It is also possible for HLS students to maintain some anonymity from their fellow students if they wish, students say.

"Harvard Law School's size affords much more of an opportunity to find your own niche within the school comprising of people who share similar interests," Ahsan says.

In addition, having a larger student body enables HLS to offer a larger quantity and variety of courses. According to The Official Guide to U.S. Law Schools published in 1999, Harvard offers 240 law courses, while Yale offers only 140.

"Sure, there are real advantages to being small," says Robert W. Gordon '63-'67, a professor at YLS who is also a Crimson editor. "But because of the riches of the place, the enterprising Harvard student can find lots of small courses or seminars there as well."

Making the grade

Harvard and Yale law schools have very different grading methodologies. HLS follows the traditional letter grade system, giving students grades ranging from A+ to F. At Yale , students are usually given grades of "honors," "pass," "low pass" and "fail." First semester students are graded solely on a pass/fail system, in which students say it is virtually impossible to fail.

The New York Times reported last month that a faculty committee at HLS is considering adopting a grading system similar to Yale's in the very near future. This committee is being advised by an outside consulting firm.

"The stress level at Yale is certainly much less than at other comparable law schools. This is largely because of the grading system or lack thereof. How hard you work is largely up to you," Ahsan says.