Yale Law School Class of 2012 Forum

[zerega98]

I was accepted last night as well. Look forward to meeting everyone at ASW!

[franfair]

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[ccw1234]

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[bearyfun]

Congrats to all the new admits!

[heyguys]

So....sort of an unusual way to approach this, but do any guys on here need a roommate for the fall ? I'm not able to attend the ASW (was just admitted yesterday evening--the logistics are unmanageable), and I don't know anyone at Yale, so I'm thinking that TLS and the facebook group may be my only hopes, lol. So, if anyone's interested, pm me so we can gauge how well we would do as roommates.

Also, are there other avenues by which I can find a roommate? Does Yale have some sort of matching interface through which we can approach the process, or am I already on the right track? haha.

[rabbit9198]

Congrats to all of the newly accepted! Hope to see you at the ASW, though we probably won't recognize each other

For Sandpiper, thanks for taking the time to answer some our last minute questions. I guess I am concerned on Yale's timeline for selecting lenders for GradPlus and FAFSA loans... it just seems like a compressed schedule for getting all that arranged (May 4). Did you or rabbit have any difficulty doing this last year?

Also on the finances front, did you hear of Financial Aid re-evaluating grants after parents' W2s and taxes were sent to the office? My parents and I completed FAFSA and Need Access truthfully, but I just worry about the scenario where, after choosing Yale and withdrawing from the financially friendly options, what little grants I have could disappear. Possibly this is a question for Pat Barnes... but I wanted to see if you guys had any thoughts on either of these questions. These are the things that trouble me most about YLS currently-everything else seems pretty great

If it's anything like my experience last year, the loan deadline certainly isn't a hard-and-fast deadline...just a suggestion that the earlier you do it, the better. Certainly, take your time to fully evaluate your options, and call the office if you have questions. It's not as though you won't get loans if you don't choose/notify them until later, but certainly they can't guarantee that all the paperwork/certification will be in order if you wait till July.

If you filled out FAFSA/Need Access accurately, then there shouldn't be any change in your preliminary v. actual awards (since in most cases, that info is captured by the FAFSA/NA data). If you have concern, I'd call Pat - she's great.

While it's not your situation as explained, at least, for people who DO have changes in their financial situation between when you filled out forms and when you enroll (say, a parent loses a job, or an investment property loses a ton of value, etc.), you should also talk to Pat. They've been really proactive about telling current students "if your situation changes, come talk to us" - I imagine the same is true for incoming students.

[sandpiper]

Congrats to all of the newly accepted! Hope to see you at the ASW, though we probably won't recognize each other

For Sandpiper, thanks for taking the time to answer some our last minute questions. I guess I am concerned on Yale's timeline for selecting lenders for GradPlus and FAFSA loans... it just seems like a compressed schedule for getting all that arranged (May 4). Did you or rabbit have any difficulty doing this last year?

Also on the finances front, did you hear of Financial Aid re-evaluating grants after parents' W2s and taxes were sent to the office? My parents and I completed FAFSA and Need Access truthfully, but I just worry about the scenario where, after choosing Yale and withdrawing from the financially friendly options, what little grants I have could disappear. Possibly this is a question for Pat Barnes... but I wanted to see if you guys had any thoughts on either of these questions. These are the things that trouble me most about YLS currently-everything else seems pretty great

If it's anything like my experience last year, the loan deadline certainly isn't a hard-and-fast deadline...just a suggestion that the earlier you do it, the better. Certainly, take your time to fully evaluate your options, and call the office if you have questions. It's not as though you won't get loans if you don't choose/notify them until later, but certainly they can't guarantee that all the paperwork/certification will be in order if you wait till July.

If you filled out FAFSA/Need Access accurately, then there shouldn't be any change in your preliminary v. actual awards (since in most cases, that info is captured by the FAFSA/NA data). If you have concern, I'd call Pat - she's great.

While it's not your situation as explained, at least, for people who DO have changes in their financial situation between when you filled out forms and when you enroll (say, a parent loses a job, or an investment property loses a ton of value, etc.), you should also talk to Pat. They've been really proactive about telling current students "if your situation changes, come talk to us" - I imagine the same is true for incoming students.

Ahem, Rabbit it said "For Sandpiper." Typical Yale competitiveness...

But I'll just echo everything that she's already said. (I hope you don't mind I just outed you as a female). You'll find that once you get here there seems to be only one hard and fast deadline at all of YLS (getting one of your two writing requirements done before the start of your 3L year) and everything else is a little more flexible. I actually had a professor tell our class that our paper had no real deadline at all - we just have to finish it before we graduate - and if we send it to him over the summer, he'll grade it the same day and walk it down to the registrar's office to ensure that we don't have any incompletes on our transcript before Fall interviews.

Take the time to figure out which loans are going to be best for you and feel free to ask Pat about any questions you may have. While she can't recommend specific lenders to you (there was a scandal at some colleges a few years back and now no one can recommend lenders) she'll definitely steer you in the right direction. Like, Rabbit said, so long as you were honest on those forms nothing's going to change, and if it did, you could always talk to Pat and straighten everything out.

Hope that helps!

[reasontobelieve]

can't wait for asw, but i may only make it for the second day. by the way, do they reimburse for travel?

[SparkyLives]

can't wait for asw, but i may only make it for the second day. by the way, do they reimburse for travel?

You have to apply for it, but yes they do offer a very generous subsidy.

Josephine Elliot is the contact for the travel subsidy, btw.

[ccw1234]

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[littleboyblue]

so should we all be worried about the increased class size this year?

[reasontobelieve]

so should we all be worried about the increased class size this year?

why worry? a class of 200 isn't exactly huge. i don't see a big problem with it.

[bgc]

so should we all be worried about the increased class size this year?

a class of 200 isn't exactly huge. i don't see a big problem with it.

I agree with you, rtb, but I'm glad people are worrying, even if I'm still just overwhelmed to be one of the 200. If such worry is unwarranted, there's no loss. If there are problems created by a 15% growth in class size, I'd much rather have the administration be proactive.

I hope and expect it will be fine. It is, however, a small and seemingly carefully balanced system.

[SparkyLives]

The only thing about it that irks me is the way it was announced. A little late in the game for my tastes.

[excitedutterance]

Unlike many of you, I almost certainly wouldn't have been accepted but for the increase in class size, so I have no grounds for complaint.

[sandpiper]

I know it seems pretty late in the game, but the increase in class size has been an open secret around the law school for what seems like a few months now. I was kind of surprised that they actually formally announced it.

That being said, I don't think it'll have any effect at all on your class at all. One or two more students in each small group (or even just an extra small group) is not a big deal and I've never felt like any of the school's resources - be it the professors, student organizations, or cafeteria - can't handle a few extra dozen people.

[bgc]

That being said, I don't think it'll have any effect at all on your class at all. One or two more students in each small group (or even just an extra small group) is not a big deal and I've never felt like any of the school's resources - be it the professors, student organizations, or cafeteria - can't handle a few extra dozen people.

But what about HAPPY HOUR?!!!??!?!!!!

[rabbit9198]

That being said, I don't think it'll have any effect at all on your class at all. One or two more students in each small group (or even just an extra small group) is not a big deal and I've never felt like any of the school's resources - be it the professors, student organizations, or cafeteria - can't handle a few extra dozen people.

But what about HAPPY HOUR?!!!??!?!!!!

Haha. I think sandpiper summed it up pretty well...the school still has, in comparison to most every other school, quite abundant resources, both physical and fiscal. The tone of reform is overall one of making smart choices: investing in capturing quality faculty, providing generous financial aid, and limiting opulence. Former (?) Dean Koh, when asked specifically about happy hour, assured the students that it will stay. Something about the importance of conviviality.

[heyguys]

Unlike many of you, I almost certainly wouldn't have been accepted but for the increase in class size, so I have no grounds for complaint.

Ha, that's what I just got done writing in the waiting room. Definitely TiTCR in my case as well.

[bgc]

There's a new post on the Yale admissions blog that has some details on the process of writing your two substantial papers.

It is interesting that an answer to a prospective student worried that Yale is exclusively for aspiring academics would be an explanation of why Yale produces so many academics and what you can do at Yale to prepare for such a career. I found it helpful.

http://blogs.law.yale.edu/blogs/admissi ... rs-14.aspx

[dueprocess14]

There's a new post on the Yale admissions blog that has some details on the process of writing your two substantial papers.

It is interesting that an answer to a prospective student worried that Yale is exclusively for aspiring academics would be an explanation of why Yale produces so many academics and what you can do at Yale to prepare for such a career. I found it helpful.

http://blogs.law.yale.edu/blogs/admissi ... rs-14.aspx

Hah! This is very similar to the earlier post about how Yale's teaching methods are clearly infiltrating all other top law schools, so why not just go to the source of it all? I think the general Yale attitude, which I'm somewhat ambivalent to, is, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

[bgc]

Hah! This is very similar to the earlier post about how Yale's teaching methods are clearly infiltrating all other top law schools, so why not just go to the source of it all?

I had a different interpretation of the post you refer to, zab. I just took it to say that you would find the same kind of instruction at any top school. The reference to Yale's strength in academia was just a response to all the haters.

[heyguys]

This may be an overtly strange conspiracy theory re: the increase in class size, ha, but reading about it and thinking about why they might do it this year led me to think that maybe they balance 'class size targeting,' with 'acceptance rate targeting.' all schools saw an upswing in applicant numbers this year, and maybe YLS's was substantial enough that they could take the opportunity to increase their class size by a small amount without having to see a statistical blip in their acceptance rate numbers.

Ha, I know that YLS adcoms read these boards, and I'm sure some just chuckled to themselves and thought to themselves "man, to what lengths these people think we won't go," but hey--it seems like a smart way to carry out the goal, so maybe there's some substance to my wild speculation .

[heyguys]

One other thing, guys--I saw from last year's discussion of YLS that those admitted had some complications regarding us needing to select our own Stafford lender and such--is this something that comes down the road, or should I be thinking about it now?

[totalidiot]

Ha, I feel like this thread has died --have fun at the ASW guys; there are plenty of folks who wish they could be lucky enough to have the opportunity to join you!