But, he adds, the downside is that students must motivate themselves.

Many HLS students say they are not great fans of their school's system.

"The difference between a B+ and an A- literally tends to come down to the professor's mood, or what paper got read before yours," says Kimberley A. Isbell, a third year HLS student.

Due to the grading system and general perceptions, many think HLS students have a much heavier workload--some say unmanageable--and a higher level of competitiveness than those at Yale.

"Admittedly, I don't feel I have that much extra time and energy for work beyond the classroom, but from what I hear from people I know at Harvard, I do have more time than I would there," says Elizabeth F. Emens, a first year law student at YLS.

Students at HLS say that this heavy workload and level of competitiveness is not the fault of the institution but is due to pressure students put on themselves.

"If you're the type of person who closely reads every word, highlighting in 10 different colors, I don't see how you can take a full course load and still have a life," Isbell says. "If you're willing to skim--and in some cases skip--the reading, it's manageable."

Jonathan S. Freimann, a second year HLS student, says that even though he sees HLS students studying 12 hours a day, there is no reason they need to do this. "They're doing that to themselves," he says.