Columbia 2011! Forum

[Lem37]

FYI, the people who you plan to call can't legally give you your decision over the phone, and likewise probably can't give you a timeline.

I don't know if this is true. I got my decision from Stanford over the phone (I called them and it wasn't an acceptance), because they'd mailed my letter to the wrong address.

Regardless, that seems like extremely exceptional circumstances - rather than "legally," what I meant to say is that most law schools, including Columbia, have a policy whereby the Admissions/Registrar can't release decisions over the phone (barring, of course, the congratulatory calls that come from Penn, etc.).

My advice: sit tight. Relax. Don't make travel plans - "Mondays" and ASW aren't for a few weeks anyway, so there's no need to finalize arrangements yet. The reason why CLS has two ASWs is so that the people they accept in their later waves can come to the second one in April.

Which is fine except that the longer you wait on plane tickets, the more they go up. And some people have scheduling issues/other reasons for wanting to do their visits at a certain time. I'm not saying the adcomms need to cater to our traveling needs, just that there are legitimate reasons other than impatience that people want an answer soon.

If you call Admissions and discuss these traveling needs, then what Admissions is going to tell you is that you're free to visit the school and sit in on a class on your own time - just not at ASW. This isn't a bad idea if you're actually worried about plane prices, because you'll be able to see a lot of the campus and meet professors and students. Plenty of people visit year-round.

But think of it this way: 9,000 people applied to CLS last year - they ultimately only accepted around 1,000, and several hundred of those were accepted in later waves. If Admissions made an exception for every applicant who called and complained of plane prices and travel plans, then they'd be hard pressed to make allowances for the several-thousand other applicants who would soon be calling with their own exceptional circumstances.

I'm not trying to be callous. I was in your exact position two years ago - in fact, I didn't hear from NYU until March. I'm just trying to remind you that there are literally thousands of other people waiting for decisions from CLS. Realistically, calling isn't going to help you at all. If you're that worried about travel costs, then schedule your own visit and ask some current students to host you.

[law_monkey]

I don't know if this is true. I got my decision from Stanford over the phone (I called them and it wasn't an acceptance), because they'd mailed my letter to the wrong address.

Regardless, that seems like extremely exceptional circumstances - rather than "legally," what I meant to say is that most law schools, including Columbia, have a policy whereby the Admissions/Registrar can't release decisions over the phone (barring, of course, the congratulatory calls that come from Penn, etc.).

My advice: sit tight. Relax. Don't make travel plans - "Mondays" and ASW aren't for a few weeks anyway, so there's no need to finalize arrangements yet. The reason why CLS has two ASWs is so that the people they accept in their later waves can come to the second one in April.

Which is fine except that the longer you wait on plane tickets, the more they go up. And some people have scheduling issues/other reasons for wanting to do their visits at a certain time. I'm not saying the adcomms need to cater to our traveling needs, just that there are legitimate reasons other than impatience that people want an answer soon.

If you call Admissions and discuss these traveling needs, then what Admissions is going to tell you is that you're free to visit the school and sit in on a class on your own time - just not at ASW. This isn't a bad idea if you're actually worried about plane prices, because you'll be able to see a lot of the campus and meet professors and students. Plenty of people visit year-round.

But think of it this way: 9,000 people applied to CLS last year - they ultimately only accepted around 1,000, and several hundred of those were accepted in later waves. If Admissions made an exception for every applicant who called and complained of plane prices and travel plans, then they'd be hard pressed to make allowances for the several-thousand other applicants who would soon be calling with their own exceptional circumstances.

I'm not trying to be callous. I was in your exact position two years ago - in fact, I didn't hear from NYU until March. I'm just trying to remind you that there are literally thousands of other people waiting for decisions from CLS. Realistically, calling isn't going to help you at all.

Which is why I said I'm not saying the adcomms should cater to people's travel needs. Just that I can see why people are starting to get antsy. And there are plenty of other reasons people might want an answer right now. Part of the reason why some people submit their apps early is because the decisions are rolling, so hopefully if you're among the early applicants you might hear when decisions start coming out. Of course it doesn't always work that way, but now that early applicant cycles are pretty much over the slower decisions may seem frustrating.

[Non-Chalant1]

I've resolved to call tomorrow before finalizing my travel plans. Hopefully, I'll be checking in in 24 hours with great news about how every forgotten gets an acceptance and a pony. (If anybody wants an extra pony, they can have mine.)

FYI, the people who you plan to call can't legally give you your decision over the phone, and likewise probably can't give you a timeline.

I don't know if this is true. I got my decision from Stanford over the phone (I called them and it wasn't an acceptance), because they'd mailed my letter to the wrong address.

Regardless, that seems like extremely exceptional circumstances - rather than "legally," what I meant to say is that most law schools, including Columbia, have a policy whereby the Admissions/Registrar can't release decisions over the phone (barring, of course, the congratulatory calls that come from Penn, etc.).

My advice: sit tight. Relax. Don't make travel plans - "Mondays" and ASW aren't for a few weeks anyway, so there's no need to finalize arrangements yet. The reason why CLS has two ASWs is so that the people they accept in their later waves can come to the second one in April.

I called and didn't ask for my decision, I asked if it had been sent. They'll answer the latter question.

[Lem37]

Regardless, that seems like extremely exceptional circumstances - rather than "legally," what I meant to say is that most law schools, including Columbia, have a policy whereby the Admissions/Registrar can't release decisions over the phone (barring, of course, the congratulatory calls that come from Penn, etc.).

My advice: sit tight. Relax. Don't make travel plans - "Mondays" and ASW aren't for a few weeks anyway, so there's no need to finalize arrangements yet. The reason why CLS has two ASWs is so that the people they accept in their later waves can come to the second one in April.

Which is fine except that the longer you wait on plane tickets, the more they go up. And some people have scheduling issues/other reasons for wanting to do their visits at a certain time. I'm not saying the adcomms need to cater to our traveling needs, just that there are legitimate reasons other than impatience that people want an answer soon.

If you call Admissions and discuss these traveling needs, then what Admissions is going to tell you is that you're free to visit the school and sit in on a class on your own time - just not at ASW. This isn't a bad idea if you're actually worried about plane prices, because you'll be able to see a lot of the campus and meet professors and students. Plenty of people visit year-round.

But think of it this way: 9,000 people applied to CLS last year - they ultimately only accepted around 1,000, and several hundred of those were accepted in later waves. If Admissions made an exception for every applicant who called and complained of plane prices and travel plans, then they'd be hard pressed to make allowances for the several-thousand other applicants who would soon be calling with their own exceptional circumstances.

I'm not trying to be callous. I was in your exact position two years ago - in fact, I didn't hear from NYU until March. I'm just trying to remind you that there are literally thousands of other people waiting for decisions from CLS. Realistically, calling isn't going to help you at all.

Which is why I said I'm not saying the adcomms should cater to people's travel needs. Just that I can see why people are starting to get antsy. And there are plenty of other reasons people might want an answer right now. Part of the reason why some people submit their apps early is because the decisions are rolling, so hopefully if you're among the early applicants you might hear when decisions start coming out. Of course it doesn't always work that way, but now that early applicant cycles are pretty much over the slower decisions may seem frustrating.

I understand what you're saying. However, barring (a) your decision being sent to the wrong address, ala the above poster, or (b) some sort of unprecedented acceptance deadline imposed by another law school, your "legitimate reason" will almost assuredly not be important enough for Admissions to circumvent policy and give you your decision earlier than usual. Again - no offense. Everyone is antsy. But it's just not going to happen.

[law_monkey]

If you call Admissions and discuss these traveling needs, then what Admissions is going to tell you is that you're free to visit the school and sit in on a class on your own time - just not at ASW. This isn't a bad idea if you're actually worried about plane prices, because you'll be able to see a lot of the campus and meet professors and students. Plenty of people visit year-round.

But think of it this way: 9,000 people applied to CLS last year - they ultimately only accepted around 1,000, and several hundred of those were accepted in later waves. If Admissions made an exception for every applicant who called and complained of plane prices and travel plans, then they'd be hard pressed to make allowances for the several-thousand other applicants who would soon be calling with their own exceptional circumstances.

I'm not trying to be callous. I was in your exact position two years ago - in fact, I didn't hear from NYU until March. I'm just trying to remind you that there are literally thousands of other people waiting for decisions from CLS. Realistically, calling isn't going to help you at all.

Which is why I said I'm not saying the adcomms should cater to people's travel needs. Just that I can see why people are starting to get antsy. And there are plenty of other reasons people might want an answer right now. Part of the reason why some people submit their apps early is because the decisions are rolling, so hopefully if you're among the early applicants you might hear when decisions start coming out. Of course it doesn't always work that way, but now that early applicant cycles are pretty much over the slower decisions may seem frustrating.

I understand what you're saying. However, barring (a) your decision being sent to the wrong address, ala the above poster, or (b) some sort of unprecedented acceptance deadline imposed by another law school, your "legitimate reason" will almost assuredly not be important enough for Admissions to circumvent policy and give you your decision earlier than usual. Again - no offense. Everyone is antsy. But it's just not going to happen.

Yeah I'm not commenting on whether or not people should call. I'm just saying I see why people are frustrated by not hearing back by this point. The adcomms have a TON of stuff to do right now, but I just don't agree that people are out of line if they're tired of waiting that don't necessarily have to do with wanting their file to be a priority. Some people are just impatient, and others have reasons for wanting to know. Does that mean we should all call CLS and demand to know what's going on? Probably not. That would probably make them really mad, and I for one want them to be very happy when going over my file. But that's why we have TLS where we can come commiserate together!

[mel2010]

I called and didn't ask for my decision, I asked if it had been sent. They'll answer the latter question.

Winner winner chicken dinner.

Anyways who's ready for a HUGE WAVE OF DECISIONS this week? If we can see it, then we can do it!

[ahduth]

I, as always, support calling admissions no matter how trivial or unwarranted your concern is. They provide that phone number for a reason.

I was considering calling them up to tell them their admissions process sucks. They'll probably blame it on the weather and the USPS, but I figure that's the kind of thing you can hash out over the phone. Someone needs to have a very clear discussion with them about this inability to use the phone or email for decisions at any rate. It's 2011.

[law_monkey]

I, as always, support calling admissions no matter how trivial or unwarranted your concern is. They provide that phone number for a reason.

I was considering calling them up to tell them their admissions process sucks. They'll probably blame it on the weather and the USPS, but I figure that's the kind of thing you can hash out over the phone. Someone needs to have a very clear discussion with them about this inability to use the phone or email for decisions at any rate. It's 2011.

Haha I would actually LOVE that if someone called wanting to know why they hadn't heard yet and CLS told them it's all USPS' fault!

[incompetentia]

I actually can't make the late ASW, so if I at least get confirmation that my decision hasn't been mailed, I will know to make other plans.

I still want the pony though. Even though I don't.

[HugerThanSoup]

Someone needs to have a very clear discussion with them about this inability to use the phone or email for decisions at any rate.

Something tells me you're "just the man for the job."

[ahduth]

Someone needs to have a very clear discussion with them about this inability to use the phone or email for decisions at any rate.

Something tells me you're "just the man for the job."

I could still end up going there, who knows. Don't want to start haranguing people over the phone before all the scholarship information has been released.

[GraniteState]

Anyways who's ready for a HUGE WAVE OF DECISIONS this week? If we can see it, then we can do it!

If we just believe it,
There's nothing to it!

I believe we can fly,
I believe we can touch the VCE,
I post about it every night and day,
Click TLS and type awaaaaaaaaaay...

[BlakcMajikc]

I BELIEVE!

Anyways who's ready for a HUGE WAVE OF DECISIONS this week? If we can see it, then we can do it!

If we just believe it,
There's nothing to it!

I believe we can fly,
I believe we can touch the VCE,
I post about it every night and day,
Click TLS and type awaaaaaaaaaay...

[incompetentia]

No movement on my file according to the lady who mumbled. Fdsfdsd

I didn't even get a pony.

[law_monkey]

No movement on my file according to the lady who mumbled. Fdsfdsd

I didn't even get a pony.

While it's too bad about your file, I don't know if you'd have anywhere to put the pony in NYC anyway. I just want my VCE to come with a coupon to one of those hot dog stands.

[Non-Chalant1]

I called again....letter sent on the 11th

[texaskk]

I called again....letter sent on the 11th

wait for realzz??

[melamine]

oooh - hmmm, i guess this means that people who haven't received a hold e-mail (and are forgotten) we'll basically just receive either a rejection or an admission... or they're getting ready to send out a bunch more holds, lol.

[timmna]

I called again....letter sent on the 11th

!!!!!

[IncorrectReversal]

Just called, no admissions decision has been mailed to me yet.

Still forgotten, late November app.

[Fresh]

I've been M.I.A. for awhile. What are you guys saying to admissions when you call other than "Hey I'm sick of waiting dude!" Do they really not mind telling you if they've made any decisions?

[ahduth]

I've been M.I.A. for awhile. What are you guys saying to admissions when you call other than "Hey I'm sick of waiting dude!" Do they really not mind telling you if they've made any decisions?

They apparently prefer it to changing their status checker to say DLS.

[law_monkey]

I called again....letter sent on the 11th

Good luck! It sounds like they're finally making progress on the early apps. My guess (read as hope) is that all the forgottens will have our decision in the next week or two. I also kind of want to call now, but I don't know how that will make me feel better either way.

[texaskk]

any VCEs yet? nothing in my mail today, but a 2/11 postmark wouldn't arrive until tomorrow so not going TOO crazy yet..

[Non-Chalant1]

Nah, I didn't even bother to check because I wouldn't get it until tomorrow earliest.