Harvard Student(s) Answering Your Questions Forum

[094320]

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[Doorkeeper]

So room selection is coming up next Monday for 0Ls. Can anybody comment on where the nearest track and field is to North Hall? Hemenway looks nice but I like to do my running on a track so I can vary the tempo. Also, how bad is the walk from North to the main campus during the winter?

Thanks in advance

I believe the outdoor track is across the river in Boston near the business school. It's maybe a 25 min walk from the Law School campus.

[Lovely Ludwig Van]

So room selection is coming up next Monday for 0Ls. Can anybody comment on where the nearest track and field is to North Hall? Hemenway looks nice but I like to do my running on a track so I can vary the tempo. Also, how bad is the walk from North to the main campus during the winter?

Thanks in advance

I believe the outdoor track is across the river in Boston near the business school. It's maybe a 25 min walk from the Law School campus.

Yep it looks like there is an indoor track (Gordon) and some other athletic facilities across the Charles River. Would you recommend biking there to work out (if say someone is really intent on running on a track vs. treadmill)? I'm guessing it's probably not very doable during the winter.

Thanks again to you and acrossthelake.

[AllTheLawz]

So room selection is coming up next Monday for 0Ls. Can anybody comment on where the nearest track and field is to North Hall? Hemenway looks nice but I like to do my running on a track so I can vary the tempo. Also, how bad is the walk from North to the main campus during the winter?

Thanks in advance

I believe the outdoor track is across the river in Boston near the business school. It's maybe a 25 min walk from the Law School campus.

There is also a shuttle that picks up directly in front of the law school and drops off directly across the street from the athletic fields and track.

[Spritzpiggy]

Looking into housing in Somerville. Do people who live there typically drive, bus, walk (seems a bit far). Are there any school shuttles or the like? What areas of Somerville do law students live in? Thanks

[PinkCow]

Looking into housing in Somerville. Do people who live there typically drive, bus, walk (seems a bit far). Are there any school shuttles or the like? What areas of Somerville do law students live in? Thanks

Somerville is pretty gheto bro.

Only half serious but seriously.

Quite a few people live in Somerville, as it's quite sprawling and parts are very close to the law school. Once you cross the border line, I've been told property taxes plummet so rental prices are usually a lot cheaper. Buses are great, but they're consistently inconsistent (often 5-10 minutes late/early). A lot of people also walk if the distance is up to a mile. Probably not more. It's flat. There are also some decent apartment complexes on Beacon and Kirkland that a significant number of people live in

[tomwatts]

Buses are great, but they're consistently inconsistent (often 5-10 minutes late/early).

If you're okay with adjusting your morning routine to whatever the buses are doing, there's an iPhone app that tracks realtime bus arrivals, so you don't have to wait in the snow for the bus.

[Searchparty]

Buses are great, but they're consistently inconsistent (often 5-10 minutes late/early).

If you're okay with adjusting your morning routine to whatever the buses are doing, there's an iPhone app that tracks realtime bus arrivals, so you don't have to wait in the snow for the bus.

What's the app called?

[tomwatts]

Busboy.

I'm assuming it's not the only one, but it might be.

[facile princeps]

Buses are great, but they're consistently inconsistent (often 5-10 minutes late/early).

If you're okay with adjusting your morning routine to whatever the buses are doing, there's an iPhone app that tracks realtime bus arrivals, so you don't have to wait in the snow for the bus.

What's the app called?

Look here. Click on the 'mobile' link to the top right of the map.

[Spritzpiggy]

Looking into housing in Somerville. Do people who live there typically drive, bus, walk (seems a bit far). Are there any school shuttles or the like? What areas of Somerville do law students live in? Thanks

Somerville is pretty gheto bro.

Only half serious but seriously.

Quite a few people live in Somerville, as it's quite sprawling and parts are very close to the law school. Once you cross the border line, I've been told property taxes plummet so rental prices are usually a lot cheaper. Buses are great, but they're consistently inconsistent (often 5-10 minutes late/early). A lot of people also walk if the distance is up to a mile. Probably not more. It's flat. There are also some decent apartment complexes on Beacon and Kirkland that a significant number of people live in

Eek. Maaaybe not the place for me then.

[Person1111]

Somerville might be "ghetto" if your frame of reference is the Upper West Side or Bel-Air. It's a fine neighborhood and totally safe.

[094320]

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[PinkCow]

Somerville might be "ghetto" if your frame of reference is the Upper West Side or Bel-Air. It's a fine neighborhood and totally safe.

Lol I know. I was 99% joking. The point is, like most neighborhoods, some blocks are better than others. My block apparently happens to be a frequent spot to sell drugs/get busted by cops/try to break down doors while drunk or high/etc.

[094320]

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[DoubleChecks]

1L thanksgiving break: Able to take the weekend and chill or crazy studying/researching/writing?

Depends on the person lol.

[Mista Bojangles]

1L thanksgiving break: Able to take the weekend and chill or crazy studying/researching/writing?

Depends on the person lol.

I feel strongly about this. Take the damn weekend off. Go home. Have an awesome and relaxed long weekend with family and friends w/ law school off your mind, and THEN come back rejuvenated with grind on the mind for finals. Taking Thanksgiving off = very healthy and very smart move

[094320]

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[tomwatts]

1L thanksgiving break: Able to take the weekend and chill or crazy studying/researching/writing?

Depends on the person lol.

+1

My 1L year I did a pretty slow and steady approach to most of the year. I never took a day off, but didn't ever work too much in a single day. There were no crazy days, just sort of the same day every day.

I was pretty much the same, and I think I took Thanksgiving Day and possibly the following day not to do very much. I did a fair amount of work on Saturday and Sunday that weekend, but mostly because I wanted to, not because I had to.

[Person1111]

I took all of Thanksgiving week off (flew home Saturday before Thanksgiving and came back Sunday after) 1L and 3L year (and Tues-Sun off 2L year) and don't think it harmed my performance. I'm one of those people who doesn't do anything for 10 weeks and then lives in Langdell/Lamont for 3 weeks, so if you are more of a "do some work every day" person then taking an extended period of time off might not work as well for you.

[094320]

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[I, Lawyer]

Is there any real differences between the different buildings/floors in Gropius? I have a pretty early selection window, so I think I should be able to grab a room where I want. Just thought I was see if it there any differences that would influence my decision.

[tomwatts]

Is there any real differences between the different buildings/floors in Gropius? I have a pretty early selection window, so I think I should be able to grab a room where I want. Just thought I was see if it there any differences that would influence my decision.

Yes. The gender of the bathroom, the access to a kitchen, and the proximity to a lounge are the most important things. (Oh, and room size, I suppose.) I did an excessively elaborate description of everything that I could think of in the part of Gropius that I know (Holmes/Ames/Dane) back on page 69 of this topic. Here's the relevant bit (edited):

If you’re female and want to be near a lounge, you probably want Ames 3 (kitchen) or possibly Ames 1 (no kitchen). If you’re female and don’t want to be near a lounge, you probably want Holmes 2 (kitchen) or Dane 2 (kitchen).

If you’re male and want to be near a lounge, you probably want Ames 2 (access to Holmes 2's kitchen), or maybe Dane 3 (no kitchen, smaller/less active lounge) or Ames 4 (no kitchen). If you’re male and don’t want to be near a lounge, you want Dane 1 (kitchen) or maybe Holmes 3 (access to Ames 3's kitchen).

As far as lounges, Ames 1 tends to be pretty active every year; the other lounges vary. If you’re living right next to the lounge, you can hear everything that goes on in it. If you’re living down the hall a ways, you hear it if it gets loud, but not otherwise. If you’re around the turn (e.g. Holmes 2, around the turn from Ames 2), you don’t hear anything.

Also, if you care about how much traffic goes through your bathroom or kitchen, then you probably want Dane. Because Dane is locked off from the other two, it tends to get less use for its facilities. Dane 1 and Ames 1 also have nice, large shower stalls intended for handicapped students but available for anyone’s use.

Other random things: Ames and Dane have some normal rooms and some larger rooms. Ames tends to have busier bathrooms and kitchens. The laundry room is underneath Dane 1. Being right at the end of Ames closest to Holmes or the end of Holmes closest to Ames is basically equivalent, because there's an open door between them on the second and third floors.

[edgeofthenight]

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[Blessedassurance]

I'm sorry if this has already been addressed, but what's the printing situation at HLS? If I'm living in Groupius, is it worth bringing my own?

you get an amount of credit to print (library, basement of wasserstein etc). once you hit the credit limit, they start billing what you print to your student account, or you can load up on credit.

https://printing.law.harvard.edu/printinfo/

i don't know anybody who brought his/her own printer so i don't know if it's worth it. Probably not.