Harvard Student(s) Answering Your Questions Forum

[tomwatts]

If you live in Gropius, is there a place we can take 8 hour take homes other than our rooms? I kind of hate the thought of being in my room a combined 16 hours this week more than I hate the thought of actually taking the finals.

Libraries (Langdell or others), Starbucks, Wasserstein, reserved rooms wherever you can reserve them, the street... the sky is the limit.

[Nonconsecutive]

weird question - do we have to SIT in alphabetical order for 1L exams, or is it just separated that way for classrooms and then we can sit wherever?

All my in-class exams have been "sit wherever"

[roranoa]

Do hls ppl stay celebate for 3 years to focus on work? If not, where do you meet girls(or boys)? I've heard so many ppl say that dating fellow students is frowned upon and is labled "incest".

[robotrick]

Do hls ppl stay celebate for 3 years to focus on work? If not, where do you meet girls(or boys)? I've heard so many ppl say that dating fellow students is frowned upon and is labled "incest".

Yes. No one has sex and all pre-existing relationships are suspended for 3 years. You will spend the entirety of your three years in the library. Alone.

[TripTrip]

Yes. No one has sex and all pre-existing relationships are suspended for 3 years. You will spend the entirety of your three years in the library. Alone.

Do hls ppl stay celebate for 3 years to focus on work? If not, where do you meet girls(or boys)? I've heard so many ppl say that dating fellow students is frowned upon and is labled "incest".

You would be surprised if you knew how many of your classmates are on OkCupid, CMB, and Tinder. (You'd be even more surprised to know how many of your professors are on these apps, but maybe that one is better left a surprise.) That's also a great way to meet B, Med, and others if that's what you're into. Alternatively, go to more events outside the WCC.

[wwwcol]

Do hls ppl stay celebate for 3 years to focus on work? If not, where do you meet girls(or boys)? I've heard so many ppl say that dating fellow students is frowned upon and is labled "incest".

This account can't be real, right?

[roranoa]

Do hls ppl stay celebate for 3 years to focus on work? If not, where do you meet girls(or boys)? I've heard so many ppl say that dating fellow students is frowned upon and is labled "incest".

This account can't be real, right?

It's real! I've talked to a friend and his friends from CLS. They went on about the incest thing for while. They really bash anyone caught dating inside class.

[TripTrip]

Do hls ppl stay celebate for 3 years to focus on work? If not, where do you meet girls(or boys)? I've heard so many ppl say that dating fellow students is frowned upon and is labled "incest".

This account can't be real, right?

It's real! I've talked to a friend and his friends from CLS. They went on about the incest thing for while. They really bash anyone caught dating inside class.

Then date outside your section. There are nearly 2,000 current HLS students. That's the population of a small town.

[NoLongerALurker]

Anyone here up-to-date have datapoints on what GPA constitutes cum laude / magna cut-offs?

[lawlorbust]

Do hls ppl stay celebate for 3 years to focus on work? If not, where do you meet girls(or boys)? I've heard so many ppl say that dating fellow students is frowned upon and is labled "incest".

This account can't be real, right?

Honestly, I've been enough monastic for the last year-and-a-half that it does shock me every time I heard "x section mate" has paired up with someone else in the law school.

[tomwatts]

Anyone here up-to-date have datapoints on what GPA constitutes cum laude / magna cut-offs?

Based on the discussion here, it seems likely that:

Magna cutoff is somewhere between 3.95 and 4.0, and cum laude is somewhere near 3.6. Median is probably in the ballpark of 3.5.

Note that this is 3-year GPA, and average GPA in 2L and 3L is probably slightly higher than average in 1L, which I've estimated elsewhere as more or less to the tune of the same number of H's as in 1L but in slightly fewer classes (which brings up GPA a tiny bit).

[radio1nowhere]

Based on the discussion here, it seems likely that:

Magna cutoff is somewhere between 3.95 and 4.0, and cum laude is somewhere near 3.6. Median is probably in the ballpark of 3.5.

Note that this is 3-year GPA, and average GPA in 2L and 3L is probably slightly higher than average in 1L, which I've estimated elsewhere as more or less to the tune of the same number of H's as in 1L but in slightly fewer classes (which brings up GPA a tiny bit).

To get a 3.5, you have to have as many Hs as Ps (setting aside DS and LP) right? How can this be the case for the median student, since first-year classes give out substantially more Ps than Hs? Seems like the only way the median student could get to a 3.5 is if upper-level classes actually give out more Hs than Ps.. is that the case?

[Person1111]

Anecdotally, the curve is pretty close to 38/62 H/P and there are more DS's awarded than LP's. Once you add in clinics, seminars, and classes where the curve doesn't apply, 3.5 sounds pretty close to accurate at graduation.

[TripTrip]

If you assume the grade distribution is 55% P, 37% H, 6% DS, and 2% LP, the mean GPA would be 3.47, even if you only count classes where that curve applies.

[radio1nowhere]

Anecdotally, the curve is pretty close to 38/62 H/P and there are more DS's awarded than LP's. Once you add in clinics, seminars, and classes where the curve doesn't apply, 3.5 sounds pretty close to accurate at graduation.

If you assume the grade distribution is 55% P, 37% H, 6% DS, and 2% LP, the mean GPA would be 3.47, even if you only count classes where that curve applies.

Makes sense. I didn't realize that DS was more common than LP.

[fozzie]

Any way to tell when we'll get our next COL disbursement?

[heythatslife]

Any way to tell when we'll get our next COL disbursement?

Spoke with SFS today. They said Friday.

[fozzie]

Any way to tell when we'll get our next COL disbursement?

Spoke with SFS today. They said Friday.

Thanks!

[heythatslife]

Does anyone know if Kraakman gives LPs? Am panicking about that Corp exam in 14 hours.

[jbagelboy]

Do hls ppl stay celebate for 3 years to focus on work? If not, where do you meet girls(or boys)? I've heard so many ppl say that dating fellow students is frowned upon and is labled "incest".

This account can't be real, right?

It's real! I've talked to a friend and his friends from CLS. They went on about the incest thing for while. They really bash anyone caught dating inside class.

Tons of people date within law school. Most people who don't have SOs coming into law school date at least one other law student.

[Goldie]

Does anyone know if Kraakman gives LPs? Am panicking about that Corp exam in 14 hours.

Let's hope not.

[roranoa]

Did any of you have confidence issues during 1L? You know, having doubts about your abilities as a student, questioning your career decision, having anxiety issues, panic attacks (before exams)...anything like that?

How did you deal with it?

[tomwatts]

Did any of you have confidence issues during 1L? You know, having doubts about your abilities as a student, questioning your career decision, having anxiety issues, panic attacks (before exams)...anything like that?

How did you deal with it?

This is very common. For me, it helped to remember that the legal hiring system is (probably unjustly) biased in favor of HLS students. Even a below-median HLS student gets a job, probably a job that is either highly paid or pretty interesting (or possibly both). You're going to be fine, pretty much no matter what. I mean, try not to get multiple LPs, but other than that, you'll be fine.

If you need to talk to someone, there are plenty of supports within the administration. Talking to OCS/OPIA helped me with questioning my career decision, because I was able to make more specific plans about what I wanted to do (and contingency plans if things didn't work out). Talking to DOS can help with more general anxiety issues, although I never actually did that.

[charlie.black]

Did any of you have confidence issues during 1L? You know, having doubts about your abilities as a student, questioning your career decision, having anxiety issues, panic attacks (before exams)...anything like that?

How did you deal with it?

Fall 1L finals were stressful for me, to the point I was quasi mentally paralyzed before my first exam. This surprised me, as exams had never really bothered me before. I think it was a combination of timed tests (the 3 hour guys can be a sprint..), stiff competition, high stakes, and a forced curve (brings a lot of uncertainty into how grades will shake out). It gets better, I promise. Keep focused on what you can do (e.g. studying, talking with professors about your exam performance), and do your best to manage your mental state. During exams, take it one day at a time.

As the above poster discussed, there is a large downside cushion at HLS. Things work out really well for the vast majority of students. Begin networking in the new year and build up towards EIP. Find your niche (there's a ton you can do with a HLS degree), and be realistic. The worst thing you can do is stop trying. Also, prayer helps.

[georgej]

Does anyone know if Kraakman gives LPs? Am panicking about that Corp exam in 14 hours.

He said at the beginning of class that if you participated when called on you'd get "insurance" against getting an LP. And then the whole semester he never made any notes concerning participation, leading me to believe he doesn't give any LPs.