HKS vs. HLS: The Grass Is Always Greener
by James Ahlers on October 31, 2007 in Features
Being a joint-degree student inevitably requires me to answer the question, “What is it really like over there?” The question is tricky, because comparing the schools requires me to make generalizations about the students that some of you might not appreciate. My sound-bite response has always been something like, “HLS is more intellectually rigorous and KSG is more fun.”
I know that this answer is grossly subjective if not just plain silly. Yet when asked, I feel compelled to give an answer, perhaps because the HLS part of me wants to appear smart and the KSG part of me wants to be popular. At the risk of failing on both counts, I will attempt to give a more thoughtful answer.
One major difference is the curriculum. Both programs require you to learn the nuts and bolts of law and policy before you deconstruct and critique the underlying theories. Much of what you learn early in law school seems esoteric, however, while the KSG core is intended to have broad application. At KSG, you have to understand the economics of price controls before you can argue for the minimum wage. At HLS, you have to know what the rule against perpetuities is before you can argue that it is necessary to limit restraints on the alienability of real property. (Trust me, it is.)
The key to getting the most out of both schools is the same: it is understanding that, more than anything else, you are learning the habits of a critical mind. Nonetheless, the differences in that learning process can be great. Law school is famous for cold-calling, which most KSG students regard as sadistic. The professors can be intimidating and sometimes downright harsh. I once witnessed a professor tell one of my classmates, “You should go back and doublecheck your LSAT score.” But you learn quickly to come to class prepared and to keep your comments brief and on point, lest you be labeled a “gunner,” the derogatory law school term for students who simply must share their every brilliant thought. KSG students and professors tend to be more tolerant of ambling discussions, which occasionally drives the HLS part of my brain to distraction.
The great thing about KSG discussion is that, invariably, someone in the class has professional experience that bears on the topic at hand. KSG students tend to be older and have more life experience than HLS students, and the courses capitalize on this both through group discussion and team projects. Learning the law is largely a solitary enterprise. You can and should participate in study groups and seminars in law school - and those informal discussions about the law are among the greatest intellectual joys of HLS - but the day-to-day learning at KSG is refreshingly interactive.
The stress level is another difference. The HLS experience of having your entire grade for a course riding on a single exam puts the fear of God into you in a way that the infinitesimal odds of getting less than a B-minus on a KSG paper cannot. The constant barrage of assignments and midterms at KSG may make it feel busier during the term, but the exam period feels like vacation compared to HLS.
Then there is the physical environment. The HLS law library is truly spectacular, so much so that after three years, I still get goose bumps when I climb the stairs to the fourth floor reading room. They also recently got a collection of free DVD rentals, erasing their one shortcoming relative to the KSG library, which a KSG classmate of mine has described as worthy of a third-rate community college. KSG has the Forum, though, which for all its chaos provides a central gathering place that I have yet to find at HLS. HLS has a beautiful student commons and cafeteria - did I mention we have our own bar? - but the Forum possesses a unique energy.
All these observations are generalizations filtered through the narrow lens of my own experience. The multitude of paths available at both schools means that you could do the same program I did and see it altogether differently. Whatever your path, I hope you experience at least one thing just as I do: that at least once a day, as you walk across campus, you smile and think how lucky you are to be here.
Comments
Got something to say?
