Columbia students taking questions Forum

[waferthinmint]

For anyone who furnished their place with Ikea stuff, are they pretty good with delivery times? Can I plan for same or next day delivery?

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/store/brooklyn/services

Seems to be same day delivery if you pick up your items at the store and have them just drop it off

Thanks! Somehow didn't see that.

This. This is awesome.

[runthetrap]

thank you, current CLS students, for being here. you're a huge help -- i've been reading everything on this thread.

now that i've gotten my housing assignment (lionsgate wooo) i'm wondering when we get our schedules / find out what section we're in! is that during / after orientation?

and this is a little off topic, but for those who were inclined, did you get downtown much during 1L? i have a lot of friends who live in the east village, so i hope to be going downtown / to brooklyn at least a couple times a month. also, i don't think i'll be riding the subway often enough to break even on the monthly MTA pass... how often did you find yourself taking the subway?

thanks!

[jbagelboy]

thank you, current CLS students, for being here. you're a huge help -- i've been reading everything on this thread.

now that i've gotten my housing assignment (lionsgate wooo) i'm wondering when we get our schedules / find out what section we're in! is that during / after orientation?

and this is a little off topic, but for those who were inclined, did you get downtown much during 1L? i have a lot of friends who live in the east village, so i hope to be going downtown / to brooklyn at least a couple times a month. also, i don't think i'll be riding the subway often enough to break even on the monthly MTA pass... how often did you find yourself taking the subway?

thanks!

Hey! So you should get your schedule and section information on August 15th, first day of orientation, or at the latest august 18th. You'll then have Legal Methods starting the 19th. (Also go to the UN tour/happy hour!).

Re: 'going downtown', the first few months of the semester I was in west village or l.e.s. or museum row ect at least a couple days a week; brooklyn less frequent, a lot more spring semester when my friends all moved out there, but as finals grew closer you just don't get out as much. Like the month before finals both semesters I effectively stopped leaving morningside. It's tough sometimes to get folks to come that far uptown so you'll spend a decent amount of time on the 1/2.

It never justified a month pass, which is somewhere around $112. My SO had one for commuting every day, but I just added value to my card $20 at a time usually. You have to be commuting back and forth nearly every day for the expense to outweigh a month pass.

[girlmonster]

Someone, please tell me 127 square feet is livable. I really need to hear that right now.

127 square feet is livable. Not spacious, but livable.

Welcome to NYC

Haha, thank you for giving me the courage to accept the offer!

[tlsapp2017]

Someone, please tell me 127 square feet is livable. I really need to hear that right now.

127 square feet is livable. Not spacious, but livable.

Welcome to NYC

Haha, thank you for giving me the courage to accept the offer!

Is that 127 for the bedroom only?

[girlmonster]

Someone, please tell me 127 square feet is livable. I really need to hear that right now.

127 square feet is livable. Not spacious, but livable.

Welcome to NYC

Haha, thank you for giving me the courage to accept the offer!

Is that 127 for the bedroom only?

Yes, it's a share. I haven't even gotten to NYC yet, and I'm already starting my Southern belle melodrama.

[runthetrap]

thank you, current CLS students, for being here. you're a huge help -- i've been reading everything on this thread.

now that i've gotten my housing assignment (lionsgate wooo) i'm wondering when we get our schedules / find out what section we're in! is that during / after orientation?

and this is a little off topic, but for those who were inclined, did you get downtown much during 1L? i have a lot of friends who live in the east village, so i hope to be going downtown / to brooklyn at least a couple times a month. also, i don't think i'll be riding the subway often enough to break even on the monthly MTA pass... how often did you find yourself taking the subway?

thanks!

Hey! So you should get your schedule and section information on August 15th, first day of orientation, or at the latest august 18th. You'll then have Legal Methods starting the 19th. (Also go to the UN tour/happy hour!).

Re: 'going downtown', the first few months of the semester I was in west village or l.e.s. or museum row ect at least a couple days a week; brooklyn less frequent, a lot more spring semester when my friends all moved out there, but as finals grew closer you just don't get out as much. Like the month before finals both semesters I effectively stopped leaving morningside. It's tough sometimes to get folks to come that far uptown so you'll spend a decent amount of time on the 1/2.

It never justified a month pass, which is somewhere around $112. My SO had one for commuting every day, but I just added value to my card $20 at a time usually. You have to be commuting back and forth nearly every day for the expense to outweigh a month pass.

great. thanks!! CLS is finally starting to feel real

[tlsapp2017]

Is that 127 for the bedroom only?

Yes, it's a share. I haven't even gotten to NYC yet, and I'm already starting my Southern belle melodrama.

. UAH told me that my bedroom was 103... I'd actually guess that 127 is on the bigger side.

[girlmonster]

Is that 127 for the bedroom only?

Yes, it's a share. I haven't even gotten to NYC yet, and I'm already starting my Southern belle melodrama.

. UAH told me that my bedroom was 103... I'd actually guess that 127 is on the bigger side.

Well, damn. Sorry to be an ingrate! It's actually bigger than the room I'm in now, too. I'm just paranoid because everyone has said I'm going to be stuffed in a shoebox. With every minor detail I learn, my immediate response is "OH NO YOU DON'T, UAH."

ETA: On topic, is it cool if we install shelves?

[runthetrap]

is it cool if we install shelves?

also interested in this..

i have a furnished double. what kind of amenities am i looking at for the living room?

i'm living in lionsgate, and there's a tiny space next to the door marked "study" -- is there actually a desk / chair here, or is that just a joke?

also, do the kitchens (in lionsgate) have ovens?

[bowser]

Can anyone speak to the EIP post-lottery signup period? I'm imagining it's a madhouse and everything's gone in 10 seconds. Would it be unreasonable to be planning to pick up more than one or two of the underbid firms then?

There will be plenty of smaller firms and offices in secondary markets that you can add day-of, so you'll have plenty of opportunity to add interviews.

You have to be ready to grab the popular ones quickly though. I think Paul Weiss NY may have been the only large NY office with spots left post-lottery, and it was gone in minutes.

What about the less popular ones? Like the ones with 10 bids for 20 slots? How many of those could I snatch up if I were on there at noon sharp adding anything I could?

You could add a ton. I mean, a few people did 40+ screeners. But again, for the most part it's gonna be non-NY offices.

[J90]

Quick grades question! Not all of mine are back yet, just one, really, but about what hard GPA corresponds to some various class rank milestones? I know it's very speculative but any feedback and even a rough general idea helps.

I understand median falls around a straight B+ average, ~3.33 give or take a miniscule amount. Stone, at 3.41, seems to have been about top 40% last year, though perhaps slightly closer to top third instead. Kent, at 3.8, is top 3-5%...?

What would a 3.5 correspond to? Top 30%?
A 3.6?

Thank you!

[jbagelboy]

Quick grades question! Not all of mine are back yet, just one, really, but about what hard GPA corresponds to some various class rank milestones? I know it's very speculative but any feedback and even a rough general idea helps.

I understand median falls around a straight B+ average, ~3.33 give or take a miniscule amount. Stone, at 3.41, seems to have been about top 40% last year, though perhaps slightly closer to top third instead. Kent, at 3.8, is top 3-5%...?

What would a 3.5 correspond to? Top 30%?
A 3.6?

Thank you!

No one can tell you with complete certainty, but if you run a basic regression with the stone data pt at ~top 35% and 3.3 as median, 3.5 falls around top quarter and 3.6 around top 15%. Then again, stone could be as high as top 40% or as low as top 28%, which would change these values.

[J90]

Quick grades question! Not all of mine are back yet, just one, really, but about what hard GPA corresponds to some various class rank milestones? I know it's very speculative but any feedback and even a rough general idea helps.

I understand median falls around a straight B+ average, ~3.33 give or take a miniscule amount. Stone, at 3.41, seems to have been about top 40% last year, though perhaps slightly closer to top third instead. Kent, at 3.8, is top 3-5%...?

What would a 3.5 correspond to? Top 30%?
A 3.6?

Thank you!

No one can tell you with complete certainty, but if you run a basic regression with the stone data pt at ~top 35% and 3.3 as median, 3.5 falls around top quarter and 3.6 around top 15%. Then again, stone could be as high as top 40% or as low as top 28%, which would change these values.

Understood. Thanks dude!

[starrydreamz3]

Silly question, but do they round up for Kent? Like you get 3.78 and you're Kent, or is 3.80 the floor? I'm thinking 3.80 is the floor but just wondering!

[J90]

Silly question, but do they round up for Kent? Like you get 3.78 and you're Kent, or is 3.80 the floor? I'm thinking 3.80 is the floor but just wondering!

I think it's a hard cut-off, though that's not the only method.

"Kent Scholar honors are awarded at the end of each year in recognition of "outstanding academic achievement" which is defined as having earned at least 15 graded law credits and either a GPA over 3.80, or no grade lower than an A+, A, or A- save one, and that exception being no lower than a B, and, after putting aside the lowest grade, at least half of which are A+ or A."

So if you have more A's than A-'s and no more than one B, you'll have Kent regardless.

Edit: I don't know if you can install shelves, sorry! It might depend on your superintendent, if there isn't a wider school policy about it.

[jdapplicant]

Can we use the campus gyms before orientation? Even if we don't get student IDs until Aug 15? Also, is a campus gym membership included in tuition?

[JVK]

Am curious about grades, too. What's been posted already this last page is super helpful, but if there's any other hard information out there I'd love to see it. Do they ever tell students what % the Stone cut-off is? I'd heard a number close to 40% too for this last year, but I don't remember where that came from.

Can we use the campus gyms before orientation? Even if we don't get student IDs until Aug 15? Also, is a campus gym membership included in tuition?

You definitely can use the gym beforehand (I explained my predicament and logged in to something Columbia-related on my phone to prove I was an upcoming student, if I remember), although this last year it was closed for a week right around orientation. I used a free trial period/s at another gym until the week was up.

Campus gym membership is included in tuition, although not for the summer. It opens at 6 most days, 10 on weekends, although during the day there are sometimes odd hours due to classes taking up certain facilities. This isn't a huge deal with weights, but if you plan on swimming it's sort of nasty. The website's dodgefitnesscenter.com and has some schedules.

[Tiago Splitter]

So if you have more A's than A-'s and no more than one B, you'll have Kent regardless.

Or the same number of A/A+ as A-.

Do they ever tell students what % the Stone cut-off is?

Nope. No one has any precise idea of their rank at pretty much any point until graduation, when someone wins the John Ordroneaux prize for highest GPA in the class. That dude knows his ranking.

Last year ten people got the Ruth Bader Ginsburg prize, which is awarded to people who were Kent scholars all three years. The previous few years it was 5-7, and the increase is probably the result of the slightly easier curve. I figure if ten people, or about 2.5% of the class, gets Kent all three years then the percentage getting it in any one year must be higher than the old standard of 2-5%. They seem to be giving it to just about any jackass these days. But whatever the range it's lowest for 1L's.

[jbagelboy]

So if you have more A's than A-'s and no more than one B, you'll have Kent regardless.

Or the same number of A/A+ as A-.

Do they ever tell students what % the Stone cut-off is?

Nope. No one has any precise idea of their rank at pretty much any point until graduation, when someone wins the John Ordroneaux prize for highest GPA in the class. That dude knows his ranking.

Last year ten people got the Ruth Bader Ginsburg prize, which is awarded to people who were Kent scholars all three years. The previous few years it was 5-7, and the increase is probably the result of the slightly easier curve. I figure if ten people, or about 2.5% of the class, gets Kent all three years then the percentage getting it in any one year must be higher than the old standard of 2-5%. They seem to be giving it to just about any jackass these days. But whatever the range it's lowest for 1L's.

the administration estimated kent would strike at 12-15 persons in the 1L class, and obviously higher for 2L's and 3L's. that was probably reflecting the record from your year, and our reduced class size. 15 ppl would be like 4.3*%, so on the higher end of that range.

[jdapplicant]

Thanks again everyone for being so great about responding to questions.

How do we go about asking for them to store furniture if we got stuck with a furnished apartment? Ideally I'd like to go up first and see what furniture is okay and what I'd like to get rid of, at least in my own room, before asking them to store something for me. Also, who would we ask? I think I remember someone mentioning a Super (if that's a thing?).

Also, in regards to maintaining housing assignments, do we have to do anything after paying our housing deposit and before our move-in appointment?

[jbagelboy]

whoa. just saw the upper year grading guidlines. the curve for seminars is ridiculously generous.

[Sirius Blackstone]

Quick grades question! Not all of mine are back yet, just one, really, but about what hard GPA corresponds to some various class rank milestones? I know it's very speculative but any feedback and even a rough general idea helps.

I understand median falls around a straight B+ average, ~3.33 give or take a miniscule amount. Stone, at 3.41, seems to have been about top 40% last year, though perhaps slightly closer to top third instead. Kent, at 3.8, is top 3-5%...?

What would a 3.5 correspond to? Top 30%?
A 3.6?

Thank you!

No one can tell you with complete certainty, but if you run a basic regression with the stone data pt at ~top 35% and 3.3 as median, 3.5 falls around top quarter and 3.6 around top 15%. Then again, stone could be as high as top 40% or as low as top 28%, which would change these values.

I've heard the median is below 3.3, somewhere between 3.2-3.3. I would have a hard time believing it's above 3.3 because something like 35-45% of each class gets a B.

Stone honors for the 1L class is much closer to top 30% than 40%, but like jbagel said its all a mystery.

[smaug_]

I think that's really old or really off. Check the eip threads.

[starrydreamz3]

I think that's really old or really off. Check the eip threads.

Speaking of...has someone started a 2014 EIP thread?