Harvard v. Yale?

[Eveman in Ingmarland]

I'm so glad this thread exists. I got into HLS last week, and, typical me, my surprise and excitement quickly wore off as I began wondering about Yale. Should I apply? Would I get in? Would I even choose it over HLS?

I'm still not sure whether or not I will apply, but I'm fairly sure that I'd end up at Harvard either way(although I haven't admitted it to anyone else yet). There's something about Cambridge, the history, and the fun of dropping the H-bomb (Yale definitely doesn't have the same impact). Horrible reasons, I'm sure, but at least the decision will be made.

Wow.

Haha. I didn't think my reasoning was THAT bad.

Your reasoning was fine. It was the high-order melodrama that took my socks off. Like something out of Jane Austin. Or "Guiding Light." Especially that last line. Although I'd add a 'To be Continued' and, possibly, an ellipsis. Or at least a teaser for your next post.

[nikegrrlvj]

I'm so glad this thread exists. I got into HLS last week, and, typical me, my surprise and excitement quickly wore off as I began wondering about Yale. Should I apply? Would I get in? Would I even choose it over HLS?

I'm still not sure whether or not I will apply, but I'm fairly sure that I'd end up at Harvard either way(although I haven't admitted it to anyone else yet). There's something about Cambridge, the history, and the fun of dropping the H-bomb (Yale definitely doesn't have the same impact). Horrible reasons, I'm sure, but at least the decision will be made.

Let me be the first to say, the kids at Yale support your decision

And let me say that I support their (your?) decision to stock up on pepper spray.

?

Oh jeez.. was that not intended as an insult?

[Eveman in Ingmarland]

I'm so glad this thread exists. I got into HLS last week, and, typical me, my surprise and excitement quickly wore off as I began wondering about Yale. Should I apply? Would I get in? Would I even choose it over HLS?

I'm still not sure whether or not I will apply, but I'm fairly sure that I'd end up at Harvard either way(although I haven't admitted it to anyone else yet). There's something about Cambridge, the history, and the fun of dropping the H-bomb (Yale definitely doesn't have the same impact). Horrible reasons, I'm sure, but at least the decision will be made.

Let me be the first to say, the kids at Yale support your decision

And let me say that I support their (your?) decision to stock up on pepper spray.

?

Oh jeez.. was that not intended as an insult?

Galt goes to Yale. The only jokes he can tell with any real proficiency involve polo and yachts.

[Kirk Lazarus]

 

So true

[Max Fischer]

I was with you until the last part.  Well, ok, I'm not smart enough to understand the sentence that precedes the last part, but I jumped ship at the last part.  There's a million reasons to prefer Harvard over Yale.  Yes, most people who have the choice tend to go to Yale.  But Yale isn't necessarily the better choice if: you hate New Haven, you really care about IP/internet stuff, you want to do a JD/MBA, you have family reasons to be in the Boston area, you want school leadership that is more politically balanced (at least in its hiring), you want a more comprehensive 1L curriculum, you like the idea of more faculty or more class options, you like ice skating or volleyball, you are certain you want to work internationally, you care how many books are in the library system, you want the motivating factor of grades, you appreciate the institutional history of being where modern law school education was invented, etc.  These aren't equally good reasons to prefer Harvard over Yale, but they are reasons.  If you really care about some of them, you might be better off, ex ante, at Harvard.

Eh, poorly written and hard to parse, but I thought the point would be clear since you're a philosophy guy.  We both agree that uncertainty drives many prospectives to Yale.  Your reference to risk aversion implies (or at least so it seems to me) that you think that, in doing so, they're employing a decision-making process that doesn't equally account for the pluses and minuses of each possible outcome, scaled to probability.  Maybe they don't--but I think they'd end up in the same place if they used a standard expected utility calculation.

Agreed that personal reasons or particular academic focus could tip the balance in favor of H.  I just don't think that ends up happening very often.

[Bananas, Melonas, Yeah]

So the idea is that going to Yale is 'less risky' than going to HLS, presumably in terms of career prospects?

[Eveman in Ingmarland]

I was with you until the last part.  Well, ok, I'm not smart enough to understand the sentence that precedes the last part, but I jumped ship at the last part.  There's a million reasons to prefer Harvard over Yale.  Yes, most people who have the choice tend to go to Yale.  But Yale isn't necessarily the better choice if: you hate New Haven, you really care about IP/internet stuff, you want to do a JD/MBA, you have family reasons to be in the Boston area, you want school leadership that is more politically balanced (at least in its hiring), you want a more comprehensive 1L curriculum, you like the idea of more faculty or more class options, you like ice skating or volleyball, you are certain you want to work internationally, you care how many books are in the library system, you want the motivating factor of grades, you appreciate the institutional history of being where modern law school education was invented, etc.  These aren't equally good reasons to prefer Harvard over Yale, but they are reasons.  If you really care about some of them, you might be better off, ex ante, at Harvard.

Eh, poorly written and hard to parse, but I thought the point would be clear since you're a philosophy guy.  We both agree that uncertainty drives many prospectives to Yale.  Your reference to risk aversion implies (or at least so it seems to me) that you think that, in doing so, they're employing a decision-making process that doesn't equally account for the pluses and minuses of each possible outcome, scaled to probability.  Maybe they don't--but I think they'd end up in the same place if they used a standard expected utility calculation.

Agreed that personal reasons or particular academic focus could tip the balance in favor of H.  I just don't think that ends up happening very often.

High GPAs/LSATs drive people to Yale, not uncertainty. Risk-aversion isn't really applicable here since we have not really established, at least not to my satisfaction, that H is somehow riskier than Y.

We only account for possible outcomes we envision as possible, and frequently fail to consider/anticipate things that, realistically, we should when conducting a cost/benefit analysis. Also, we suck at scaling anything to probability. My guess would be that the desire for exclusivity is ultimately what tips the balance in favor of Y over H for most people who are presented the choice between them.

[Quis Custodiet]

I can't imagine there's a huge advantage either way, in terms of career prospects.  I'm torn down the middle of them.  I love Harvard for it's huge incoming class; I love Yale for it's small incoming class.  One the one hand I like Yale's edge towards clerkships and academia, on the other, I almost want to be graded.  I don't care if I'm first or last in the class (right now, seeing as I have no law school debt and my future career is as plastic as....never mind), but something appeals to me about knowing if I beat the exam or if it took me out. 

I like the fact that anyone who got into Yale had to write a 250; but I like the sheer number of people at Harvard. 

But we'll see.  I'm just grateful--and disbelieving--that I get to make this choice at all.

[Bananas, Melonas, Yeah]

I was with you until the last part.  Well, ok, I'm not smart enough to understand the sentence that precedes the last part, but I jumped ship at the last part.  There's a million reasons to prefer Harvard over Yale.  Yes, most people who have the choice tend to go to Yale.  But Yale isn't necessarily the better choice if: you hate New Haven, you really care about IP/internet stuff, you want to do a JD/MBA, you have family reasons to be in the Boston area, you want school leadership that is more politically balanced (at least in its hiring), you want a more comprehensive 1L curriculum, you like the idea of more faculty or more class options, you like ice skating or volleyball, you are certain you want to work internationally, you care how many books are in the library system, you want the motivating factor of grades, you appreciate the institutional history of being where modern law school education was invented, etc.  These aren't equally good reasons to prefer Harvard over Yale, but they are reasons.  If you really care about some of them, you might be better off, ex ante, at Harvard.

Eh, poorly written and hard to parse, but I thought the point would be clear since you're a philosophy guy.  We both agree that uncertainty drives many prospectives to Yale.  Your reference to risk aversion implies (or at least so it seems to me) that you think that, in doing so, they're employing a decision-making process that doesn't equally account for the pluses and minuses of each possible outcome, scaled to probability.  Maybe they don't--but I think they'd end up in the same place if they used a standard expected utility calculation.

Agreed that personal reasons or particular academic focus could tip the balance in favor of H.  I just don't think that ends up happening very often.

High GPAs/LSATs drive people to Yale, not uncertainty. Risk-aversion isn't really applicable here since we have not really established, at least not to my satisfaction, that H is somehow riskier than Y.

We only account for possible outcomes we envision as possible, and frequently fail to consider/anticipate things that, realistically, we should when conducting a cost/benefit analysis. Also, we suck at scaling anything to probability. My guess would be that the desire for exclusivity is ultimately what tips the balance in favor of Y over H for most people who are presented the choice between them.

That's what I was thinking.  People choose Yale over Harvard, because...it's Yale.

[Eveman in Ingmarland]

That's what I was thinking.  People choose Yale over Harvard, because...it's Yale.

Yeah, I don't know why they're making this so complicated... people do a lot of things just because.