Harvard Student(s) Answering Your Questions Forum

[HermioneG.]

it can be pretty hard to find no-fee apartments in cambridge, though not impossible.

This. I was just talking about this with some people. None of us were able to escape the broker fee. I found my place on Craigslist and was told I'd have to pay a $2k fee if I wanted it. I tried fighting it, but the broker literally said to me "This place is close to the law school and if you don't want to pay me that much, I can find someone else to take the place really easily, so I don't really care."

In this same vein, I am currently paying $2k in rent and the place, while super close, isn't the nicest. Do any of you think there are cheaper, better 1BD/ large studio options within a ten minute walk to school? And do people still get screwed by broker fees when you're here locally arranging things? I know multiple people who were hunting to move, and all of them ended up just staying put in their current places which makes me think the process is more of a pain in the ass than one may think.

[BlakcMajikc]

it can be pretty hard to find no-fee apartments in cambridge, though not impossible.

This. I was just talking about this with some people. None of us were able to escape the broker fee. I found my place on Craigslist and was told I'd have to pay a $2k fee if I wanted it. I tried fighting it, but the broker literally said to me "This place is close to the law school and if you don't want to pay me that much, I can find someone else to take the place really easily, so I don't really care."

In this same vein, I am currently paying $2k in rent and the place, while super close, isn't the nicest. Do any of you think there are cheaper, better 1BD/ large studio options within a ten minute walk to school? And do people still get screwed by broker fees when you're here locally arranging things? I know multiple people who were hunting to move, and all of them ended up just staying put in their current places which makes me think the process is more of a pain in the ass than one may think.

There are cheaper 1bedrooms/studio -- youre paying about $300 more than what you should be. Just look around again esp. now that you're in the area and understand the landscape.

[ddoodle]

Speaking of housing...My roommate and I (rising 3L and 2L) looking for a third roommate for next year.

We have a 3Bedroom/1Bathroom apartment about a 5 minute walk from the law school at the corner of Oxford and Hammond. Rent is $1050/month. The bedroom is spacious with great light and a large closet. We have a living room, dining room, eat-in kitchen, and back porch. Hardwood floors through out. Common areas are furnished with leather couches, a nice flat screen, and a traditional dining room set. Free laundry in the basement. Lease runs June 1, 2013 to May 31, 2014. PM me if interested!

[Mista Bojangles]

Has anyone had Jesse Fried for corporations? I await with baited breath.

Not sure what it means to wait with "baited" breath, but I too am interested in thoughts on any of the Corps profs (Ramseyer, Coates, Kraakman, Fried, Clark, Skeel).

Just saw that neither Hanson nor Subramanian is teaching Corps this coming year which is a shame - those are the two best though for very very different reasons

I haven't had Clark but he's the most oft-mentioned name of the ones you listed

[ph14]

I found my housing every year through craigslist and didn't have to pay any broker fees. I would recommend that. I tried using a broker to find places during 1L but i found it was just as easy or easier to do the legwork myself through craigslist and definitely worth saving the hundreds of dollars.

[justinp]

Corps with Clark is a very middle-of-the-road, meat and potatoes kind of deal. You go through the cases and discuss them, every now and then with a little overview of the area of law by Clark.

Also he has a series of songs he has written about corporate law that he sings at the end of class sometimes which is pretty great.

[tomwatts]

Has anyone had Jesse Fried for corporations? I await with baited breath.

Not sure what it means to wait with "baited" breath, but I too am interested in thoughts on any of the Corps profs (Ramseyer, Coates, Kraakman, Fried, Clark, Skeel).

It's kind of like waiting with bated breath but when your mouth smells like fish bait.

More on topic, I tried to get housing in an apartment one summer. It was enough to make me go straight back to the dorms.

[Doorkeeper]

Has anyone had Jesse Fried for corporations? I await with baited breath.

Not sure what it means to wait with "baited" breath

Stop being such a fucking law student.

[wert3813]

Has anyone had Jesse Fried for corporations? I await with baited breath.

Not sure what it means to wait with "baited" breath, but I too am interested in thoughts on any of the Corps profs (Ramseyer, Coates, Kraakman, Fried, Clark, Skeel).

It's kind of like waiting with bated breath but when your mouth smells like fish bait.

More on topic, I tried to get housing in an apartment one summer. It was enough to make me go straight back to the dorms.

Now I worried that I didn't get back on TLS early enough to give a so that people knew I was kidding. No one with fried? Bummer

[HermioneG.]

This. I was just talking about this with some people. None of us were able to escape the broker fee. I found my place on Craigslist and was told I'd have to pay a $2k fee if I wanted it. I tried fighting it, but the broker literally said to me "This place is close to the law school and if you don't want to pay me that much, I can find someone else to take the place really easily, so I don't really care."

In this same vein, I am currently paying $2k in rent and the place, while super close, isn't the nicest. Do any of you think there are cheaper, better 1BD/ large studio options within a ten minute walk to school? And do people still get screwed by broker fees when you're here locally arranging things? I know multiple people who were hunting to move, and all of them ended up just staying put in their current places which makes me think the process is more of a pain in the ass than one may think.

There are cheaper 1bedrooms/studio -- youre paying about $300 more than what you should be. Just look around again esp. now that you're in the area and understand the landscape.

Interesting. If anyone likes their building and is pretty close to school with rent that's cheaper than just shy of 2k I would love some recommendations via PM.

I found my housing every year through craigslist and didn't have to pay any broker fees. I would recommend that. I tried using a broker to find places during 1L but i found it was just as easy or easier to do the legwork myself through craigslist and definitely worth saving the hundreds of dollars.

+1 The broker does pretty much nothing most of the time. Avoid if possible (though I also found my place through CL and was forced to use a broker just to sign the lease. Fastest $2000 she ever made.)

[094320]

..

[jrf12886]

I would definitely recommend that incoming students consider living near Porter or Davis squares. If you live near the T, you can be to the law school in about 15-20 minutes. You can also bike and there are Hubways in both areas. Rents there are much less (I pay less than $1000 for a room in a large 3BR house) and there are no broker fees. (Also Davis Square is an awesome area to eat/drink)

[t-14orbust]

I would defiitely recommend that incoming students consider living near Porter or Davis squares. If you live near the T, you can be to the law school in about 15-20 minutes. You can also bike and there are Hubways in both areas. Rents there are much less (I pay less than $1000 for a room in a large 3BR house) and there are no broker fees.

Would you recommend against living the dorms?

[jrf12886]

I would defiitely recommend that incoming students consider living near Porter or Davis squares. If you live near the T, you can be to the law school in about 15-20 minutes. You can also bike and there are Hubways in both areas. Rents there are much less (I pay less than $1000 for a room in a large 3BR house) and there are no broker fees.

Would you recommend against living the dorms?

I lived off campus my entire time here so I can't say too much about the dorms. I will say that Groupius rooms are smaller than I could deal with at this point in my life (late 20's). But obviously they are super convenient as they are adjacent to Wasserstein. The other campus apartments seem nice, but I think they are expensive and there is a limited number of them available. I wanted to save money on rent so I live near Davis Square (and I love it).

[TripTrip]

Now I worried that I didn't get back on TLS early enough to give a so that people knew I was kidding. No one with fried? Bummer

Fried looks pretty good, especially out of the profs who are teaching corps next semester.

[MyNameIsFlynn!]

Wow, I wish I'd known about that site before I spent hours digging thru evaluations. Thanks for linking Trip.

[wert3813]

Anyone have a thought on which should be preffed first between klarman and negotiation workshop during Jan term? And the likelihood of getting both?

[delusional]

Anyone have a thought on which should be preffed first between klarman and negotiation workshop during Jan term? And the likelihood of getting both?

I liked Negotiation Workshop during J-term. It is unique (in a good way) and intense, so it's probably good to get it out of the way in one shot rather than dragging it out a whole semester.

[ph14]

Anyone have a thought on which should be preffed first between klarman and negotiation workshop during Jan term? And the likelihood of getting both?

I would put Klarman first. You won't regret it.

[despina]

Anyone have a thought on which should be preffed first between klarman and negotiation workshop during Jan term? And the likelihood of getting both?

I would put Klarman first. You won't regret it.

I haven't taken Klarman, but my vote would be for Negotiation Workshop. There are other perfectly good conlaw profs, and most likely you'll have to re-teach yourself any conlaw you need for your career (if any). The Negotiation Workshop is an experience truly unique to HLS that will give you real-world skills you can apply to your life starting day 1.

[tomwatts]

I would defiitely recommend that incoming students consider living near Porter or Davis squares. If you live near the T, you can be to the law school in about 15-20 minutes. You can also bike and there are Hubways in both areas. Rents there are much less (I pay less than $1000 for a room in a large 3BR house) and there are no broker fees.

Would you recommend against living the dorms?

This may not be a commonly shared opinion, but I would actively recommend living in Gropius the first year. You make a bunch of friends outside your section, live right next to where you'll be taking all your classes, and don't have to deal with sublets, cleaning a large space, etc. You can have a larger room if you want (e.g. the ends of Ames), and you can have a more social or more quiet experience depending on your preference.

My law school experience definitely would have been worse had I not lived in Gropius in the first year.

[ph14]

I would defiitely recommend that incoming students consider living near Porter or Davis squares. If you live near the T, you can be to the law school in about 15-20 minutes. You can also bike and there are Hubways in both areas. Rents there are much less (I pay less than $1000 for a room in a large 3BR house) and there are no broker fees.

Would you recommend against living the dorms?

I would not want to live in the dorms, personally. I would rather have a place with a kitchen and noncommunal bathrooms. But a lot of it is obviously personal preference. The dorms were fun when I was a freshman in undergrad, but I wouldn't want that experience again.

[wert3813]

Anyone have a thought on which should be preffed first between klarman and negotiation workshop during Jan term? And the likelihood of getting both?

I would put Klarman first. You won't regret it.

I haven't taken Klarman, but my vote would be for Negotiation Workshop. There are other perfectly good conlaw profs, and most likely you'll have to re-teach yourself any conlaw you need for your career (if any). The Negotiation Workshop is an experience truly unique to HLS that will give you real-world skills you can apply to your life starting day 1.

Thanks to both. Do either of you have a thought on which would be more likely to lead to me getting both classes. I'm inclined to think you have to have Klarman 1st but there might be enough NW movement to get off the WL from 2 for NW.

[tomwatts]

I would rather have a place with a kitchen and noncommunal bathrooms.

Presumably you mean noncommunal kitchen and bathrooms. Gropius has communal kitchens (which I use a lot -- I cook most of my own food).

Also, if I had to guess, I'd guess that 1) Negotiation 2) Klarman gives you a decent shot at getting both. There's more waitlist movement in the fall than in the winter, because people have more complicated schedules to play with.

[DoubleChecks]

Anyone have a thought on which should be preffed first between klarman and negotiation workshop during Jan term? And the likelihood of getting both?

I'm a huge fan of the Negotiation Workshop. One of the best things to take, hands down, at HLS. I've heard Klarman is the best for Con Law too though...imo, I would take Klarman and shoot for Negotiation Workshop as my #1 in a WINTER term. I have friends who took it in the spring while I took it in the winter. Winter is much better. You devote all your time to the workshop so you get to immerse yourself a bit more. No other classes to worry about so the time commitment of the workshop does not really get in the way of your other classes. Also, you get more interesting guest lecturers imo. Since we have to take things in the winter anyways, I'd highly recommend Klarman in the fall, Negotiation Workshop in the winter.