turning down yale

[The Other Ken]

So Mike (the guy from ASW?) has decided to go to SLS?

[letylyf]

Apparently. I'm happy for him, it seems like Stanford is a great school (although the feeling is not mutual, boo hiss Stanford admissions), but we all had a lot of fun at the YLS ASW...

[245]

Yep, I'm headed to Stanford this fall!  I was really sad to withdraw from Yale, but in the end, the personal factors didn't work out, and I think SLS is a slightly better fit for my personality.

I had a lot of fun at the YLS ASW.  All of you Yale LSD'ers (prolesurge, nerdphanie, letylyf, forthefunofit, szerena, stuart, denny, ken, etc.) are an awesome, intersting, and very accomplished bunch.  If anything, it would've been fun to attend YLS just to be at the same school as you all.  Definitely let me know if you're ever in the Bay Area!

[letylyf]

Congrats then, it sounds like the best decision for you, though it makes me sad we won't be classmates. Just don't get pregnant and drop out, kay?

[245]

I'll keep that blue folder as a warning.    So you want to end up in DC after law school?

[letylyf]

Do that

Well... it's my favorite city in the country. I'll probably go wherever the job I want is, though, and at this point I'm not thinking it's going to be in government.

[moglidabear]

Since this thread seems to have become the Yale admitted-student listserv, can you all tell me a little bit more about what you learned during Admitted-Students weekend and what ultimately sold you on the place?

I think I am back down to 60%, 40%. Made the mistake of thumbing back to the IILJ website, and the program sounds awesome.
http://www.iilj.org/degrees/IILJScholars.htm

I know that I would enjoy Yale Law on account of both my spectacular classmates (shout out to the LSD crew), small class sizes and grading; I know that I could get a lot of face time with professors, and I know that I would place well after graduation...

However, what I wonder is what I'd actually be learning, and how much I would enjoy the experience. No one seems to talk about Yale's teaching when they talk about how much they love  the place.

So after meeting professors and sitting in on courses, what are your thoughts on Yale classes and teaching?

[Denny Crane]

Since this thread seems to have become the Yale admitted-student listserv, can you all tell me a little bit more about what you learned during Admitted-Students weekend and what ultimately sold you on the place?

I think I am back down to 60%, 40%. Made the mistake of thumbing back to the IILJ website, and the program sounds awesome.
http://www.iilj.org/degrees/IILJScholars.htm

I know that I would enjoy Yale Law on account of both my spectacular classmates (shout out to the LSD crew), small class sizes and grading; I know that I could get a lot of face time with professors, and I know that I would place well after graduation...

However, what I wonder is what I'd actually be learning, and how much I would enjoy the experience. No one seems to talk about Yale's teaching when they talk about how much they love  the place.

So after meeting professors and sitting in on courses, what are your thoughts on Yale classes and teaching?

I'm not sure how people can love their spectacular classmates, small class sizes, unconventional grading, and be able to have lots of face time with professors and NOT be in love with the teaching there.  In your first semester you'll already have a small section with just 15 or so other students, meaning you're having seminar-style courses from the moment you step foot on campus.  Not to mention you're having those classes with some of the best professors in the country (Amar, Ackerman, Koh, Days, Chua, etc). 

I think everything you mentioned goes hand-in-hand w/ teaching and the overall learning experience, which current YLS students have univerally lauded when I've spoken to them about it.

[letylyf]

I sat in on a property class and what appealed to me the most about it is what Yale is (in)famous for: an emphasis on the theory of the law, instead of just jumping into case after case after case. The professor spent a good 15-20 minutes at the beginning of the class discussing the social implications of a particular situation before even mentioning the case that had been the assigned reading. He also showed a slide show

Compared to the other law classes I've sat in on, I'm positive that I would benefit more from this theoretical approach. I'm also sure that it's not putting you at a disadvantage, as some people like to claim. Most of your training for whatever you do will be on the job no matter which school you go to.

On the tour of the school I took, our guide took us up to the floors with professors' offices just to make a point of showing us an open door... haha, maybe that was contrived, but even as an admit the professors were very approachable. Anyway, if you're going to study law, it doesn't seem like you can go wrong with studying law there.

[A.]

Since this thread seems to have become the Yale admitted-student listserv, can you all tell me a little bit more about what you learned during Admitted-Students weekend and what ultimately sold you on the place?

I think I am back down to 60%, 40%. Made the mistake of thumbing back to the IILJ website, and the program sounds awesome.
http://www.iilj.org/degrees/IILJScholars.htm

I know that I would enjoy Yale Law on account of both my spectacular classmates (shout out to the LSD crew), small class sizes and grading; I know that I could get a lot of face time with professors, and I know that I would place well after graduation...

However, what I wonder is what I'd actually be learning, and how much I would enjoy the experience. No one seems to talk about Yale's teaching when they talk about how much they love  the place.

So after meeting professors and sitting in on courses, what are your thoughts on Yale classes and teaching?

It's impossible to generalize about the teaching, except to say that it's great.  And I can say that it's great because what's "great" depends on what you like, and there are teachers and teaching styles for everyone.  I personally hate classes that are nothing but successive student musings, with little professorial input.  Some people love that, though.  I like classes (such as the Property with Ellickson, mentioned above), that are efficiently run and solicit student input to advance the lecture, not to entertain tangents.  Other students hate that, finding it to be too cold.  But the great thing is there are both types, and more, at YLS.  And with the online class review system (that includes detailed student comments), it is incredibly easy to find out which professors are more likely to mesh with your learning style. 

I will also say that, since everyone is required to write two faculty-supervised papers at Yale, there is an understanding that faculty will be willing to work with students on their projects.  I'm not sure that you will find that at most other schools.