Is there absolutely no possible reason to pick H over Y? Forum

[Chickensoup]

Harvard has larger alumni base, H bomb. Applies to politics and elite corporate stuff, which in this case means gunning for MBB, corporate executive positions, etc.

By MBB, I assume you mean the big 3 consulting firms? The idea that you would need to "gun" for those out of any top law school is laughable. I have a close personal friend with a 3.6 in Econ from Rutgers who got a SA job at Bain and then got offered at the end of the summer.

[justinp]

The average Harvard (perhaps Yale, but I can't speak for them) law student isn't trying to go to a firm where these alumni connections are giving them a leg up versus Yale students. Also, secondary markets tend to be extremely wary of Harvard students and question why the Harvard student isn't trying to go to a primary market where there are theoretically bigger deals and cases.

Sure. But I wasn't saying that the alumni-connections thing was relevant for all or even most people. If you're psyched at the prospect of NY or DC, Yale seems to give you a somewhat better shot at top jobs there (though probably overstated on these boards).

But there are plenty of people who aren't particularly excited at the prospect of NY and would much rather go elsewhere and *for those people* HLS's larger alumni network is something to consider. Not something to hang your hat on, but something to consider in the complicated multi-factor decision being made.

ALso I'm not saying you can just waltz into an arbitrary midsize city with your Harvard degree and get employed on the strength of alumni connections-- ties are always going to be important. But for home markets and places with some meaningful ties (SO's job or whatever) the alumni connections will be helpful.

Obviously this is all wishy washy, but again, I think that the exact statement that I made in my original post-- that it's something that some people should consider but don't seem to consider-- is accurate.

[BruceWayne]

The average Harvard (perhaps Yale, but I can't speak for them) law student isn't trying to go to a firm where these alumni connections are giving them a leg up versus Yale students. Also, secondary markets tend to be extremely wary of Harvard students and question why the Harvard student isn't trying to go to a primary market where there are theoretically bigger deals and cases.

What? Every secondary market I know of jumps on Harvard students with ties (Atlanta, San Francisco, Dallas, Houston, Chicago). And firms in those markets definitely don't assume that people want the "bigger deals and cases" of NYC.