This pic stuff is so confusing. I never sent in my 2x2. So, now I guess I have to do the 3x5. But is it supposed to be a 3x5 headshot?? Or, just a regular 3x5 where im part of the pic? How would they get the dimensions to work? Also, how do I check the pixels and dpi?

I wouldnt care if everyone didnt keep reminding me that the pic would be used for EVERYTHING for 3 YEARS.

UGH!!! For me this pic has been the frustrating thing about dealing with CLS.

zOMG pix

I got an email today saying my picture was technically incorrect, so after a great deal of playing around I got it to 3x5 with a high enough resolution and they wrote me back saying that it looked distorted.

The worst part about 3x5 is that it isn't even a standard photograph size, so no crop tools have that as an automatic dimension.

And you can check the pixel width and height by looking at the properties for the file and going to the "Details" tab in Vista (I'm sure it's similar in other versions of Windows too but I don't remember).

yup yup. Now if you cant help me with it, begone.

What is pixel width exactly? Im looking at a standard photo and it says it 980 pixel width. I dont get this AT ALL.

Im using Microsoft picture manager and its not working out.

Paste the pic into MSWord and use the rulers to resize it to 3x5 maybe?

It's the number of dots that make up that edge of the picture. What I would do if I were you:

Go to http://www.peterw.000webhost.com/resizor/ and download the Resizor tool. It's a smart (content aware) tool to add pixels to an image. (And only like 4 MB)

Tell it to leave the aspect ratio the same so you don't distort the picture (don't unlink the little chain button) but to make the width a lot more pixels (like 3,000+ since they said it needs to be at least 2,000 and you may not be able to crop it).

Save that (it will be as a bitmap), open it in either Windows Picture Viewer or Google Picasa and save a copy as a JPEG

Send it to them like that and say you don't have a tool that can crop to 3 x 5, so can they please help.



Granted I'm not sure they've accepted my third submission yet, but that will at least give you a picture with as many pixels as they want.

Gators, thanks alot. Im going to try that tomorrow. Why is this such a headache??

I'm not entirely sure. They could certainly have made it much easier by requesting a standard picture size (say, 4x6) instead of 3x5. And for the life of me I can't figure out what they are doing that they need a photograph with that high of a resolution for, I don't mind my student ID being a little blurry and I assume the picture for the seating chart is little anyways.

I was just reading back through what I missed while away- for anyone who isn't sure if they have done everything they need to do for financial aid, email the office and ask. I had thought I was all set before my trip but emailed just to check, and they had a list of tasks that I might never have stumbled upon by myself. I'm pretty sure the 5 different websites/login names and assorted random things that need to get done are our first test of the semester- "Let's see if they can handle a little stress and hassle like responsible adults" or something...

Since we are on the topic of financial aid, did anyone notice that in the Financial Aid section of the Admitted Students Handbook, under Important Dates to Remember, for July it says "Entering grant recipients submit Grant Data Sheet, biographical sketch, and resume to FAO."

I don't think we've received these items or notification of where to obtain them. Is that correct?

The grant form was one of the things finaid emailed me about that I hadn't heard of yet- go to http://www.law.columbia.edu/login?redirect_=401&global.redir_url=%2Fcurrent_student%2Fgrantform%3F, log in with "grant" as the ID and "form" as the password, and it will take you right to the form. Make sure you have a copy of your resume that you can cut and paste into the form, and have fun writing your biography (especially after reading the sample one).

Thanks. That thing was definitely made unnecessarily obscure.

Did the email mention when we have to get this done by?

So for the resume that we are supposed to include, should we put Columbia Law School under Education? I read somewhere that we're not supposed to put anticipated degrees until we are actually start attending classes there...

I opened the resume that I uploaded to LSDAS, copied and pasted it, since nothing has changed since app season for me. If you have had any different jobs since then, or graduated from something, you'd probably want to change it to reflect that. I don't think they're too worried. And from what I've heard, don't worry about updating your resume to include Columbia stuff until November (which is the earliest the career office is allowed to talk to us about 1L summer jobs).

I finally gave up. Im just going to have to take my chances with the pic they take of me. FUGLY pic here I come!

Same here. I don't even think my digital camera's up to snuff. I just got tired of the poor publications guy telling me repeated that my picture's been rejected.

On the bright side, UAH finally got back to me on housing! They pretty much gave me the exact opposite of every single one of my preferences, but at least I won't be homeless. 2Ls/3Ls, can anyone give me the scoop on the building on 108th (the same one dinolove's in)? All UAH can tell me is that it's an unfurnished apartment share next to central park.

Also, does anyone know how much an average month's worth of utilities w/ a/c will be in Manhattan? I need to re-do my budget since this place is much more expensive than I requested.

Aw, good that you got a place, M, but it sucks that it isn't what you wanted. At least if you hate it it's only for a year...

That sucks, M. Based on the location you'd think it should be one of the cheaper places. (It seems to get cheaper as it gets more remote from the law school.) It's shared, you say? Weird.

I'm sorry, I can't give you any info on the building (haven't been there) nor on utilities (since they are included in my rent), but the neighborhood is nice.

M, I´m on 108th as well, probably the same building. I´m also a little bugged by it, but at least we are right on the park.

A little off topic, but have all you guys filled out the MMR form yet? I just read somewhere that it's supposed to be in 1 month before classes start?

Also, if I didn't get an e-mail telling me that my picture was rejected, does that mean I'm good? please say yes

Ugh, MMR form was a pain in the ass because you need a healthcare professional to sign it, and getting to my doctor is a chore. I'd get that done soon.

Lenfest studio off the waitlist, ballin

I wonder how safe that area is at night... since we'll probably be walking back from the library late at night, alone, at least fairly often during finals prep.
Also, will we need to bring our casebooks to class? (or, will we actually need to bring our casebooks back to our apts?). Hauling heavy books 20 blocks each day would not be fun.

Hmm, that's a good question regarding casebooks. I think unless you plan to do all your readings in the library, you'll probably need to bring them back to your apt. As for bringing them to class, I have seen CLS students carrying casebooks in Jerome Greene, but I don't know if it's because they were bringing them to class or between their lockers and the library.

is there anyone else whose loans still haven't been approved (and submitted your loan application before May 15th)?