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Stanford vs. Harvard for CA
Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 6:14 pm
by Casey2889
Very fortunate to have a generous outside scholarship so LRAPs/costs of living are non-issues.
Did my UG at an Ivy, originally from Nor Cal. Ultimate goal is to build credentials and experience for a political career in CA (I already have some connections and a small coalition of allies). After LS, I think I'd like to clerk at federal level in CA, then work in CA biglaw. Working as an Asst. US Attorney is also something I'm interested in.
My intuition is that Stanford would be the better experience than HLS. Harvard, however, probably holds unparalleled "lay prestige" (for whatever that's worth....). Opportunities post-grad I suspect are similar. This is a tough choice, but one I'm very humbled to have the privilege of making.
Re: Stanford vs. Harvard for CA
Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 6:15 pm
by src42
Stanford seems like a no-brainer to me. Congrats on having two amazing options.
Re: Stanford vs. Harvard for CA
Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 6:21 pm
by bhan87
Stanford has plenty of lay prestige if you really care about that. Also, Stanford probably has a stronger alum base to draw upon for top CA firms.
Can't go wrong either way, but for someone who wants CA specifically, Stanford gets a slight edge imo.
Nice job on getting both!
Re: Stanford vs. Harvard for CA
Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 6:37 pm
by CanadianWolf
Stanford since it's never too early to start building connections if you want to pursue politics in California.
Re: Stanford vs. Harvard for CA
Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 6:38 pm
by 20160810
Smaller CA firms are more likely to do OCI at SLS than HLS. This is really the only advantage I can think of, if you might be interested in working for such a firm. Otherwise, just pick the one where you'd have a better 3 years. I'm inclined to say SLS given your connections to N. CA.
Re: Stanford vs. Harvard for CA
Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 9:20 pm
by aspire2more
src42 wrote:Stanford seems like a no-brainer to me. Congrats on having two amazing options.
+1
Re: Stanford vs. Harvard for CA
Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 9:23 pm
by patrickd139
src42 wrote:Stanford seems like a no-brainer to me. Congrats on having two amazing options.
Re: Stanford vs. Harvard for CA
Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2011 12:20 pm
by Casey2889
Pretty striking results, but is anyone who voted for Harvard willing to make the Harvard argument? I want to flesh these out if possible.
Re: Stanford vs. Harvard for CA
Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2011 9:06 pm
by JamMasterJ
Although Stanford will help you initially (probably an easier time getting a job/clerkship), the desire to go into politics changes things a bit. Obviously, if you are planning on doing something that keeps you in California indefinitely, it can't get better than S, but I feel like the Harvardness of H would be a big boost if you ever wanted to get into big time politics (such as Congress or something else Federal).