Columbia students taking questions Forum

[stephcurry]

You guys are the best! Honestly, the fact that I can ask a question late at night and have it answered by multiple people by morning So maybe I was reading into it too much, but if we choose not to take out a loan, do we need to inform the FAO or anything?

[playwright]

Is it possible to study abroad during your 2L year? When do people usually do study abroad?

[starrydreamz3]

Is it possible to study abroad during your 2L year? When do people usually do study abroad?

Most people I know are doing it 3L year, though I think it's possible 2L year. I know the semester in DC program can happen during 2L so I assume there are others.

Normally during 2L year most people are on a journal or boards that require (or strongly encourage) you to stay in NYC so that's why 3L is probably a more popular option.

[stephcurry]

According to their handbook it looks like Columbia is pretty strict about not depositing at more than one school. Did anyone deposit at another school in addition to Columbia while waiting for scholarship negotiations? Also if any of you guys knew, would you mind explaining how the whole verifying where admitted students have deposited thing works? I think I remember reading that in early June some report gets sent to schools and it'll show them if a student is deposited at more than one school? Does that report show all the schools a student ever deposited at, or does it only show where students are deposited at the time (june 1st for example).

[Cinderella24]

According to their handbook it looks like Columbia is pretty strict about not depositing at more than one school. Did anyone deposit at another school in addition to Columbia while waiting for scholarship negotiations? Also if any of you guys knew, would you mind explaining how the whole verifying where admitted students have deposited thing works? I think I remember reading that in early June some report gets sent to schools and it'll show them if a student is deposited at more than one school? Does that report show all the schools a student ever deposited at, or does it only show where students are deposited at the time (june 1st for example).

Maybe this will help : http://www.annaivey.com/iveyfiles/is_it ... e_deposits

[jrc223]

Looking through the housing options, 600 West 113th Street and 362 Riverside Drive look the most appealing to me in terms of cost/location. Does anyone have an opinion on which might be better based on personal experience?

bump

[almondjoy]

If you're not Stone, I would forget about anything non-NYC. Yes, non-Stone people do get offers elsewhere, but the risk profile is not good. The number one reason people strike out is bidding something besides large-class NYC firms.

This makes me nervous

[cesar84]

[post removed]

[jbagelboy]

If you're not Stone, I would forget about anything non-NYC. Yes, non-Stone people do get offers elsewhere, but the risk profile is not good. The number one reason people strike out is bidding something besides large-class NYC firms.

This makes me nervous

I won't disagree with what mono said, but I wouldn't be too nervous about it. Depends on the market, really. If it's DC, then yea it's a non-starter from median and below (barring an unusual circumstance). For Texas, Los Angeles, Boston, or a smaller market where you have really strong ties, I don't think Stone is a prerequisite at all. People land offers in those markets from median and below. The important thing is to keep some large class NYC prominent if you fall below honors.

[Monochromatic Oeuvre]

If you're not Stone, I would forget about anything non-NYC. Yes, non-Stone people do get offers elsewhere, but the risk profile is not good. The number one reason people strike out is bidding something besides large-class NYC firms.

This makes me nervous

I won't disagree with what mono said, but I wouldn't be too nervous about it. Depends on the market, really. If it's DC, then yea it's a non-starter from median and below (barring an unusual circumstance). For Texas, Los Angeles, Boston, or a smaller market where you have really strong ties, I don't think Stone is a prerequisite at all. People land offers in those markets from median and below. The important thing is to keep some large class NYC prominent if you fall below honors.

He and I have a different way of looking at this.

Of course you can land offers in secondary markets from median-ish, and I would absolutely recommend you pick them up post-lottery if you have a free timeslot, because a whole bunch will still be available. But the number one reason people strike out is failure to bid thirty large-class NYC firms, and a 15% strikeout rate is far from a negligible risk. It's a numbers game and there's just no guarantee--your "safety firms" might not even call you back, for reasons that won't ever be clear. You are basically fine if you wind up in NYC instead of Target Market X, but you are FUCKED (most likely) if you strike out.

I'll amend my previous statement to say that if you're median-ish and you have ties to a given market, it's worth some low bids on them. But there are, at an absolute minimum, 20 NYC firms that you must, must bid if you're not Stone.

[mr.plum]

Does anyone know if 529 W. 111th has laundry facilities in the building? Thanks!

[calbear15]

Had a question about my tuition grant. Assuming most people get the same letter, I was just a little confused since Columbia does the whole "need-aid only" thing. My tuition grant is $40,000 but it seems like in the letter that it's expected that I take a federal loan. Is the tuition grant independent of federal loans? Or will the grant be affected if I choose not to take out any loans? Thank you guys in advance!

Grants are not contingent on taking out loans.

A couple of us in the C/O 2018 thread were wondering the same thing a while back. Can any current students help us interpret the third paragraph in this link? http://web.law.columbia.edu/financial-a ... ion-grants

Would be really stoked if grants weren't contingent on loans at all.

[Stannis the Mannis]

Can anyone shed some insight on IP law at Columbia?

[FuriousDuck]

Does anyone know if 529 W. 111th has laundry facilities in the building? Thanks!

They do.

[playwright]

Hey, kinda lurker here, will be attending CLS next fall . Any tips on housing options? I want to be in a furnished apartment share in a Law School Housing but appart from that, I've no clue what are the + and - of the various housing options. Do 1Ls have any specific recommendations? Many thanks

Echoing the above question.. Are the 400 block apartments pretty much identical?
Also, do the apartment shares all have only one bathroom?

[GreenEggs]

Hey, kinda lurker here, will be attending CLS next fall . Any tips on housing options? I want to be in a furnished apartment share in a Law School Housing but appart from that, I've no clue what are the + and - of the various housing options. Do 1Ls have any specific recommendations? Many thanks

Echoing the above question.. Are the 400 block apartments pretty much identical?
Also, do the apartment shares all have only one bathroom?

+1

If I want to live in one of the 400 blocks, is there any difference between them? Do I just pick them randomly in my order of preferences?

[mr.plum]

Does anyone know if 529 W. 111th has laundry facilities in the building? Thanks!

They do.

Thank you!

[kakistocracy]

Hey, kinda lurker here, will be attending CLS next fall . Any tips on housing options? I want to be in a furnished apartment share in a Law School Housing but appart from that, I've no clue what are the + and - of the various housing options. Do 1Ls have any specific recommendations? Many thanks

Echoing the above question.. Are the 400 block apartments pretty much identical?
Also, do the apartment shares all have only one bathroom?

+1

If I want to live in one of the 400 blocks, is there any difference between them? Do I just pick them randomly in my order of preferences?

They're pretty much identical, and yeah, just one bathroom.

[AwesomeLawyer]

Anyone knows if CLS gives purely need based scholarships? Like for students with really low LSAT, very high GPA, and very poor parents. For students accepted off a reserve in the summer? Does anyone have any actual examples? Thank you!

[GoneSouth]

Any thoughts from current Columbia students on furnished vs. unfurnished apartments? I don't have a ton of furniture right now so I'm leaning towards going furnished, but the twin bed is kind of a turnoff.

Can you get a furnished apartment, bring your own bed and have them store the one that was in the unit? Or is that not possible?

[smaug]

Any thoughts from current Columbia students on furnished vs. unfurnished apartments? I don't have a ton of furniture right now so I'm leaning towards going furnished, but the twin bed is kind of a turnoff.

Can you get a furnished apartment, bring your own bed and have them store the one that was in the unit? Or is that not possible?

Definitely go unfurnished. I would wager that you'll break even over time even if you buy all new furniture. The furniture in the furnished apartments is pretty dorm-y.

[lunaraeon]

Any thoughts from current Columbia students on furnished vs. unfurnished apartments? I don't have a ton of furniture right now so I'm leaning towards going furnished, but the twin bed is kind of a turnoff.

Can you get a furnished apartment, bring your own bed and have them store the one that was in the unit? Or is that not possible?

Definitely go unfurnished. I would wager that you'll break even over time even if you buy all new furniture. The furniture in the furnished apartments is pretty dorm-y.

I agree completely (I'm in a furnished apartment) with one caveat. I'm in an apartment on the 400 block. I think it's a great space for the price I pay, even with the furniture premium. I never got around to buying a bed, though in retrospect it would have been the right choice, but otherwise it's great. (Some supers will store the bed (it can be taken apart in seconds), some won't, but at least in my space I would have been able to store the bed in the living room or use it as a pseudo-couch. You might be able to ask Juliana if that's a big concern to you.) So if you're choosing between furnished and unfurnished UAH stock, go unfurnished. Buuuut if you're considering spaces that only come furnished, some might be worth it

[girlmonster]

I see you 0Ls are looking at housing options, so here's a shameless plug:
If you want to live in UAH and don't mind living with an adorable, sweet, fluffy dog, get at me!

Disclaimer: I still know nothing about law school, so I'm not going to be much help for that.

[Cinderella24]

How is the legal writing intensive course at the beginning?

Can you please give me some details on it?

[MCFC]

How is the legal writing intensive course at the beginning?

Can you please give me some details on it?

Legal Methods is the 3 week course you take starting in August, meeting twice a day. It's just basically an opportunity for you to get the hang of what a law school class is like. Then at the end of September you take an exam that isn't graded.

At the same time, you also start what CLS calls "Legal Practice Workshop" this the 1L legal writing course and continues for the entire year, meeting once a week. It's not graded, which is nice.

Are there specific things you want to know about?