Harvard Student(s) Answering Your Questions Forum

[dirkgently]

Should there be enough time to move into Gropius and then go shopping for a minifridge and some other basic supplies on the same day? I'm driving up the East Coast on the 24th and can't decide if I should leave on the 23rd instead.

Yes, but why not just order your minifridge on Amazon and have it waiting at your dorm when you get there?

Hmm, not a bad idea. By the way, what would be a good size? I heard the communal fridges and freezers can get a little packed

[TripTrip]

Should there be enough time to move into Gropius and then go shopping for a minifridge and some other basic supplies on the same day? I'm driving up the East Coast on the 24th and can't decide if I should leave on the 23rd instead.

Yes, but why not just order your minifridge on Amazon and have it waiting at your dorm when you get there?

Hmm, not a bad idea. By the way, what would be a good size? I heard the communal fridges and freezers can get a little packed

You're allowed up to 4 cubic feet (like this one), not that your RA would ever enter your room to measure your mini fridge. I had a 3.3 or 3.5 last year and it worked fine. I kept a half gallon of milk, meat, cheese, a gallon of water, yogurt, etc. in there just fine.

[tomwatts]

I got this one (LinkRemoved). It's a little small, but the separate freezer is a big plus.

[lawlorbust]

...

[tomwatts]

I think 3.4 was the GPA of his Master's degree. He's rated superior on his undergrad degree which is the best possible grade.

Oh, duh. I read "MS" as "BS" and got very confused.

No one cares about your Master's GPA. It's your undergrad GPA that they care about.

[delusional]

Prior student outlines from that professor are where it's at.

TITCR

Professors change very little. Even the jokes they tell during specific lessons. Do the readings and get a previous year's outline. Profit.

It's worse than that. I noticed a professor making a joke his professor had made.

Note: use your judgment. For professors with no good outlines available, it can be better to use a commercial outline than a bad one. Also, it sucks to spend money for a good student outline on sites like Outline Depot when there are ten mediocre ones on the school sites. Two options: Upload outlines to Outline Depot early in the semester so you will have the credits when the end comes. Alternative: Suck it up. If Outline Depot has a substantially better outline, it's worth the fourteen bucks.

[jrf12886]

Make your own outlines. If you can't bear to do that, ACS has a great bank. I'd never pay for an outline.

[wealtheow]

any swimmers/gym rats who can attest to the ease of getting lane time at the two pools? times of the day to avoid? is there a URL for the hours that actually works (all the links seem broken)? etc. etc. thanks

[jasper09]

Also wondering about fitness stuff- how are the group exercise classes?

And anybody play tennis? I looked at the tennis club's website but it hasn't been updated since 2005 I'm trying to decide if it's worth it to pay the $50 for a season pass at Beren or just stick to $10/court reservation.

[webbdp3]

If any 2L or 3Ls have an off street parking spot near the law school that they are looking to lease shoot me a pm.

[Iuso]

any swimmers/gym rats who can attest to the ease of getting lane time at the two pools? times of the day to avoid? is there a URL for the hours that actually works (all the links seem broken)? etc. etc. thanks

I second the question on best times for swimming. As far as hours go, it doesn't look like they have the official schedule up for this fall, but going by last spring (http://recreation.gocrimson.com/recreation/hours) it looks like the Malkin Pool opens between 7 and 7:30am and closes between 5-7pm on weekdays and goes 9am-1pm on weekends.

[appind]

I mean, Georgetown just came to mind because I ran your numbers at LSAC's Official Guide (this is a good resource for the schools it includes because LSAC has better data than anyone else) and it was telling me that you had an outside chance (like, 20-25%) at schools like Cornell, Vanderbilt, etc. Georgetown is about the same level of selectivity but is the top law school in DC (so some of its grads stay in DC and work in government). I don't really know the details of this, so it would bear further investigation if you decided to go that route.

Um, wait. It's really, really different if you have a 3.4 or if you have a 4.0. You're still not getting into HLS this year, but on a retake, you'd have a really good shot if you scored, say, 173 and had a 4.0 GPA (whereas a 173 and 3.4 is still not getting in). I have no idea what goes on with international GPAs, but you'll want to check on that, because that really changes things.

I think 3.4 was the GPA of his Master's degree. He's rated superior on his undergrad degree which is the best possible grade. I think he'll be fine if he retakes the LSAT and does well, assuming admissions overlooks him taking it four times.

To the poster -- did you gain US citizenship at some point in time? If not, I'm just not sure how feasible gaining a "federal regulatory" position will be. Have you also thought about whether your intended career paths actually require a law degree?

I think these positions may not require law degree but a jd will be looked at more favorably than an mpp all through the career but i may be wrong. Also doesn't jd provide more flexibility in terms of paths one can take? A jd doesn't disqualify one from an mpp position but the opposite is probably not true.

[malleus discentium]

Is the storage (in North, at least) only for the summer? This page (LinkRemoved) doesn't explicitly say, but I get overtones that it's summer storage for people living in the dorms the fall after.

[t-14orbust]

Can anyone help me out in locating resources to buy used books from 2/3Ls? thanks bunches

[Geortumpen]

I'm not sure if this has already been answered elsewhere, and I apologize if it has. Here goes:

1. I'm going straight in to HLS school from undergrad. I'm worried though that all the people that have taken time off before law school will have all those extra years of accomplishments to brag about when they apply for clerkships, law firm jobs, and SCOTUS clerkships. Is this a serious disadvantage to me? Generally speaking, if you want a SCOTUS clerkship, feeder clerkship, or really top-tier firm is it a good idea to take gap years before law school, and what sort of things should you seek to do in those gap years?

2. A lot has been made of having professors/deans/judges "go to bat for you" to get clerkship recs. Obviously this entails getting said professors/deans/judges to like you, and this entails interacting with them and creating relationships. Some of this I'm sure will happen naturally (i.e. you have a class with said professor and thus naturally form a relationship). But other times it will likely have to be purposeful on one's part. Here's my question-- do Professors/Deans/Judges ever make a concerted effort to block people from getting COA or SCOTUS clerkships? Because if they rarely will do anything BAD to keep you from getting a clerkship, then the risk of approaching/networking with a professor is essentially 0. But if they do often block people then this makes the manner in which you approach and network much more important.

[wert3813]

I'm not sure if this has already been answered elsewhere, and I apologize if it has. Here goes:

1. I'm going straight in to HLS school from undergrad. I'm worried though that all the people that have taken time off before law school will have all those extra years of accomplishments to brag about when they apply for clerkships, law firm jobs, and SCOTUS clerkships. Is this a serious disadvantage to me? Generally speaking, if you want a SCOTUS clerkship, feeder clerkship, or really top-tier firm is it a good idea to take gap years before law school, and what sort of things should you seek to do in those gap years?

2. A lot has been made of having professors/deans/judges "go to bat for you" to get clerkship recs. Obviously this entails getting said professors/deans/judges to like you, and this entails interacting with them and creating relationships. Some of this I'm sure will happen naturally (i.e. you have a class with said professor and thus naturally form a relationship). But other times it will likely have to be purposeful on one's part. Here's my question-- do Professors/Deans/Judges ever make a concerted effort to block people from getting COA or SCOTUS clerkships? Because if they rarely will do anything BAD to keep you from getting a clerkship, then the risk of approaching/networking with a professor is essentially 0. But if they do often block people then this makes the manner in which you approach and network much more important.

Re question 2. I mean. No! What would you have to do to have a professor go torched Earth in an effort to KEEP you from getting a clerkship? cheat? You're getting kicked out anyway. Sleep with someone's wife? Maybe. Besides how would they even know you are applying for a clerkship if you don't tell them? What I'm sure happens on rare occasions is judge sees that you've taken professor X who he knows. He cold calls professor X to ask about you. Professor X hesitates to give you a strong endorsement. Judge knows what that means.

[EijiMiyake]

I'm not sure if this has already been answered elsewhere, and I apologize if it has. Here goes:

1. I'm going straight in to HLS school from undergrad. I'm worried though that all the people that have taken time off before law school will have all those extra years of accomplishments to brag about when they apply for clerkships, law firm jobs, and SCOTUS clerkships. Is this a serious disadvantage to me? Generally speaking, if you want a SCOTUS clerkship, feeder clerkship, or really top-tier firm is it a good idea to take gap years before law school, and what sort of things should you seek to do in those gap years?

2. A lot has been made of having professors/deans/judges "go to bat for you" to get clerkship recs. Obviously this entails getting said professors/deans/judges to like you, and this entails interacting with them and creating relationships. Some of this I'm sure will happen naturally (i.e. you have a class with said professor and thus naturally form a relationship). But other times it will likely have to be purposeful on one's part. Here's my question-- do Professors/Deans/Judges ever make a concerted effort to block people from getting COA or SCOTUS clerkships? Because if they rarely will do anything BAD to keep you from getting a clerkship, then the risk of approaching/networking with a professor is essentially 0. But if they do often block people then this makes the manner in which you approach and network much more important.

Re question 2. I mean. No! What would you have to do to have a professor go torched Earth in an effort to KEEP you from getting a clerkship? cheat? You're getting kicked out anyway. Sleep with someone's wife? Maybe. Besides how would they even know you are applying for a clerkship if you don't tell them? What I'm sure happens on rare occasions is judge sees that you've taken professor X who he knows. He cold calls professor X to ask about you. Professor X hesitates to give you a strong endorsement. Judge knows what that means.

Is that why david boies never clerked?

[Iuso]

So for HLS Housing, the manual prohibits "lofted beds." Does that mean absolutely no bed risers of any kind or does it just prohibit the traditional "loft bed" that is five feet off the floor?

And just as a general question, does anyone have any recommendations for utilizing vertical space in the Gropius dorms?

[TripTrip]

So for HLS Housing, the manual prohibits "lofted beds." Does that mean absolutely no bed risers of any kind or does it just prohibit the traditional "loft bed" that is five feet off the floor?

And just as a general question, does anyone have any recommendations for utilizing vertical space in the Gropius dorms?

The ceilings are pretty low, so there's not much to work with. The beds have drawers in the bottom already so you can use the under-bed space. The walls usually have shelves up high.

[jrf12886]

I'm not sure if this has already been answered elsewhere, and I apologize if it has. Here goes:

1. I'm going straight in to HLS school from undergrad. I'm worried though that all the people that have taken time off before law school will have all those extra years of accomplishments to brag about when they apply for clerkships, law firm jobs, and SCOTUS clerkships. Is this a serious disadvantage to me? Generally speaking, if you want a SCOTUS clerkship, feeder clerkship, or really top-tier firm is it a good idea to take gap years before law school, and what sort of things should you seek to do in those gap years?

2. A lot has been made of having professors/deans/judges "go to bat for you" to get clerkship recs. Obviously this entails getting said professors/deans/judges to like you, and this entails interacting with them and creating relationships. Some of this I'm sure will happen naturally (i.e. you have a class with said professor and thus naturally form a relationship). But other times it will likely have to be purposeful on one's part. Here's my question-- do Professors/Deans/Judges ever make a concerted effort to block people from getting COA or SCOTUS clerkships? Because if they rarely will do anything BAD to keep you from getting a clerkship, then the risk of approaching/networking with a professor is essentially 0. But if they do often block people then this makes the manner in which you approach and network much more important.

1. While work experience can be helpful for all the things you mentioned, it's certainly not a requirement. I don't think anyone would take time off to work solely because they wanted to increase their chances of getting a feeder/SCOTUS clerkship. Basically to get those you will need to do extremely well in law school.

2. No, I've never heard of anything like that happening.

[TheMostDangerousLG]

Does anyone know if each North room has a desk and a table, as the pics on the HLS housing site show, or just a desk? (I'm hoping to bring a futon and am hoping the room isn't already crowded with unnecessary furniture..)

[Pneumonia]

Do ya'll have any iPad apps that you find particularly useful or would recommend?

[wert3813]

Do ya'll have any iPad apps that you find particularly useful or would recommend?

Like in life?

[Pneumonia]

Do ya'll have any iPad apps that you find particularly useful or would recommend?

Like in life?

Well I'm open to general recs I suppose, but what I should have included in the above is that I'm mostly looking for apps related to law school (PDF view/edit, note taking, law dictionaries, etc.)

[Mr. Elshal]

Does anyone know if each North room has a desk and a table, as the pics on the HLS housing site show, or just a desk? (I'm hoping to bring a futon and am hoping the room isn't already crowded with unnecessary furniture..)

North rooms have a pretty random selection of furniture. I know of people who had the following configurations last year, all in the "Standard" room:
1) Desk, small table, and two chairs
2) Desk, really large table, and two chairs
3) Desk, no table, and two chairs
4) Desk, [either table], and one chair

The furniture also didn't match from room to room, and sometimes even within the same room, but they're doing some work on North now, so I don't know if that includes a furniture update.

The only thing you can probably count on is that you will have at least a bed, a desk, a chair, and a dresser.