Ask a Harvard 1L Questions Forum

[PinkTiki]

Ask away . . .

[Str8As]

How long after you applied did you get your phone call?
-What advice can you give about any preparation necessary for the call?
Thanks!

[sluggo]

How many hours would you estimate you spent on LSN last season? J/K

Actually have a lot of questions but will post a little later.

[pinkflamingo]

Thanks for taking questions!
I guess in general, how do you like it so far? Is it anything like you expected?
Best and worst things about life at HLS (classes, clubs, social, or otherwise)?

[arnie162]

if you're the same pink tiki from LSN, how did you manage to post on every single member's site? your "congratulations" are ubiquitous.

[underdawg]

how many jokes involving elle woods do you hear?

[PinkTiki]

How long after you applied did you get your phone call?
-What advice can you give about any preparation necessary for the call?
Thanks!

I applied in Sept. and got my phone call in October. It was the first week of phone calls. I don't think you need to prepare for the call. One warning is that Toby Stock / Harvard doesn't seem to understand time zones, so if you live on the west coast - you could be getting woken up at 8 in the morning. That's what happened to me last year. So my advice is to relax, but maybe try to wake up early that week especially if you live in the Pacific time zone.

Thanks for taking questions!
I guess in general, how do you like it so far? Is it anything like you expected?
Best and worst things about life at HLS (classes, clubs, social, or otherwise)?

So far I like it, it is a lot like what I expected. Socially, things are good, there are always people going out and doing things. The one big annoyance has been the whole thing with the grade switch - Dean Kagan still hasn't officially announced whether they're keeping the old system for us or changing to the new pass/fail thing. And it's been three weeks, so it is getting old, I wish they'd actually tell us. Other than that, I like it a a lot. There are some really cool things you can do here, I got to meet a Supreme Court justice and I doubt that happens at every law school.

Oh and the LSN stuff last year didn't take nearly as long as everyone seems to think it did.

how many jokes involving elle woods do you hear?

A whole lot.

[badfish]

How do you find time to congratulate EVERYBODY on LSN?

[hamilcar]

How's the "big school" atmosphere? Does it feel like there are too many other students with the large class size?

Are the gunners as bad as in the "The Paper Chase"?

[jrs12]

I'm most interested in the "lived experience." How do you spend your time throughout the week? When do you get up? How many hours do you study in a given day? Is most of it done at the library, or at home? What's your living situation? How do people socialize? How old are most of the students? Have you noticed many around my age (26)?

Is there anything you wish you'd known before you matriculated?

Finally, what would be one good question to ask on the phone interview?

Thanks for helping us out.

[PinkTiki]

How's the "big school" atmosphere? Does it feel like there are too many other students with the large class size?

Are the gunners as bad as in the "The Paper Chase"?

I actually feel like the law school is really small - maybe it's because I went to a big college and a big high school, but it seems so tiny. I can't imagine a class size of only 200 or 300 people - that would be way too small for me, but I guess it depends on what you like. Besides, it's not like you're in class with 550 people at once - you're in class with the same 80 people all the time.

There aren't really too many gunners here. Things are more relaxed than I thought they'd be - a lot of people skip certain classes.

I'm most interested in the "lived experience." How do you spend your time throughout the week? When do you get up? How many hours do you study in a given day? Is most of it done at the library, or at home? What's your living situation? How do people socialize? How old are most of the students? Have you noticed many around my age (26)?

Is there anything you wish you'd known before you matriculated?

Finally, what would be one good question to ask on the phone interview?

Thanks for helping us out.

I get up about 7:30 or so everyday. I try to get most of my studying done in between classes, which usually works. Maybe like 2-3 hours a day, not counting things like memos for LRW, but some days I don't study at all. I'm not really a library person, I'd rather study at home with my dog, but sometimes if I'm at school I'll study outside or whatever.

I live off campus in a house. I like it a lot. A lot of people live in the dorms but I don't think I could do that again. People socialize here pretty much like they do everywhere else. Bars, parties, etc.

There'd be a lot of people around your age here. I'm 21 and I think I'm the youngest person in my section. A lot of people seem to be a couple years out of college, so I don't think you'd feel out of place being 26.

My question for the phone interview was what was it like living in Boston/Cambridge. I'd suggest not to ask about the new grading system because probably everyone is going to be doing it. If you have a particular interest in something I'd ask about that, but if not, try to think of something relaxed and conversational that will let you just talk rather than seem nervous.

[yme16]

Congrat on getting into Harvard !!!!!

If you had to measure the difficulty of your classes from 1-5, what would it be?
What is the most popular undergrad degree there?
Which undergad major would more help for law school other than phil,poli sci,english and history?
Do the commercial outlines work?
In college, I would use my own notes than use the summarized outlines from various websites and add it into my notes, would that work at law school?
Social life?
Where do most of the students live (apartments, studio, grad dorm, etc...)?
Are most students from Ivy schools?
Are the people who join the law review come from Ivy too?

[wallaw]

Will you marry me?

[yme16]

...

[kurla88]

What did your top choices come down to and why did you choose Harvard? (Probably self-explanatory, that one, but still...)

Where do you live and how is the housing situation? Are there other HLS students where you live?

Are people mostly friendly? Has it been easy to make friends? Do you feel you lose out at all from not having the 200 student body at many other schools like Y and S?

How bad is the HYS rivalry? ^.^

How are classes and professors and the dreaded 1L year?

[PinkTiki]

Congrat on getting into Harvard !!!!!

If you had to measure the difficulty of your classes from 1-5, what would it be?
What is the most popular undergrad degree there?
Which undergad major would more help for law school other than phil,poli sci,english and history?
Do the commercial outlines work?
In college, I would use my own notes than use the summarized outlines from various websites and add it into my notes, would that work at law school?
Social life?
Where do most of the students live (apartments, studio, grad dorm, etc...)?
Are most students from Ivy schools?
Are the people who join the law review come from Ivy too?

The classes really vary. In some of them the reading is pretty hard to understand but the professors are easier and in some the reading is easier but the questions the professors ask are really hard.
It seems like there's lots of different college majors. I don't really know of one that would be useful, major in whatever you find interesting and that'll probably be best for you.
For some classes the commercial outlines are really helpful, for others they don't seem to work as well.
The social life is pretty good. There are lots of people who like to go out and do stuff.
It seems like a lot of people live in the dorms, but I live off campus and I think that works too. Depends on what you like.
There are lots of people from Ivy League schools but also a lot from "top" public schools. And there are people from schools I've never even heard of. I'm sure there are plenty of people on law review from all kinds of undergrads.

What did your top choices come down to and why did you choose Harvard? (Probably self-explanatory, that one, but still...)

Where do you live and how is the housing situation? Are there other HLS students where you live?

Are people mostly friendly? Has it been easy to make friends? Do you feel you lose out at all from not having the 200 student body at many other schools like Y and S?

How bad is the HYS rivalry? ^.^

How are classes and professors and the dreaded 1L year?

I chose Harvard over UT with a full ride. I miss Texas and good Mexican food, but I'm fairly happy with my decision.
I live off campus. I have a dog so I needed to be somewhere that would allow her, which wasn't very easy. There are some other law students near where I live too.
Most people here are friendly. There are some assholes but I think you run into that everywhere. I like the larger class size. I'd really hate to only be around 200 people for three years, but that's me.
I think most people here think of it as a Harvard-Yale rivalry. No one ever mentions Stanford much . . .
1L year has been ok so far, but I'm really enjoying our fall break.

[brokendowncar]

How's the "big school" atmosphere? Does it feel like there are too many other students with the large class size?

Are the gunners as bad as in the "The Paper Chase"?

I actually feel like the law school is really small - maybe it's because I went to a big college and a big high school, but it seems so tiny. I can't imagine a class size of only 200 or 300 people - that would be way too small for me, but I guess it depends on what you like. Besides, it's not like you're in class with 550 people at once - you're in class with the same 80 people all the time.

There aren't really too many gunners here. Things are more relaxed than I thought they'd be - a lot of people skip certain classes.

I'm most interested in the "lived experience." How do you spend your time throughout the week? When do you get up? How many hours do you study in a given day? Is most of it done at the library, or at home? What's your living situation? How do people socialize? How old are most of the students? Have you noticed many around my age (26)?

Is there anything you wish you'd known before you matriculated?

Finally, what would be one good question to ask on the phone interview?

Thanks for helping us out.

I get up about 7:30 or so everyday. I try to get most of my studying done in between classes, which usually works. Maybe like 2-3 hours a day, not counting things like memos for LRW, but some days I don't study at all. I'm not really a library person, I'd rather study at home with my dog, but sometimes if I'm at school I'll study outside or whatever.

I live off campus in a house. I like it a lot. A lot of people live in the dorms but I don't think I could do that again. People socialize here pretty much like they do everywhere else. Bars, parties, etc.

There'd be a lot of people around your age here. I'm 21 and I think I'm the youngest person in my section. A lot of people seem to be a couple years out of college, so I don't think you'd feel out of place being 26.

My question for the phone interview was what was it like living in Boston/Cambridge. I'd suggest not to ask about the new grading system because probably everyone is going to be doing it. If you have a particular interest in something I'd ask about that, but if not, try to think of something relaxed and conversational that will let you just talk rather than seem nervous.

I will weigh in to agree with (nearly) all of this.

I guess if I looked around, I could find more work to do. I get everything finished that I need to do with the 2-3 hour break that I have every day. It is normally about 50 pages of reading a day, which isn't unreasonable at all. I have not felt stressed out yet at all. I have all night free pretty much every night in order to work on journals, join student organizations, eat and drink all of the free food and beer Harvard provides, hang out with my classmates (I have watched all of weeds and arrested development since I got here), etc.

I live in the dorms and I love it. To be honest, they are not physically beautiful places. It took me a minute to warm up to them, but the rooms are big enough and the kitchens and big HD flatscreen TVs on every floor are nice. It has also been a great way to meet people that I probably never would have met if I lived off campus. If you're at all interested in being social and saving some money, I would say it is a good option.

Being 26 will not be noticeable in any kind of negative way. Most people spent a year or two out, but we all seem to mix together without age being an issue. As long as you're old enough to go to a bar and don't look like my grandfather, I think you will be as accepted as anyone.

I love the large class size. To be honest, I would be happy if it were even bigger. I do not know everyone yet, but I feel like I am already starting to recognize most people. This is especially true for the people who are socially oriented. I think I would feel trapped if the school were to be smaller than it is.

And finally - gunners... They are not at all what I expected. I do not have anyone in my section who will argue with teachers or try to insult other students. I have a few people who come across as know-it-alls, but that is to be expected. Overall, the classroom environment is great. The teachers are incredibly friendly - they don't get super-angry Socratic if you miss something. They mostly just coach you toward what they believe the answer to be. I am pretty sure this contributes to the anti-gunner environment.

[yme16]

If you dont mind, could you please discribe your daily schedule, include study time ,thank you.
Which classes are the hornbookd very useful for?

[brokendowncar]

730- wake up, dress, eat
830 - 12 - class
12-3 - lunch, read assignments
3-430 - class
430-7 gym, shower, dinner
7+ Whatever I want. Some days I relax, others I go to meetings, still others I go out and drink.

I have very low-stress days. I don't feel behind. I love my life here.

I use commercial briefs for most classes. I just read them after I read the cases to be sure I understood the holding and stuff. That isn't a big deal though and will depend most on your teacher and book. You will figure it out once you get here.

[yme16]

OMG i cant wait!!!!!!

[bowzer44]

How long after the call did you get your admissions decisions?
Also, about how long did the call last?

[PinkTiki]

How long after the call did you get your admissions decisions?
Also, about how long did the call last?

I got it about a month later. I got the call in October and the admissions call right before Thanksgiving. The call lasted about about seven minutes or so.

[underdawg]

Will you marry me?

[yme16]

PinkTiki, If you dont mind, could you please discribe your daily schedule, include study time ,thank you.
Also how many pages do they give you to read/outline for each class?
What is the lowest gpa can a urm have?

[yme16]

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