Top Law Schools

Hey guys,

Welcome to the YLS admitted students' thread, which I figure can also double as the HY/HYS/YS cross-admits' indecision thread. Congratulations on your admission and I look forward to seeing you in April!

Yay! I really haven't posted much beforehand because I'm too superstitious, but as of today I'm officially in at Yale, Harvard and Stanford. (PM me for stats/softs; suffice it to say it wasn't my PS on wanting to do public interest work that got me in, although I was a big fan of my Yale 250...). At this point, I'm pretty sure Yale is my favorite, but Stanford is a close #2. I'd love to hear how other people have made or are thinking about making the choice.

Got a call today from (203) - identified herself as my admissions assistant or something (?). Anyway, really nice lady who asked me a few questions about areas of the law in which I'm interested, student organizations on campus that appeal to me, etc. Then she asked what other law schools I'm considering... I told her Harvard, and inexplicably felt a little awkward/guilty, haha. Anyone else care to share their experience with the admitted student questionnaire?

mgoblue11 wrote: Anyone else care to share their experience with the admitted student questionnaire?

Thanks for the heads up

mgoblue11 wrote:Got a call today from (203) - identified herself as my admissions assistant or something (?). Anyway, really nice lady who asked me a few questions about areas of the law in which I'm interested, student organizations on campus that appeal to me, etc. Then she asked what other law schools I'm considering... I told her Harvard, and inexplicably felt a little awkward/guilty, haha. Anyone else care to share their experience with the admitted student questionnaire?

I agree that she's extremely nice! Same questions - I didn't have any intelligent and well-prepared answers, so I told her I hadn't had time to read the binder yet (blame finals). She laughed at me, lol. For "other options" I said Harvard too, but I mentioned that as of right now I'm leaning towards Yale (I have more friends there, and they're all super happy). So don't feel guilty, a lot of us are probably in the same wavering boat!

ssteinway wrote:Yay! I really haven't posted much beforehand because I'm too superstitious, but as of today I'm officially in at Yale, Harvard and Stanford. (PM me for stats/softs; suffice it to say it wasn't my PS on wanting to do public interest work that got me in, although I was a big fan of my Yale 250...). At this point, I'm pretty sure Yale is my favorite, but Stanford is a close #2. I'd love to hear how other people have made or are thinking about making the choice.

Wow triple congrats, that's incredible!! With regard to deciding between Y and S, what kind of law do you want to study, and which school is better at it? Personally, if I were choosing between Yale and Stanford, location would be the biggest factor. Sun/snow, warm/cold, West/East, Beach/really cold beach. It sounds like a pretty clear choice, but I actually really don't want to go out West. Have fun (and savor) the choosing!

ashcricket wrote:Wow triple congrats, that's incredible!! With regard to deciding between Y and S, what kind of law do you want to study, and which school is better at it? Personally, if I were choosing between Yale and Stanford, location would be the biggest factor. Sun/snow, warm/cold, West/East, Beach/really cold beach. It sounds like a pretty clear choice, but I actually really don't want to go out West. Have fun (and savor) the choosing!

Yeah, choosing is difficult, but it's nice to have the opportunity! I want to do public interest work, and I think Yale has more classes that sound interesting to me, but both would probably set me up well for any career (especially since we eventually plan to move to Florida). The location issue is tough; my spouse really wants warmth, but my family lives in CT, and I don't want to be so far away. I think the biggest factor for me will be the vibe at each school: How happy are the students? How much do grades really matter at Stanford? Do people participate in class to hear themselves speak, or because they enjoy engaging in intellectual discussions?

ssteinway wrote:Yay! I really haven't posted much beforehand because I'm too superstitious, but as of today I'm officially in at Yale, Harvard and Stanford. (PM me for stats/softs; suffice it to say it wasn't my PS on wanting to do public interest work that got me in, although I was a big fan of my Yale 250...). At this point, I'm pretty sure Yale is my favorite, but Stanford is a close #2. I'd love to hear how other people have made or are thinking about making the choice.

+1

Sweeping HYS is pretty great, right? But then you have to make the decision...

Personally I was not a huge fan of Harvard's large class size, so that predisposed me toward YS. And as a West Coaster, turning Stanford and its beautiful, humidity-free in the summer, non-freezing in the winter weather down was tough. But Yale's clerkship placement was probably the dispositive factor for me (that said, it would have been pretty difficult to turn down the number one school).

I am curious though if anyone is thinking of choosing Harvard over Yale.

Just got in today. I received a packet but no phone call (weird). Super excited!!!

abitaman6363 wrote:Just got in today. I received a packet but no phone call (weird). Super excited!!!

Follow-up. I just received a call from Craig Janecek congratulating me on admissions. First, it was easily the most easy-going and exciting of law school phone calls. He also said he had tried contacting me before via phone/email. Look forward to seeing everyone at ASW : )

Was everyone else super-impressed by the breadth of the packet? It's more like a "now that you've decided on Yale, here's all the cool stuff you can do," vs. the selling materials/high-level glossy brochure that Stanford sent. I think Yale just assumes you're going to attend. ;p My spouse keeps joking that Yale has managed to out-nerd all the other law schools with its 300 pages of size 12 font and pre-printed checklists.

so.... when you all decide you're coming to Yale, come hang out in the official class thread

http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... 8&t=129260

and congrats!

Hey got the call today! Tough decision ahead. How are you guys choosing??

Not intending to hijack this thread--just want to shed some light on the YLS v. SLS question (which surfaces every cycle).

Had to (got to?) make the notoriously difficult YLS v. SLS choice last year. Fortunately, HLS rejected me, so it wasn't part of the equation. At least for me, the decision came down to location and faculty (as I wasn't offered any $$, career prospects from both schools are essentially the same, and I LOVED the "feel" of both schools). I'm a California boy, and I found it very difficult to leave the golden coast. Also, I want to focus on IP--Yale simply does not have the IP personnel that Stanford does.

The general feeling I got is that YLS is a legal academic haven, while SLS is focused more on producing outstanding lawyers (rather than judges/professors). Of course, this isn't to say that YLS doesn't produce great lawyers, or that SLS doesn't churn out brilliant academic minds.

Keep in mind that you really can't go wrong. 'Grats to you all.

Hey, guys. I am currently choosing between HLS vs. YLS, and it really is a really difficult choice. As an international student, I am surrounded by people who are familiar with Harvard and not with Yale, so at first I did not even think about choosing Yale over Harvard. But then I realized that I didn't want to make my choice based on the biased opinions and began to seriously think about my choices.

I am turning toward Yale Law School due to Yale's size and quality of education. Also, I am not really confident that I could do well in HLS (with my English as a second language and my engineering major). Yet, I am not entirely sure how HLS and YLS are perceived in the United States, although I did go to school in the states.

Could somebody give some comments on HLS vs. YLS? Thanks =)

applebee1 wrote:Hey, guys. I am currently choosing between HLS vs. YLS, and it really is a really difficult choice. As an international student, I am surrounded by people who are familiar with Harvard and not with Yale, so at first I did not even think about choosing Yale over Harvard. But then I realized that I didn't want to make my choice based on the biased opinions and began to seriously think about my choices.

I am turning toward Yale Law School due to Yale's size and quality of education. Also, I am not really confident that I could do well in HLS (with my English as a second language and my engineering major). Yet, I am not entirely sure how HLS and YLS are perceived in the United States, although I did go to school in the states.

Could somebody give some comments on HLS vs. YLS? Thanks =)

Both are obviously great schools, but Yale is widely considered the #1 law school in the US. In this economy in particular Yale's smaller class size is a huge advantage for job placement. I wouldn't worry too much about your English skills if your LSAT was high enough to get into both, but the fact that Yale's first semester is pass/fail will give you some time to adjust to law school that you wouldn't have at HLS. Yale also has a very ambiguous grading system and students aren't ranked, which gives people in the middle or bottom of the class a nice cushion.

CrabDribble202 wrote:Both are obviously great schools, but Yale is widely considered the #1 law school in the US. In this economy in particular Yale's smaller class size is a huge advantage for job placement. I wouldn't worry too much about your English skills if your LSAT was high enough to get into both, but the fact that Yale's first semester is pass/fail will give you some time to adjust to law school that you wouldn't have at HLS. Yale also has a very ambiguous grading system and students aren't ranked, which gives people in the middle or bottom of the class a nice cushion.

Actually, it's more like pass/pass in the first semester, trust me on this.

Got a little present from Yale in the mail and a lovely card.....definitely leaning towards YLS now!

ashcricket wrote:Got a little present from Yale in the mail and a lovely card.....definitely leaning towards YLS now!

Retrieved mine from the PO just now. Asha's handwritten note made me lol about 5 times. Definitely hope everything falls into place so that I can attend.

If you want a (somewhat jaded) perspective of YLS after almost one year, feel free to PM me. I'll try to give a balanced account.

lawyering wrote:If you want a (somewhat jaded) perspective of YLS after almost one year, feel free to PM me. I'll try to give a balanced account.

Why not just post what you think? You can post anonymously