Columbia Law School 2012! Forum

[jessicaw]

oooo columbia email address. i cant wait.

[06132010]

Ahh I just got my Columbia E-mail address!

+1 YAY!

This is after sending the enrollment deposit, yes?

Yeah, I sent my deposit about two weeks ago after the admitted student program.

[Skadden Stairs]

So I'm assuming you're all in the Columbia Grad School network now? It would be the Objection thing to do.

[frank_the_tank]

So I'm assuming you're all in the Columbia Grad School network now? It would be the Objection thing to do.

Aren't you?

Loser.

[Skadden Stairs]

So I'm assuming you're all in the Columbia Grad School network now? It would be the Objection thing to do.

Aren't you?

Loser.

no deposit=no email=>no network.

[06132010]

So I'm assuming you're all in the Columbia Grad School network now? It would be the Objection thing to do.

Haha, of course.

[frank_the_tank]

So I'm assuming you're all in the Columbia Grad School network now? It would be the Objection thing to do.

Aren't you?

Loser.

no deposit=no email=>no network.

Better send that crap in~

[paranoidjet]

I posted earlier that I got an "insane" amount of money from Columbia and received a deluge of private messages asking me to clarify. My package was 75K worth of scholarships, and I can't even begin to impart how blessed this makes me feel.

A couple of notes regarding this:

- Part of their package to me involved Perkins loans as a part of my overall debt load. No other school offered this, and while the total size of the Perkins loans aren't massive it's still even less to worry about.
- This package was given to me at least in part based upon the fact that I submitted all of my financial aid award data to Columbia as it became available from other schools. This was made explicit in a note that was handwritten on my Columbia award notice.

I really can't express how wonderful these schools have been to me in regards to giving out aid. For some reason I received way, way more than my profile should suggest - I'm not really special in any way and my numbers are solid but not extraordinary.

[whyamidoingthis]

Ahh I just got my Columbia E-mail address!

+1 YAY!

This is after sending the enrollment deposit, yes?

ummmm I enrolled weeks ago and I didn't get jack today except a reminder about admitted students' days. I feel seriously neglected and like I might be on the wrong mailing list.

[Prodigy]

paranoidjet,

That is amazing, congrats! I wasn't sure if asking for $$ amounts was taboo, so thanks for sharing.

Ahh I just got my Columbia E-mail address!

+1 YAY!

This is after sending the enrollment deposit, yes?

ummmm I enrolled weeks ago and I didn't get jack today except a reminder about admitted students' days. I feel seriously neglected and like I might be on the wrong mailing list.

I have yet to receive a financial aid packet or a school e-mail addy, so cheer up, you're not alone!

[Frank]

.

[paranoidjet]

Is anyone concerned about job prospects...I mean, I know Columbia is a great school, but if the jobs aren't there, they simply aren't there (I specifically mean Big Law jobs to help service the loans). How do you all feel? I know we are all 0Ls, but honest opinions are appreciated...

I think that's a great question, Frank. To answer it, I feel that each and every law student should be scared, yes. Not scared AWAY necessarily, but I think there are signs that the legal market's troubles are exacerbated rather than caused by the poor state of the economy. A couple of points, however:

First, based on what I'm seeing, if you think you want to do Biglaw, I'm not sure that there's anyplace better than Columbia. Certainly YHS might well be as good, but in terms of sheer output Columbia really can't be matched. The point isn't that Columbia can hang with these schools, the point is that the farther up the rankings you go the better you may be able to keep your "head above water" so to speak, and I think Columbia may be sufficiently prestigious that you can afford to take the gamble.

Second, I think that the comments regarding the necessity of Biglaw to pay for your loans disregards the extraordinarily generous LRAP program that Columbia offers. I'm not knowledgeable enough to spout details off the cuff, but it can even hang with NYU's phenomenal deal and after having ran some numbers I believe that you can make a good living for yourself with a Columbia education even if you don't participate in Biglaw, especially if an LRAP program is supplemented with usage of the IBR payment plan for your government loans.

The US will always need lawyers, the question however is where these lawyers will be working, and whether or not you can be flexible in terms of the jobs you will accept. I think the smart thing to do in this economy is to have low expectations, get great educations, and become knowledgeable on the different safety nets available to you to discharge that debt should you not become the 160K kid that you may or may not aspire to be.

In summary, if you're worried, Frank, good. That being said, if you want Biglaw Columbia will give you one of the best shots to get it, and will protect you as well as anyone if you can't.

[sbalive]

Is anyone concerned about job prospects...I mean, I know Columbia is a great school, but if the jobs aren't there, they simply aren't there (I specifically mean Big Law jobs to help service the loans). How do you all feel? I know we are all 0Ls, but honest opinions are appreciated...

Wow, why do I get the feeling that somebody woke up in the middle of the night screaming

I've been thinking about this a lot too, especially given that I won't be getting any aid from Columbia, so I'm stuck with BigLoan. There are some optimistic and pessimistic points in my mind, that sort of balance out towards being OK.

Clearly the class of '09 is very fucked, losing offers and having start dates pushed back up to a year or more, being on the hook for bar expenses, etc. The class of '10 is still pretty fucked, with summer weeks being cut, the real likelihood of not getting offers, and running into the logjam of the delayed '09 start dates. The class of '11 is still kinda fucked, because firms have no idea how this is all going to pan out.

Hopefully, this means that class of '12 will at least have certainty. Many people think that there will be structural changes in BigLaw - less leveraging, potentially moving to a more 3L-oriented hiring process (or at the very least summers that are truly trial periods), lower base salaries with more of an incentive structure, and more of an emphasis on hiring grads who show a real interest in working at their firm and not just paying bills for a couple years. Also, firms will figure out how they want to hire - more grades-based, more school rep-based, whatever the formula's going to be. So, we'll know what's going to happen. We'll have a much better sense of what to expect out of 1L summer, 2L summer, OCI, the need to participate in journals, student interest groups, courses to express interest in particular practice areas, etc.

So, I think if you want something resembling BigLaw, you'll be okay - it may require some more work in terms of making sure you have the grades and you do the right extracurriculars, networking, etc., but even in a tough market, you'll have a huge advantage over everyone outside HYS. The money may not be amazing, but overall that may not be such a bad thing - the packaging of derivatives and deals in many ways led to this mess, and while it sucks to not have been a part of making a lot of money off of that stuff at a macro level it's probably all for the best. Kids were being hired to do corporate litigation during times when there weren't financial bubbles also - just from the top schools, including Columbia.

Who gets really screwed here are the Fordham/BU/BC/GW kids... They will go back to doing what they were doing before the boom, which is a mix of < BigLaw work - but yet they're paying tuitions that bear an expectation of earning those salaries.

Bottom line, I think if you actually want to do BigLaw, you'll be fine going to Columbia. The problem is if you want to do the classic 3 years, pay off loans, go do something else. I'm not sure that model will work, with lower salaries, performance-linked bonuses, and general need to show you care. That's a function of being in a boom, and the potential for a boom that isn't just hyper-inflation at 2011-2012 is pretty low. (Of course, on the plus side, hyper-inflation would do wonders for our loans.) That was what I wanted to do... I might still have a shot - I have an excellent background for IP litigation - but it might be a lot harder to just dip in and out. But, maybe this is just an opportunity to use the opportunities to do what I really want to do earlier. The LRAP, 1L summer funding, and PI contacts in NYC are good features of CLS as well.

Anyway, this has just been more rambling than anything else. I'm anxious like everyone else, but I look at people who bought $500K houses on $100K/yr salaries at the height of the bubble, folks about to retire seeing their 401k's disintegrate, and people in their 40s & 50s being laid off with poor prospects for ever getting back into a career... It's going to be tough - take a lot of personal skill + education + entrepreneurship - but getting a Columbia Law degree will be a lot less tough than most alternatives.

[Frank]

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[Bankhead]

Is anyone concerned about job prospects...I mean, I know Columbia is a great school, but if the jobs aren't there, they simply aren't there (I specifically mean Big Law jobs to help service the loans). How do you all feel? I know we are all 0Ls, but honest opinions are appreciated...

Go suck an egg.

-Fordham 0L

[bermuda]

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[Frank]

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[Lem37]

So, on a lighter note, those of you who absolutely coming to CLS next year - what do you all like to do for fun? And, more importantly, who's going to throw the first party?

[Frank]

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[Lem37]

Don't hijack my gloomy job prospects diversion!!!

If it'll make you feel any better, we can combine the two and have a hobo-themed party.

[06132010]

Is anyone concerned about job prospects...I mean, I know Columbia is a great school, but if the jobs aren't there, they simply aren't there (I specifically mean Big Law jobs to help service the loans). How do you all feel? I know we are all 0Ls, but honest opinions are appreciated...

Go suck an egg.

-Fordham 0L

Stop crashing our thread.

- Columbia 0L

[06132010]

So, on a lighter note, those of you who absolutely coming to CLS next year - what do you all like to do for fun? And, more importantly, who's going to throw the first party?

For fun I enjoy drinking copious amounts of Jack and diet coke and making regrettable decisions.

[Lem37]

So, on a lighter note, those of you who absolutely coming to CLS next year - what do you all like to do for fun? And, more importantly, who's going to throw the first party?

For fun I enjoy drinking copious amounts of Jack and diet coke and making regrettable decisions.

I enjoy regrettable decisions, accompanied, however, by a dirty gin martini.

[06132010]

So, on a lighter note, those of you who absolutely coming to CLS next year - what do you all like to do for fun? And, more importantly, who's going to throw the first party?

For fun I enjoy drinking copious amounts of Jack and diet coke and making regrettable decisions.

I enjoy regrettable decisions, accompanied, however, by a dirty gin martini.

If I get the studio I requested perhaps I will host a regrettable decisions party.

[bermuda]

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