Columbia c/o 2017 Applicants (2013-2014 cycle) Forum

[kershka]

I'm a little late in posting this but I was also part of this reserve wave. Not really bothered; I was already narrowing down my options by the time Columbia held me and am happy with how my cycle has gone. Good luck to those still waiting to hear and to those who decide to ride the WL!

(oh, and LSAT>median, GPA> 75th, Oct submit, held in March for anyone who wants to know. Will go update spreadsheet now)

[checkers]

I'm particularly cynical with all of this right now because my cycle has been laughably terrible and I'm probably gonna be reapplying next year instead of starting on my life journey or whatever in the fall.

Thoughts on what happened this cycle? Did you apply late? Was there a weak element to your app? Stats?

[Wiggly]

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[checkers]

(See ^above^ JSWright101 quote)

Wow, thanks for sharing in such an in-depth way. It sounds like you've done a fair amount of thinking and have come to a pretty healthy conclusion: reapply and be more conservative next time. With all of the consternation about what perceived faults you see in your softs, nothing really is a big enough deal to make schools turn away a 4.05/174. That just screams ADMIT, and you'd have to do a pretty good job of talking yourself out of an acceptance, which it sounds like you might have done. Keep in mind however, you will probably be heavily yield-protected at a good number of the T14, so try to make each school feel special if you can, or else you'll be at the mercy of HYS. Take the next 6mo and work on a new personal statement that is polished and thoughtful, but without trying to be flashy. You seriously don't need to take that gamble with your numbers, so play it safe, and hopefully we'll be talking this time next year about which mega-scholly you should accept.

[Wiggly]

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[carolinainmymind]

Guess I survived another round of waitlists (unless my denial is in transit). Still haven't heard anything; I've only been complete since early Feb. Really don't understand where I fit into their thought process, but it seems like we are all in that same boat.

[gta]

These reserves are terrifying, because so many of you have better numbers than me (a recent admit). I'm so worried that CLS will turn around and expect me to pay sticker. If that's the case, then I'll be freeing up a spot for sure in no time.

[lastsamurai]

Hey JSWright - I think you shouldn't be too down on your application. You have stellar numbers and kind of an interesting background. I bet with some help next cycle you'll snag one of HYS and get some big $$$ elsewhere. Waiting a cycle would give you plenty of room to really spend some time on the possibly problematic aspects of your application.

Just my $.02

[jbagelboy]

(See ^above^ JSWright101 quote)

Wow, thanks for sharing in such an in-depth way. It sounds like you've done a fair amount of thinking and have come to a pretty healthy conclusion: reapply and be more conservative next time. With all of the consternation about what perceived faults you see in your softs, nothing really is a big enough deal to make schools turn away a 4.05/174. That just screams ADMIT, and you'd have to do a pretty good job of talking yourself out of an acceptance, which it sounds like you might have done. Keep in mind however, you will probably be heavily yield-protected at a good number of the T14, so try to make each school feel special if you can, or else you'll be at the mercy of HYS. Take the next 6mo and work on a new personal statement that is polished and thoughtful, but without trying to be flashy. You seriously don't need to take that gamble with your numbers, so play it safe, and hopefully we'll be talking this time next year about which mega-scholly you should accept.

This is all true. Tbh, I went flashy in the PS in part because I wasn't sure what my final score would be and up until then I was redacted so I needed flashy. I've thought that the biggest general problem with my app is that I now have generally auto-admit #s for most of the T14 but I crafted my app as if I was a low-scoring non-trad applicant looking for a hail mary - a disconnect there really.

Also, I love Berkeley and I would love to attend. However, I have an SO in NY that will have to move with me so I need it to be worth it and with my #s I really think I should be looking at $$$ from them (I would jump on a full-ride to Berk). I'm pretty debt averse (like I would only spend a lot on HYS and even then the grant amounts would matter and $$$ elsewhere would likely easily beat those - I have no safety net if everything goes south so I need to be cautious).

If your SO is in NY, you should push hard for CLS. Maybe there'll be a spare Butler when Stanford opens up it's wait list.

[EquallyWrong]

If your SO is in NY, you should push hard for CLS. Maybe there'll be a spare Butler when Stanford opens up it's wait list.

Can you expand on this? Does Columbia give out second hand Butlers to people?

[hweigel]

Does CLS reject people who have been held or are held candidates either wait-listed or accepted? I was held in February and am still waiting to hear... (scared to check the mail).

[OMAR_COMIN_YO]

Are they REALLY going to make us wait until Friday? 0_0

[Nonconsecutive]

Are they REALLY going to make us wait until Friday? 0_0

I wouldn't be surprised honestly, at least for some of us.

[jdapplicant]

If your SO is in NY, you should push hard for CLS. Maybe there'll be a spare Butler when Stanford opens up it's wait list.

Can you expand on this? Does Columbia give out second hand Butlers to people?

They give out aid awards that are equivalent to the Butler, just without the name. I got the Butler equivalent and others have reported the same.

[bravo1085]

Looks like a day of silence.

[EquallyWrong]

If your SO is in NY, you should push hard for CLS. Maybe there'll be a spare Butler when Stanford opens up it's wait list.

Can you expand on this? Does Columbia give out second hand Butlers to people?

They give out aid awards that are equivalent to the Butler, just without the name. I got the Butler equivalent and others have reported the same.

So I'm guessing this is all awarded through their so called need based grants. It's strange that they would give out the exact amount of a merit based halfsie scholarship unnamed rather than break it down and distribute it more according to wider need requirements (since they hold it out to be totally need based in their application materials)...probably no way to predict it until you get your aid offer, but it is nice to know there is this possibility. Thanks!

[jdapplicant]

They give out aid awards that are equivalent to the Butler, just without the name. I got the Butler equivalent and others have reported the same.

So I'm guessing this is all awarded through their so called need based grants. It's strange that they would give out the exact amount of a merit based halfsie scholarship unnamed rather than break it down and distribute it more according to wider need requirements (since they hold it out to be totally need based in their application materials)...probably no way to predict it until you get your aid offer, but it is nice to know there is this possibility. Thanks!

Honestly, I think it's very unlikely that my award was strictly need-based, considering my parent's finances. Also, I got basically the exact same award (plus or minus $10k) from schools that claim strictly need based and schools that admit merit considerations. I think it's a mix of both, maybe with a heavier weight to need. Definitely no way of predicting it IMO, except that there's a good chance they will beat your NYU offer.

[EquallyWrong]

They give out aid awards that are equivalent to the Butler, just without the name. I got the Butler equivalent and others have reported the same.

So I'm guessing this is all awarded through their so called need based grants. It's strange that they would give out the exact amount of a merit based halfsie scholarship unnamed rather than break it down and distribute it more according to wider need requirements (since they hold it out to be totally need based in their application materials)...probably no way to predict it until you get your aid offer, but it is nice to know there is this possibility. Thanks!

Honestly, I think it's very unlikely that my award was strictly need-based, considering my parent's finances. Also, I got basically the exact same award (plus or minus $10k) from schools that claim strictly need based and schools that admit merit considerations. I think it's a mix of both, maybe with a heavier weight to need. Definitely no way of predicting it IMO, except that there's a good chance they will beat your NYU offer.

If I had the foresight and good sense to apply to NYU or Chicago and play the finaid extortion game rather than getting more or less YPed down the line for not writing the extra essays.
Crossing my fingers for the Butler that dare not speak its name, hopefully my late finaid app won't scuzz up the possibility too much since I can semi-convincingly show that a sizeable parental contribution is untenable in spite of their 2013 income.

[jdapplicant]

If I had the foresight and good sense to apply to NYU or Chicago and play the finaid extortion game rather than getting more or less YPed down the line for not writing the extra essays.
Crossing my fingers for the Butler that dare not speak its name, hopefully my late finaid app won't scuzz up the possibility too much since I can semi-convincingly show that a sizeable parental contribution is untenable in spite of their 2013 income.

Btw, by "beat your NYU offer" I meant that their initial offers tend to be more than NYU's, not that they will necessarily match/beat NYU after negotiations (and vice versa). I think the NYC schools tend to more aggressively compete with U Chi than each other when it comes to fin aid negotiations.

[Platoismyking]

Any ED -> Deferred applicants still waiting to hear back?

[barrelofmonkeys]

If I had the foresight and good sense to apply to NYU or Chicago and play the finaid extortion game rather than getting more or less YPed down the line for not writing the extra essays.
Crossing my fingers for the Butler that dare not speak its name, hopefully my late finaid app won't scuzz up the possibility too much since I can semi-convincingly show that a sizeable parental contribution is untenable in spite of their 2013 income.

Btw, by "beat your NYU offer" I meant that their initial offers tend to be more than NYU's, not that they will necessarily match/beat NYU after negotiations (and vice versa). I think the NYC schools tend to more aggressively compete with U Chi than each other when it comes to fin aid negotiations.

my own anecdotal evidence (negotiation denied) suggests that columbia did not feel at all like it needed to compete with my chi offer (which was 50k higher than columbia's).

[EquallyWrong]

If I had the foresight and good sense to apply to NYU or Chicago and play the finaid extortion game rather than getting more or less YPed down the line for not writing the extra essays.
Crossing my fingers for the Butler that dare not speak its name, hopefully my late finaid app won't scuzz up the possibility too much since I can semi-convincingly show that a sizeable parental contribution is untenable in spite of their 2013 income.

Btw, by "beat your NYU offer" I meant that their initial offers tend to be more than NYU's, not that they will necessarily match/beat NYU after negotiations (and vice versa). I think the NYC schools tend to more aggressively compete with U Chi than each other when it comes to fin aid negotiations.

my own anecdotal evidence (negotiation denied) suggests that columbia did not feel at all like it needed to compete with my chi offer (which was 50k higher than columbia's).

Indeed, appeals based on competing offers haven't seem to have gone that well for people if TLS activity is any indication, maybe being at the mercy of the initial offer won't make that much of a difference. Cut to me crying in the shower (in my cutoffs) if it comes back as sticker or bust.

[beefjerky]

Any ED -> Deferred applicants still waiting to hear back?

I am! Not sure if it is a good sign or not, given responses other people have gotten so far. Thoughts?

[BA414]

I'm still just marked as "complete." So, how do they notify of us of acceptances/WL/ding? Call, email, snail?

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