203: An Admissions Blog

Now or Later

2009-11-13T15:59:00Z

Dear Asha,

I am a senior in college and am planning to work or teach for a year or two after graduation. If I know I will be taking time off, is it better for me to apply now and defer, or wait until I'm ready to go to law school? If the former, how easy is it to get a deferral from YLS?

Thanks,

A.S.

Dear A.S.,

Your question is a good one, and the answer really depends on how clear your reasons are for attending law school. There are advantages and disadvantages to each option, but there is a middle ground that might be helpful.

Basically, the advantage to applying while you are still in school is that you're probably in a better position to put together your application. Obviously, you need to take the LSAT, if you haven't already, and most people probably find it easier to prepare and take the exam while they are still in school, both because they have more time to devote to it and because they are already in an academic mindset. I do see often that people who wait to take the LSAT until after they graduate find that the demands of their job don't give them enough time to study, and many students who end up working abroad encounter a lot of logistical difficulties in taking the test.

In addition, it's easier to get recommendations from professors who know you well while you are still in school. Most of the professors from whom you are likely to solicit recommendations have had you as a student within the past year or two, and so your performance in their classes are still fresh in their minds. Again, I often find that students who wait until they are out of school for a few years sometimes have difficulty getting detailed recommendations from professors, or will submit employer recommendations instead, which, in our faculty-driven admissions process, could hurt them.

Finally, applying while you are still in school and deferring just gives you peace of mind, since you have already "locked in" your plans following whatever it is that you plan to do for one or two years. It can make for a much more relaxed time period, and you can focus more clearly on whatever path you've chosen to take in that time.

On the other hand, students who wait to apply until they've had some real-world experience tend to have richer personal statements and are better able to clearly articulate their reasons for applying to law school. Often, the experiences they have had working or teaching clarify a lot of things they are passionate about and interested in, and they just have more reference points -- beyond just coursework, extracurricular activities, or summer internships -- to draw upon. In other words, students who have been out of school have the opportunity to offer a slightly more mature and nuanced perspective on how the path they have taken thus far corresponds to their future path in law school and beyond (though that will, of course, depend on the self-awareness and writing ability of the individual applicant).

One possible middle ground you can take is to go ahead and take the LSAT while you are still in school, and to also get your recommenders to write letters for you while you are still fresh in their minds. Your LSAT score will be valid for five years, and if you open an account with LSAC you can also put your recommendations on file for up to five years as well (many schools also provide a service through their career development offices that will hold recommendations on your behalf). You can then pursue whatever job you would like to take and, in the fall/spring before you're ready to matriculate, you can put together your essays and submit your application. This sacrifices the "peace of mind" point I made above, since you will have to devote some time and endure some stress during your time off applying to law school and waiting for decisions, but this path can combine the best of both worlds.

If you do decide to apply while you are still in school and defer -- and many people do this -- you should note that we have a "tiered" approach to granting deferrals. Generally speaking, we are very generous in granting one-year deferrals, provided that they are requested by our deposit deadline. You do need to make a formal request, and outline why the experience you're considering will enhance both your personal development and your legal education, but unless you're planning on living in your parents' basement for a year playing Guitar Hero, you should be able to meet this threshold. Once our deposit deadline has passed, however, we do expect a little more structure and focus in deferral requests, since at that point we have more or less finalized our class and would need to fill your spot with someone else from our wait list. So we would at that point only grant one-year deferrals on a case-specific basis.

For two year deferrals, the bar is a little higher. We generally expect requests for two-year deferrals to involve a commitment that in some way requires two years to complete. Examples of this are scholarships like the Rhodes or Marshall, Teach for America fellowships, or the Peace Corps. Other types of programs and commitments will be considered but we will want to know why you need two years, rather than one. I

I should note that if you are already working at the time you apply and are admitted, the need to stay in your current job for one or two years isn't looked on too favorably. In other words, we expect that if you have already been out of school doing something and have applied to law school, it's because you're ready to go to law school. If you think that you need more time to complete projects in your current job, get a promotion, etc., then please wait to apply until you're ready to matriculate.

We do not grant three-year deferrals except in extreme cases. In fact, the only time I have granted a three-year deferral off the bat is for military service. In rare instances I have granted an extension of a two-year deferral for personal or medical reasons, family hardship, or for academically compelling reasons, like you are just about to finish a dissertation. And, regardless of the reasons, we do not under any circumstances grant deferrals or extensions beyond three years: at that point, a student's only option is to withfraw from Yale and to reapply, and readmission is not guaranteed.

I hope this answers your question, and that you'll enjoy your time off, regardless of when you apply!

--Asha

Please email questions to 203blog@yale.edu

Accelerated Integrated JD-MBA

2009-10-23T15:54:00Z

The Law School and Yale's School of Management (SOM) unveiled a pilot three-year joint degree program last spring for students interested in an integrated law and business curriculum. At the end of the three year Accelerate Integrated JD-MBA program (AI JD-MBA), students earn both a JD and an MBA. Yale is the third university in the country to offer a three-year JD-MBA and the first do so without requiring summer classes. The summer before the first year of the program and subsequent summers during the program are open, so students can pursue internships and other employment opportunities.

"The program will prepare students for the increasingly complex intersection of business and law," said former Dean Harold Koh. "Students will master analytical and quantitative skills that will be of value for a business law-related practice but also more broadly for careers as entrepreneurs and managers in business and non-profit organizations."

The new program supplements our existing four-year JD-MBA program, one of the most popular joint degree programs at YLS. As the name implies, the four-year JD-MBA allows students to complete both degrees in four years with no summer coursework. One of the highlights of this program (and most of our other joint degree programs) is the curricular and scheduling flexibility afforded to participants. Students in the four-year program are mostly free to choose which semesters they spend at which school, as long as total of five terms are spent at YLS and three are spent at SOM. Additionally, the four-year JD-MBA is not limited to SOM. Students have the ability to pursue their MBA at a different university.

In order to compress the rigorous JD-MBA curriculum into three years, participants lose some flexibility when compared to the four-year program. Students must begin the program at YLS, where they spend their first year. In the second year, students spend both semesters at SOM, but take one class in the spring at YLS. The third year is spent at YLS. When compared to the four-year program, students lose ability to take one term's worth of electives at YLS; two when compared to non-joint degree students.

Students pay regular JD tuition in their first year, a special tuition to SOM in their second year, and a special tuition to YLS in their third year. Need-based loans taken during the semesters in which students paid tuition to SOM are eligible for SOM's Loan Forgiveness Support. Need-based loans taken during the semesters in which students paid tuition to the YLS are eligible for COAP.

Applicants interested in the AI JD-MBA must apply to both YLS and SOM. The applications can either be submitted simultaneously or YLS students can apply to the program during their first year of law school. Detailed application instructions for simultaneous applicants and YLS 1Ls can be found on our website.

More information about the three-year AI JD-MBA and four-year JD-MBA programs, as well as our other joint degrees, can be found on our joint degree page. The AI JD-MBA Program has its own site hosted by the Yale Law School Center for the Study of Corporate Law. In addition to an overview of the program and application instructions, you can view videos of professors and alumni talking about the AI JD-MBA and the benefits of pursuing degrees in law and business.

The International Festival of Arts and Ideas

2009-10-05T16:46:00Z

New Haven can be a wonderful place to spend the summer.   The campus quiets down, but that doesn't mean that the activities stop. In fact, one of New Haven's most famous events, the International Festival of Arts and Ideas takes place in June. The Festival's main stage on the New Haven Green features days of free performances that turn out the local community. Performances are also held at theaters throughout New Haven and the concerts come right up to our doorstep here at the Law School, with the courtyard providing an intimate venue for a night of music. (Check out the pictures below!)

The International Festival of Arts and Ideas just celebrated its fourteenth year, and has become renowned as one of the world's most significant arts festivals.   The Festival is a global event in New Haven. Each summer, the Festival showcases hundreds of international artists and speakers from over 75 countries in a broad array of genres.   The Festival brings U.S. premieres to New Haven, operas to the Green, internationally recognized names and dynamic, emerging, local artists to a new audience. And to top it all, much of the Festival programming is free.

The 2009 Festival, themed Global Identities/Local Heroes, featured performances by artists such as Jason Moran, the Barabbas Theater Company and the Mark Morris Dance Group. (Check out the NYT review of the Mark Morris Dance Group performance here: www.nytimes.com/2009/06/27/arts/dance/27dido.html?pagewanted=all).

Mavis Staples and They Might be Giants could be seen in free performances on the New Haven Green, along with performances by local and international artists. The courtyard concert series brought alto saxophonist Miguel Zenón, Tania Libertad, whose singing blends the Afro-Peruvian tradition with many other styles, and the international lyrical sound of Rupa & The April Fishes here to the Law School.

The Festival also brings ideas to New Haven. From conversations about the Hidden Assault on our Civil Rights and Confronting the Global Economic Crisis, to Food: Pleasure, Policy and Public Health, this year's Festival brought together an inspirational group of people from around the world to think about the challenges facing us on a local and global level. Attendees also had the opportunity to converse about the arts with novelist Frank McCourt, choreographer Mark Morris, and soul singer Mavis Staples, among many others.

Food enthusiasts were able to tour the kitchens of local restaurants and enjoy specialty dinners from the chefs.   I didn't sign up early enough, but the Flavors from Iberia to Latin America tour, featuring Ibiza, Soul de Cuba and Geronimo sounded fantastic! If you want to attend one of the dinners next year - be sure to sign up early!

To learn more about the Festival or if you plan to be in the New Haven area next summer, keep a watch on the Festival's website (www.artidea.org) for the plans for June, 2010. Once the schedule is announced, tickets for the more popular events go quickly - so sign up if you see something you like. Or you can always stop by the New Haven Green to catch one of the many free performances taking place throughout the Festival.

Welcome 2012!

2009-09-22T15:33:00Z

Welcome back to 203! I hope all of you had relaxing and productive summers. As Dean Rangappa mentioned last week, the Admissions Office has some new things in store for you this fall including our Twitter feed and e-visits/webinars. While the e-visits will mostly be targeted at specific undergraduate schools and admitted students, we'll have one or two general webinars. So if you're curious to see me, and perhaps Dean Rangappa, do our best Max Headroom impressions, follow us on Twitter and you'll be among the first to know when these are scheduled.

In a stunning feat of modernization, the rest of the Law School also joined the 21st century this summer, so you can now follow them on Twitter and become their biggest fan on Facebook. Finally, after being shamed in the 360-degree mirror by Stacy and Clinton, the YLS website will have a new look this fall. The $5,000 Visa card is exhausted, so it should be making its debut soon.

Back in the non-digital world, there are a bunch of new things happening too. The Law School recently welcomed its 198th class of students to New Haven with a multi-day orientation program designed to introduce them to Yale, New Haven, and the study of law. In addition to lectures on the American legal system, the history of legal education, and introductions to environmental, transnational, and public interest law, the Class of 2012 had opportunities to socialize at a cocktail reception at the Yale Center for British Art, an outdoor performance of Moliere's "The Imaginary Invalid," and the Law School community picnic.

The 214 students of the 1L class hail from 7 countries, 38 states, and 76 undergraduate institutions. 25% of the Class of 2012 joined us immediately after finishing their undergraduate studies, 38% have been out of college for one or two years, and the remaining 37% have three or more years of post-college experience. They hold 35 advanced degrees in such diverse subjects as economics, philosophy, Egyptology, and computer science. Before joining us at YLS, the Class of 2012 pursued a variety of jobs, activities, and careers, including:

·   professional equestrian;
·   Cantonese opera singer;
·   U.N. peacekeeper;
·   speechwriter for former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice;
·   intern for U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees in Jordan;
·   FBI lab scientist;
·   Bollywood actress;
·   weed inspector; and
·   cemetery attendant.

Welcoming the Class of 2012 on their first day was the Law School's new Dean, Robert Post. In his first convocation, Dean Post, told the new class that, "for this one astonishing moment, you are poised at the very edge of what undoubtedly will become one of the great adventures of your life." He encouraged the assembled group to reflect on what brought them to this singular place from their many diverse paths and to learn and draw strength from this diversity.

In closing, Dean Post told the class:

We shall educate you so as to empower you to become more truly
yourselves. We shall educate you to liberate your energy and your passion.
We shall educate you to endow you with the capacities to make a lasting and
important difference, no matter what your chosen field of endeavor. And we
shall educate you in this way because we believe in you. We believe in every
one of you sitting now in this auditorium.

Distilled to its essence, we offer you each the educational gift of trust.
It is a rare and precious gift. Do not waste it. Take advantage of these next
three years. If you are anything like most of the alums that I meet, these will
be among the most wonderful three years of your life-the most exciting,
the most provocative, the most transformative, the most empowering. Use
them well, and good luck.

You can read the full text of Dean Post's welcome here.

Let the Games Begin

2009-09-17T13:43:00Z

Summer's over, school has started, and we've got the ball rolling for another admissions season!

This year, we've got a few new things up our sleeve. First, we're on Twitter, at www.twitter.com/ylsadmissions. Sign up to receive our tweets or toots or whatever you kids call it these days.

Second, this fall we'll be making e-visits to many schools in addition to our regular in-person visits. That means that if you are an alum or out of town (or stuck in a boring class), you can still tune in! If we won't be visiting your school either virtually or in person, you can meet one of our representatives at a law fair or forum in your area. Check out our recruiting schedule for more details (we're still in the process of scheduling many visits, so keep checking back).

Keep up on our blog for answers to your questions, events in and around the Law School, and more irreverent advice about how to navigate this nerve-wracking process. And as always, send your questions to 203blog@yale.edu. We look forward to hearing from you!

Asha

Farewell for the Summer

2009-05-22T14:40:00Z

Well, summer is finally here so it's time for us to bid all of our 203 readers adieu until the fall. We will be back in action around the first week of September, so stay tuned! In the meantime, you can continue to send any questions you have to 203blog@yale.edu. Stay cool and don't forget to use sunblock!

Changing the Scene

2009-05-04T15:40:00Z

Dear Asha,

I am interested in transferring from my current law school to Yale. Do you have any comments for those of us who are willing to make the jump and apply to transfer to YLS? In particular, what are you looking for in a transfer applicant that you would not look for in a regular applicant (I know law school GPA/class rank is a big part of the process)? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

A.F.

Dear A.F.,

You ask a great question, since our transfer application process is somewhat different than our process for first-year students.

First, as background, we accept transfer applications from May 1 to July 1 of each calendar year, for matriculation in August of the same year as a second-year student. In order to be eligible for transfer you must have completed the equivalent of one year of law school at an ABA-accredited law school.

Unlike our regular admissions process, our transfer admissions process has one centralized Admissions Committee that reviews all of the applications together. We release all of our decisions around the third week of July; there are no rolling admissions. In order to complete a transfer application, you must submit a $75 application fee, the transfer application, a transcript with your grades for your full first year of law school, and two letters of recommendation (and yes, the application still includes the 250-word essay). Note that since often spring grades do not make it on to your transcript by our application deadline, we will accept an unofficial version of your grades (e.g., computer printout/email) for purposes of review; these will be verified through an official transcript in the event you are offered admission.

You are correct that in reviewing transfer applications, we put a lot of weight on your first term grades and GPA. Your LSAT and undergraduate GPA are not particularly relevant: this is because these are predictors of your performance in your first year of law school, and in the case of transfers we actually have your first year grades in front of us. We also place a great deal of weight on your recommendations from your law school professors; more than wanting to know the grade you received in the class (which we can obviously see from your transcript), we are interested in knowing how you performed in class discussions, the quality of your writing, and how you compared with other students in the class and in the professor's experience teaching. To this end, it is important to try to get to know at least a couple of professors personally during your first year, in order to submit the strongest transfer application possible.

We do not have a fixed number of transfers that we take in any given year. Rather, we admit the strongest applications we receive each year, space permitting, which has in recent years ranged from 5 to 15 students from institutions such as Georgetown, Harvard, Pepperdine, Stanford, Tulane, and Washington University. Generally speaking, these students were in the top 5-10% of their first year class.

As with students taken off of our wait list, students who have been accepted for transfer will have a limited window of time in which to make a decision (usually about a week to ten days). We encourage transfer applicants to visit Yale early if seeing the campus will be critical to the decision whether to accept the offer. Unfortunately, we do not have classes over the summer and most students and professors are gone, but the building and library are open to visitors. Self-guided tours are available through the Admissions Office.

Lastly, transfer students who are interested in being on the Yale Law Journal can "try out" (i.e., take a Bluebook exam and complete a writing exercise) in the first few weeks of class. Only the Yale Law Journal has a competitive process; all of our other journals are open to any interested student, including transfers.

I hope this is helpful, and I look forward to reading your application this summer!

--Asha

Bad Idea Jeans: Don't Be a Waitlist Freakshow

2009-04-27T14:31:00Z

Some of you may remember the new B.I.J. feature I introduced a couple of months ago. We'll, it's time for a new lesson, as I know many of you are on the wait list (either at Yale or elsewhere, some of this info may still be useful to you). Before we begin, I'd like you to take a brief quiz. Please watch the following clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0PUrNwvvBk

Now, choose one response that best describes your reaction:

a) I would rather be waterboarded than watch that again.

b) Give the guy a break, everyone does that now and then.

c) Why call when you can show up in person?

If you answered (a), you can probably skim the rest of this post. If you answered (b), you should read this post carefully, as you may be at risk for B.I.J. For anyone who answered (c) and is currently on the Yale wait list, please send an email to 203blog@yale.edu with your name, LSAC number, and "My answer to the quiz is (c)" in the subject line. It will be extremely helpful to me -- thanks!

So look. I get it. This is a very stressful time, and you really want to come to Yale, and you want to let us know that. But here's the deal: there is a fine line between enthusiasm and...stalker. At this critical juncture, it is important to keep the OCD in check, at least until you get your foot in the door. Here are some suggestions to help you do that:

1. Status Checks. I think you know my feelings on status checks. While it may appear at first glance that such a check would be more applicable to a wait list than for general admission, it isn't -- at least not at Yale. Your status is that you are waitlisted. We do not rank our wait list, so there's not much more to report to you than that. When I get an opening, I cull through the people we have on our wait list and select someone who I think will best complete the class as it is comprised at that moment. And no, that doesn't not mean I try to fill the spot with someone with the exact same "profile" -- that's actually not really possible to do since to get on our wait list you have to be pretty accomplished and interesting and therefore somewhat different than everyone else. Anyway, despite what the guidebooks tell you, please don't call to ask about your status. If we get an opening, and we think you'd be a great addition to the class, we'll call you.

2. LOCIs. These are actually useful. Sort of. When I get an opening in the class, I do want to fill it as soon as possible. Therefore, it's helpful to have something in the file that says, "Yale is my first choice and I will definitely come if admitted." Unfortunately, people have been known to lie on this front so I don't place a ton of weight on such letters, but the fact that you made an effort to say something does offer a feather on the scale in your favor. However, if I open the file to find several letters, odes to Yale, journal entries, head shots, etc. then you are venturing way too far into Mikeyland and really not doing yourself a favor. One. LOCI. Punto.

3. Letters of Recommendation. These are generally not as useful and won't make much of a difference in whether you are admitted off the wait list. I say this because usually the stream of LORs we get from wait list people tend to come from employers, high-ranking politicians, and other people who are probably very nice individuals but who do not carry a whole lot of weight in our admissions process. As I've mentioned before, the type of recommendations that we really pay attention to are academic references. To that end, if there is a professor whom you've blown away with your brilliance in the last couple of months (like s/he supervised a senior thesis that just won a departmental award, for instance), by all means have him or her write to us. But please do not clutter your file with a high volume of low-impact pieces of paper. Remember, what you choose to add to your file is a reflection of your judgment, and we do not want to admit people with poor judgment.

4. Supplemental Materials. Please don't. If I want to read your thesis, I will ask for it. (I have done this exactly once in my entire time as Admissions Dean -- to someone who was already admitted. He had done some mathematical modeling of traffic flow through the Holland Tunnel and, having spent a good portion of my waking hours while living in NYC stuck in that tunnel, I was curious. But that's it.) Other things -- work writing samples, video clips, news articles -- honestly, I just don't have the time. If there is a specific accomplishment about which you'd like us to know, you can send us a short -- short! -- statement indicating what it is, with a link or a polite offer to provide more information by request. Ideally, you would combine any such updates into your LOCI (see #2) so that you provide a professional, comprehensive, and concise update to your file which reiterates your interest.

5. Visits. In the event that you are offered a spot on the wait list, you need to be prepared to give an answer ASAP (within anywhere from 24-72 hours, depending on how close we are to registration day). This is not the time that we are going to be able to court you, provide travel subsidies to fly out, connect you with students and professors, etc. There are a couple of reasons for this. For one, we are trying to fill the class. Every extra day/hour/minute you take to make your decision is time that the person who is "on deck" behind you is spending making plans to enroll elsewhere (including placing deposits on an apartment, buying books, etc.). Just as you want to be able to change your plans as soon as possible, so do the others waiting with you -- please be considerate. Second, once classes are over next week, our students and professors start leaving (a lot of exams happen remotely). We just don't have people around to connect you with.

Basically, if seeing Yale in person, sitting in on classes, and talking with students will be critical to your decision to accept an offer from the wait list, the time to do these things is NOW. The only unknown piece of information (from our end) that should stand in the way of your accepting an offer from the wait list is your financial aid package, which we will try to get to you as soon as practicable after you are admitted. By keeping your name on the wait list, we assume that you have considered all the other factors and are ready to make a decision on very short notice.

6. Deferrals. We don't offer them. For anything. Punto. Again, we are trying to fill a spot for this fall. Even if you get offered a Rhodes or Marshall or some other amazing opportunity, your only choice is to turn down the other opportunity or withdraw and reapply. My advice to you, if you do get a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that will prevent you from enrolling this fall, is to take it -- you can always reapply, and your application will be richer for your experience. (If you do turn down a Rhodes or Marshall to stay on the wait list, please send an email to 203blog@yale.edu with your name, LSAC number, and "My answer to the quiz is (c)" in the subject line -- thanks!)

Oh, and one more thing. We really can't send individual confirmations for every piece of mail we receive, email or otherwise. We're not Amazon -- we're the Yale Admissions Office, with literally two people handling thousands of files. If you really need confirmation, I would recommend that you use the U.S. Postal system (the most reliable in the world) and get something called "Delivery Confirmation" for about 50 cents. If the online tracker tells you that it arrived at the Law School, then it will make its way to our office and your file. I promise.

-- Asha

Mythbusters #14

2009-04-15T13:19:00Z

Dear Asha,

I have been admitted to Yale and am a little torn about where to go. Yale has a ton of great opportunities, but I keep hearing that you should only go to Yale if you want to become a professor. I don't think this is the path I want to pursue. Would I really be out of place at Yale?

C.K.

Dear C.K.,

You ask a great question. As I mentioned in one of my previous posts, Yale grads are ubiquitous in legal academia. About 10% of all law faculty are YLS grads, and about 13% of each graduating class has entered academia five years after graduation. But while it may be tempting to conclude from these stats that Yale is only seeking and producing aspiring academics, the reality is a little more complex.

I can tell you, from the surveys we do each year of admitted students before they matriculate, that the majority of students come to Yale intending to practice law. If you check out our five-year post-graduation surveys, most students do in fact follow this path: around 60% of our graduates go to work for a firm as their first non-clerkship job, while another chunk of about 30% go into public interest jobs. About 6% -- probably the students who came in with PhDs or did joint degrees while they were here -- go directly into academia.

So why does this number double for Yale graduates so soon after graduation? It's hard to say, but one reason is, I think, that a lot of people get burned out practicing. Let's face it, if you're given the choice (as in the case of working for a law firm) of keeping track of every hour of your time, for 15-18 hours a day, and working on cases that may be of marginal interest to you or, for about the same salary, being in complete control of your life, writing about ideas that completely excite you, and having your summers off with grants for travel and research...um, which one would you choose?

Frankly, I think a lot of lawyers discover that they might prefer to be academics. The difference is that when Yale graduates make this discovery, they find that they already have a leg up in this very competitive field. For one thing, they have had a chance, through the course of their legal education, to work closely with professors to produce at least two pieces of substantial legal scholarship -- one is the Substantial Paper, and the other is the Supervised Analytical Writing (SAW). Both are papers that you work on with one-on-one supervision from a faculty member, either through a class or independent research (the difference between them is just of length). Many students have even published their papers in a journal by the time they graduate. Since a major component of being able to compete on the legal job market is to have published scholarship, Yale graduates are not starting from scratch: either they've checked off this requirement already or have something they have already spent significant time on, that they can build on.

The second advantage Yale students have is that they are not navigating this field alone. As I mentioned above, all Yale students develop at least one or two close relationships with faculty members, if by nothing else than default. So when it comes time to brush up that paper to turn it into an article, or apply for a fellowship to spend a year working on a new idea, they have a faculty contact and mentor to help guide them through the process. The professors at Yale don't get more excited than when a former student of theirs wants to follow their own chosen profession and, since we have a small school with a smaller alumni pool, they aren't inundated with requests from tons of graduates -- so they're happy to respond, give feedback, and write recommendations. Don't underestimate the value of having professors who will actually remember you personally, 3,5, and 10 years down the road!

Finally, Yale is proud of its record in placing students in academia, and to this end, we make resources available to both current students and graduates. For current students, we have a Law Teaching Series, which is a series of workshops offered each year that cover everything from how to develop a research agenda to what, exactly, a "job talk" consists of. The Series can give students who might not have otherwise considered a career in academia a window into how to pursue this path, either directly out of law school or sometime down the road. For alumni, we have for the past couple of years offered a "Moot Camp," which brings together graduates with scholarly works in progress with current students and faculty to workshop (i.e. grill) the graduate on his or her paper. Finally, for both current students and alumni, our Career Development Office offers counseling and access to resources for students interested in this field.

I've listed some of the reasons Yale graduates are successful in entering legal academia, even if it's not something they considered when they came in or during the time they were in school. In fact, even students who do intend to teach usually practice for a little while...after all, you have to be a professor of something. Going out an practicing in the real world can help give context and depth to the intellectual ideas you've been playing around with, and can make your later scholarly work more nuanced. So pretty much everyone at Yale, even those who are interested in academia, have substantive interests that they pursue through journals, extracurriculars, centers and programs, and summer jobs.

The point is that if you don't plan to be a law professor, don't worry, you'll have plenty of company at Yale. And if you decide later that you do want to become a law professor, well, you'll have plenty of company then, too. Either way, you can't go wrong!

--Asha

"This American Life"

2009-04-08T13:50:00Z

One of the perks of attending law school at one of the world's premier universities is being able to take advantage of the academic, cultural, and social resources of Yale's other schools and departments. From taking classes in other departments for credit towards your JD to spending a random Tuesday afternoon browsing at Yale's museums and galleries, the wealth of the University is available to our students. Given the Law School's central location on campus, it's easy to run across the street for an afternoon lecture at the Hall of Graduate Studies or to sneak away between classes for a lunchtime concert at the School of Music.

Another benefit of the prime real estate and beautiful facilities the Law School occupies is that we frequently host talks and lectures not directly to the law for other University departments, so taking advantage of broader University offerings is sometimes as simple as walking across the hallway after class. I blogged two years ago about NYT columnist David Pogue's visit to the Law School as the University's Poynter Fellow in Journalism. Countless University guests have spoken at the Law School since then, but students were especially excited about the recent visit of another renowned journalist.

The Law School had the pleasure of hosting a lecture by Ira Glass, award-winning producer and host of the public radio program "This American Life." The standing-room-only crowd listened on as Glass played clips from his show, spoke about the state of American journalism, and described his successful approach to developing and presenting a story.

"This American Life" has taken a different approach from the very beginning, said Glass, by "applying the tools of journalism to things so small no one was paying attention." For example, Glass said, while hundreds of the detainees have been released from Guantánamo, "none of us on our staff had heard any of them interviewed." His program decided to do a show asking former detainees such normal questions as, "How were you treated?" "How do you feel about America now?" and "What did you do to get thrown into Guantánamo mistakenly?" Through these firsthand accounts, the show was able to bring attention to the U.S. government's practice of paying bounties to individuals who turned in potential suspects in the war on terror, among other broad subjects.

After his lecture, Glass answered audience questions and offered advice to would-be journalists. He told them, "It's normal to be bad before you're good." Good stories "are not about logic, not about argument," but are about "motion."

For that end of the term cramming…

2009-03-30T20:35:00Z

Whether you are finishing up your SAW, studying for the Property final exam, or just looking for a good place to read that novel, Yale campus and New Haven have tons of places to grab a seat and get down to work.

The Law School building is an easy place to study. As law students know, if you are looking for quiet, well-lit, not-to-mention stunning place to spread out your casebooks, the main reading room of the Lillian Goldman Law Library is the perfect place to get started. You will also quickly see that the Law Library's other floors are full of little nooks and crannies where you can find a comfy chair to hide away in. To fit in a quick chapter between classes, the Law School's student lounge, alumni reading room, and dining hall are all easy places to stop. In fact, you may never need to leave the building except, of course, for study breaks.

But maybe you want to get out... Other study-friendly rooms can be found across the street from the Law School on the first floor of the Sterling Memorial Library, the main library of Yale University. The main reference reading room here is another quiet, well-lit room with rows of long tables where you can plug in your laptop and spread out your books. There is also the classic dark wood and green leather of the newspaper reading room, where you can spend your study breaks catching up on current events from your choice of U.S. and world newspapers. If you prefer total silence for concentration try the reading room upstairs in the Music Library. There you can sit under a domed ceiling at a long table or pick a nice chair in the corner of a room so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The L&B (Linonia and Brothers) reading room, with walls lined with popular fiction, offers cozy chairs overlooking a courtyard. This room is a bit on the dark side, so you may find that you get more sleeping than reading done here!

For a much more casual library scene, walk across the way to the newly remodeled Bass Library, where the entryway is crammed with tables of chatting students and a café offering treats. Step inside the library itself for a leather chair and a slightly quieter venue.

If you prefer to leave the library to do your reading, the town of New Haven, with its abundance of students, is full of coffee shops, comfy chairs, and free wi-fi. The Publick Cup (http://www.thepublickcup.com/) just down the block from the Law School offers free wi-fi and is a favorite spot for students in between class. Walk down Wall Street the other direction and you will also find wi-fi at the new, modern, Blue State Coffee (http://www.bluestatecoffee.com/) originally of Providence, RI. This is a coffee shop with a cause, which donates 5% of proceeds to charities voted on by patrons. Willoughby's (http://www.willoughbyscoffee.com/locations.php) on the corner of Grove and Church streets has been a New Haven institution since 1985. This popular coffee shop also has a newly-opened, sleek location on York Street in the new School of Architecture Building.

When the weather is nice, try Book Trader Cafe (http://booktradercafe.com/) on Chapel Street, where you will find a table to sit outside and a great sandwich. You can pick up a used book too. If your reading is light, you can always grab a bench or throw a blanket down in the Law School courtyard, or one of the many grassy areas on the Yale campus.

That should get you started with places to work - now you just have to find your favorite and get to it!

COAPin' It Real

2009-03-25T13:52:00Z

Dear Asha,

I am in the process of deciding between schools and am comparing the different loan repayment programs that some of them offer, including Yale. I'm having trouble really distinguishing the major differences between them. Can you help?

Thanks,

B.W.

Dear B.W.,

It's really important when looking at the loan repayment programs at the different law schools to be a lawyer and read the fine print. They may all look similar, but small differences in policy can make big differences in your life, and the choices you make, down the line.

I'll defer to my colleagues at other schools to explain their programs to you in detail. I can explain how Yale's program, called the Career Options Assistance Program (COAP), works. Basically, each year, the financial aid office sets a base salary, which for this year is $60,000. Any graduate making less than the base salary can have their entire imputed loan payment for the year that they are in that job covered by the Law School (as in the Law School writes you a check for your imputed loan payments for the year). If you make more than the base salary, you are expected to contribute 25% of the difference between your actual salary and the base salary (20% if you are married), and the Law School will make up the difference.

Notice that I mentioned that the $60,000 figure is a base salary, not a "cap." There is no cap under COAP. That is because your imputed loan payment will depend on a) the total amount of your law school loans (including up to $30,000 in need-based undergraduate loans); b) your interest rate; and c) your individual factors, such as your marital status, whether you have children or childcare expenses, the number of years you have been out of law school, etc. There will be a point at which every graduate will "phase out" of the program, but that point is different for each person. In other words, there are graduates who earn six-figure salaries but still receive assistance from COAP because of their debt burden and/or individual circumstances. (To see how various factors play out in calculating COAP awards, please click here.)

How is Yale's program different from most other schools'? Here are the major differences:

1. COAP is income-based, not job-based. That is, the only question COAP asks is, "How much do you earn?", not, "What do you do?" This is important because some loan repayment programs will distinguish between private and public employment, or between "legal" and "non legal" jobs. This is a tricky distinction to make -- you can be a solo practitioner, or work at a law firm in the midwest, and make only about $50-$60K a year even though you are in the "private sector." You might have a chance to work on Capitol Hill as a staffer, or be a press secretary for a politican -- and that may not qualify as "legal" work. Yale's program is designed leave any job path as an option -- we've even had someone on COAP go on to become a priest! (Note: As with most other loan forgiveness programs, COAP assistance during a judicial clerkship is given in the form of a loan, rather than a grant. This loan is subsumed in any COAP coverage following the clerkship, or is payable within one year if the graduate does not apply for COAP.)

2. COAP has no minimum time commitment. In this economy, this is SUPER important. You may have heard that some law firms have deferred their employment offers to would-be associates for one year, during which the firm will pay a stipend to do public interest work. Yale graduates who are in this situation will be eligible for COAP if they take this path, even if it's only for one year and they return to the law firm right after. Many programs have minimum time commitments of anywhere from 2 to 5 years -- if you leave your public interest job during this time, you have to pay back the money you have received. When you're just starting law school, it's tempting to feel like you know exactly what you'll be doing for the five years after law school. But trust me, it's not always so predictable so having the option to change jobs without penalty is a huge benefit. Yale graduates can also move in and out of the program, meaning that you can be covered by COAP for some time, not be covered for a while in another job, and come back again (for a total of 10 years of COAP coverage). Again, the flexibility can make all the difference in the options available to you.

3. COAP takes individual factors into account. Yale's program takes into account a number of factors which you may encounter after graduation. For example, full COAP coverage is available for up to six months of maternity/paternity leave, and part-time work is also covered. Generous deductions (in terms of computing your adjusted COAP income) are available for children, child care expenses, and spousal income and spousal loan obligations. We allow you to shelter a certain amount of liquid savings for each year you are out of law school, which allows you to build up your savings without penalty. And we don't even look at anything you are saving for retirement. The best thing is, since Yale is such a small school, anything else that comes up will be dealt with on a personal, case-by-case basis.

One final word. Every year I have a couple of conversations with students who are "committed" to working in government or the public interest, but tell me, "That's great that Yale will help me pay my loans but even so, $60,000 is not enough to [save for a house/buy a car/raise a family] etc.etc."

Here's the deal. COAP is designed to allow you to make your career choices without having to worry about paying off your loans. That doesn't mean that you won't still have some hard financial choices to make (unless of course you marry rich, which is an underdiscussed and underutilized option, but that's another post, and probably another blog). Even without loans in the picture, going into public interest work does entail tradeoffs, primarily that you'll be making a lower salary than you could potentially make. This means that yes, it might take you longer to save for a house, you may not be able to afford a live-in nanny, or you can't buy all the toys and gadgets you want, when you want to. But if fast money, fast cars, and fast men/women are what you're looking for, working at the Southern Poverty Law Center may not be the best fit. On the flip side (speaking as someone who has worked in government or non-profit her whole career), public interest work can offer you substantial responsibility, rewarding work, and a better work-life balance than the private sector. It can be a tough choice, but most people find the public interest avenue more than worthwhile.

-- Asha

Getting out of town

2009-03-09T18:47:00Z

I am a traveler by nature. Back when I was accepted to YLS, I found out in a phone call home from the border between China and Laos. -By the way, for those of you waiting to hear back from law schools, I highly recommend a similar course of action. Doing something else I loved kept everything in perspective!- Even when I was settled in New Haven as a law student, I was never one to stop finding new places to see.

I thought New Haven was a great place to study, but I also enjoyed all the ways to get out of town. I found a way to make a few trips outside of the country as a law student. I also had never lived near New York City before attending YLS, so this one hour and forty minute train ride brought a wealth of new streets and neighborhoods to explore. But for the average Saturday, when accomplishing my class reading was the task at hand, I found the small towns around New Haven to be a perfect change of scene.

A drive up or down the coast of Connecticut will land you in any number of quaint towns, each with its own unique character. I will return to some other favorites in a later blog post, but for now, I'll tell you about the town where I spent the most time during law school - Branford.

This small shoreline town, with a population of about 30,000 people, built around a small green, may not sound like much of a stop, but here you can find a quaint escape. Downtown Branford, about a 15 minute drive from New Haven, offers cute coffee shops and little boutique stores to stop in, some great restaurant finds and a town fair on the green in the summer http://www.branfordfestival.com). If you are like me, and need to keep seeing new sights, Branford is an easy first stop. (After this, you can branch out to Madison, Westport, Mystic or the Rhode Island beaches.)

For a typical Saturday afternoon in Branford during my law school days, my first stop was the coffee shop Common Grounds (http://www.commongrounds.com). Common Grounds may not be very different from many of the coffee shops around New Haven as a place to study, but I loved it because it was someplace new! You can also get a good cup of coffee and some fun desserts. During the warmer months, I spent a number of Saturdays studying at one of the outdoor tables behind the shop.

If I wanted to splurge on a nice lunch after all of those hours of studying/sun-bathing, I would walk down to the street to Foe Bistro (http://www.foebistro.com/Foe/Home.html) browsing in a few boutiques along the way. All I can say about Foe is that people in Connecticut really like their food, for even small little towns like this one have gems. This is one of the things I liked about living in New Haven, because as you may have noticed, in addition to travelling and art, I also love food. Have you ever tried a pulled BBQ duck sandwich? A bowl of soup, like sweet potato-ginger bisque, coupled with a simple baby arugula salad also makes for a perfect lunch. If you are feeling like a caloric splurge, try the bistro's macaroni and cheese.

I would be remiss in this blog visit to Branford if I did not mention the town's true hidden treasure. In a small room beside the green, you will find one of the best French restaurants outside of NYC. Le Petit Cafe (www.lepetitcafe.net) is certainly not for the average Saturday afternoon study break, but you might as well take a peek at the menu while you are in town, and make a reservation to come back for dinner with someone you want to treat. Le Petit Cafe is warm and homey, you are almost assured to meet the owner and spend two hours over dinner from an outstanding menu that changes weekly. The dinner is prix fixe and there are only 2 seatings on the weekends. Make reservations. Next stop, Westport...

Mythbusters #23

2009-03-03T16:09:00Z

Dear Asha,

I have been admitted to Yale, as well as to a few other schools. I'm very excited about my Yale acceptance, but one of the things I keep hearing is that Yale is very "theoretical" and that I won't be able to get a lot of practical experience there. Is there any truth to this statement?

P.M.

Dear P.M.,

Ah, yes. The old "Yale is too theoretical" schtick. I remember when I was deciding between schools and found myself in the company of a Yale student and a Harvard student arguing over which was better. The Harvard student said, "Come to Harvard, you'll learn what the law actually is." And the Yale student replied, "But at Yale, you will learn what it ought to be." Then they started exchanging Heidegger jokes, which I found creepy and weird so I left.

My initial reaction is to say that this stereotype is hogwash, in that if you are looking at a handful of schools in the same tier which are all attracting the same general caliber of students, the level of theoretical discussion at those schools will presumably be very similar. That is, I seriously doubt that while the Yalies are contemplating life and the law over lattes, students at its peer schools are busy memorizing the Rule Against Perpetuities (which, by the way, there is no point in learning because you'll get it wrong on the bar anyway).

But let's assume, for the sake of argument, that Yale is a place filled only with theory heads. So you run screaming to some other law school, only to find out that 10% of law faculty in the United States are all Yale Law School graduates and that many of the people teaching you are still theory heads. You then further discover that the current deans -- the ones actually driving the legal academy boat -- at the following law schools are all YLS grads: Boston University, Brooklyn, University of Chicago, UCLA, CUNY- Queens, Drake University, Florida International University, Gonzaga University, Hofstra University, Georgetown University, George Washington University, University of Hawai’i, University of Illinois, Inter American University of Puerto Rico, University of Iowa, Lewis & Clark, University of Miami, University of Minnesota, University of Michigan, UNLV, University of New Mexico, University of Northern Kentucky, Northeastern, Northwestern, NYU, University of Pennsylvania, Rutgers, University of South Carolina, Southern Methodist University, University of Tulsa, University of Utah, University of Virginia, and the University of Vermont.

It's kind of like the TV series V, where people think they are surrounded by ordinary humans, only to discover that most of them are actually giant man-eating lizards from outer space, disguised as humans. In other words, we will hunt you down and teach you anyway no matter where you go, so why not just come here and take advantage of the free booze and buffalo wings on Fridays?

That's not to say there aren't legitimate points of comparison. Is there more discussion in class, overall, at Yale than at some of its peer schools? I think so -- with an average class size of under 20 students, it's natural that the dynamic of many classes will tend more towards a collaborative conversation, rather than an extended Socratic dialogue with one or two students (though you'll find that, too, in the larger classes). Are discussions more focused on policy rather than doctrine? Possibly, depending on the class. In most classes at Yale, you have the option to write a paper, rather than take an exam. A lot of students utilize this option, not only to fulfill their writing requirements, but because it gives them an opportunity to work closely with a professor and explore a subject in depth -- and possibly even publish their work in a journal. So class discussions are a way for students (and professors) to flesh out the ideas that they are working on outside of class. Do Yale students really sit around a campfire and sing about unicorns while braiding flowers in each other's hair? Occasionally. The point is that it's important to look at the real differences underlying the broad-brush stereotypes -- smaller classes, lots of interaction with faculty, celebration of mystical animals -- in making your choice between schools.

As far as the whole "practice" thing, I'm not sure where that comes from, since there are arguably more opportunities to get hands-on experience here than almost anywhere else. We've outlined Yale's numerous clinics in a previous post. The clinics, which range from direct client services to appellate advocacy, are open to students beginning in their first year; about 80% of Yale students do a clinic before they graduate, and about 40% do more than one. Further, under CT law, first-year students can actually appear and present cases in court, under the supervision of a practicing attorney. Put it this way: you know that scene in Legally Blonde where Elle cross-examines a witness and wins her first court case? The only place where that could have actually happened is at Yale. In fact, Legally Blonde was originally set to take place at Yale Law School, until some boob denied the movie filming rights here. (I can only guess that this is the same person who thought it would be a fabulous idea to have Yale featured in the worst Indiana Jones movie ever made...the free booze on Fridays helps you to forget these more minor differences.)

We Yalies are certainly complicit in perpetuating the "Aw-shucks, the law? What's that?" stereotype that seems to surround the institution. And I can't guarantee that there's not a Yale Law grad out there somewhere who believes that a tort is a rich cake with a creamy, delicious frosting. But if you come visit, talk to the students and professors, and see the range of opportunities we have to offer, you can make an informed decision about whether Yale has the right theory/practice balance for you. I just hope you like s'mores!

--Asha

Sold!

2009-02-25T16:33:00Z

The Law School recently played host to one of its more unique community events when The Initiative for Public Interest Law at Yale held its annual public interest auction. The public interest auction is one of several fundraisers conducted during the year by The Initiative, which uses the proceeds to fund public interest work around the globe.

The auction relies on goods and services donated by BAR/BRI (a bar prep company), law firms, the New Haven community, and YLS students, faculty, and staff. Items are first offered in a silent auction. If you missed the announcements, you'll know the auction has begun when a quarter of the main hallway is lined with tables full of bidding sheets. Items with bids over $100 are then moved to the live auction, held during our Friday happy hour in the Dining Hall. There are always a few items which inspire heated bidding wars, so the event is entertaining for participants and spectators alike.

Some of this year's more unique items on the auction block included:

a day sail on Long Island Sound for five people on a 27 foot sailboat;
a dinner party for six, cooked by a former professional chef;
poker lessons from the winner of the 2008 World Series of Poker;
an original three-minute play on a theme of the winner's choosing;
lunch with two New York Times legal reporters;
a guided sea-kayaking excursion;
four box seats to a Yankees game;
poker night for five at the home of Professors Chua and Rubenfeld;
Italian feast for six at Professor Calabresi's farm;
two Scrabble games with Professor Ellickson; and
a beer tasting at the home of Professor Meares with award-winning theater writer and director Tina Landau.

The Initiative is a student organization which provides start-up funds to innovative non-profit projects that may have difficulty obtaining money from more traditional sources due to the subject matter or approach taken by the project. Non-profit projects submit grant proposals to The Initiative, which then chooses projects based on a multi-round selection process. One-year grants of up to $30,000 are then distributed to the selected projects. Past grant recipients include projects that aid female asylum seekers who are escaping gender-based violence and torture; develop and bring impact litigation to combat source-of-income discrimination in Maryland's housing market; provide legal services to NYC's growing elderly LGBT population; and develop and implement curricula and advocacy materials on patient confidentiality for use by health care professionals in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Malawi.