Yale 2010 Forum

[Kretzy]

I guess if you were strictly graded as at other law schools, you might be stressed/want to study over the holidays, but professors and other students urge 1Ls not to study (it's not worth it when all your exams are "pass/pass"), and most 2Ls and 3Ls do take advantage of the break and actually get away from their studies until they come back in the first week of January.

You'd want to pass with honors, though, wouldn't you? Isn't that a reason to study?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but first semester 1L at Yale is just a pass/pass (no honors) grading system. There are no hierarchies (low-pass/pass/honors) whatsoever, everyone is graded on a pass/fail basis. It isn't until second semester 1L that the actually grading system begins.

This is correct. It's apparently impossible to fail. I use the word "impossible" purposefully.

[natalie123]

people can pm for my 250 if they'd like.

[rabbit9198]

I guess if you were strictly graded as at other law schools, you might be stressed/want to study over the holidays, but professors and other students urge 1Ls not to study (it's not worth it when all your exams are "pass/pass"), and most 2Ls and 3Ls do take advantage of the break and actually get away from their studies until they come back in the first week of January.

You'd want to pass with honors, though, wouldn't you? Isn't that a reason to study?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but first semester 1L at Yale is just a pass/pass (no honors) grading system. There are no hierarchies (low-pass/pass/honors) whatsoever, everyone is graded on a pass/fail basis. It isn't until second semester 1L that the actually grading system begins.

This is correct. It's apparently impossible to fail. I use the word "impossible" purposefully.

This.

[Kulax22]

So... when can we expect to hear back from them? Is it all at once in late February? Do they gradually release things? Anyone know the approximate day or time period?

Bumpin my own post

I see some people got the call, congrats. Still, is there a certain date to expect most acceptances or will they trickle in for the next month or so?

[Kronk]

So... when can we expect to hear back from them? Is it all at once in late February? Do they gradually release things? Anyone know the approximate day or time period?

Bumpin my own post

I see some people got the call, congrats. Still, is there a certain date to expect most acceptances or will they trickle in for the next month or so?

Pretty steady from here on out. I watched the misery that was the Yale Waiting Room last year. Essentially they have big batches of rejections and acceptances that come throughout the next three months and then a huge batch of waitlists at the very end (mid-April or later).

[joshikousei]

So... when can we expect to hear back from them? Is it all at once in late February? Do they gradually release things? Anyone know the approximate day or time period?

Bumpin my own post

I see some people got the call, congrats. Still, is there a certain date to expect most acceptances or will they trickle in for the next month or so?

Pretty steady from here on out. I watched the misery that was the Yale Waiting Room last year. Essentially they have big batches of rejections and acceptances that come throughout the next three months and then a huge batch of waitlists at the very end (mid-April or later).

this. i think there was a huge batch of rejections that came out around february (20) of last year; acceptances were more steady, but there seemed to be a large(r) batch of acceptances at the beginning and end of march.

[CardinalRules]

So... when can we expect to hear back from them? Is it all at once in late February? Do they gradually release things? Anyone know the approximate day or time period?

Bumpin my own post

I see some people got the call, congrats. Still, is there a certain date to expect most acceptances or will they trickle in for the next month or so?

Check their Twitter page at http://twitter.com/ylsadmissions to learn when they're calling or about to call.

[Kronk]

There's about a 2% chance I get accepted to Yale without dropping a premature LOCI and hoping to impress Asha with the last four months. I am exactly at both medians and have only been out of undergrad for about three weeks.

[crackberry]

Congrats to managamy and natalie123. Natalie, please PM me your 250 if you'd be so kind.

[sayan]

My 250 was about my encounters with Socratic argumentation through a philosophy-classics independent study in which I read Plato's "Dialogues." I discussed the dialogues that I wrote in emulation of the Socratic style on an imaginary question. The two dialogues argued for opposite sides of the issue, leading me to consider any objective question a prism that could be approached from innumerable angles. At the end of the essay, I connected my creative experimentations with my interest in the intellectual argumentation strategies used in law.

If I'm unclear, I can PM the full text, but I didn't want to clog the thread.

Do you mind PMing it to me, too? It sounds like a very interesting topic.

[Eigenvalue A]

My 250 was about my encounters with Socratic argumentation through a philosophy-classics independent study in which I read Plato's "Dialogues." I discussed the dialogues that I wrote in emulation of the Socratic style on an imaginary question. The two dialogues argued for opposite sides of the issue, leading me to consider any objective question a prism that could be approached from innumerable angles. At the end of the essay, I connected my creative experimentations with my interest in the intellectual argumentation strategies used in law.

If I'm unclear, I can PM the full text, but I didn't want to clog the thread.

Do you mind PMing it to me, too? It sounds like a very interesting topic.

The first time I read this, I thought managamy meant he wrote his Yale 250 in emulation of the Socratic style. I was like . I'm thinking that's not the case, right M?

[CardinalRules]

My 250 was about my encounters with Socratic argumentation through a philosophy-classics independent study in which I read Plato's "Dialogues." I discussed the dialogues that I wrote in emulation of the Socratic style on an imaginary question. The two dialogues argued for opposite sides of the issue, leading me to consider any objective question a prism that could be approached from innumerable angles. At the end of the essay, I connected my creative experimentations with my interest in the intellectual argumentation strategies used in law.

If I'm unclear, I can PM the full text, but I didn't want to clog the thread.

Do you mind PMing it to me, too? It sounds like a very interesting topic.

The first time I read this, I thought managamy meant he wrote his Yale 250 in emulation of the Socratic style. I was like . I'm thinking that's not the case, right M?

No, I wrote my undergrad application essay for Stanford in the Socratic style. This time, however, I thought that something less offbeat would be a better idea. I'll PM it to you.

[pdiddy89]

if both of you would pm me your 250s as well that would be fantastic!

p.s. major congrats guys!

[CardinalRules]

if both of you would pm me your 250s as well that would be fantastic!

p.s. major congrats guys!

Thanks! Consider yourself PM'ed.

[Unitas]

if both of you would pm me your 250s as well that would be fantastic!

p.s. major congrats guys!

Thanks! Consider yourself PM'ed.

I'm curious now, can I read yours?

[rowlf]

Congrats to the new admits!

Why Harvard over Yale?

I prefer the big-school environment overall if I'm going to be on the East Coast. Also, Cambridge >> New Haven.

I find this to be an overstatement frequently made by people who prefer Harvard to Yale for other reasons. As someone familiar with both places: Cambridge isn't that great, and New Haven isn't that bad. Cambridge is a bit better, but not drastically so.

[Hoopster]

I was initially concerned but I'm actually enjoying New Haven. I've been to Cambridge several times and I just like NH better.

HLS' and SLS' no-grade policy is different than YLS'. These two schools still grade on a curve while it's distinctly much less so at YLS. As for someone's question about studying harder to garner more honors grade, that doesn't seem to be the case. It seems to be fairly random but everyone will get at least one honors grade from what I'm told. It's at the professor's discretion who gets honors and who doesn't, regardless of how studious you are.

[somewhatwayward]

^
hmmm that seems kind of weird. what characteristics do the professors give honors based on, then?....and what does pass/pass mean....like, no matter what, you get 'pass' for all your courses

what kinds of academic awards do they give at graduation?

[crackberry]

Yale sounds more like summer camp than law school. I want in.

[rabbit9198]

^
hmmm that seems kind of weird. what characteristics do the professors give honors based on, then?....and what does pass/pass mean....like, no matter what, you get 'pass' for all your courses

what kinds of academic awards do they give at graduation?

Pass/pass means that first semester, everyone just gets a pass (actually "CR" for credit). It really is that simple.

In later semesters, there's no curve. Professors have discretion to give as many Hs vs. Ps as they want. [Though there also are some classes, such as some clinics and practical experiences like Trial Practice, that remain "ungraded" in that credit is granted only on a credit/no credit - pass/fail - basis.] Obviously, professors take "quality," in whatever form that takes in their subjective opinion, into account. When people describe YLS grading as "random," it's usually because it's hard to predict exactly how many Hs/Ps are going to be given out, and many students report that they get Hs in classes they didn't expect to get them, etc. It's not the case that professors just randomly assign Hs. They are, after all, professors in charge of assigning "grades," lax as YLS grades may be.

Graduation doesn't bring any special academic awards like Order of the Coif, etc., because there are no class ranks. Each year (usually in the summer or early fall), however, a number of special awards are given in specific areas of achievement: family law, corporate law, IP, etc. Usually they are basically "best paper in xyz" awards, but sometimes are more broad: "demonstrating excellence in xyz." I don't think anyone in the real world/the hiring market looks for these awards, because they only exist for certain (rather random) fields and can depend a great deal on the year in which you took certain courses, etc. (because some awards aren't given each year).

[CardinalRules]

Congrats to the new admits!

Why Harvard over Yale?

I prefer the big-school environment overall if I'm going to be on the East Coast. Also, Cambridge >> New Haven.

I find this to be an overstatement frequently made by people who prefer Harvard to Yale for other reasons. As someone familiar with both places: Cambridge isn't that great, and New Haven isn't that bad. Cambridge is a bit better, but not drastically so.

I'm also very familiar with both places; it's just a personal thing, I think. That said, location isn't an automatic "out" for me.

[natalie123]

i lost track of a few people on this thread who wanted to see my 250. if you wanted one and you haven't gotten a copy yet, send me a pm. sorry...

[Hoopster]

^
hmmm that seems kind of weird. what characteristics do the professors give honors based on, then?....and what does pass/pass mean....like, no matter what, you get 'pass' for all your courses

what kinds of academic awards do they give at graduation?

Pass/pass is that - pass/pass. We just get a credit for having taking the courses in the first semester. Rabbit explained the no-grade system here very well, thank you.

Awards? What are they? Dontcha know most, if not all, of us who have made it to YLS have had awards galore already? We don't need any more, just good jobs when we graduate. On a serious note, to my knowledge, no awards are given out at graduation here.

[Kulax22]

this. i think there was a huge batch of rejections that came out around february (20) of last year; acceptances were more steady, but there seemed to be a large(r) batch of acceptances at the beginning and end of march.

WTF late March? This is not helping my general uneasiness

So basically, once you apply and are not "autoadmit", you have to keep waiting until early spring...

[joshikousei]

this. i think there was a huge batch of rejections that came out around february (20) of last year; acceptances were more steady, but there seemed to be a large(r) batch of acceptances at the beginning and end of march.

WTF late March? This is not helping my general uneasiness

So basically, once you apply and are not "autoadmit", you have to keep waiting until early spring...

yeah, don't be surprised. the application deadline is two weeks later than that of other schools. and then you've got the weird yls admit process, where the faculty have to read the applications before finally closing in on the class they want to admit.


also, and others concur, cambridge nightlife beats new haven nightlife (sorry rabbit ).