Harvard Law School Class of 2018 Forum

[jimmymac]

me too! feels great

[yomisterd]

This is something that will probably be best explored at ASW - but since its probably best to strike housing asap I figure it's worth it.

Is Gropius/Hastings as bad as the pictures on Harvard's website suggest?

I am pretty sure I've read close to everything on these board's and the upside to the dorms are clear. Price, access, 9 month lease, and being better integrated into the community. At the same time, I've been living in apartments for four years and the idea of going back to a dorm is depressing. I cook every day so no private kitchen is a downer. Overall I think the pros and cons are well balanced, so it's hard to make a decision either way.

What is our feel though for the buildings? I mean they look so bad online. Is that just the pics we have access to or...? Anyone have a feel for where the social community is centered?

I had the same dilemma, I chose HUH and I'm happy with my decision, for the following reasons:
1) Yes, Gropius and Hastings are hella-ugly. If you're the type of person that is strongly affected by the aesthetics of your living space, it will probably suck.
2) Depending on your floor choice, you might be able to cook. If you don't cook/ hate sharing a kitchen/ live on a floor with sucky people sharing the kitchen, there are very few food options super-close to campus. There is a decent cafeteria in the law school, and a couple of food places close by, but almost everything is at either Harvard Square or Porter Square, both of which are about a 10-15 min walk away.
3) Yes, Gropius can give you a sense of social community. There are entire friend groups in my section who formed in Gropius. It's also easier to meet people from other sections. However, it is not the only way. There are 80 people in each section, and not all of them live in Gropius. IMO, you will not be SOL on the social side if you don't live in the dorms, but you will likely have to try a little harder at the start of the semester.
4) Do not underestimate the power of having a private/ semi-private bathroom... If you live in Hastings, you may have to walk up and down a couple flights of stairs every time you want to use the bathroom.

Despite choosing HUH largely for the kitchen (and like you, I used to cook every day), I didn't cook AT ALL in first semester. It takes me forever to cook and I can't get any studying done at home, so it was not worth my time/ energy to come home, make dinner and then head back to campus. YMMV.

Above all, you have tons of time to make a decision, and if you're choosing b/w the dorms and HUH, making a decision now has zero impact, since you can't choose anything yet anyway. It might be different if you were looking at off-campus apartments. Hope that helps! PM me if you have more questions or want more info.

this so much. I got lucky with HUH though, it is really a crapshoot. If you gamble for HUH be prepared to rent off-campus (if HUH and the dorms are mutually exclusive, which i really don't know)

[JMcG]

just got my Harvard email (admitted last Monday). The joy is real.

This. I'm getting pulled further and further into Harvard's orbit with each passing day. It's a real problem.

[musedreverie]

just got my Harvard email (admitted last Monday). The joy is real.

This. I'm getting pulled further and further into Harvard's orbit with each passing day. It's a real problem.

Skewing our decision-making process... the email DOES do the trick apparently

[Orion311]

In terms of negotiating financial aid, what does Harvard actually care about? Specifically I'm wondering if I was to be offered merit money from Columbia or a nicer financial aid package from CCN, or a merit and more financial aid from U of Toronto would Harvard care at all about any of those? Or do they pretty much have a set financial aid formula that you could only really negotiate with better need-based packages from Y and S?

[ChemEng1642]

In terms of negotiating financial aid, what does Harvard actually care about? Specifically I'm wondering if I was to be offered merit money from Columbia or a nicer financial aid package from CCN, or a merit and more financial aid from U of Toronto would Harvard care at all about any of those? Or do they pretty much have a set financial aid formula that you could only really negotiate with better need-based packages from Y and S?

I'm just an 0L so take this with a grain of salt but I believe it is the latter

[HorseThief]

In terms of negotiating financial aid, what does Harvard actually care about? Specifically I'm wondering if I was to be offered merit money from Columbia or a nicer financial aid package from CCN, or a merit and more financial aid from U of Toronto would Harvard care at all about any of those? Or do they pretty much have a set financial aid formula that you could only really negotiate with better need-based packages from Y and S?

I'm just an 0L so take this with a grain of salt but I believe it is the latter

+1. I think only Y and S do comparable need-based aid packages, so those are the only schools about which they care.

[Fawkes]

In terms of negotiating financial aid, what does Harvard actually care about? Specifically I'm wondering if I was to be offered merit money from Columbia or a nicer financial aid package from CCN, or a merit and more financial aid from U of Toronto would Harvard care at all about any of those? Or do they pretty much have a set financial aid formula that you could only really negotiate with better need-based packages from Y and S?

I'm just an 0L so take this with a grain of salt but I believe it is the latter

Curious about this as well. What if it's just merit scholarships? Does Harvard care at all? Has anyone with a Hamilton, Ruby, or one of NYU's full tuition scholarships had any success with negotiating?

[HorseThief]

In terms of negotiating financial aid, what does Harvard actually care about? Specifically I'm wondering if I was to be offered merit money from Columbia or a nicer financial aid package from CCN, or a merit and more financial aid from U of Toronto would Harvard care at all about any of those? Or do they pretty much have a set financial aid formula that you could only really negotiate with better need-based packages from Y and S?

I'm just an 0L so take this with a grain of salt but I believe it is the latter

Curious about this as well. What if it's just merit scholarships? Does Harvard care at all? Has anyone with a Hamilton, Ruby, or one of NYU's full tuition scholarships had any success with negotiating?

I've never heard of any success stories. And I know they don't care about full rides for other T-14 schools.

[ChemEng1642]

In terms of negotiating financial aid, what does Harvard actually care about? Specifically I'm wondering if I was to be offered merit money from Columbia or a nicer financial aid package from CCN, or a merit and more financial aid from U of Toronto would Harvard care at all about any of those? Or do they pretty much have a set financial aid formula that you could only really negotiate with better need-based packages from Y and S?

I'm just an 0L so take this with a grain of salt but I believe it is the latter

+1. I think only Y and S do comparable need-based aid packages, so those are the only schools about which they care.

I also think they explicitly say on the website something along the lines of "we will only negotiate with other need-based aid packages as that is all we offer"

[m_ross]

In terms of negotiating financial aid, what does Harvard actually care about? Specifically I'm wondering if I was to be offered merit money from Columbia or a nicer financial aid package from CCN, or a merit and more financial aid from U of Toronto would Harvard care at all about any of those? Or do they pretty much have a set financial aid formula that you could only really negotiate with better need-based packages from Y and S?

I'm just an 0L so take this with a grain of salt but I believe it is the latter

+1. I think only Y and S do comparable need-based aid packages, so those are the only schools about which they care.

+1. Key word being "comparable". I never tried this, so I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing they don't consider UofToronto's need-based aid to be comparable. The tuition is much lower and the types of aid offered at UofT are completely different in terms of OSAP + grant + interest-free line of credit.

[Fawkes]

In terms of negotiating financial aid, what does Harvard actually care about? Specifically I'm wondering if I was to be offered merit money from Columbia or a nicer financial aid package from CCN, or a merit and more financial aid from U of Toronto would Harvard care at all about any of those? Or do they pretty much have a set financial aid formula that you could only really negotiate with better need-based packages from Y and S?

I'm just an 0L so take this with a grain of salt but I believe it is the latter

+1. I think only Y and S do comparable need-based aid packages, so those are the only schools about which they care.

I also think they explicitly say on the website something along the lines of "we will only negotiate with other need-based aid packages as that is all we offer"

I figured but I wanted to double check. Thanks.

[ChemEng1642]

Wait is there literally no way to tour the HUH apartments??

Not that I know of. They're kinda like real apartments, and I think all the units are currently occupied.

Follow up in case other people want to know - I also ended up emailing HUH services and they said the only way you can tour a HUH apartment is if one is empty and as HorseThief pointed out there are very few apartments that are actually empty in March. So basically if you do HUH you'd be signing a lease without seeing the place (though it is managed by Harvard which makes it more reliable I suppose).

Does anyone want to let me see their apartment?

[2x2Matrix]

doing an awkward check in...was admitted last year for c/o 2017 and deferred to c/o 2018. Just spoke to HLS last month to defer again for c/o 2019.

Might see if I can come to one of the ASWs for fun

[HorseThief]

doing an awkward check in...was admitted last year for c/o 2017 and deferred to c/o 2018. Just spoke to HLS last month to defer again for c/o 2019.

Might see if I can come to one of the ASWs for fun

^This is not a terrible idea. Take note. If you have something cool to do for a year, you should seriously consider deferring.

[ravel]

Did anybody already forward Need Access to Harvard? Or should we wait until they send an email asking for it?

[radio1nowhere]

Did anybody already forward Need Access to Harvard? Or should we wait until they send an email asking for it?

I don't even think you can send it to HLS yet; I looked for it on the Need Access school drop-down menu and it wasn't there.

From the HLS Financial Aid website: "Financial Aid Application Process for Admitted Students to the Class of 2018 will begin the week of February 16, 2015. Check Your Official HLS Email Address for Instructions in mid-February."

[ravel]

Thanks!

[ikethegremlin]

Just in case anybody was having the same issues as I was having but didn't figure it out:

When you are trying to get onto the Harvard Secure network for things like the Admitted Students page, the username is just name.jd18, and the password is the one you created at the claim page, not your Pin.

I couldn't figure out why I couldn't get on until I finally tried a different browser - Chrome wasn't working for me for some reason. Both firefox and safari do the job though.

[Orion311]

Just in case anybody was having the same issues as I was having but didn't figure it out:

When you are trying to get onto the Harvard Secure network for things like the Admitted Students page, the username is just name.jd18, and the password is the one you created at the claim page, not your Pin.

I couldn't figure out why I couldn't get on until I finally tried a different browser - Chrome wasn't working for me for some reason. Both firefox and safari do the job though.

I've been using it on chrome - while it crashes after login, I just find that I have to reload a "secure" page (one extra click) and it works fine from there. But maybe that won't work for everyone

[2666]

*

[Auxilio]

In terms of negotiating financial aid, what does Harvard actually care about? Specifically I'm wondering if I was to be offered merit money from Columbia or a nicer financial aid package from CCN, or a merit and more financial aid from U of Toronto would Harvard care at all about any of those? Or do they pretty much have a set financial aid formula that you could only really negotiate with better need-based packages from Y and S?

I'm just an 0L so take this with a grain of salt but I believe it is the latter

+1. I think only Y and S do comparable need-based aid packages, so those are the only schools about which they care.

I also think they explicitly say on the website something along the lines of "we will only negotiate with other need-based aid packages as that is all we offer"

I wonder if they would consider U of T then. It is also just need based.

[cc240]

doing an awkward check in...was admitted last year for c/o 2017 and deferred to c/o 2018. Just spoke to HLS last month to defer again for c/o 2019.

Might see if I can come to one of the ASWs for fun

^This is not a terrible idea. Take note. If you have something cool to do for a year, you should seriously consider deferring.

That is what I did since I am working for a great non-profit this year. It's funny how people react when you tell them you deferred: some people keep questioning why you did and some just don't believe you got in. Can't tell you how many people from undergrad come up to me and say "How's Harvard?" in a sarcastic tone!

[HorseThief]

doing an awkward check in...was admitted last year for c/o 2017 and deferred to c/o 2018. Just spoke to HLS last month to defer again for c/o 2019.

Might see if I can come to one of the ASWs for fun

^This is not a terrible idea. Take note. If you have something cool to do for a year, you should seriously consider deferring.

That is what I did since I am working for a great non-profit this year. It's funny how people react when you tell them you deferred: some people keep questioning why you did and some just don't believe you got in. Can't tell you how many people from undergrad come up to me and say "How's Harvard?" in a sarcastic tone!

I think deferring is vastly underrated. Not only does it help with finaid (as you get older, HLS looks at a smaller percentage of your parent's income when determining aid), but it might be your last chance to do something really crazy. I.e., unless you want to do international law or human rights, there's no good justification for going to Thailand for a year during or after law school. However, do it beforehand and no one will bat an eye. HLS opens up some doors, but those student loans sure do close others.

[Pneumonia]

HLS opens up some doors, but those student loans sure do close others.

quote of the year so far