<p>Is there any evidence at all to suggest that Yale's pressure-alleviating and very "lenient" (to an extent of course) grading system of "Honors, Pass, Fail" is given any less respect from top firms than the standard GPA/Rank system at HLS?</p>
<p>Personally, I'd worry about crossing that bridge only if you get to it. If you can get admitted to both Yale Law and Harvard Law, then that's when you should worry about what firms think about the two. If you can't get into one or both of them, then the difference between the two doesn't really matter.</p>
<p>However, in direct answer to your question, I don't think there is any evidence that firms on the whole give less respect to Yale Law grads than Harvard Law grads. Yes, there may be some firms that prefer the 'red-meat' approach of Harvard, but there are other firms that prefer the softer approach of Yale.</p>
<p>One thing that firms may cause a few firms to shy away from Yale Law is the predeliction of Yale Law grads to not want to work in firms, in favor of other career paths, like academiia, clerkships, or politics. This jives with the reputation of Yale Law for admitting people whose ambitions extend beyond just becoming law firm partners. Hence, maybe I can see firms shying away from Yale Law graduates because they're scared that they'll quit to go run for President (that's an exaggeration, but you know what I mean). Maybe. However, even if that's true, I doubt that that would be a good reason to turn down Yale Law.</p>
<p>Thanks. And just for the record, I'm still a rising senior...in high school =)</p>
<p>But I have full intent to go straight to law school after undergrad.</p>
<p>Sakky,</p>
<p>I wish to become a professor of jurisprudence at a law school (or ethics at a philosophy department). Should I be aiming more for Yale than Harvard? Will Harvard provide me with the same academic prospects as Yale - provided I perform well?</p>
<p>just wondering - how would you go about "aiming" for one versus the other?</p>
<p>Good question, which I was wondering about when I initially posted. I have my heart set on attending Harvard, and I will most likely not even apply to Yale; however, if Yale provides me with a better chance for fulfilling my goals, then I might as well apply. I am attempting to ascertain whether attending one over the other will affect one's chances at being able to teach one day.</p>
<p>"I have my heart set on attending Harvard, and I will most likely not even apply to Yale"</p>
<p>regardless of where you have your heart set on attending or which of these two you think will better prepare you for your intended career, i hope you you are taking a broader view in your intended law school applications. a preference for harvard is not in and of itself a reason to eliminate other schools from your application list.</p>
<p>
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a preference for harvard is not in and of itself a reason to eliminate other schools from your application list.
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<p>I am well aware of that. I plan to apply to nearly every school in the top 15. I am in no way assuming that somehow my acceptance is a given. What I am inquiring about is whether Yale is worth an application in terms of the advantage it provides for a career in legal academia.</p>
<p>nspeds: In general, Yale Law is known more for legal academia than Harvard Law. I would suggest applying if you are seriously considering a career in that aspect.</p>
<p>The way I see it is, both Harvard and Yale are such crapshoots that if you're going to apply to one, you might as well also apply to the other in order to maximize your chances of getting into at least one. You might say that Harvard is a better fit for you than Yale and so you're not going to apply to Yale - but what if you then get rejected from Harvard?</p>
<p>How much are applications to these schools?</p>
<p>Expensive.</p>
<p>Well, it depends on your economic status and how many schools you apply to. One or two applications shouldn't be too much, or unfeasible for most people. On the other hand, 15 apps -you better start saving now.</p>
<p>Saving and working. But applying to over say 20 schools or so, i would say even 15, is probalby rediculous, unless you have 10 on the uc app and then 10 on the common app. Still, the common app suppliments are another issue. Try to choose schools a good range of schools that you would attend, a few that will most definetly accept you, a few that will probably accept you, and a few that will probably not accept you.</p>
<p>"I am well aware of that. I plan to apply to nearly every school in the top 15."</p>
<p>don't forget something not in the "top 15" - its always good to have a safety.</p>
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don't forget something not in the "top 15" - its always good to have a safety.
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<p>Of course:)</p>
<p>If one qualifies for Harvard or Yale in terms of stats, would their chance of acceptance at this institution not lead lower-ranked institutions to reject them?</p>
<p><a href="http://leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2005/04/more_evidence_o.html%5B/url%5D">http://leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2005/04/more_evidence_o.html</a> (You need to scroll down)</p>
<p>I have heard of the 'admissions game', but I never thought it would be present in Law Schools.</p>
<p>Re: cost.</p>
<p>Law school applications cost between $50 and $80 each. Then, you have to pay $10 to LSDAS (Law School Mafia) per school. You do get one school free with your $99 registration fee. The LSAT is about $120, exclusive of practice materials. </p>
<p>If you do well on the LSAT, schools will send you fee waivers for the application. I highly recommend taking advantage of them - I did better with schools that sent fee waivers than ones that did not. Also, it's only the postage and the $10 to LSDAS at that point.</p>
<p>There are other costs associated with applying to law school, such as visiting schools, interviewing (I applied to 14 schools, interviewed with 3, and was offered an interview at another), resume paper, sending things certified mail if you are paranoid like me, LSAC fora, etc. Not to mention that you might end up having to send in a deposit to one school while waiting on others - and the deposits are a few hundred dollars. </p>
<p>Re: admissions game. </p>
<p>I think it does get played - a lot - and I wish I had known to what extent it does get played. One school accepted me when I called up to enquire about the status of my application - acceptance on the spot. Other schools had waitlisted me (probably after not hearing from me for a few months!) and then asked all waitlisted students if they were interested in staying on the w.l. Just my experience.</p>
<p>Considering the cost of law school not only in tuition but also in terms of opportunity cost (those are 3 years you could have spent working and making money), the cost of additional law school applications are really a drop in the bucket. The way I see it is, if you're going to be racking up 6 figures worth of debt in law school anyway, you might as well spend a few more hundred and apply to a few more top law schools. Who knows - you might get in. Obviously that doesn't mean applying to Yale Law if you have a 3.0/150, but I would say that if you have any reasonable chance at all in getting into a top law school, you should try for it. Honestly, what have you got to lose? It's better to have too many applications than not enough.</p>
<p>Agreed. Furthermore, given the additional jobs that a top school could provide you with, it might be a very sound investment. </p>
<p>It does take quite a bit of time to apply to schools, research them, etc - which is why I suggest not trying to do that during senior year.</p>
<p>I am already intimidated; ah, the Byzantine process awaits.</p>