Last Chance to Convince Me to Not Go to Harvard Forum

[MaxWeber]

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[NikaneOkie]

after visiting both, i've initially settled on HLS over SLS---but not necessarily for the best reasons.

i want to eventually commit myself to a career in public service and try to run for elected office in NorCal (originally from CA). even though i feel that SLS would be a more "comfortable" 3 year experience (i.e. less stressful, more friendly people, healthier lifestyle, better location, easier access to profs and elite opportunities), my impression is that HLS is where the people who run the country come from, and that is a label (and network) that stays with you forever.... i had been pro-Stanford since day 1 but the history/tradition/prestige thing really got to me, quality of life be damned. so, does anyone want to talk me down from going to HLS? remind me of what i have in store (good and bad)?

maybe true, but don't you think that if you want to run in CA that you may have an advantage demonstrating you'd gone through the CA educational system your whole life?

Adding though, that you should definitely go where feels right in this case. Go where you want to.

[Knock]

after visiting both, i've initially settled on HLS over SLS---but not necessarily for the best reasons.

i want to eventually commit myself to a career in public service and try to run for elected office in NorCal (originally from CA). even though i feel that SLS would be a more "comfortable" 3 year experience (i.e. less stressful, more friendly people, healthier lifestyle, better location, easier access to profs and elite opportunities), my impression is that HLS is where the people who run the country come from, and that is a label (and network) that stays with you forever.... i had been pro-Stanford since day 1 but the history/tradition/prestige thing really got to me, quality of life be damned. so, does anyone want to talk me down from going to HLS? remind me of what i have in store (good and bad)?

I'd say trust your initial impression and go to HLS.

[BeenDidThat]

Depends on the elected office. If you want to be a hometown hero, Stanford could help. But it's still private and Palo Altians aren't exactly your normal Californians.

If you want to be a Senator or something...Harvard is unbeatable. Also, Harvard is Harvard. Don't you like the way that sounds?

[MrPapagiorgio]

If you want to be in California, I see no reason to cross the country and attend Harvard when you arguably have an equally wonderful opportunity to attend Stanford. If you wanted anything else but California after graduation, I personally would choose Harvard (because of many things, but including the reason that you mentioned). But if you want California, go to the most elite law school in California. But in the end, you cannot make a bad decision between the two.

The consensus on here is that SLS will provide a better quality of life than HLS. But this is probably a combination of personal preference (from those who actually attend) and groupthink (those of us who never have a chance in hell of attending).

[dr123]

There is no wrong choice when deciding between H and S, imo

[esq]

maybe true, but don't you think that if you want to run in CA that you may have an advantage demonstrating you'd gone through the CA educational system your whole life?

Adding though, that you should definitely go where feels right in this case. Go where you want to.

^This.

Stanford qualifies you for a shot at running CA. Running CA qualifies you for a shot at governor. Governorship qualifies you for a shot at running the country, if that's really what you're worried about. (When I say Stanford, I really mean that and $$$$$$$)

[Knock]

To the OP, how much $ did you get from each school? If you are pretty even on them maybe you should just attend whichever one is cheaper.

[Veyron]

Why would we want to do that?

[prezidentv8]

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[legends159]

I ran here to convince you not to go to HLS

[FiveSermon]

Think of Yale.

[TheFactor]

sweet thread

[vanwinkle]

This is the #1 reason to not go to HLS:



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The difference in prestige is not worth the difference in climate.

[MaxWeber]

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[MaxWeber]

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[chuckbasstard]

Had the same decision with similar career plans and recently chose Stanford. While it might be an advantage to be able to start networking in the Bay Area based on your regional goals, the decision should really come down to which school is a better fit for you. Over the past few months I spoke with a small number of students at Harvard who admitted that they decided to attend Harvard over Stanford and/or Yale based purely on the name, and it was interesting to hear that while they didn’t regret their choice, none of them seemed particularly passionate or enthusiastic about their time at Harvard. This didn’t have any impact on my decision, but it was definitely something to think about. Regardless, you’re going to have amazing opportunities at either school. I came very close to committing to Harvard, but in the end, the faculty, class size, and students at Stanford won me over. There’s no wrong choice here—decide which school you love most and send them your deposit.

[yuzu]

NorCal elected office is the key here. If you're a politician, it's important to know lots of people. At the very least they'll get the word out about your campaign, and it's even better if they have money to contribute. At Stanford, you'll meet lots of corporate lawyers who'll stay in the Bay Area. At Harvard, you won't. So Stanford might help you get elected. The rest of the education, and the Harvard network in NYC biglaw/DC bureaucracy, doesn't really matter.

The people at HLS who run the country are largely getting jobs in the executive/judicial branches, not winning elections in local politics.

I live in Palo Alto, and when I vote, I've gotten a habit of looking up the law school + undergrad of each candidate (it's easy on the calbar website). Of those who are lawyers, the vast majority went to school in CA. For example, of some local representatives: Jackie Speier went to Davis + Hastings. Anna Eshoo's ex-husband went to Berkeley + Hastings. Joe Simitian went to Boalt.

And I've seen plenty of instances where local lawyers support politics around here (campaigning for/contributing to minor candidates, attending $30k fundraising dinners for Pelosi, etc.).

You have an Ivy degree already; wouldn't some diverse educational experiences would be nice? I went to grad school at Stanford and found it a vastly different experience than my undergrad.

But hey, if you decide that Washington is a more exciting destination than Sacramento (or at least slightly less dysfunctional) - see you at HLS this fall
I guarantee neither one would be a bad decision.

[concurrent fork]

You can still live a healthy lifestyle in Cambridge. You even get bonus exercise shoveling your car out in the winter.

[sgtgrumbles]

Maybe I haven't put much thought into the substantive differences between these two because I had no shot of getting into either (I'll be slumming it at a T6), but I'd take Stanford for the climate and smaller class. Seriously, dude: Northern California versus New England...think about it.

But to be serious, it seems like attending Stanford will set you up with an excellent network and background that can act as a springboard into CA politics, assuming all the other prerequisites are there (affinity for holding babies for cameras, ability to hold your food in while meeting with unsavory lobbyists, etc.). Perhaps the Hahvahd tag would serve you better in elite East Coast circles, but I imagine Stanford has plenty of cachet in those, too.

[Bildungsroman]

HLS is where the people who run the country come from

TCR is to reevaluate why you're going to law school and, when you settle on something more realistic than running the country, decide based on that.

[tgir]

If you were pro-Stanford for months and are coming to TLS asking for people to talk you into going to Stanford, aren't those both signs that you want Stanford deep-down?

What you're probably feeling is last-minute hesitancy over giving up an amazing option. But no matter what choice you make, you're going to have to give up an amazing option. So why not go to the school that you seem to want to go to?

[rundoxierun]

I vote you go to SLS because, as a future HLS student, this thread title makes me question your personality.

On a more serious note, Just pick whichever school you prefer. At the HYS level, the school isnt what holds you back. Whatever career path you want (including academia) there will be many more variables that are more important than what school you chose.

[jarofsoup]

If you want to be a politician it does not really make any difference where you go to school. Boxer has a BA from Brooklyn College, and Feinstien went to Stanford for a B.A. Brown went to Yale.....it really does not impact you a lot.

The key is getting elected to a local office or state senate or assembly and working yourself up.

I am under the impression that political office is a hell of a hard nut to crack on all levels. Great expense.

[random924]

The fact that you have mentioned twice, 100% unnecessarily, that you attended an Ivy for undergrad leads me to believe that the "prestige factor" of Harvard is and will continue to be important to you.