Harvard Student(s) Answering Your Questions Forum

[skinnypete22]

Some acceptances for BSA have gone out, at least.

So no news is bad news I assume? Any 3L/BSA with insight would be great.

Any updates to BSA? I have heard nothing from them.

[Indifference]

Some acceptances for BSA have gone out, at least.

So no news is bad news I assume? Any 3L/BSA with insight would be great.

Any updates to BSA? I have heard nothing from them.

Based on what I know it's probably safe to assume first acceptances have gone out. More will probably come after law review is out and some people inevitably decide to take an offer there over BSA.

Disclaimer: not involved in selection process itself.

[TripTrip]

I searched this thread and didn't see the info I was looking for about the gym.

1) How are the gym facilities at Harvard for a somewhat serious lifter?

2) When does the gym become available for us? I get to town around the middle of August. Will I be able to use it right away?

Missed this. Hemenway has two (effective) squat racks and two flat benches, but it's also the closest gym for the freshman in the yard. Thus, during busy hours those succkkkkk. (Especially squats.) It's fine if you're willing to get there at open or use it during weird hours, but painful otherwise. Dumbbell selection is weirdly phenomenal. If you're into pull-downs, those are always open. Deadlift, row, and similar are hard to do because it's crowded and they don't have an area for it, but you can usually steal a bar from the incline/decline bench if you're dedicated.

The quadrangle doesn't have any bars, so no squats or benches. I dunno about the Mac. It doesn't seem far away until you live north of HLS, so I've never been there.

[Dcc617]

I searched this thread and didn't see the info I was looking for about the gym.

1) How are the gym facilities at Harvard for a somewhat serious lifter?

2) When does the gym become available for us? I get to town around the middle of August. Will I be able to use it right away?

Missed this. Hemenway has two (effective) squat racks and two flat benches, but it's also the closest gym for the freshman in the yard. Thus, during busy hours those succkkkkk. (Especially squats.) It's fine if you're willing to get there at open or use it during weird hours, but painful otherwise. Dumbbell selection is weirdly phenomenal. If you're into pull-downs, those are always open. Deadlift and similar are hard to do because it's crowded and they don't have an area for it, but you can usually steal a bar from the incline/decline bench if you're dedicated.

The quadrangle doesn't have any bars, so no squats or benches. I dunno about the Mac. It doesn't seem far away until you live at HLS, so I've never been there.

Do any of the gyms have platforms and bumper plates?

[TripTrip]

I searched this thread and didn't see the info I was looking for about the gym.

1) How are the gym facilities at Harvard for a somewhat serious lifter?

2) When does the gym become available for us? I get to town around the middle of August. Will I be able to use it right away?

Missed this. Hemenway has two (effective) squat racks and two flat benches, but it's also the closest gym for the freshman in the yard. Thus, during busy hours those succkkkkk. (Especially squats.) It's fine if you're willing to get there at open or use it during weird hours, but painful otherwise. Dumbbell selection is weirdly phenomenal. If you're into pull-downs, those are always open. Deadlift and similar are hard to do because it's crowded and they don't have an area for it, but you can usually steal a bar from the incline/decline bench if you're dedicated.

The quadrangle doesn't have any bars, so no squats or benches. I dunno about the Mac. It doesn't seem far away until you live at HLS, so I've never been there.

Do any of the gyms have platforms and bumper plates?

Hem has at least one set of bumper plates, but someone has been using them every time I've been there.

There is some sort of platform that I remember on the left side of this photo:


I know you can't see it in the photo, and that's actually the point I'm making. I don't know what it is and I've never seen anyone use it. So no, unless someone else can confirm otherwise. I would guess the Mac does, but I haven't been there. The Quad does not.

Related: that walkway you see on the left is the only reasonable space to do deadlifts.

[Indy16]

Some acceptances for BSA have gone out, at least.

So no news is bad news I assume? Any 3L/BSA with insight would be great.

Any updates to BSA? I have heard nothing from them.

Based on what I know it's probably safe to assume first acceptances have gone out. More will probably come after law review is out and some people inevitably decide to take an offer there over BSA.

Disclaimer: not involved in selection process itself.

Having spoken with people involved, I think no news is bad news at this point. Acceptances have gone out and so have waitlist offers.

[skinnypete22]

Some acceptances for BSA have gone out, at least.

So no news is bad news I assume? Any 3L/BSA with insight would be great.

Any updates to BSA? I have heard nothing from them.

Based on what I know it's probably safe to assume first acceptances have gone out. More will probably come after law review is out and some people inevitably decide to take an offer there over BSA.

Disclaimer: not involved in selection process itself.

Having spoken with people involved, I think no news is bad news at this point. Acceptances have gone out and so have waitlist offers.

Not the news I was hoping for, but I appreciate the update. Thanks.

[LegRegEggHead]

Law Review's making calls today.

[radio1nowhere]

Law Review's making calls today.

Per a law review editor: Not all calls will be made today, so don't panic if you don't hear something.

[jrf12886]

Any transfers to H from top of class at T14 have thoughts/opinions/advice/regrets?

Not from a T14, but since you didn't get any responses, figured I'd chime in. Absolutely zero regrets. PM if you have any questions.

[Elyane]

Any update on Law Review? Are calls going to finish today?

[LegRegEggHead]

Any update on Law Review? Are calls going to finish today?

Some calls made this AM, otherwise not sure.

[leslieknope]

Any update on Law Review? Are calls going to finish today?

Some calls made this AM, otherwise not sure.

Law Review is done.

[Shosh233]

Any update on Law Review? Are calls going to finish today?

Some calls made this AM, otherwise not sure.

Law Review is done.

Do they typically publish/announce the list of new editors somewhere (besides just updating their website)?

[LegRegEggHead]

Any update on Law Review? Are calls going to finish today?

Some calls made this AM, otherwise not sure.

Law Review is done.

Do they typically publish/announce the list of new editors somewhere (besides just updating their website)?

No, just the masthead. You (and others) can PM me for a list of editors.

[LegRegEggHead]

Any update on Law Review? Are calls going to finish today?

Some calls made this AM, otherwise not sure.

Law Review is done.

Do they typically publish/announce the list of new editors somewhere (besides just updating their website)?

No, just the masthead. You (and others) can PM me for a list of editors.

And now the new masthead is up.
http://harvardlawreview.org/about/staff/vol-130/

[Pneumonia]

Weren't financial aid award notifications supposed to go out today?

[Indifference]

Weren't financial aid award notifications supposed to go out today?

From the email

On July 20, we will begin sending notifications of financial aid packages for 2016-17 to students who have completed an application for aid.

They left themselves some wiggle room.

ETA: just got mine.

[Lfo166]

For locker registration: If you choose the 'share' option and don't indicate a partner, will HLS always match you with someone or is there a chance you'll get your own?

[ObiWahooKenobi]

My spouse and I will be looking to save money by getting off our Verizon cell plan. Do Sprint or T-Mobile have good coverage in Cambridge? Or any good MVNOs? Thanks!

[leslieknope]

My spouse and I will be looking to save money by getting off our Verizon cell plan. Do Sprint or T-Mobile have good coverage in Cambridge? Or any good MVNOs? Thanks!

T-Mobile gets awful service around HLS. I basically had to always be connected to the wifi. It's decent elsewhere in Cambridge, though, and HLS's wifi is reasonably reliable if you have wifi calling on.

[TripTrip]

My spouse and I will be looking to save money by getting off our Verizon cell plan. Do Sprint or T-Mobile have good coverage in Cambridge? Or any good MVNOs? Thanks!

T-Mobile gets awful service around HLS. I basically had to always be connected to the wifi. It's decent elsewhere in Cambridge, though, and HLS's wifi is reasonably reliable if you have wifi calling on.

FWIW, T-Mobile works great on cell phones that operate on LTE band 12 or don't use LTE at all (opting for 3G, or if you just turn off LTE). I have two GSM cell phones that I tried on the T-Mobile network and one gets terrible service everywhere around here (4G LTE, but only bands 2, 4, and 17 because it was an AT&T unlock) and the other gets fine service everywhere. Sprint is good too, but inside buildings (especially Gropius) actual cell service is pretty bad. It sounds nitpicky to be complaining about LTE bands, but to get the most out of T-Mobile you really need a phone that handles LTE band 12.

I have used two MVNOs here too: Virgin Mobile and Republic Wireless. They both resell the Sprint network, so they have the same cell coverage. Republic Wireless deals with WiFi calling better than any other network I've ever used, because their business model revolves around designing their own firmware specifically to handle WiFi handoffs. They're also the cheapest service I've ever used, since they refund you for WiFi time and here I was almost always on WiFi. I think I paid ~$20/month on average for as much of everything that I could possibly use (I was on the $30 or $40 plan and got refunded half my bill for being on Harvard University WiFi all the time). The only frustrating thing was the lack of phone options for RW, but frankly the Moto X is awesome so it was fine.

TL;DR: If I were a 1L again, I'd go with Republic Wireless.

[Orion311]

My spouse and I will be looking to save money by getting off our Verizon cell plan. Do Sprint or T-Mobile have good coverage in Cambridge? Or any good MVNOs? Thanks!

T-Mobile gets awful service around HLS. I basically had to always be connected to the wifi. It's decent elsewhere in Cambridge, though, and HLS's wifi is reasonably reliable if you have wifi calling on.

FWIW, T-Mobile works great on cell phones that operate on LTE band 12 or don't use LTE at all (opting for 3G, or if you just turn off LTE). I have two GSM cell phones that I tried on the T-Mobile network and one gets terrible service everywhere around here (4G LTE, but only bands 2, 4, and 17 because it was an AT&T unlock) and the other gets fine service everywhere. Sprint is good too, but inside buildings (especially Gropius) actual cell service is pretty bad. It sounds nitpicky to be complaining about LTE bands, but to get the most out of T-Mobile you really need a phone that handles LTE band 12.

I have used two MVNOs here too: Virgin Mobile and Republic Wireless. They both resell the Sprint network, so they have the same cell coverage. Republic Wireless deals with WiFi calling better than any other network I've ever used, because their business model revolves around designing their own firmware specifically to handle WiFi handoffs. They're also the cheapest service I've ever used, since they refund you for WiFi time and here I was almost always on WiFi. I think I paid ~$20/month on average for as much of everything that I could possibly use (I was on the $30 or $40 plan and got refunded half my bill for being on Harvard University WiFi all the time). The only frustrating thing was the lack of phone options for RW, but frankly the Moto X is awesome so it was fine.

TL;DR: If I were a 1L again, I'd go with Republic Wireless.

I use Republic Wireless and since I basically always have Wifi (rarely go over 300MB of data per month), my phone bill is generally close to $10/month and everything (except data) is unlimited including a lot of long-distance. However, I'm not sure if I would choose it again.

I (and others I know who've used it) have had quite a few technical issues. These may be isolated issues and maybe my friends and I have had bad luck, but I suspect they're part of having a phone service based around almost always using Wifi:
-On campus especially I've had phone calls (including phone interviews) drop and been unable to reconnect for a couple minutes (which can be stressful). In my cinderblock Gropius room I could not have long conversations without people cutting out occasionally. This was/is true for when I call with Wifi and when I turn Wifi off.
-I have trouble getting group texts and have noticed at least 4-5 instances of texts not being delivered/received (so God knows how many times it's happened without me knowing). Texts also often take a few moments (15-30 seconds is not unusual) so it's hard to have text conversations if you want to be quickly shooting messages back and forth with someone.
-Also the switching between Wifi and cell if you're moving around really isn't all that great and usually involves a few moments of silence or of the other person being unable to hear you (in which they might hang up thinking the call dropped).

I've found these issues pretty annoying, and especially stressful when it comes to calls with potential employers. I've never had a different US phone plan, so it's hard to compare, but I would personally take a more reliable service if I was doing it again.

[TripTrip]

I use Republic Wireless and since I basically always have Wifi (rarely go over 300MB of data per month), my phone bill is generally close to $10/month and everything (except data) is unlimited including a lot of long-distance. However, I'm not sure if I would choose it again.

I (and others I know who've used it) have had quite a few technical issues. These may be isolated issues and maybe my friends and I have had bad luck, but I suspect they're part of having a phone service based around almost always using Wifi:
-On campus especially I've had phone calls (including phone interviews) drop and been unable to reconnect for a couple minutes (which can be stressful). In my cinderblock Gropius room I could not have long conversations without people cutting out occasionally. This was/is true for when I call with Wifi and when I turn Wifi off.
-I have trouble getting group texts and have noticed at least 4-5 instances of texts not being delivered/received (so God knows how many times it's happened without me knowing). Texts also often take a few moments (15-30 seconds is not unusual) so it's hard to have text conversations if you want to be quickly shooting messages back and forth with someone.
-Also the switching between Wifi and cell if you're moving around really isn't all that great and usually involves a few moments of silence or of the other person being unable to hear you (in which they might hang up thinking the call dropped).

I've found these issues pretty annoying, and especially stressful when it comes to calls with potential employers. I've never had a different US phone plan, so it's hard to compare, but I would personally take a more reliable service if I was doing it again.

I'll corroborate that those aren't isolated issues. I have always found phone calls a little hit-or-miss on WiFi cells. Not bad for most of the time, but I get why it might be frustrating for an interview. I only had one phone interview the whole time I was at HLS. I just turned off WiFi and sat on a bench outside to make sure there was no way I'd lose cell service. (I'm sure I could have found service inside, but I didn't have a good idea of what coverage was like and didn't feel like finding out since it was a nice day.)

Most of the time when I'm talking to friends or family though, it's easier to use Skype or Hangouts and see them, so I didn't use Wi-Fi calling much. My cell never dropped the pizza delivery guy or Cambridge Common takeout (because let's be real, that's who we're all actually calling). Group texts are converted to MMS, and I've always found those to be weird on any reseller network. Since FB messages/Whatsapp have become way more common (at least in my social groups), I just never found it worth paying more for 100% reliable and instant group MMS texting.

This isn't to say I wholeheartedly support Republic Wireless. I'm switching to T-Mobile now that I won't be around Wi-Fi all the time. But since Harvard Wi-Fi is pretty stellar, I found RW worked great while at HLS.

[robotrick]

For locker registration: If you choose the 'share' option and don't indicate a partner, will HLS always match you with someone or is there a chance you'll get your own?

You can end up with your own.