Harvard Student(s) Answering Your Questions Forum

[fred013]

Stayed in Watertown for ASW. Really liked the area. Especially liked being able to drive my car around places - love strip malls etc. I am a major "suburbs" person.

How much cheaper is a 1 BR in Watertown vs. cambridge?

Much much cheaper.

But you will be one of very few HLS students there. I personally don't know an HLS student who lives in Watertown. Almost everyone lives in Cambridge/Somerville, with a handful of people across the river in Brighton/Allston.

Is the commute from the Brighton area rough as a 1L? Seems like things are a little more affordable over there.

It all depends on your definition of rough.

As someone with work experience before 1L, I thought that a 10-15 minute walk to school from Cambridge was ideal.

I arrived and many of my classmates—subsequently my friends—found the walk from campus to my place (in the winter, in the cold) unbearable and unenviable.

As a 1L, the vast majority of my classmates live within one block from the law school. If I lived in Brighton, I wouldn't be able to socialize nearly as much, because most plans are impromptu and the bus takes time.

That being said, the commute from Brighton is better than many non-law-school commutes. The 86 bus is pretty reliable.

It all depends on your expectations. But you will be in the minority of students living far from campus, for whatever that is worth.

this. you can do it. but you will have no friends.

[LawBron James]

Much much cheaper.

But you will be one of very few HLS students there. I personally don't know an HLS student who lives in Watertown. Almost everyone lives in Cambridge/Somerville, with a handful of people across the river in Brighton/Allston.

Is the commute from the Brighton area rough as a 1L? Seems like things are a little more affordable over there.

It all depends on your definition of rough.

As someone with work experience before 1L, I thought that a 10-15 minute walk to school from Cambridge was ideal.

I arrived and many of my classmates—subsequently my friends—found the walk from campus to my place (in the winter, in the cold) unbearable and unenviable.

As a 1L, the vast majority of my classmates live within one block from the law school. If I lived in Brighton, I wouldn't be able to socialize nearly as much, because most plans are impromptu and the bus takes time.

That being said, the commute from Brighton is better than many non-law-school commutes. The 86 bus is pretty reliable.

It all depends on your expectations. But you will be in the minority of students living far from campus, for whatever that is worth.

this. you can do it. but you will have no friends.

Haha, ok. Thanks for the bluntness. I was planning on moving in with a buddy who works downtown and my SO who would also likely be working downtown, so I'm trying to find a middle ground. A 2 bedroom in HUH seems like it would be ideal, but I'm not sure how fast those go.

[HorseThief]

Haha, ok. Thanks for the bluntness. I was planning on moving in with a buddy who works downtown and my SO who would also likely be working downtown, so I'm trying to find a middle ground. A 2 bedroom in HUH seems like it would be ideal, but I'm not sure how fast those go.

Very fast. Unless you're willing to be relatively far away from the law school, you'll have trouble getting a 2BR. 29 Garden and Terry Terrace will be your best bets, Botanic Gardens is close enough to Porter Square that your friend/SO can get downtown easily. You might also want to look at Peabody Terrace- it's a bit of a hike for you, but close enough to Harvard Square for everyone else.

[LawBron James]

Haha, ok. Thanks for the bluntness. I was planning on moving in with a buddy who works downtown and my SO who would also likely be working downtown, so I'm trying to find a middle ground. A 2 bedroom in HUH seems like it would be ideal, but I'm not sure how fast those go.

Very fast. Unless you're willing to be relatively far away from the law school, you'll have trouble getting a 2BR. 29 Garden and Terry Terrace will be your best bets, Botanic Gardens is close enough to Porter Square that your friend/SO can get downtown easily. You might also want to look at Peabody Terrace- it's a bit of a hike for you, but close enough to Harvard Square for everyone else.

Thanks for the info. I really like the look of 29 Garden, and if there are 2 beds available when I go up for the next ASW, I might pounce on that.

[TripTrip]

Haha, ok. Thanks for the bluntness. I was planning on moving in with a buddy who works downtown and my SO who would also likely be working downtown, so I'm trying to find a middle ground.

FYI Brighton is not a good middle between Harvard and Downtown. Anywhere in Cambridge and you can take the Red Line. Brighton you would have to take the Green line, which is horrifically slower because it has so many stops. Cost aside, Harvard Square is closer to downtown Boston than most of Brighton for all practical purposes.

[fred013]

is there a list anywhere of the best professors to have LORs from for clerkships?

[robotrick]

I'm sure it's too early for a 1L to worry about this, but I'm getting curious about FIP. Specifically, does the Public Interest portion (PIIP) actually lead to government jobs for students?

Also, is there a list anywhere of employers who have come to FIP in recent years? I couldn't find anything in my search but HLS is good at making things hard to find.

[tomwatts]

is there a list anywhere of the best professors to have LORs from for clerkships?

No. Nor would such a list make sense. There is, however, a list of profs who clerked and who they clerked for. (Here: https://www.law.harvard.edu/current/car ... kships.pdf. Note: This list is incomplete.)

I'm sure it's too early for a 1L to worry about this, but I'm getting curious about FIP. Specifically, does the Public Interest portion (PIIP) actually lead to government jobs for students?

Also, is there a list anywhere of employers who have come to FIP in recent years? I couldn't find anything in my search but HLS is good at making things hard to find.

In a very limited subset of cases, but rarely. In PI, you pretty much have to go out and apply to the employers yourself.

This appears to be the old list: https://www.law.harvard.edu/current/car ... e/oci.html

[wwwcol]

is there a list anywhere of the best professors to have LORs from for clerkships?

No. Nor would such a list make sense. There is, however, a list of profs who clerked and who they clerked for. (Here: https://www.law.harvard.edu/current/car ... kships.pdf. Note: This list is incomplete.)

Just as a reminder fred013 is a troll and we should collectively ignore everything he asks.

[robotrick]

In a very limited subset of cases, but rarely. In PI, you pretty much have to go out and apply to the employers yourself.

This appears to be the old list: https://www.law.harvard.edu/current/car ... e/oci.html

Thanks!

[tomwatts]

Just as a reminder fred013 is a troll and we should collectively ignore everything he asks.

I've decided to take a different approach, because no one seemed to be listening to me (and others) when we said this. That is, an answer always ended up appearing, regardless.

So, instead, I'm going to give the most peremptory answer I possibly can, in order that the thread not get cluttered with fred's BS and responses to it.

[rathgra]

I'm sure it's too early for a 1L to worry about this, but I'm getting curious about FIP. Specifically, does the Public Interest portion (PIIP) actually lead to government jobs for students?

Also, is there a list anywhere of employers who have come to FIP in recent years? I couldn't find anything in my search but HLS is good at making things hard to find.

If an office at PIIP is interviewing 3Ls, it's for a job. I know a handful of people who got jobs through it - offices with multiple rounds of interviews use it as a first round.

2Ls are for summer positions. I imagine a summer most places would help you out in the job hiring process (obviously assuming the summer went well), but it's my impression it's not a virtual guarantee of a job like EIP is (speaking generally).

[Orion311]

Where do on-campus students go to get groceries? How are the communal washrooms in Hastings/Gropius? Are they well cleaned/maintained or are they kind of gross? How about the kitchens?

[TripTrip]

Where do on-campus students go to get groceries? How are the communal washrooms in Hastings/Gropius? Are they well cleaned/maintained or are they kind of gross? How about the kitchens?

There's a Star Market on Beacon and a bigger one (with a way better meat selection) in Porter Square.

More dedicated shoppers make the hike to Market Basket or Trader Joes.

The communal washrooms are fine. The building staff cleans them every day. The kitchens are hit or miss. Usually there's at least two or three people who decide to make super elaborate meals in there every day (I'm looking at you, LLMs...). Without those people, the experience is fine. You'll find that your proximity to the kitchen (and whether you're near a kitchen with a table or by a seating area) severely affects your willingness to prepare food.

[tomwatts]

Some kitchens — Ames 3 — are busier than others because they serve more floors. I never had a problem bringing the food back to my room and eating there, even when my room was on a different floor (though getting through the locked doors while carrying hot soup was pretty annoying).

[a.sleepyhead]

For people who sublet their apartments over the summer, is it standard or acceptable to do so at a slight loss if you have a more expensive apartment? I've never done this before so excuse the potentially stupid question.

[Pneumonia]

When do HLAB/BSA/LR decisions come out, respectively?

[094320]

..

[o0o0o0o]

Anyone have thoughts on the relative merits of the profs teaching Fed Courts and Corps next year?

Fed Courts-
Fallon
V. Jackson
Field

Corps-
Ramseyer
Andrew Gold (visiting)
Kraakman
Ryan Bubb (visiting)
Clark
Spamann

Thanks!

[Doorkeeper]

Anyone have thoughts on the relative merits of the profs teaching Fed Courts and Corps next year?

Fed Courts-
Fallon
V. Jackson
Field

Corps-
Ramseyer
Andrew Gold (visiting)
Kraakman
Ryan Bubb (visiting)
Clark
Spamann

Thanks!

Fallon is the best listed for fed courts, but also consider that probably all of the law review will be in that class as a result. Jackson might be a viable alternative. Stay away from Field.

For corps, that's a really shitty line up. Stay away from Kraakman. Ramseyer and Clark are meh. I have some friends that really like Spamann, but I don't know much about him. You might want to ask about Bubb over on the NYU thread.

[fred013]

for 2Ls, how many BLL multi section courses should we shoot for? 2? what are the popular options?

[o0o0o0o]

Anyone have thoughts on the relative merits of the profs teaching Fed Courts and Corps next year?

Fed Courts-
Fallon
V. Jackson
Field

Corps-
Ramseyer
Andrew Gold (visiting)
Kraakman
Ryan Bubb (visiting)
Clark
Spamann

Thanks!

Fallon is the best listed for fed courts, but also consider that probably all of the law review will be in that class as a result. Jackson might be a viable alternative. Stay away from Field.

For corps, that's a really shitty line up. Stay away from Kraakman. Ramseyer and Clark are meh. I have some friends that really like Spamann, but I don't know much about him. You might want to ask about Bubb over on the NYU thread.

Thanks.

[Searchparty]

FWIW Ryan Bubb presented a paper in a seminar I was in and if I were to extrapolate I'd say he'd do a fairly good job.

I just finished the sublet process for my apartment in HUH and I took about a $2500 loss. This was in part because I lowered the rent and my subtenant wasn't staying for the whole time period. Most requests I had were for about 2 months. I lowered my rent because I saw another person listing the same unit in my apartment building for cheaper, so I figured it was appropriate.

HUH sublet is slightly more difficult because they must be a Harvard affiliate.

[blueberrycrumble]

How do KJDs fare in OCI? With good grades? With average grades? Etc.

Sorry if this is an extremely broad question.

[MyNameIsFlynn!]

How do KJDs fare in OCI? With good grades? With average grades? Etc.

Sorry if this is an extremely broad question.

How do KJDs fare in OCI? With good grades? With average grades? Etc.

Sorry if this is an extremely broad question.

The answer is probably that there's too much variability to make meaningful predictions, although some cities and firms tend to be more predictable than others. Have you read through the HLS 2013 and 14 EIP threads on the employment section yet? If no, definitely check those out.

Also, now is not the best time to fret over EIP. Your energy is better spent crushing spring semester (if you're a 1L).