Francisco, FWIW, is my favorite US city.

+1. hopefully stanford lets me in and my personal situation works out that I can go there

I love San Fran and Berkeley too--and hope to move there after LS. But I'm not sure it's worth going to school in Palo Alto, likely without a car. I hope to hang out in Cambridge for 3 years and then find a job in the Bay! We'll see.

[crackberry]

I think when it comes down to it, this decision can be boiled down to class size and desired market:

If you want a big class and the East Coast --> HLS
If you want a small class and the West Coast --> SLS
If you want a big class and the West Coast --> either, decide on other factors
If you want a small class and the East Coast --> go to HLS and suck it up

Where it gets complicated is if you want clerkships, academia, PI, gov't work or very specialized law.

IMO - on the appellate level, HLS and SLS are virtually identical for clerkships. HLS will get more SCOTUS clerks but you can't count on that. Academia is probably a wash. HLS gets better gov't jobs. PI probably a wash, but SLS has a better LRAP.

Specialized law I don't know as well cause I don't care about it.

[skynet]

Any new thoughts on this post-HLS-ASW?

HLS really pushed size being a plus, and it was fairly compelling, I thought.

[CordeliusX]

Any new thoughts on this post-HLS-ASW?

HLS really pushed size being a plus, and it was fairly compelling, I thought.

What did they say? What was your impression of HLS

[skynet]

Any new thoughts on this post-HLS-ASW?

HLS really pushed size being a plus, and it was fairly compelling, I thought.

What did they say? What was your impression of HLS

Lots of good info at the In at Harvard thread http://top-law-schools.com/forums/viewt ... =7&t=96926.

In terms of the advantages of a large school, part of it is the whole idea that a bigger network = more connections in general, but one way it helps that I hadn't thought of is the wide network of HLS clerks who post their clerking experiences in a database they have, and who can recommend you to their judge.

Another interesting point that they made again and again is that if you want something, a) they probably have it, and b) if they don't, they can set it up b/c they have the resources to make it happen. They gave a bunch of examples of new clinics, journals, and PI projects that students proposed and that now exist.

While I was there I met a lot of brilliant people, but the school is diverse enough that you can carve out a smaller network of people with whom you have a lot in common, and effectively separate yourself from people that you don't want to have to deal with for whatever reason.

[englawyer]

another plus they mentioned was breadth of alumni network. if you are interested in X, you can probably find an HLS alum doing X, whether that is biglaw in the middle east or working as an investment banker

[skynet]

OK, so this question is no longer speculation about some quasi-imaginary far-off future. I will be making this decisions within the next four weeks, and it is starting to get really stressful. I want to shove it out of my mind until SLS ASW, but I am not having much luck. Anyone else struggling with this decision in a real, immediate way?

[skynet]

OK so post-SLS ASW, I am more confused than ever. Thoughts, anyone?

[ConMan345]

OK so post-SLS ASW, I am more confused than ever. Thoughts, anyone?

For me, it's coming down to personal stuff like how each school felt. I know that doesn't help much, lol, but I was reminded by my less-logical sister: you're over thinking it--flip a coin and see what your first reaction is.

It's goo advice, I'd advise trying it.

[crackberry]

Skynet is in a stickier situation, having to factor in a SO into his decision.

You, ConMan, should go with your gut. You have basically a week to figure this out and I doubt you're going to have some earth shattering realization in that time. You can flip a coin if you want, but if you're disappointed by the result then you should go to the other school. That's your gut talking.

The only way you're going to be unhappy with your decision is if you, for whatever reason, go to the school you don't want to go to.

Pro and con lists seem like a good idea, but they really just muddy the waters. At this point, you're going to have to do what feels right.

[skynet]

Yeah, came out of the weekend realizing that I had been leaning towards Harvard going in. I came to that realization when I came out leaning towards Stanford. I'm flying up to Boston this weekend for work and chatting w a few HLS students. Hopefully that will help settle things a bit.

This week I have had emails from Larry Kramer, who is trying to get me in touch with this interesting non-profit in Palo Alto, and I have had like 20 emails w staff and students from sls. The personality issue that a lot of people use to distinguish the schools really seems like a myth to me, although lots of my friends say they know lots of unhappy hls people and no one has ever heard of an unhappy sls person, apparently.

Anyone know how hls stands vs. sls on cleantech?

[crackberry]

Anyone know how hls stands vs. sls on cleantech?

I don't know what HLS is like in cleantech, but Stanford is in the best state (and best location in that state) to do cleantech. That's got to be worth something. Plus, outside of the law school, Stanford University has a ton of resources devoted to clean tech.

[legends159]

haven't read the thread, but saw something about SO:

when deciding between HYS go where your SO will be happiest b/c a happy SO = a happy law student.

[Lysis]

I'm struggling with this too.

I tried the coinflip thing (meaning trying to see how I felt after I flipped a coin, to see if it helped me figure out my gut feeling). The coin came up the same way five times in a row. This did not help me decide.

There are too many factors to weigh (e.g. location, faculty, 'personality' fit, areas of strength) and I don't know what I'm going to do...

[skynet]

haven't read the thread, but saw something about SO:

when deciding between HYS go where your SO will be happiest b/c a happy SO = a happy law student.

lol, true! however! my SO insists that she will be fine either way, seems just as ambivalent as I am, unfortunately.

[crackberry]

Tick tock, guys.

Also, five times in a row, huh? What are the odds of that? 1-in-32? That's pretty interesting. Which school won the toss?

[Lysis]

Harvard. Which, you might say, means I should go to Stanford if I'm still unsure. But I just think the exercise failed.

[ConMan345]

Skynet is in a stickier situation, having to factor in a SO into his decision.

You, ConMan, should go with your gut. You have basically a week to figure this out and I doubt you're going to have some earth shattering realization in that time. You can flip a coin if you want, but if you're disappointed by the result then you should go to the other school. That's your gut talking.

The only way you're going to be unhappy with your decision is if you, for whatever reason, go to the school you don't want to go to.

Pro and con lists seem like a good idea, but they really just muddy the waters. At this point, you're going to have to do what feels right.

Yeah, I and everyone who knows me well are leaning toward HLS. Stanford has been wonderful, and if I went to any other school for undergrad I'd probably come here, but I need something different. My first impression at HLS was, "Wow, this place is exciting," and at Stanford was, "Hmm, this is just like undergrad." All the pros and cons in the world can't change that.

That is to say, I have all but decided on HLS--just giving myself the weekend for the "gut check."

Also, I just coin-flipped Harvard 6 times in a row....

[Dignan]

I'm struggling with this too.

I tried the coinflip thing (meaning trying to see how I felt after I flipped a coin, to see if it helped me figure out my gut feeling). The coin came up the same way five times in a row. This did not help me decide.

This sounds like a scene from an episode of Lost. So, which school kept "winning" the coin toss? Obviously, fate is trying to tell you something.

[crackberry]

haven't read the thread, but saw something about SO:

when deciding between HYS go where your SO will be happiest b/c a happy SO = a happy law student.

lol, true! however! my SO insists that she will be fine either way, seems just as ambivalent as I am, unfortunately.

I dunno, skynet, as much as I think you should come to Stanford (and given your interests, if you were single, I think Stanford would be the right choice), knowing what I know about your potential living situations in both places, it seems like Harvard would be easier on your relationship than Stanford. Then again, millions of Americans commute longer than 45 minutes every day so who knows how much that's worth.

[Lysis]

Clearly Harvard is rigging our coins...

[crackberry]

ConMan - every one of your posts suggests you want to go to Harvard. Forget the coin toss. Go to Cambridge and don't look back.

[CordeliusX]

Those of you lucky to get into both or either: honestly I keep reading this alumni network argument and I can't imagine that Harvard's "advantage" always works. I'm assuming each H alum gets many more solicitations for help and would have less loyalty as a result.

I also suspect that anyone this concerned about themselves and their career will be sure to prosper from any place... imho.

[ConMan345]

I know I'll be back to the Bay Area eventually, but I need a change. Harvard, here I come!