November 2008 - Posts
Dear Asha,
I recently received a letter inviting me to apply to YLS (thank you!). However, I've applied early decision at another school, from which I have not yet heard. Should I still apply to Yale?
Thanks,
L.B.
Dear L.B.,
For those readers who don't know, most early decision (ED) admission programs are programs in which you apply by an early application deadline -- say, November 15 -- and are guaranteed an admissions answer by an earlier date as well. In return, you make a commitment to attend that law school in the event you are admitted. In effect, you are making an advance enrollment commitment by applying ED to that school. (Students who are not admitted in the ED pool are generally deferred to and re-reviewed in the regular application pool.)
Generally speaking, Yale makes admissions decisions later than most schools, and almost always after the ED decision date at most schools. Further, we honor ED enrollment commitments made by applicants. So, when we receive the list of names from our peer schools of people who have been admitted ED (yes, we get this information), we automatically withdraw those applicants from further consideration. From our point of view, if an applicant has already decided that his or her first choice is another school, has been admitted to that school, and has made a commitment to attend that school, it doesn't make sense to continue to use our resources to evaluate their application.
Every year, when I review the list of people we are withdrawing from consideration, I see applicants who are doing extremely well in our process and, sometimes, applicants who have in fact received the requisite scores to be admitted but who just haven't been notified yet. I always wonder whether those students would have applied ED to another school if they knew how good of a chance they really had at getting into Yale. Of course, I'll never know, and neither will they. Sigh.
So, L.B. to answer your question, the answer is, it depends. If you really know that your ED school is where you want to go, but still want to put in applications elsewhere in the event that you are deferred to the regular pool at your ED school, go ahead. Just know that you probably won't hear back from us before your ED school and, if you do get in to that school, we'll immediately withdraw you from further consideration.
If you are now second-guessing your top choice school and want to wait to receive an answer from Yale before commiting to a school, you should contact your ED school to see whether they can defer you to the regular pool now, before they make a decision on your file. I think that most admissions committees would prefer you to be honest now rather than offer you an ED spot and then have you waffle about your commitment afterwards.
Whatever you decide to do, I wish you the best of luck. And to all of our 203 readers, Happy Thanksgiving!
--Asha
Please email questions to 203blog@yale.edu.
Those of you who have spent time browsing our website are probably familiar, at least passingly, with the many centers and programs at YLS. By my count, eleven such organizations are currently sponsored by YLS. Centers and programs serve as intellectual hubs within the School that attract faculty, students, practitioners, and visiting researchers and scholars, interested in a particular area of the law. They extend the traditional classroom curriculum by sponsoring lectures, speaker series, workshops, and research projects. Several also sponsor internships and fellowships open to YLS students during the summer and after graduation.
The centers and programs cover broad subject areas such as public interest law (Arthur Liman Program), corporate law (Center for the Study of Corporate Law), and environmental law (Center for Environmental Law and Policy), as well as more narrowly focused areas such as Chinese legal reform (The China Law Center), international human rights (Schell Center for International Human Rights), and the impact of information technologies on law and society (Information Society Project). A full listing of the centers, programs, and projects at YLS can be found on our website under "intellectual life."
The newest program at YLS is the Law and Media Program (LAMP). Formed in the last year, LAMP attracts students, scholars, journalists, and policy makers studying and working in the intersection of law, media, and journalism. It sponsors conferences, lectures, summer internships, a lunchtime speaker series, and it lobbies for law and media-related additions to the curriculum. In LAMP's inaugural year, we're pleased to have two alumnae return to YLS to work with LAMP and to enrich the intellectual life of the School. Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Linda Greenhouse joins us as the Knight Distinguished Journalist-in-Residence after spending nearly three decades covering the US Supreme Court for The New York Times and Emily Bazelon, a Senior Editor at Slate, returns as the Truman Capote Fellow in Writing and Law.
YLS has a long history of involvement with the media community, primarily through our Masters of Studies in Law (MSL) program. The MSL program is a one-year degree program for mid-career journalists interested in a firm grounding in legal studies. Graduates of the program include Linda Greenhouse, Charlie Savage (The New York Times and another Pulitzer Prize winner), Charles Lane (Washington Post), and Barbara Bradley Hagerty (NPR). Of course, alumni of the JD program have also made significant contributions to journalism and to law and media policy. Some of them include Jeff Greenfield (CBS News), Steve Brill (founder of Court TV and The American Lawyer), Joel Hyatt (CEO of Current TV), Floyd Abrams (a partner at Cahill Gordon & Reindel and a leading practitioner of First Amendment law), and Reed Hundt (former FCC Chairman).
The new Law and Media Program gives a formal home and renewed focus to the law, media, and journalism endeavors (sorry, Asha) at YLS. If you're interested in journalism, media and communication policy, or studying the intersection of law and media, LAMP offers something unique: the ability to get not only a world-class legal education, but also to gain access to leading journalists like Linda Greenhouse and an alumni network rich with leaders in the field of law and media.
Fall in New England means crisp air, multi-colored crunchy leaves and apples. Yes, winter may be just around the corner, but this time of year is really worth the cold weather later. There is nothing quite like a beautiful, sunny New England fall day. It is a must in New England to head out of town to see the fall colors or spend a free afternoon at one of the local orchards filling up a bag with apples picked right off the tree. I try to go at least once every fall.
There are numerous farms, both small and large to choose from, but this year I headed to Lyman Orchards in Middlefield, Connecticut. (http://www.lymanorchards.com/) It took about half an hour to reach Lyman's from the Law School and the drive was beautiful. Did I mention how pretty the fall colors are this year?
My first piece of advice about Lyman's, particularly if you are a student with a more flexible weekday schedule, is to go on a weekday afternoon. My friend and I went on one of the nicest Saturdays of the fall, and it seemed like most people living in southern Connecticut had the same idea! It was crowded, to say the least. Lines wrapped around every turn, and I think there may have been more children at Lyman's that Saturday than down at Disneyland.
We started at the Apple Barrel, the orchard store and deli. Undeterred by the long line, we picked up a sandwich at the deli counter and made a picnic of it at one of the outdoor tables. I ordered the very tasty "Crispin," a grilled chicken sandwich with sliced apples, cheddar cheese, red onions, lettuce and a cider glaze that really makes it. You also probably won't be able to resist an apple cider donut or piece of freshly baked apple pie. We tried one of each! The store is full of other goodies, from apple cider and sauces, to gourmet cheeses and baked goods. There are, of course, also many varieties of apples. I recommend the Macoun.
After filling up, we took off down the hill to try the corn maze. (No, we did not have children with us, but who doesn't love a corn maze?) A portion of the proceeds from the maze go to the American Cancer Society. Thus far, Lyman Orchards has donated $203,865. For the trivia lover, the staff will let you take a trivia card upon entering the maze. Correct answers tell you which way to turn at markers throughout the maze, so there is less time spent wandering lost in circles. (Assuming, of course, you know the correct answers.) Walking back up the hill from the maze the tantalizing sweet and salty smell of kettle corn filled the air. We resisted the temptation.
We opted instead for a warm cup of hot cider back at the Apple Barrel before heading to our car. You may have noticed that we hadn't picked a single apple yet! Yes, there were orchards to be found with apples of all varieties, a little further down the road. I came home with a bag full of Macouns, along with applesauce, two apple pies, a loaf of apple spice bread and a couple of donuts - after all I only make it once a year. It was a great time, but next year I am coming back on a Tuesday!
