Yale c/o 2017 Applicants (2013-2014 cycle) Forum

[sonyvaio18]

would anyone here choose sls or hls over yale? and why?

[angels2fly]

would anyone here choose sls or hls over yale? and why?

i think out of the three it'd go down to sls or yale cant pinpoint reasons. wont be in that position though.

[drevo]

would anyone here choose sls or hls over yale? and why?

If in some insane different universe I was accepted to all 3 of SLS, HLS, and Yale, I would take Stanford in a heartbeat. I have lived in CA my whole life and I grew up only 45 minutes away from Stanford (in fact one of my parents now only lives about 20 minutes away from the campus). I absolutely love that area and Stanford has always been the pinnacle of academic holiness for me. Also, the memories of going to Stanford baseball games and attending their baseball clinics as a child make the dream of attending Stanford all the more romantic. Plus I miss going to San jose Sharks games

Obviously my huge bias for Stanford has pretty much everything to do with being a Bay Area native and my love for living in this state.

Now, if only this choice were indeed mine to make..

[chizzy]

so im guessing TLS did not represent this wave.

also, i was surprised by that tweet. i thought they would not make decisions until the end or mid way of March.

[midwest17]

so im guessing TLS did not represent this wave.

also, i was surprised by that tweet. i thought they would not make decisions until the end or mid way of March.

Why? They've already made plenty of decisions, why were you predicting that there wouldn't be more until late March?

[chizzy]

so im guessing TLS did not represent this wave.

also, i was surprised by that tweet. i thought they would not make decisions until the end or mid way of March.

Why? They've already made plenty of decisions, why were you predicting that there wouldn't be more until late March?

with the application closed over the weekend.

[Instinctive]

would anyone here choose sls or hls over yale? and why?

Yes. If I had the dual degree option (JD/MBA). The other two have reaaaaallllly strong business schools.

[Cicero76]

would anyone here choose sls or hls over yale? and why?

Yes. If I had the dual degree option (JD/MBA). The other two have reaaaaallllly strong business schools.

But our business school has a sweet new building!

[Attax]

would anyone here choose sls or hls over yale? and why?

If I had the choice, HLS but I'm a huge Harvard fanboy.

Of course, I didn't apply to H or S, so realistically no I wouldn't choose sls or hls over yale.

[LochnerMonster]

would anyone here choose sls or hls over yale? and why?

Yes. If I had the dual degree option (JD/MBA). The other two have reaaaaallllly strong business schools.

But our business school has a sweet new building!

Lol. I know several people who are doing a 4 year YLS JD / HBS or GSB MBA. That seems like the best of both worlds.

[sonofshaprut]

decided to stop lurking. hello friends.

[bbkk]

decided to stop lurking. hello friends.

Welcome. Mind sharing a bit about yourself?

[sonofshaprut]

decided to stop lurking. hello friends.

Welcome. Mind sharing a bit about yourself?

i like thai food, early nineties hip hop, and i think it would be fun to go to yale law school

[djfududeman]

would anyone here choose sls or hls over yale? and why?

Think I'd choose SLS over all. Just based on fit. Stellar education and opportunities from all three make them sorta indistinguishable in the academic realm. Admittedly YLS has the best stats, clerkship placement, but the differences are marginal... the best choice has to just be what sort of environment you think will lead you to produce your best work and where you want to be "shaped." My gut's telling me that my fit is S but I'll visit H to make sure (and Y if I got in )

[jimbeam21]

Sure, Yale has the bigger slice of the pie in terms of more prestigious clerkships, etc. compared to Stanford/Harvard, but whether you can take advantage of that bigger slice depends on the individual's situation.

Here's where I think Yale's lack of first year grades is actually a detriment. By the time clerkship applications roll around (early 2L now), Yalies have at most 1 set of grades. Harvard has 3, and Stanford possibly 4 (quarter system). 90% of the student body at Yale will have next to identical transcripts at this point. What do judges rely on then? Connections and previous work experience.

If you aren't a well connected East-Coaster, and your daddy isn't a judge, and you aren't a Truman/Marshall/Rhodes scholar, you don't have much of a chance at competing for these clerkships because you're up against classmates who are. The benefit of having grades at Harvard and Stanford is that it allows those who work hard to distinguish themselves. Thus, those without connections or Rhodes scholarships might be better suited at H or S.

Just my thoughts.

[JodieLovesChachi]

would anyone here choose sls or hls over yale? and why?

Think I'd choose SLS over all. Just based on fit. Stellar education and opportunities from all three make them sorta indistinguishable in the academic realm. Admittedly YLS has the best stats, clerkship placement, but the differences are marginal... the best choice has to just be what sort of environment you think will lead you to produce your best work and where you want to be "shaped." My gut's telling me that my fit is S but I'll visit H to make sure (and Y if I got in )

Thank you for bringing up this discussion!! It's always been my dream to go to SLS. I unexpectedly got into YLS a few weeks ago and have been haunted by the prospects of having to make such a decision (though I haven't been accepted to SLS yet, I guess it's still a possibility).

[kartelite]

Here's where I think Yale's lack of first year grades is actually a detriment. By the time clerkship applications roll around (early 2L now), Yalies have at most 1 set of grades. Harvard has 3, and Stanford possibly 4 (quarter system).

How would Harvard have 2 more graded semesters than Yale? Only difference is first semester of 1L.

[teampeeta]

Sure, Yale has the bigger slice of the pie in terms of more prestigious clerkships, etc. compared to Stanford/Harvard, but whether you can take advantage of that bigger slice depends on the individual's situation.

Here's where I think Yale's lack of first year grades is actually a detriment. By the time clerkship applications roll around (early 2L now), Yalies have at most 1 set of grades. Harvard has 3, and Stanford possibly 4 (quarter system). 90% of the student body at Yale will have next to identical transcripts at this point. What do judges rely on then? Connections and previous work experience.

If you aren't a well connected East-Coaster, and your daddy isn't a judge, and you aren't a Truman/Marshall/Rhodes scholar, you don't have much of a chance at competing for these clerkships because you're up against classmates who are. The benefit of having grades at Harvard and Stanford is that it allows those who work hard to distinguish themselves. Thus, those without connections or Rhodes scholarships might be better suited at H or S.

Just my thoughts.

I've heard similar things- especially that getting a clerkship from Yale is a much more political operation than at a lot of other T14s, not just H and S. It's really really important to have the right profs vouch for you if you're aiming to get one of the most prestigious clerkships. It's harder for the judges and their clerks to differentiate among the applications in terms of grades, both because YLS students have fewer sets of grades and because the grades tend to be more amorphous (almost no LPs, no DSs, etc.). As a result the recommendations (and the factors that lead to getting good recs) play an even bigger role in the process. At some other schools (H and S and also T14s with grades), it's easier for the people who are at the very top of the class to present tangible/objective evidence of that in their application.

Obviously YLS students do just fine on the clerkship circuit (sorry for the pun), but I thought it was an interesting perspective.

[midwest17]

Sure, Yale has the bigger slice of the pie in terms of more prestigious clerkships, etc. compared to Stanford/Harvard, but whether you can take advantage of that bigger slice depends on the individual's situation.

Here's where I think Yale's lack of first year grades is actually a detriment. By the time clerkship applications roll around (early 2L now), Yalies have at most 1 set of grades. Harvard has 3, and Stanford possibly 4 (quarter system). 90% of the student body at Yale will have next to identical transcripts at this point. What do judges rely on then? Connections and previous work experience.

If you aren't a well connected East-Coaster, and your daddy isn't a judge, and you aren't a Truman/Marshall/Rhodes scholar, you don't have much of a chance at competing for these clerkships because you're up against classmates who are. The benefit of having grades at Harvard and Stanford is that it allows those who work hard to distinguish themselves. Thus, those without connections or Rhodes scholarships might be better suited at H or S.

Just my thoughts.

I'm pretty sure that relationships with law school profs are more important than any of the connections you're talking about. And the sense I get is that those are important no matter where you go to school, which hurts Harvard in the clerkship game because they're so big and don't have a culture of encouraging profs to connect with students.

It's a system that rewards a different sort of "working hard" but I'm not convinced it's less meritocratic, especially given the common knowledge about the arbitrariness of law school grades.

[bbkk]

Ugh. Need to save this thread from the second page.

[chizzy]

Ugh. Need to save this thread from the second page.

bump.

i predict decisions (good) this week. probably before they head out for spring break.

[Superresplitter]

Longtime lurker--thought I might as well join this wonderfully obsessive little world.

I have above median ugpa, way below 25th on the lsat (I know, I know...I should retake, but that is not an option right now for several personal reasons). (Somewhat) Unique personal story and 8+ years managerial work experience. Non URM.

Threw my Yale Mary first week of February, but still no word. Would anyone like to conjecture whether I made it to faculty review or not? Also, do dings come by email?

Your answers are much appreciated!

[drawstring]

Dings come first by email, then Yale graciously mails a letter to remind you that you were dinged.

Given that you applied fairly recently it's tough to say if you made it to faculty review.

[bbkk]

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[koalacity]

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eek. Good luck, everyone!