Is Columbia worth sticker? Forum

[swordking90]

Hi all,

I've seen many people unequivocally say HYS is worth sticker. Just wondering - what about Columbia? Please vote!!!

Context: I want to work long-term public interest in the Northeast, primarily, Boston, DC, and NYC, in that order of preference, but is OK with working in NYC in BigLaw for a couple/few years to gain experience. No family assistance on $. Thanks for voting!

[Bildungsroman]

No.

[sinfiery]

That's a lot of money. For me, yeah, I'd go, but damn, that's a lot of money.


Also, biglaw will be a must, not something you are just okay with (not sure how lrap works)

[kakistocracy]

Do you have money at other T14s?

[cahwc12]

Hi all,

I've seen many people unequivocally say HYS is worth sticker. Just wondering - what about Columbia? Please vote!!!

Context: I want to work long-term public interest in the Northeast, primarily, Boston, DC, and NYC, in that order of preference, but is OK with working in NYC in BigLaw for a couple/few years to gain experience. No family assistance on $. Thanks for voting!

That's because HYS have a safety net in place that no other schools come close to matching.

[Sheffield]

In better times Columbia is a 100% slam dunk. ITE, a solid probably!

[NoodleyOne]

If you get Columbia at sticker, that probably means you get significant $$$ from the lower T14. In a vacuum it's not the worst decision ever, but passing up say 90k at Penn for Columbia at sticker would be pretty dumb.

[nefftron]

Take the money. You cannot underestimate the liberation that comes with not having much/any debt. Even if you're committed to public interest or whatever, you have the risk that you'll hate your job and can't leave, or that you'll get fired and be completely screwed.

[M458]

I don't think even Yale is worth sticker, so no, IMO, Columbia is not worth sticker.

[rad lulz]

No.

This.

If you can get into Columbia, you can get money somewhere else. Columbia CoA is like $288k.

[jbagelboy]

Unless its massive scholarship vs Columbia sticker, wont the debt be debilitating anyway? Even if you have a half tuition (25K) scholarship at a lower T14, thats still 6 figure debt load. So at that point isnt it just a matter of degree? the amounts will be astronomical either way. I dont buy the tls logic that a little cheaper is better unless its truly a phase shift in scenario, and only the top scholarships are game changers.

According to forbes, business insider, ect. Columbia Law has the best job prospects in the nation -- clearly this is skewed by HYS self-selectivity, but its a statement nonetheless. We all know America loves a discount, so it would help for people to know your other offers, but sure I think Columbia is well worth paying full price for if its what you want. A majority of the class every year does so, and considering they got in, they are clearly intelligent enough to make that decision.

[RhymesLikeDimes]

Depends on your goals. Columbia's biglaw placement is terrific, and they have an excellent LRAP if you want to go the PI route. But, if you aren't interested in either of those, or are still unsure about what you want to do after law school, then you shouldn't pay sticker anywhere.

Personally, I'd pay sticker at Columbia unless I got a full-ride from another T14, or a good amount from Chicago or NYU. For a splitter like me, a major scholly isn't all that likely.

[Vincent]

This is a decision I'm going to have to make, so I'm going to lurk here and hope for wisdom. Columbia or Berkeley......

[WahooLaw24]

Even though it's not something I would do personally, I think Columbia can be worth sticker.

As others have said though, Columbia at sticker means you should have $$$ at lower T14 schools, and I personally would take those offers every time.

[swordking90]

This is a decision I'm going to have to make, so I'm going to lurk here and hope for wisdom. Columbia or Berkeley......

Congrats on your acceptances Vincent! I'm just wondering: are you not considering Chicago at all, with the $45,000 scholly? Have you tried bargaining with NYU or Berkeley (through the matching program).

[UtilityMonster]

I don't think even Yale is worth sticker, so no, IMO, Columbia is not worth sticker.

Bullshit.

[NoodleyOne]

I don't think even Yale is worth sticker, so no, IMO, Columbia is not worth sticker.

Bullshit.

Why Bullshit? At Yale, even though you're all but guaranteed a "good outcome", you're still in 250k+ of debt and crossing your fingers you don't get fired in the next 5-10 years. You may disagree with it, but for the debt averse, it can make sense.

Especially since with a Yale acceptance you probably also get Rubys and Hamiltons and Darrows and full rides through most of the T-14.

[Rahviveh]

Even though it's not something I would do personally, I think Columbia can be worth sticker.

As others have said though, Columbia at sticker means you should have $$$ at lower T14 schools, and I personally would take those offers every time.

Generally that's true but its not always the case. I know one person who had CLS as his only T14 acceptance. He wasn't a splitter either.

And he doesn't have his lsn up but there's another splitter on TLS whose biggest T14 scholly right now is Chicago

Distribution of scholarships throughout the T14 is more unpredictable than TLS CW. Its not always a sliding scale.

[Flash]

I don't think even Yale is worth sticker, so no, IMO, Columbia is not worth sticker.

Bullshit.

Why Bullshit? At Yale, even though you're all but guaranteed a "good outcome", you're still in 250k+ of debt and crossing your fingers you don't get fired in the next 5-10 years. You may disagree with it, but for the debt averse, it can make sense.

Especially since with a Yale acceptance you probably also get Rubys and Hamiltons and Darrows and full rides through most of the T-14.

Not thinking YLS is worth sticker is retarded. COAP makes Yale special.

No. Columbia is not worth sticker.

[BigZuck]

Even though it's not something I would do personally, I think Columbia can be worth sticker.

As others have said though, Columbia at sticker means you should have $$$ at lower T14 schools, and I personally would take those offers every time.

[Bronck]

Distribution of scholarships throughout the T14 is more unpredictable than TLS CW. Its not always a sliding scale.

Agree with this. Last year, CLS gave me one of my most generous scholarship awards in the T14. Of course, I think my situation was an aberration, but it's still worth noting.

That being said, as a general matter, I wouldn't pay sticker at CLS.

[EvilClinton]

Hi all,

I've seen many people unequivocally say HYS is worth sticker. Just wondering - what about Columbia? Please vote!!!

Context: I want to work long-term public interest in the Northeast, primarily, Boston, DC, and NYC, in that order of preference, but is OK with working in NYC in BigLaw for a couple/few years to gain experience. No family assistance on $. Thanks for voting!

Nope. Never.

That is about 250-260K (including interest while in school) in loans once you get out.

[UtilityMonster]

How anyone can even attempt to answer this question without knowing what the OP's employment situation without a law degree is like is beyond me.

[Paul Campos]

This is a cautionary tale in the making.

(1) OP is K/JD

(2) OP has zero WE.

(3) OP's reasons for going to LS sound suspiciously vague (What does OP mean by "public interest?" PD? DA? Legal services? Writing Brandeis briefs for the Environmental Defense Fund?).

(4) OP appears to know nothing about legal practice, as he notes that although he wants PI he's not averse to going to BigLaw for a couple of years to get "experience" Being a junior at a big firm is almost completely useless in terms of getting experience for any PI job. In addition, PI is getting more competitive all the time because of PSLF, and most PI employers have no interest in BigLaw washouts, since they can get top PI-committed people.

(5) There is no reason for a PI-committed person to ever go to CLS at sticker, since what CLS buys you (at $300K in debt) is a good shot at BigLaw.

In sum, OP appears to be a starry-eyed 0L who is thrilled by how he's getting into prestigious law schools, even though his reasons for going sound extremely dubious. He would be way better off taking his fancy undergrad degree and getting a job for a couple of years, preferably legally-related, but really any job would be better than K-JDing his way to $300K in debt while having some vague idea that he wants to be a lawyer of some sort. Plus this would give him a chance to bump his LSAT three points, which would be the equivalent of paying himself $150K.

[Tiago Splitter]

6) OP has a 168 LSAT. There might be some situations where CLS at sticker is justified, but never for anyone who hasn't maxed out their LSAT potential.