KSG - HLS
The Grass is Always Greener
Issue date: 10/31/07 Section: Features
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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 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. 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.
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