Rutherford B. Hayes, Barack Obama and Bob Graham once walked the halls of Harvard Law School, and in September, seven University of Florida graduates will walk them too.
Toby Stock, former assistant dean of admissions for HLS, interviews thousands of applicants each year, but he only calls about 10 percent of them to offer them a spot at the most esteemed law school in the nation.
Only about 9 percent of the admitted students at HLS come from the southeast.
The admitted Gators include Krysten Rosen, Danielle D'Oyley, Jason Gross, Elizabeth Akerman, Freddy Williams, Hilary D'Angelo and a 2008 UF graduate, Keely O'Malley.
"I'm not surprised by the numbers," Stock said in an e-mail. "UF is a great school with some very talented kids."
Stock served as assistant dean of admissions for HLS for the past three years and personally welcomed the newly accepted class of 2012 - the last class he admitted - by phone call.
Some accepted students got the call as early as November, while most other law schools don't admit or reject students until spring, according to www.top-law-schools.com. But the early acceptance works as a way to hook students on the idea of Harvard and reel them in, according to Gross.
"I found out so early that by the time I got accepted to other really great schools, like Columbia, I was already pretty set on Harvard," Gross said.
But the accepted earned themselves spots at HLS by submitting focused personal statements, maintaining at least a 3.9 grade point average, staying involved on campus, receiving valued teacher recommendations and scoring a 172-177-out of 180-on the Law School Admissions Test, which fall within the top one percentile in the country.
D'Oyley, who served as a Student Government senator for district D at UF, was especially excited when HLS became a possibility.
"Harvard has always been my dream school, and I was rejected from there for undergrad," she said. "I still have to dig up that rejection letter."
Michael Heaney, UF assistant professor of political science, who has also taught at other well-respected schools like Yale, Northwestern and Georgetown, helped educate many of the accepted students on current controversies in public policy. Rosen, Gross and D'Oyley said his teachings inspired them for the future.
"I always had a strong sense that these students were going somewhere," Heaney said.
But these days, somewhere doesn't come cheap, as HLS tuition can add up to $120,000 over three years compared to in-state UF Levin College of Law of only about $30,000.
Akerman said her plan was always to go to UF for undergraduate school and then go to a private law school. Gross had the same idea.
In the current economic climate, the accepted students must take out loans - a stark contrast to being more or less paid to go to UF.
"It's such a long term investment that will allow me to do great things," Rosen said.
Harvard claims that the nearly six-figure salary each HLS graduate will earn in their first year out of law school should allow students to pay back loans in no time, according to the HLS Web site. Yet, even with the high tuition, freezing weather, the sleepless nights and the Socratic method lurking in the students' minds, the idea that other Gators will be by their side has somewhat calmed the storm, Akerman said.
Their varying involvement offers HLS a well-rounded part of the Gator Nation, too.
Rosen spent her time as an undergraduate researching with the Graham Center for Public Service, D'Oyley found her safe haven in SG, Gross spent his days as a member of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity, D'Angelo invested her time in community service and Akerman was an involved member of Phi Mu Sorority.
"Some people joke that I'm the Elle Woods," Akerman said. "But I'm not blond, which is a very good thing."
UF pre-law adviser Sara Mock said between one and nine UF students are accepted to HLS each year.
Sarah Woodberry, a 2009 UF graduate and first year HLS student, said she finds time for social activities, and aside from more reading assignments, she doesn't find the workload frightening or overwhelming.
But the seven still have their doubts about law school's ease they said.
"I think we can all do it," Rosen said. "But I might be singing a very different song in August."
