Harvard Student(s) Answering Your Questions Forum

malleus discentium · Post by **malleus discentium** » Tue Aug 18, 2015 9:12 am

Legal Eagle87 wrote:Any idea on whether the advanced LRW classes (e.g., Legal Research: Advanced, V Wise) draw the LR/clerkship/DC app lit crowd just like Fed Cts & Evidence do, or would they be relieved to never look back on LRW?

I don't think it's a particular draw for that crowd, but the class is great and everyone should take it. Most useful class I've had at HLS so far.

despina · Post by **despina** » Tue Aug 18, 2015 11:00 am

mujiali wrote:Anyone have any experience with the 66 during rush hour/the winter? Trying to plan my commute. If you do, PM me please.

Answering here so others can benefit. The 66 is notorious -- it doesn't come as often as it should, and it's very slow (especially during rush hour and in weather). I only know a couple of people who commuted on the 66, and all complained constantly about it. That's why most people looking for cheap rent go into Somerville (better to spend 20 minutes walking to class than 20 minutes waiting for a bus and then an hour on the bus); a few others go to Arlington (farther away and no T beyond Alewife but the 77 is a little less of a mess, and there are "affordable" 1 bedrooms for couples).

I have only taken the 66 a few times. Outside of rush hour it was fine. I made the mistake of taking it to Coolidge Corner once around 5 pm -- took me over an hour.

despina · Post by **despina** » Tue Aug 18, 2015 11:04 am

heythatslife wrote:
Legal Eagle87 wrote:
TripTrip wrote:
Legal Eagle87 wrote:Is there a cap on how many reading groups you can join in a semester, as an upperclassman?
Usually reading groups are only ~10 people, so it would be difficult to get into more than one or two.
How does that impact difficulty to get in? You mean you'd have to rank a reading group 1 or 2, so if you rank it 3 or higher and 10 other people ranked it 1 or 2, then poof it's full?
Pretty much. And you also have to remember that those preferencing slots have to be used for other courses too.

Generally agree with this. I think it applies most to reading groups with very popular profs, or ones on "hot" topics. There are also a few that are by application (e.g. if you want to study recent SCOTUS cases with Kagan) -- those applications aren't very well publicized so you have to stalk the admin updates blog.

Many other reading groups' waitlists move a lot. I've never taken two in a semester, but each semester 3L I had two on my schedule the first week and had to decide which one to drop.

Indifference · Post by **Indifference** » Tue Aug 18, 2015 1:41 pm

despina wrote:
mujiali wrote:Anyone have any experience with the 66 during rush hour/the winter? Trying to plan my commute. If you do, PM me please.
Answering here so others can benefit. The 66 is notorious -- it doesn't come as often as it should, and it's very slow (especially during rush hour and in weather). I only know a couple of people who commuted on the 66, and all complained constantly about it. That's why most people looking for cheap rent go into Somerville (better to spend 20 minutes walking to class than 20 minutes waiting for a bus and then an hour on the bus); a few others go to Arlington (farther away and no T beyond Alewife but the 77 is a little less of a mess, and there are "affordable" 1 bedrooms for couples).

I have only taken the 66 a few times. Outside of rush hour it was fine. I made the mistake of taking it to Coolidge Corner once around 5 pm -- took me over an hour.

Thanks. Done it the other way a lot, but never towards Harvard. Should be a fun year.

lawlorbust · Post by **lawlorbust** » Wed Aug 19, 2015 12:17 am

any clue on what the timetable for ames is going to be? looks like registration was within a week of classes starting last year, but the website hasn't been updated for this year's competition yet.

Hat Trick · Post by **Hat Trick** » Thu Aug 20, 2015 4:01 am

How does cable TV work in the Gropius Complex? I was told that we have to call Comcast ourselves to set it up. Does anybody know how much it costs a month? Thanks.

polareagle · Post by **polareagle** » Thu Aug 20, 2015 4:44 pm

Hat Trick wrote:How does cable TV work in the Gropius Complex? I was told that we have to call Comcast ourselves to set it up. Does anybody know how much it costs a month? Thanks.

I don't have any recollection, but I remember being able to look it up on the Comcast website.
Use 22 Everett Street Cambridge, MA 02138 and it should show you. Even if you're not in that building, I can't imagine the price would be different between the dorms.

baloneydanza · Post by **baloneydanza** » Thu Aug 20, 2015 9:34 pm

The only available Bluebooks I can find on Amazon will be delivered between August 27th and September 14th. Should I look elsewhere or have any of you received them on the earlier side of this timeframe?

polareagle · Post by **polareagle** » Thu Aug 20, 2015 9:34 pm

baloneydanza wrote:The only available Bluebooks I can find on Amazon will be delivered between August 27th and September 14th. Should I look elsewhere or have any of you received them on the earlier side of this timeframe?

Just get one at the COOP.

baloneydanza · Post by **baloneydanza** » Thu Aug 20, 2015 9:51 pm

polareagle wrote:
baloneydanza wrote:The only available Bluebooks I can find on Amazon will be delivered between August 27th and September 14th. Should I look elsewhere or have any of you received them on the earlier side of this timeframe?
Just get one at the COOP.

Thanks

Orion311 · Post by **Orion311** » Fri Aug 21, 2015 12:29 am

I'm looking at getting a phone plan and since my phone has a SIM card and whatnot I'm pretty sure it will only work with AT&T or T-Mobile. Earlier in the thread people were saying that AT&T/T-Mobile are pretty bad on campus (poor service areas in a sizeable city? what?). Is that still the case as of more recently?

If the service is super bad I'll probably get another cheaper plan + a phone which I guess over the 3 years will work out to the same as paying the higher AT&T/T-Mobile rates.

despina · Post by **despina** » Fri Aug 21, 2015 8:36 am

Orion311 wrote:I'm looking at getting a phone plan and since my phone has a SIM card and whatnot I'm pretty sure it will only work with AT&T or T-Mobile. Earlier in the thread people were saying that AT&T/T-Mobile are pretty bad on campus (poor service areas in a sizeable city? what?). Is that still the case as of more recently?

If the service is super bad I'll probably get another cheaper plan + a phone which I guess over the 3 years will work out to the same as paying the higher AT&T/T-Mobile rates.

T-Mobile is not great on campus, but as somebody pointed out to me earlier in the thread, you can always make calls on wifi since it's strong and reliable throughout campus.

politics89 · Post by **politics89** » Fri Aug 21, 2015 9:56 am

Orion311 wrote:I'm looking at getting a phone plan and since my phone has a SIM card and whatnot I'm pretty sure it will only work with AT&T or T-Mobile. Earlier in the thread people were saying that AT&T/T-Mobile are pretty bad on campus (poor service areas in a sizeable city? what?). Is that still the case as of more recently?

If the service is super bad I'll probably get another cheaper plan + a phone which I guess over the 3 years will work out to the same as paying the higher AT&T/T-Mobile rates.

I have AT&T and have never had a problem.

TripTrip · Post by **TripTrip** » Fri Aug 21, 2015 10:45 am

The Sprint network (which includes resellers like Virgin Mobile) also works fine. Virgin is $35/month for effectively unlimited everything, you just have to buy your own non-SIM phone.

Mr. Elshal · Post by **Mr. Elshal** » Fri Aug 21, 2015 11:00 am

despina wrote:
Orion311 wrote:I'm looking at getting a phone plan and since my phone has a SIM card and whatnot I'm pretty sure it will only work with AT&T or T-Mobile. Earlier in the thread people were saying that AT&T/T-Mobile are pretty bad on campus (poor service areas in a sizeable city? what?). Is that still the case as of more recently?

If the service is super bad I'll probably get another cheaper plan + a phone which I guess over the 3 years will work out to the same as paying the higher AT&T/T-Mobile rates.
T-Mobile is not great on campus, but as somebody pointed out to me earlier in the thread, you can always make calls on wifi since it's strong and reliable throughout campus.

Yeah, I use T-Mobile and make calls on wi-fi when I don't have cell reception. When I'm outside and don't have access to wi-fi, I usually have cell reception. And I got a plan that gives me unlimited everything and no data throttling for $100 for me and my wife (not including cost of phones). Also, if you don't have good reception at your apartment, T-Mobile will send you a free cell signal booster.

crookedjaws · Post by **crookedjaws** » Fri Aug 21, 2015 4:05 pm

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TripTrip · Post by **TripTrip** » Fri Aug 21, 2015 4:23 pm

crookedjaws wrote:Sort of a broader question - I already know that I will need a major surgery this coming 1L summer that would require about 3-4 weeks recovery time before I can be up and about, so I'd be able to start working in early June. 1) With that being the case, does anyone have any specific suggestions about the types of 1L summer opportunities to pursue?

I'm thinking that research assistant positions would be the most logical option to go for, as I would be able to work from home during the 3-4 week recovery. 2) That being said, is anyone aware of more "flexible" internship opportunities that would allow me to start working from home and then start coming to the office (or whatever place) in June? I've been told that PI internships might fall into this category.

3) Finally, is this something I should bring up before or after I (hopefully) secure an internship/other opportunity?

I worked at a USAO and missed 3 weeks on Army orders. It was no big deal. Your SPIF funding will get cut for every week less than 8 though. But I actually don't see why you would need to worry about that if you can plan the surgery. There's a few weeks between the end of finals and most employer's start dates.

You will probably have no problem finding places that are fine with you starting in June. June start dates are pretty normal. UCHI doesn't even end the term until the last week of May.

You might run into trouble if you want to compete for law review though.

despina · Post by **despina** » Fri Aug 21, 2015 5:00 pm

Sorry to hear of your health issue -- hope all is ok.

HLS students don't tend to do exclusively research assistant stuff over the summer. Don't think I know anybody who did that. Honestly not sure why.

8 weeks is the absolute minimum for SPIF, but most employers want 10 weeks. 1L summer is about 17 weeks long, though it's shorter if you want to do the law review competition (1 week after classes, plus coming back early if you make it), EIP (August), or HLAB (August).

I agree that a June start date is totally normal. If you can work into August, then you easily have your 10 weeks June + July + 1/2 of August, and can take some time off before classes start. EIP is the biggest complication since I think that's early August.

Pneumonia · Post by **Pneumonia** » Fri Aug 21, 2015 5:35 pm

despina wrote:Sorry to hear of your health issue -- hope all is ok.

HLS students don't tend to do exclusively research assistant stuff over the summer. Don't think I know anybody who did that. Honestly not sure why.

8 weeks is the absolute minimum for SPIF, but most employers want 10 weeks. 1L summer is about 17 weeks long, though it's shorter if you want to do the law review competition (1 week after classes, plus coming back early if you make it), EIP (August), or HLAB (August).

I agree that a June start date is totally normal. If you can work into August, then you easily have your 10 weeks June + July + 1/2 of August, and can take some time off before classes start. EIP is the biggest complication since I think that's early August.

Just to clarify, there are 17 weeks between the end of 1L and the beginning of 2L classes. However, if you're doing EIP, that number shrinks to 12. If EIP and Law Review competition, then 11. If EIP and Law Review competition and you make law review, then you only have 10 weeks to work.

baloneydanza · Post by **baloneydanza** » Sat Aug 22, 2015 6:40 pm

Anyone who lived in Gropius: did you buy blankets specifically for the winter? My experience in UG near DC was that one blanket for fall / winter / spring was enough, so I'm only bringing one for the year.

TripTrip · Post by **TripTrip** » Sat Aug 22, 2015 7:30 pm

baloneydanza wrote:Anyone who lived in Gropius: did you buy blankets specifically for the winter? My experience in UG near DC was that one blanket for fall / winter / spring was enough, so I'm only bringing one for the year.

Boston is a lot colder than DC, but ostensibly it shouldn't make a difference. I had like five because I love blankets. One would probably also keep you warm.

FWIW, for the first few weeks you'll be hot no matter what.

robotrick · Post by **robotrick** » Sat Aug 22, 2015 7:51 pm

baloneydanza wrote:Anyone who lived in Gropius: did you buy blankets specifically for the winter? My experience in UG near DC was that one blanket for fall / winter / spring was enough, so I'm only bringing one for the year.

My room in Gropius last year was always way too hot, so I used the same bedding year round and actually kept the window open throughout the winter. YMMV.

Legal Eagle87 · Post by **Legal Eagle87** » Sat Aug 22, 2015 9:34 pm

crookedjaws · Post by **crookedjaws** » Sat Aug 22, 2015 10:12 pm

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