Best Law School: Yale or Harvard?

<p>I had always thought Yale Law school was by far the best in the world but someone told me Harvard was better citing its 6 alumni on the supreme court as opposed to Yales 2 and its higher starter salary than yale. What do you think?</p>

<p>In my opinion, its not really comparing one to another</p>

<p>When I think Yale immediately there’s Harvard, Princeton, other Ives</p>

<p>Then the technicalities, personal opinions, stats, etc. etc. comes in =)</p>

<p>Princeton doesn't have a law school. HTH.</p>

<p>Haha, it's actually pretty funny. As Tilghman noted, whenever people are asked what the best law schools are in the US, Princeton's always in the top 5.</p>

<p>Which is funny when you consider it doesn't have a law school...just a kicka$$ undergraduate program (and a few schools like WWS that allow cross-registration with YLS, etc).</p>

<p>Whenever you venture into the upper echelon of law schools (Harvard, Yale, Stanford) there really is no point to debate. Wherever you choose to study law, you will recieve a first-class education and will be making money like no other.</p>

<p>Princeton used to have a law school, but got rid of it ages ago</p>

<p>Harvard graduates roughly 550 students per year, while Yale graduates roughly 180 students annually. (If those numbers are off, please correct me.) That alone explains the disparity in Supreme Court justices. Also, you're looking at the ones currently on the bench, not over all time. </p>

<p>The difference in class sizes is one of the reasons that Yale is slightly more selective than Harvard; it just takes fewer people who apply.</p>

<p>I've heard that Yale is more theoretical than Harvard - not sure how to describe it, because it was not described well to me. Just a thought.</p>

<p>I'm with the posters who think that there is not much of a significant difference between Y and H. If you are one of the few that actually has to make a decision, I imagine that you could make it based on "fit" - which school clicks with you more. Given that about 100,000 to 150,000 people take the LSAT every year and Yale accepts only a few hundred people, tops, I don't think there's much point in debating until the decision is there to be made.</p>

<p>Yale and Harvard law schools approach the law in very different ways; and, yes, Yale is much more theoretical in its approach than Harvard (or most, if not all, other law schools, for that matter). In my experience, fewer applicants than you would think apply to both of these two programs, perhaps because they are so different.</p>

<p>Yale is more theory-based, I will confirm this. It's more of a law degree to have one. I'd most people who go there do not actually go into law practice, but rather other fields. Anyway, Yale is the better school, I'd say. It's the top. Harvard and Stanford are close behind, but Yale is still the best. On a side note, 550 at Harvard in a class does sound right. Yale is a lot smaller.</p>

<p>I do not think there is really any difference - both are CLEARLY top law schools and I would be glad to get into either of them.</p>

<p>Doesn't Yale not have grades or something or am I mistaken? Now that would be nice.</p>

<p>I hate the fact that Yale does not grade. How do you know who's smarter than someone else at Yale? Harvard does however, which is awesome because you can say you were summa cum laude from harvard law wheras at Yale you can only say you graduated from Yale.</p>

<p>Harvard all the way baby.</p>

<p>Yale grades on a Honor, Pass, Low Pass, Fail basis. You would know your standing based on that ( that's if you ever get to sit in a Yale Law class, LOL.)</p>

<p>
[quote]
I hate the fact that Yale does not grade. How do you know who's smarter than someone else at Yale? Harvard does however, which is awesome because you can say you were summa cum laude from harvard law wheras at Yale you can only say you graduated from Yale.

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<p>At that point, I don't think it really makes much of a difference.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Yale grades on a Honor, Pass, Low Pass, Fail basis. You would know your standing based on that ( that's if you ever get to sit in a Yale Law class, LOL.)

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</p>

<p>I thought it was Honors/Pass/Fail.</p>

<p>
[quote]
I hate the fact that Yale does not grade. How do you know who's smarter than someone else at Yale? Harvard does however, which is awesome because you can say you were summa cum laude from harvard law wheras at Yale you can only say you graduated from Yale.

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</p>

<p>Much of the pressure in law school comes from a competitive atmosphere. Yale's lack of a grading system probably reduces significantly the competitive atmosphere typical at law schools, and thus reduces pressure. I would rather have a relaxed three years, rather than hell.</p>

<p>Never mind:</p>

<p>
[quote]
Grades for all degree students are:</p>

<p>Credit: the course has been completed satisfactorily; no particular level of performance is specified.</p>

<p>Honors: work done in the course is significantly superior to the average level of performance in the School.</p>

<p>Pass: successful performance of the work in the course.</p>

<p>Low Pass: work done in the course is below the level of performance expected for the award of a degree.</p>

<p>Failure: no credit is given for the course.</p>

<p>Requirement Completed (RC): indicates J.D. preparticipation in Moot Court or Barristers’ Union.

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<p><a href="http://www.yale.edu/bulletin/html/law/grades.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.yale.edu/bulletin/html/law/grades.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I personnaly think stanford is the best overall. Its in a better location and also has a laid back quality of life.</p>

<p>
[quote]
I hate the fact that Yale does not grade. How do you know who's smarter than someone else at Yale? Harvard does however, which is awesome because you can say you were summa cum laude from harvard law wheras at Yale you can only say you graduated from Yale.</p>

<p>Harvard all the way baby.

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<p>Yeah, but what happens if you graduate last in your class at HLS? After all, SOMEBODY has to graduate last. In that case, because class rankings are computed and printed on your transcript, anybody who looks at your transcript would see that you graduated last in your class. In that case, you would be far far better off if you had gone to YLS. After all, it's far better to graduate last in your class at YLS (because it's hard to figure out who really graduated last) than to graduate last at HLS (because everybody will know).</p>

<p>it seems that if someone favors summa cum laude so that you know who is on top, he is probably not worrying about being last. also youd think if he is concerned that one can't prove himself smarter than another, he probably wouldn't envision himself being on the losing end of that matchup very often.</p>

<p>I agree that he probably isn't worrying about it, but he should. After all, I am quite certainly that few if any people who are going to HLS or YLS are thinking that they are going to be last. Yet the fact is, somebody has to come in last. </p>

<p>Maybe I'll make the example less extreme. Tautologically speaking, half of all HLS and YLS law students will graduate in the bottom half of their class. You might be in that half. I would rather be in the bottom half of a YLS class than in the bottom half of a HLS class.</p>