Harvard Class of 2012 Forum

[elliej]

You're right -- I'm sure there are fabulous people who would be in our entering class. And the people I met were "impressive" in that they were intelligent and had done lots of interesting things. I probably talked to about 20 incoming students and 5-10 current students, so I certainly can't make large generalizations and I did like some of the people I met. I'm a California person (even though I've been living on the East Coast for 5+ years now!) and when I visited UMich and Berkeley I just got the sense that the student body was much quirkier and livelier, while the HLS students I met gave off the workaholic vibe even as they insisted they all do fun things on weekends. It was certainly a personal preference rather than a value judgment about HLS's student body. I'm still not sure I'll say no to Harvard -- it's kind of a hard thing to do! -- because I was really excited by a lot of the curricular offerings etc.

I think that what happened is I hoped I wouldn't feel like I was giving anything up in choosing Harvard; I hoped it would be everything I liked about other schools + all those famous professors and great clinics and research opportunities. It wasn't, and I suppose it was unrealistic for me to think it might have been. I don't know what my career goals are, but Harvard would almost certainly be better for them. So we'll see.

[Objection]

Did they take you guys to the sketchy bar Tommy Doyle's or did they learn from the earlier ASW?

[Hoopster]

I went to last month's ASW and loved it. I was majorly impressed with the setup, the campus, the town, the people and the faculty. The number of course offerings is quite impressive. I probably could be happy at HLS for the next three years. But I liked SLS a little bit better after my visit there a few weeks ago. I felt its faculty connected better with their students. I was ready to send my deposit to SLS when Yale miraculously accepted me yesterday. It could have really make my decision more complicated but YLS has been a dream of mine. To me, there's no comparison so helloooooo Yale!

Good luck at HLS, everyone! It's really an awesome school and you can't go wrong going there..

[aab85]

any other people who went to harvard undergrad on this thread? any that went to ASW? any thoughts?

[iagolives]

Did they take you guys to the sketchy bar Tommy Doyle's or did they learn from the earlier ASW?

No response? That must be a no. I think objection'd agree with me that you would remember from the description if you went...

[irishcoffee]

I was quite impressed with the students (current and admits) I met this weekend. The current students struck me as fairly balanced (at least as balanced as I could expect law students to be). I will be sending my deposit this week.

We did go to Tommy Doyle's, but most people actually seemed to enjoy it.

[FrenchiePatootie]

The rankings are on our side!!!

[law school question]

Wow, HLS' score went up quite a bit... 91 to 95?

[totalidiot]

Wow, HLS' score went up quite a bit... 91 to 95?

With the new faculty hires and such, I wasn't surprised that HLS surmounted SLS, but I was surprised that they gained on YLS by such a substantial margin. I will say this though--Harvard is the only of the three that knows the system and plays the game well as far as the rankings are concerned (outside of class size). If YLS wanted their median LSAT to be 177, they could easily do it, but they choose not to--it's crazy to see how many 179/4.0s and such they reject any given year. Same goes for Stanford. If I saw a 180/4.0 rejected by HLS, I'd be shocked, but from SLS and YLS, it's just like 'Oh well, that's just how it goes.' Also, it's just so strange to me that there are so many more applicants to HLS than SLS or YLS...don't really know quite what to make of that.

I do hope that HLS chooses their next dean wisely though. Elena was an absolute godsend to the school--probably the best dean in the country. She really did a lot to turn HLS around, and hopefully the next dean will continue in her footsteps. It'll be interesting to see what happens next year, what with YLS upping their student count!

[Hoopster]

I think Dean Kagan has an outstanding job in making Harvard a more attractive choice. Its yield rate seems to be improving (67%) and the new grading system can only help than hurt it. The school appears to finally start looking at the overall package rather than focus strictly on the numbers (GPA/LSAT). Nevertheless, I think SLS and YLS are more concerned with an interesting mixture of talent, work/research experience, and brains than HLS will ever be. I also believe they value smaller class sizes, and easier access and better connectivity to the faculty than HLS will ever be.

I loved Harvard and Stanford after my visits, for different reasons. They are both amazing schools and you can't go wrong with either one. I was open to either because I really don't know what I want to do yet as far legal career is concerned. After giving up on Yale after waiting when it seemed like forever, I had decided on SLS (until YLS saved the day at the last minute) because of its smaller student body, less academically competitve atmosphere, and excellent chemistry between the faculty and students.

[law school question]

Why can't I mention Harvard's improved score without people coming in and mentioning SLS and YLS?

[totalidiot]

Why can't I mention Harvard's improved score without people coming in and mentioning SLS and YLS?

...well...they're rankings...they're inherently comparative and competitive. How could one discuss HLS's improved score without mentioning SLS and YLS when the relative scores are the factor of primary importance (and indeed, HLS's score is determined by YLS's, since YLS's is normalized at 100)?

[Objection]

With YLS increasing their class size by 25 students this year (which is a fairly decent % increase), next year's rankings have the potential for the first real shakeup at the top.

[FrenchiePatootie]

QUESTION

I checked my binder but couldn't find the answer to this, does the deposit have to be received or postmarked by May 1st?

[Pumpkin]

ok i am creeping my way towards choosing Harvard. however, sometimes this thread turns me off a bit as it seems like people are already obsessing about getting honors and trying to make themselves feel better that yale, not hls, is number 1, whereas other schools' threads are much more relaxed. can i get some assurances that you are all actually very chill, cool people who'll be fun, cooperative classmates?

[law school question]

ok i am creeping my way towards choosing Harvard. however, sometimes this thread turns me off a bit as it seems like people are already obsessing about getting honors and trying to make themselves feel better that yale, not hls, is number 1, whereas other schools' threads are much more relaxed. can i get some assurances that you are all actually very chill, cool people who'll be fun, cooperative classmates?

I don't think TLS is necessarily a very representative group to sample from... The very fact that they're people posting on a law school message board kind of suggests they're bound to be more eccentric/obsessive than your average LS student.

[FrenchiePatootie]

ok i am creeping my way towards choosing Harvard. however, sometimes this thread turns me off a bit as it seems like people are already obsessing about getting honors and trying to make themselves feel better that yale, not hls, is number 1, whereas other schools' threads are much more relaxed. can i get some assurances that you are all actually very chill, cool people who'll be fun, cooperative classmates?

I'm pretty laid back

[iagolives]

ok i am creeping my way towards choosing Harvard. however, sometimes this thread turns me off a bit as it seems like people are already obsessing about getting honors and trying to make themselves feel better that yale, not hls, is number 1, whereas other schools' threads are much more relaxed. can i get some assurances that you are all actually very chill, cool people who'll be fun, cooperative classmates?

I don't think TLS is necessarily a very representative group to sample from... The very fact that they're people posting on a law school message board kind of suggests they're bound to be more eccentric/obsessive than your average LS student.

+1

The people at Harvard must be very happy right now.

[pinkflamingo]

ok i am creeping my way towards choosing Harvard. however, sometimes this thread turns me off a bit as it seems like people are already obsessing about getting honors and trying to make themselves feel better that yale, not hls, is number 1, whereas other schools' threads are much more relaxed. can i get some assurances that you are all actually very chill, cool people who'll be fun, cooperative classmates?

I'm pretty laid back

trust me, i'll be happy just to pass

[iagolives]

ok i am creeping my way towards choosing Harvard. however, sometimes this thread turns me off a bit as it seems like people are already obsessing about getting honors and trying to make themselves feel better that yale, not hls, is number 1, whereas other schools' threads are much more relaxed. can i get some assurances that you are all actually very chill, cool people who'll be fun, cooperative classmates?

I'm pretty laid back

Though it's competition with myself, I am pretty competitive. I'll have to admit that. However, it doesn't really come out when I'm hanging out with people (unless you try to get me to play soccer or Monopoly. Then all bets are off...). I think people should leave their work to work and their play to play. I hope the people who met me at the ASW agree, but I tend to think of myself as pretty fun to be around.

(I know you also asked about "cool" too but I don't think it really applies. I mean, no offense, but we all hang around a Harvard thread of a law school admissions forum. How "cool" can we really be? )

[HAZMAT]

ok i am creeping my way towards choosing Harvard. however, sometimes this thread turns me off a bit as it seems like people are already obsessing about getting honors and trying to make themselves feel better that yale, not hls, is number 1

I'm not sure what you're trying to say here. What do you mean about trying to make themselves feel better that yale, not hls, is number 1?

[KP429]

ok i am creeping my way towards choosing Harvard. however, sometimes this thread turns me off a bit as it seems like people are already obsessing about getting honors and trying to make themselves feel better that yale, not hls, is number 1

I'm not sure what you're trying to say here. What do you mean about trying to make themselves feel better that yale, not hls, is number 1?

Have you read any of Objection's recent posts?

[Pumpkin]

ok i am creeping my way towards choosing Harvard. however, sometimes this thread turns me off a bit as it seems like people are already obsessing about getting honors and trying to make themselves feel better that yale, not hls, is number 1, whereas other schools' threads are much more relaxed. can i get some assurances that you are all actually very chill, cool people who'll be fun, cooperative classmates?

I'm pretty laid back

Though it's competition with myself, I am pretty competitive. I'll have to admit that. However, it doesn't really come out when I'm hanging out with people (unless you try to get me to play soccer or Monopoly. Then all bets are off...). I think people should leave their work to work and their play to play. I hope the people who met me at the ASW agree, but I tend to think of myself as pretty fun to be around.

(I know you also asked about "cool" too but I don't think it really applies. I mean, no offense, but we all hang around a Harvard thread of a law school admissions forum. How "cool" can we really be? )

cool in the sense of good people who are fun to be around. it is assumed that we are all nerds

[HAZMAT]

ok i am creeping my way towards choosing Harvard. however, sometimes this thread turns me off a bit as it seems like people are already obsessing about getting honors and trying to make themselves feel better that yale, not hls, is number 1

I'm not sure what you're trying to say here. What do you mean about trying to make themselves feel better that yale, not hls, is number 1?

Have you read any of Objection's recent posts?

Yes I have, but I still don't get it. Since you seem to understand, please explain.

[heyguys]

ok i am creeping my way towards choosing Harvard. however, sometimes this thread turns me off a bit as it seems like people are already obsessing about getting honors and trying to make themselves feel better that yale, not hls, is number 1

I'm not sure what you're trying to say here. What do you mean about trying to make themselves feel better that yale, not hls, is number 1?

Have you read any of Objection's recent posts?

lol