In at Harvard! Forum

[skynet]

lol @ this thread. all the sudden everybody in the Harvard thread wants to go to Stanford

JR is working furiously to match Skynet to a real person and will quickly revoke his offer of admission as Skynet is scaring people away by the dozens.

lol: you win.

[adameus]

seriously, though: i was just making conversation, thought others might have interesting perspectives. if hls is the kind of place where people take an invitation to talk about a case as a threat, i may be headed for stanford, too.

Well it just seemed a bit gunnerish that you were referring to other cases that this case supposedly set up.

that's gunnerish?

to a 0L who was very little knowledge of other law cases it does. Maybe I'm just stupid or perhaps this other case was explicityly mentioned in the case we were assigned? I don't know.


edit- were you questioning the "ish" part of my reply or the fact that it was gunner like to refer to other cases? I'm not really sure.

[APimpNamedSlickback]

OK, so one interesting thing about Terry: it seems to set up Hiibel v. Sixth Judicial District Court of Nevada, in which suspects are required to identify themselves. This would be a serious expansion of Terry, since Terry explicitly restricts the officer's right to search to the minimum required to ensure safety (i.e., find out if the suspect is armed). Can a person keeping his name a secret constitute a similar threat?

Gunner.

i have already read, highlighted and filled my case with margin notes. I am going to KILL the competition on monday!

does anyone know if this will help my grades for next year?

I'm praying for a Stanford Admit....

wait, so you think i'm serious?

[DoubleChecks]

lol i knew slickback was joking, but so is adameus (his reply i mean)

skynet's comment is gunnerish haha, but i dont see a problem w/ that -- he's just excited! id love to have him in my section if he's this interested in the material; hell, i believe it'd make me a better student

but at the same time, i hope not every HLS student is that 'excited' about the material, or else im going to be working in overdrive mode to keep up haha

[Chichaca]

Yeah, don't get me wrong. I'm excited to learn about law. I just don't want to start yet!

[adameus]

I think just to establish my bad ass rep I'm gonna skip the classes during ASW.

[APimpNamedSlickback]

I think just to establish my bad ass rep I'm gonna skip the classes during ASW.

to establish my own rep, i am going to seriously try and shout down my professors during each class

[adameus]

I think just to establish my bad ass rep I'm gonna skip the classes during ASW.

to establish my own rep, i am going to machine gun during each of my classes and seriously try to shout down the professors

machine gun? You can tell how not bad ass I am by the fact that the most bad ass thing I could come up with was skipping class...

[DoubleChecks]

I think just to establish my bad ass rep I'm gonna skip the classes during ASW.

to establish my own rep, i am going to seriously try and shout down my professors during each class

damn i wont be making ASW (yeah thats right, my BA-ness of skipping it completely), so can you save the shout down for when classes actually begin? i really want to be there *crosses fingers to be in pimp's section*

[englawyer]

seriously, though: i was just making conversation, thought others might have interesting perspectives. if hls is the kind of place where people take an invitation to talk about a case as a threat, i may be headed for stanford, too.

i think that "culture" differences are pretty overblown. Most of the same types of people attend both schools (u-grad gunners, 3.9+ gpa, super high LSAT) so I would be kind of surprised that sending in a seat deposit to Stanford suddenly makes the person cooler and less competitive.

this thread is full of jokes and jokers; it is great that you are excited about the case and the class. i am sure it will be an interesting and enjoyable experience, and having some pre-class discussion would never hurt.

[adameus]

seriously, though: i was just making conversation, thought others might have interesting perspectives. if hls is the kind of place where people take an invitation to talk about a case as a threat, i may be headed for stanford, too.

i think that "culture" differences are pretty overblown. Most of the same types of people attend both schools (u-grad gunners, 3.9+ gpa, super high LSAT) so I would be kind of surprised that sending in a seat deposit to Stanford suddenly makes the person cooler and less competitive.

this thread is full of jokes and jokers; it is great that you are excited about the case and the class. i am sure it will be an interesting and enjoyable experience, and having some pre-class discussion would never hurt.

it could hurt my ego by letting me know how much smarter than me you all are.

[Zara]

Why do I have the document for selective service registration under my required documents on the financial aid page? I thought only guys had to do this. Did I miss something?

Also does anyone know exactly how I should fill out the fafsa if I have been working abroad? My income is tax exempt so should I put 0 for income and for AGI or just put the amount I made in Japan for both? If i put what I have my 1040 it rejects it because my income is one number and my AGI is zero.

[englawyer]

<24 hours til March ASW

[sayan]

Have fun at the March ASW guys. I'll be doing the April one. If someone can post their impressions after ASW is over, that would be great.

[sayan]

for those of you who are pretty much sure you are going to HLS, what do you plan to do for housing?

off-campus apt w/ girlfriend. I have been in a Cambridge for a while, although we live in a somewhat sketchy studio. I might be upgrading a bit for law school to a 1BR, which will be around $1300 in Cambridge. Not cheap but not too bad for 2 people to share.

i lived 4 miles outside of boston for two years so I know the prices are pretty steep. I never lived in cambridge though and didnt really spend too much time there so can you recommend some good cheap places? I'm not against taking taking the T as long as it is not ridiculously far. any advice would be great! I have to find an apartment from Japan (won't be back in the states until August 1st) so i want to get as much information about it as possible since i can't visit.

Sure. I will assume you are living by yourself, so I will focus on roommates/studio in addition to "cool" neighborhoods that are convenient to HLS. Specifically, I will mention those that are on the "red line" for super-convenient living.

Alewife is the last stop on the red-line. There are a number of apt/condo complexes here, but not much else. It is a little cheaper than Davis/Porter I believe. 3 stops to Harvard which is still a nice commute if you find a good place.

Davis Square is on the red-line, and thus very convenient to Harvard (2 stops). It had a renaissance of sorts in the 90's after the station was put in, and is know a solidly yuppie neighborhood. It is kind of funky though because it has a weird blend with its working class roots. Prices will generally be 600-700 to share an apartment with roommates or 1300 for a 1-BR. Davis has a clean-cut even suburban feel which can be a plus/minus for you (there are a ton of strollers going around).

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Porter Square is also on the red-line, and is even closer to Harvard (1 stop away). It is a more "generic/shopping center" neighborhood than Davis (seems to revolve around Shaw's) but still has some stuff to do and it is easy to get to better entertainment due to the train. Similar prices to Davis:

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Harvard Square is obviously the most convenient, but tends to be a bit more pricey than the other places (say more like 700-800 for sharing an apartment, or 1500 for 1BR). It also has the most stuff "to do" around the area. It is a more uppity neighborhood in general. The big plus would be that participating in the social scene would be very convenient.

Central Square is the most "city-ish" neighborhood of Cambridge. To me it feels like a watered-down Manhattan, complete with the dirtier streets and increased number of homeless people. It seems the most "real" of the Cambridge neighborhoods though, as the others I have mentioned are kind of fantasy-landish. One stop to Harvard (in the other direction). It is a little more pricey than Davis/Porter but not quite Harvard level:

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Kendall is the MIT neighborhood. It seems a bit more dry than the other places and is very industrial (lots of businesses and whatnot). Price-wise it is comparable to Central Square, and is 2 stops in the other direction (towards Boston). A big plus of this neighborhood would be closer proximity to Boston proper, as it would be a hop, skip, and a jump to downtown Boston.


Other neighborhoods (off the Redline):

"Area 4" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_4,_Cambridge

this place is the cheapest of all Cambridge, and is where I live in a studio for ~ $1000 total. There is a bus route to Harvard, and it is generally a 5-10 minute walk to Central or Kendall square. The downside is that it is dominated by low-income housing projects so it is nearly the opposite of Davis Square (socio-economically diverse, etc) and far from a "fantasy land" type place. Plenty of triple deckers, etc. There are quite a few students/grad students in the area but mostly poor/lower-income folks other than that.

Inman Square is a cute neighborhood with lots of restaurants etc and popular for young people. The downside is the lack of proximity to a train, so your commute would most likely be bus + train everyday, which could be a pain. Not sure if there is a bus right to Harvard (maybe though)

Lechmere Area would probably be inconvenient for HLS, and is not as cheap as the places above.


Final words of advice:

--> Stay near the red line if you can to avoid using a car but still have a great commute
--> if you want as cheap as possible, focus on Somerville, perhaps a place with a bus route to the T
--> if I had to recommend one place over all others, it would be Davis. I lived there for a bit and it was fun.

pricewise, you did good if:

Studio ~ 1000
Shared room ~ 600
1BR ~ 1200
2BR ~ 1400

something like that!

Great post, englawyer. My priorities are mainly proximity to HLS and distracting noise. Could you give an estimate of how noisy you think it would be in the various areas? Harvard Square in particular?

[GeePee]

Anyone home from ASW yet? My interest is piqued-- I'll be there in April.

[owhlcn]

Anyone home from ASW yet? My interest is piqued-- I'll be there in April.

+1 on both counts

[Lysis]

Anyone home from ASW yet? My interest is piqued-- I'll be there in April.

+1 on both counts

Well, I'm posting from INSIDE THE BEAST, but it's been fun so far. Anyone else here but still lame enough to glance at TLS over lunch?

[DoubleChecks]

Anyone home from ASW yet? My interest is piqued-- I'll be there in April.

+1 on both counts

Well, I'm posting from INSIDE THE BEAST, but it's been fun so far. Anyone else here but still lame enough to glance at TLS over lunch?

i really hope someone will start a new thread after this weekend...a thread just about HLS ASW, told preferably in prose:D

i will not be able to attend either ASW and will have to use my imagination

[englawyer]

Anyone home from ASW yet? My interest is piqued-- I'll be there in April.

+1 on both counts

Well, I'm posting from INSIDE THE BEAST, but it's been fun so far. Anyone else here but still lame enough to glance at TLS over lunch?

hah did you post during the "snack break"? I left early as I had a prior engagement.

[englawyer]

Great post, englawyer. My priorities are mainly proximity to HLS and distracting noise. Could you give an estimate of how noisy you think it would be in the various areas? Harvard Square in particular?

harvard and central will be more noisy than the other locations. alewife would probably be the quietest. the other places somewhere in between those.

then again it matters what part of harvard sq you are talking about. if you are a bit north of the area (like where the law school is) then it is quieter there, but the heart of harvard sq could be noisy

[englawyer]

impressions so far:

Campus - smaller than i expected. the quad area is shared with engineering/science. overall the facilities were nice to decent. the library looks large and a great place to study. the dorms are literally RIGHT THERE, like a 1-2 minute walk to class. and there is also a tunnel from the dorms to the buildings...if I were single, I would live there for sure, but alas i am in a relationship.

Prospective Student Body - everyone seems generally pretty smart. there are a ton of people striving for something other than firm work. It doesn't add up that 80% of the people I talk to want to do PI/academia/etc and not corporate law, because somehow that's not the percentage breakdown of where the grads go . Looks wise, I would say its around 1 standard deviation below normal looking. very few hotties of either sex, and people that would typically be avg looking seem above median.

Competitiveness/Workload (as assessed by a panel of current students) - kind of what you make of it. if you are gunning for a supreme court clerkship, they said you better bury yourself in the books, study etc constantly. if you want a firm job, you can take it easy to some degree. the student body president said he took it easy the whole time, didn't go for journal/law review/etc and is still headed for a firm job.

Mock Class (Terry V Ohio) - kind of hard to judge how this would match up with a "real" class. no cold-calling. it seemed like plenty of people liked to hear themselves talk (perhaps a lawyer quality?). i thought the professor was going easy on the class for obvious reasons.

HLS vs $$$ - i asked as many people as possible about this question. if they had the offer, they obviously went HLS. emphasized long-term brand, and recruitment power especially ITE.

Job Prospects - I attended the academia panel, and the panelists seemed happy w/ their opportunities. two of them were academia fellows at harvard, where they get paid for 2 years of doing legal research. this is supposed to help them publish and facilitate an academic job search. most of the current students (that they showed us prospective 0L's) seemed pretty happy with their opportunities.

Negotiation Workshop - Interesting thing where your team has to choose 3 of 7 to live. It was supposed to demonstrate how negotiation skills can be used/developed. A big course/aspect of HLS first year, and seems to be one of the key differentiators. My impression is that HLS is fairly dedicated to producing great law practitioners in addition to theorists.

Food - the breakfast in Harkness was pretty good. Lots of healthy options and was very tasty..not sure about the prices because it was free.

hopefully this is a good proxy for those who can't make it. i will be doing a class visit and other stuff tomorrow as well.

[Zara]

wow thanks englawyer! that was great. please keep us posted on anything else you find interesting! I'm so wishing I could be there right now instead of stuck at my desk.

[bballfan]

Two quick questions to the 'H' admits (Congrats, btw!) and to all the 'H' hopefuls in this cycle:

1). How do you guys know when your app is at an UR status? Do you get a notification by e-mail or do you just keep checking on-line?

2). What exactly is a "JR2"? Does JR actually phone you with an offer or does he personally e-mail you an (informal) offer?

Thx in advance,

1. No UR email- you have to keep looking at your status checker. You will get a complete email.

2. A JR2 is when JR calls you for the second time to let you know that you are IN. He emails you if you don't answer.

[scubagirl]

1L procrastinating and happy to answer questions.