HLS ASW #1 Forum

(Where, When and What Did You Think)
Post Reply
User avatar
4thand9

Bronze
Posts: 130
Joined: Thu Jun 11, 2015 1:11 am

HLS ASW #1

Post by 4thand9 » Sun Apr 03, 2016 6:27 am

Didn't see a thread like this (besides just C/O 2019 thread), so I figured I'd start a specific on topic thread for it.

What are some thoughts on the first ASW for Harvard? Any surprises or other takeaways? Or just general stories.

At least for me, the whole prestige/brand hits you in the face less when the crest isn't on every surface imaginable (of course this didn't stop the usual verbal steam of "HLS is da bomb" lol). Actually kind of helpful when trying to look at Harvard without getting a bit too swayed by things like that.

A food-filled two days for sure, busy busy.

Thought the financial aid presentation had some oddly presented figures and some less than responsive answers to student questions, but won't go into super specifics (PM if you want).

Of course the Reclaim HLS movement was present and really has some insightful opinions on H -- not just its past but also what changes for the future.

Other people's thoughts? (Met plenty of people who used TLS haha)

User avatar
WinterComing

Silver
Posts: 729
Joined: Fri Nov 06, 2015 11:10 am

Re: HLS ASW #1

Post by WinterComing » Sun Apr 03, 2016 7:54 am

At the total risk of outing myself, I was one of the people who asked a question during the SFS powerpoint. I'll agree that I thought the presentation was somewhat misleading. For instance, the projected ROI figures based on getting a 3 percent raise from $160,000 every year for 30 years is just not how legal careers usually work.

Beyond that, I really loved the weekend. The moot court with the profs was a ton of fun. I was impressed with the breadth of offerings in general, from clinics to career services. And the mock class was the most fun thing ever, which confirms a little my decision to go to law school if not to go to Harvard.

Ultimately, I'm not going to make this decision based on visits, but I enjoyed this one. And yeah, it was great meeting other TLS people. Hilde was practically a celebrity.

robotrick

Bronze
Posts: 156
Joined: Fri Jun 06, 2014 11:53 am

Re: HLS ASW #1

Post by robotrick » Sun Apr 03, 2016 9:45 am

I'm disappointed that they're still doing that awful SFS presentation. I brought up my concerns to them at my ASW 3 years ago (which they totally ignored). The whole thing is a farce, and, as you said, they brush off student concerns. The lack of honesty and transparency put me off the school a bit... but obviously not enough to change my mind on attendance.

User avatar
4thand9

Bronze
Posts: 130
Joined: Thu Jun 11, 2015 1:11 am

Re: HLS ASW #1

Post by 4thand9 » Sun Apr 03, 2016 2:11 pm

WinterComing wrote:At the total risk of outing myself, I was one of the people who asked a question during the SFS powerpoint. I'll agree that I thought the presentation was somewhat misleading. For instance, the projected ROI figures based on getting a 3 percent raise from $160,000 every year for 30 years is just not how legal careers usually work.

Beyond that, I really loved the weekend. The moot court with the profs was a ton of fun. I was impressed with the breadth of offerings in general, from clinics to career services. And the mock class was the most fun thing ever, which confirms a little my decision to go to law school if not to go to Harvard.

Ultimately, I'm not going to make this decision based on visits, but I enjoyed this one. And yeah, it was great meeting other TLS people. Hilde was practically a celebrity.
Yeah the whole "let's take a median salary year 1 and project 30 years of 3%" was odd. A few of the graphs were similar kind of "what?" moments. I was not too impressed with the answers to questions, but hey.

Your point about visits in general is spot on. Also my Mock Class was really cool, but that's because I'm a sucker for legal history (Brown v Board).

Haha didn't meet Hilde (I don't think), but definitely talked to a surprising number of people who are on TLS, even if they don't post.

spammingrobot

New
Posts: 44
Joined: Sun Nov 01, 2015 3:32 pm

Re: HLS ASW #1

Post by spammingrobot » Mon Apr 04, 2016 1:09 pm

I thought the events were generally fantastic, particularly the moot court and mock class. But I was slightly disappointed by the panels and especially disappointed with the financial aid info session. I was hoping that the ASW would convince me that it's okay to take out loans and pick HLS over a full merit scholarship at other schools, or at least leave me with a few concrete reasons to do so, but that info session left me even more unsure than I was going into it.

Want to continue reading?

Register now to search topics and post comments!

Absolutely FREE!


User avatar
slippin_jimmy

Gold
Posts: 1958
Joined: Mon Jul 06, 2015 5:15 pm

Re: HLS ASW #1

Post by slippin_jimmy » Mon Apr 04, 2016 2:57 pm

Also chiming in to say that I thought the SFS presentation was not super informative - if you weren't looking for information about LIPP. For the LIPP-inclined, I thought it was a great insight into the structure of the program and how it stands apart from (and in my opinion, is better than) some other LRAPs I am personally considering.

But yeah, SFS presentation wise overall, seemed like a weird vibe.

User avatar
Hildegard15

Gold
Posts: 2161
Joined: Wed Aug 05, 2015 6:26 pm

Re: HLS ASW #1

Post by Hildegard15 » Sun Apr 10, 2016 1:33 pm

WinterComing wrote: Hilde was practically a celebrity.
8)

I think that's a sign that you should come join me at Harvard. :wink: The TLS contingent at ASW was awesome, and probably my favorite thing about ASW.

On a more serious note, I personally didn't enjoy Harvard's ASW as much as Columbia's. I thought they didn't do a great job of structuring their events. I didn't like that I could only choose two of the panels on the first day. The presentation from SFS actually made me feel worse about choosing HLS over schollies elsewhere. However, on the plus size, I was really struck with the myriad opportunities HLS offers. There were SPOs and clinics offered in SO MANY different areas.

User avatar
jbagelboy

Diamond
Posts: 10361
Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2012 7:57 pm

Re: HLS ASW #1

Post by jbagelboy » Sun Apr 10, 2016 2:02 pm

Mock classes at ASWs are not at all like actual class. I hope you guys attend actual classes when you're visiting as well! Usually there's a list of professors who have volunteered to make their sessions available.

User avatar
gamerish

Gold
Posts: 3128
Joined: Fri Dec 19, 2014 12:37 pm

Re: HLS ASW #1

Post by gamerish » Sun Apr 10, 2016 6:01 pm

Hildegard15 wrote:On a more serious note, I personally didn't enjoy Harvard's ASW as much as Columbia's. I thought they didn't do a great job of structuring their events. I didn't like that I could only choose two of the panels on the first day. The presentation from SFS actually made me feel worse about choosing HLS over schollies elsewhere. However, on the plus size, I was really struck with the myriad opportunities HLS offers. There were SPOs and clinics offered in SO MANY different areas.
Echoing all of this (except the SFS thing, which I somehow managed not to go to...?)

Want to continue reading?

Register for access!

Did I mention it was FREE ?


User avatar
tflan19

Bronze
Posts: 399
Joined: Sun Mar 08, 2015 3:29 pm

Re: HLS ASW #1

Post by tflan19 » Sun Apr 10, 2016 10:32 pm

gamerish wrote:
Hildegard15 wrote:On a more serious note, I personally didn't enjoy Harvard's ASW as much as Columbia's. I thought they didn't do a great job of structuring their events. I didn't like that I could only choose two of the panels on the first day. The presentation from SFS actually made me feel worse about choosing HLS over schollies elsewhere. However, on the plus size, I was really struck with the myriad opportunities HLS offers. There were SPOs and clinics offered in SO MANY different areas.
Echoing all of this (except the SFS thing, which I somehow managed not to go to...?)
Totally agree. I wanted to have an "ah hah" moment so badly but it just wasn't happening. I don't know how they could handle it any better with the number of students in attendance but it all felt a little impersonal and like we were being herded around. I was really impressed with the students that I met, enjoyed my brief interactions with professors, and was in awe of their clinical and extracurricular offerings. It just made me very wary of the class size and how that might impact my experience.

User avatar
WinterComing

Silver
Posts: 729
Joined: Fri Nov 06, 2015 11:10 am

Re: HLS ASW #1

Post by WinterComing » Mon Apr 11, 2016 12:50 am

tflan19 wrote:
gamerish wrote:
Hildegard15 wrote:On a more serious note, I personally didn't enjoy Harvard's ASW as much as Columbia's. I thought they didn't do a great job of structuring their events. I didn't like that I could only choose two of the panels on the first day. The presentation from SFS actually made me feel worse about choosing HLS over schollies elsewhere. However, on the plus size, I was really struck with the myriad opportunities HLS offers. There were SPOs and clinics offered in SO MANY different areas.
Echoing all of this (except the SFS thing, which I somehow managed not to go to...?)
Totally agree. I wanted to have an "ah hah" moment so badly but it just wasn't happening. I don't know how they could handle it any better with the number of students in attendance but it all felt a little impersonal and like we were being herded around. I was really impressed with the students that I met, enjoyed my brief interactions with professors, and was in awe of their clinical and extracurricular offerings. It just made me very wary of the class size and how that might impact my experience.
That's a good point about the class size. I wasn't worried about that at all going in, since compared to my huge undergrad 600 in a class seems small. But the ASW crowd was so huge and unwieldy, I worried going to school there would feel the same way.

AshburtonGrove

New
Posts: 92
Joined: Wed Jul 01, 2015 10:40 pm

Re: HLS ASW #1

Post by AshburtonGrove » Mon Apr 11, 2016 5:57 pm

The dorms were...depressing, to say the least. Perhaps I was spoiled by my undergrad, but it doesn't seem like housing is going to be the best, especially with how expensive Cambridge is.

Register now!

Resources to assist law school applicants, students & graduates.

It's still FREE!


Post Reply

Return to “Law School Visits”