Top Law Schools

I'll try my best to cover them all if anyone has any.

What do you think helped you get in (besides numbers, or just say numbers if that's it)? Classmates?

general trend is that those who don't have the Harvard type numbers probably has extensive pro-bono experience w/ Marshall/Rhodes/Truman considerations or hard science/engineering background (Phd).

Not to say that those with those numbers don't but they usually have some other kind of soft factor (writing for the NYT/WSJ; vice-presidents of fortune 500 etc; D1 sports etc.)

What city is Stanford in?

Stanford has their own post office so officially it's Stanford, CA

but they're in the county of Palo Alto

serious questions please

legends159 wrote:Stanford has their own post office so officially it's Stanford, CA

but they're in the county of Palo Alto

serious questions please

Not to be a stickler, but we're in Santa Clara County.

CardinalBulldog wrote:

legends159 wrote:Stanford has their own post office so officially it's Stanford, CA

but they're in the county of Palo Alto

serious questions please

Not to be a stickler, but we're in Santa Clara County.

pwned

This may be a question that you don't know the answer to but I'll ask anyway. I've heard ( and even seen hints to it on the BLSA website for Stanford) that the Black law student association often has some pull as to whether a black student will be admitted. How true is this? If it is true, how much pull do they have? Also have you heard anything about Stanford's change in index formula weighting the LSAT more?

what are your stats/ what made you a standout?

also, i've heard that stanford isn't as pretty irl compared with the photos. is this true?

Carnertine wrote:

CardinalBulldog wrote:

legends159 wrote:Stanford has their own post office so officially it's Stanford, CA

but they're in the county of Palo Alto

serious questions please

Not to be a stickler, but we're in Santa Clara County.

pwned

kurama20 wrote:This may be a question that you don't know the answer to but I'll ask anyway. I've heard ( and even seen hints to it on the BLSA website for Stanford) that the Black law student association often has some pull as to whether a black student will be admitted. How true is this? If it is true, how much pull do they have? Also have you heard anything about Stanford's change in index formula weighting the LSAT more?

not sure about this one. Try emailing BLSA and expressing interest and then when you actually get to talk to a person on a more personal level try throwing that question out

hayman wrote:i've heard that stanford isn't as pretty irl compared with the photos. is this true?

stats are on LSN. The law school is undergoing construction atm but that's from the back.

aesthetically the school is alright. It reminds me of a nice high school cause it's so small. The main campus is what is usually shown on pictures cause the law school is really small and the facility is nothing too spectacular. The main quad is about a quarter mile away. The weather is what's pretty and what you see is what you get on that front.

sorry thanks for doing this tho

Oh i wanted to add that at SLS, first semester you take 4 substantive classes (Tort, Ks, crim, civ pro) along with LRW.

I think other schools (I know Boalt and CLS too i think) only require 3 substantive classes and LRW.

what do you do for food?

grocery shopping. Either by car or free bus shuttle.

you can also buy food on campus or in the cafeteria. The food is actually very good and reasonably priced $5-7 for a meal.

legends159 wrote:Oh i wanted to add that at SLS, first semester you take 4 substantive classes (Tort, Ks, crim, civ pro) along with LRW.

I think other schools (I know Boalt and CLS too i think) only require 3 substantive classes and LRW.

Yeah I've heard that before. It reminds me about the fact that I saw some threads where multiple Stanford students said that 1L year is pretty hellish. While I don't really see that as a big issue (really I think every law school's 1L year is hellish) it does sort of go against the constant talk about Stanford being the most laid back law school. Requiring 4 substantive classes definitely lends some credence to the rigor at Stanford. Are you feeling overwhelmed?

kurama20 wrote:

legends159 wrote:Oh i wanted to add that at SLS, first semester you take 4 substantive classes (Tort, Ks, crim, civ pro) along with LRW.

I think other schools (I know Boalt and CLS too i think) only require 3 substantive classes and LRW.

Yeah I've heard that before. It reminds me about the fact that I saw some threads where multiple Stanford students said that 1L year is pretty hellish. While I don't really see that as a big issue (really I think every law school's 1L year is hellish) it does sort of go against the constant talk about Stanford being the most laid back law school. Requiring 4 substantive classes definitely lends some credence to the rigor at Stanford. Are you feeling overwhelmed?

it's definitely harder have 4 than 3. Just imagine gaining an extra 2 hours each day because you have one less class's readings to do and what you can do with that time. It's laid back here to the extent that people aren't panicking or overly competitive. But people here work like dogs. M-W people stay in the library well beyond midnight (how long I'm not sure, I usually check out by then). Most are there just to finish the work due the next day, not work ahead or even think about hornbooks or EE (though some may be working ahead I'm not sure).

legends159 wrote:

kurama20 wrote:

legends159 wrote:Oh i wanted to add that at SLS, first semester you take 4 substantive classes (Tort, Ks, crim, civ pro) along with LRW.

I think other schools (I know Boalt and CLS too i think) only require 3 substantive classes and LRW.

Yeah I've heard that before. It reminds me about the fact that I saw some threads where multiple Stanford students said that 1L year is pretty hellish. While I don't really see that as a big issue (really I think every law school's 1L year is hellish) it does sort of go against the constant talk about Stanford being the most laid back law school. Requiring 4 substantive classes definitely lends some credence to the rigor at Stanford. Are you feeling overwhelmed?

it's definitely harder have 4 than 3. Just imagine gaining an extra 2 hours each day because you have one less class's readings to do and what you can do with that time. It's laid back here to the extent that people aren't panicking or overly competitive. But people here work like dogs. M-W people stay in the library well beyond midnight (how long I'm not sure, I usually check out by then). Most are there just to finish the work due the next day, not work ahead or even think about hornbooks or EE (though some may be working ahead I'm not sure).

Whoa. Well that was very honest. It's interesting everyone who I have talked to about Stanford who actually goes there admits that it is quite rigorous. The only people who seem to make it out to be a breeze is those who have never attended the school! You know your comments combined with the other Stanford students I have asked make me wonder if that is why they emphasize GPA more so than LSAT.....maybe they are on to something. It makes a lot of sense too, I mean obviously there is no need to be panicking about jobs and being cutthroat when you are at Stanford, but at a school where the median entering GPA is above a 3.8 people are not suddenly just going to start "taking it easy". I always wonder why so many posters assume that that's what happens.

Fellow ex-philosophy major with very similar numbers (also on LSN) -- was philosophy a focus of your PS, and do you know if the SLS adcomm looks upon the major favorably?

Also, does SLS actually care about targeted recommendation letters?

If you don't mind me asking, what were your stats? LSAT, GPA?

is the small class size a good thing? :p

good to still see you on here, legends.

classes aren't that small. 3/5 classes are about 60 people but we do have one small section class which is just 30 people and then our LRW which is 30 people.

I much rather have larger classes just so there's more organization and less pointless discussion but that's just me...I am guilty sometimes of adding to the pointless discussion though so maybe i shouldn't be talking

how's the no grade thing at yale treating you?

theadw wrote:Fellow ex-philosophy major with very similar numbers (also on LSN) -- was philosophy a focus of your PS, and do you know if the SLS adcomm looks upon the major favorably?

Also, does SLS actually care about targeted recommendation letters?

I did do a targeted letter which I don't think hurt but I'm not sure how much it helped. If it's not too hard for you I'd recommend it.

As for the PS, I did incorporate some philosophy into it. I pretty much wrote my PS arguing that we should do more comparative studies on how immigration issues are handled in US and overseas in the EU to solve the immigration problem we have here. Specifically I argued against Rawle's westphalian principles, which have greatly shaped US thinking, in favor of a more discoursive theory based on Habermas and also Kant's theories on land ownership. Of course that would make for a very boring PS so of course I only used that thinking as my framework and fleshed it out using personal anecdotes and stories I encountered working with immigrants.

Hello! What's your average daily schedule like? How are you finding the classes? What's your favorite and least favorite thing about Stanford?

I'll be there next year - looking forward to it

legends159 wrote:classes aren't that small. 3/5 classes are about 60 people but we do have one small section class which is just 30 people and then our LRW which is 30 people.

I much rather have larger classes just so there's more organization and less pointless discussion but that's just me...I am guilty sometimes of adding to the pointless discussion though so maybe i shouldn't be talking

how's the no grade thing at yale treating you?

haha, after hearing the first few stories about 1L year, i think 60 is a good size. too small can be a bad thing. so if i ask my friends to point out the gunner in the classroom, would they ID you?

i'll let you know when i get there. happily deferred. kinda sad that you guys have already started, and kinda ecstatic that i'm not writing a memo like everyone else.

Haribo wrote:Hello! What's your average daily schedule like? How are you finding the classes? What's your favorite and least favorite thing about Stanford?

I'll be there next year - looking forward to it

I can add to the discussion. I'm also a 1L at SLS -- and I'm furiously trying to figure out who this "Legends" person is.

Schedule: Laid back enough to write this post. Seriously, I'm studying less than I thought I would (maybe 4 or so hours per day). I'm doing more pro bono/student activities than I thought I would. Altogether, I'm pretty busy, but not (usually) unmanageably so. There was one day where I had a memo due and I was on panel for Torts (which is horrendous with my prof), and that day I wanted to go crazy. Today? Not so bad.

Classes usually start at 9:45. One day they start at 8:30. I usually head home around 7 PM, and leave my books behind in my locker.

Classes are great. I don't have the best Contracts prof, but all my other profs are truly excellent. I'm learning Crim with 28 other people in a classroom with the guy responsible for Illinois' moratorium on the death penalty. Doesn't get much better.

I'm not sure what my favorite and least favorite things are about Stanford. I'll have to get back to you.