Application Fee Waivers - Fall 2011 Applicants Forum

[padthai]

.

[Mike12188]

I requested a fee waiver from Columbia. Their response...

Dear Sir,

We were not pleasantly surprised to receive your interest in an application fee waiver at Columbia Law School. We were, rather, taken aback. Please attempt to understand our situation. As a prestigious, Ivy League institution of higher learning, we must be extremely judicious not only in who we admit, but in whose files we even allow our admissions committee to review. If we allow the slightest bit of education impurity to infiltrate our admissions process, where might we end up?

Your email also brought to our attention that you have managed to find our contact information, implying you have been using our website. Please realize that bandwidth is not free. Enclosed is a bill in the amount of $0.27. We would remind you, the Postal Service will not render delivery of mail lacking proper postage.

Thank you for your interest,

Columbia Law School

I'm exactly at their median numbers. FML.

Is this for real????????????? They're charging you for using their bandwith? WTF? Oh, and they sound SOOO snobby!

LOL

[Bildungsroman]

[JJDancer]

Has anyone heard anything from mercer? I tried to find an email address to send a request but struck out. Do you have to call them or am I just an idiot. Thanks in advance.

Update: Got a fee waiver via email from them today.
martin_sv@law.mercer.edu

[ahduth]

Hint: Fee waivers generally do not come via snail-mail.

I beg to differ. I received a very heartfelt note from Sarah Zearfoss at the University of Michigan, along with a very handsomely produced viewbook. She even underlined that she would love for me to apply to her school. Needless to say, I was charmed, and will be applying forthwith.

[Gemini]

I'm a little gullible haha.

[ahduth]

Maybe you just got unlucky with an assistant who was having a bad day...

I was joking of course, I hadn't had any coffee yet, and my brain doesn't function correctly pre-caffeine-application. I got the same exact email as you, they're very professional.

On a technical note, does what happened to padthai and Gemini Hopeful qualify as "trolling"? I'm trying to pick up the art and science of it all.

[mr_toad]

Van Winkle speaks truth: They "generally" do NOT come by snail mail. The fact that I received one fee waiver (Cornell) by snail mail does not disprove his point.

[NonTradHealthLaw]

On a technical note, does what happened to padthai and Gemini Hopeful qualify as "trolling"? I'm trying to pick up the art and science of it all.

If it does, then you're my new favorite troll, because your "letter" was hilarious. Sarcasm is difficult to convey in the written word. Yours, however, was dripping with sarcasm and an essence of frustration. Well played!

[Adjudicator]

Clearly fee waivers do not generally come by snail mail, but to highlight one exception, a couple days ago I received a massive packet in the mail from U Miami, including a fee waiver and several brochures advertising their school, including a booklet called "29 critical questions you should be asking yourself" or something like that.

They're really trying!

[Adjudicator]

On a technical note, does what happened to padthai and Gemini Hopeful qualify as "trolling"? I'm trying to pick up the art and science of it all.

If it does, then you're my new favorite troll, because your "letter" was hilarious. Sarcasm is difficult to convey in the written word. Yours, however, was dripping with sarcasm and an essence of frustration. Well played!

I concur, I thought that was clever and hilarious!

[d34d9823]

Got Harvard, Yale, and Stanford fee waivers via snail-mail yesterday. Pretty excited about those.

And banned once more for trolling. It's especially disjointed for him to be claiming he got fee waivers now, since the thing that got him banned before was claiming to be accepted to Harvard already.

Hint: Fee waivers generally do not come via snail-mail.

The guys a troll, but I've already had 3 fee waivers by snail mail this cycle out of my 7 total.

[Gemini]

On a technical note, does what happened to padthai and Gemini Hopeful qualify as "trolling"? I'm trying to pick up the art and science of it all.

If it does, then you're my new favorite troll, because your "letter" was hilarious. Sarcasm is difficult to convey in the written word. Yours, however, was dripping with sarcasm and an essence of frustration. Well played!

Well I hadn't had MY coffee yet, so sca-UUUUSSE me!

[beleaguer]

+1

lol'd (lolled?) several times at the letter, too. once for the first reading, a few times for each successive gullible pitfall

[vegenator]

On a technical note, does what happened to padthai and Gemini Hopeful qualify as "trolling"? I'm trying to pick up the art and science of it all.

If it does, then you're my new favorite troll, because your "letter" was hilarious. Sarcasm is difficult to convey in the written word. Yours, however, was dripping with sarcasm and an essence of frustration. Well played!

Well I hadn't had MY coffee yet, so sca-UUUUSSE me!

You're sca-UUUUSSEd I thought it was really funny But I've made some dumb interpretations on this website, too, so sympathy to those who missed the sarcasm

[mr_toad]

True, now that I come to think of it, many of my lower level waivers (I'm looking at you Michigan State and Cooley) have filled my recycling bins IRL. But I think the "generally" modifier is still justified.

[ahduth]

Trolling is fun.

[Adjudicator]

I just checked to see if I had a hidden fee waiver from Columbia but I do not. Not that I think I would get in, anyway. I just wanted to do it for fun, but I know it isn't worth paying the fee.

[lzyovrachievr]

Trolling is fun.

Yea, till Vanwinkle comes and bans you.

[beleaguer]

i keep checking penn and chicago for hidden fee waivers :[ i just don't wanna pay anymoreee

not sure if i should keep waiting.

[JJDancer]

That wasn't trolling. Who could think a law school would say they were "NOT pleasantly surprised"?? (sorry Gemini hopeful!) but I thought it was obviously just a fake, funny letter drawn from frustration.

[firemed]

I requested a fee waiver from Columbia. Their response...





Is this a joke? I requested as well and got...

Dear ___,

Thank you for your interest in Columbia Law School.

Should you satisfy the requirements for a merit-based fee waiver, you will be contacted by us directly via email.

Additionally, we provide application fee waivers to those prospective applicants who have received a fee waiver through LSAC or who satisfactorily complete our need-based fee waiver application, which we have attached for your consideration.

We hope to review your application in the coming months.

Best wishes,

Columbia Law School

Maybe you just got unlucky with an assistant who was having a bad day...

[ahduth]

That wasn't trolling. Who could think a law school would say they were "NOT pleasantly surprised"?? (sorry Gemini hopeful!) but I thought it was obviously just a fake, funny letter drawn from frustration.

I'm not frustrated - I sure as hell wouldn't give me a fee waiver. It's obvious I'm going to apply. I guess I just find the whole dance more amusing than anything.

Me: "Hi, I'm writing because I'm kind of an obvious applicant for your school, and I want you to let me apply for free!!! "

School: "I'm having trouble finding the part in here where you're actually convincing me to basically give you 80 bucks."

Me: "I have cookies?"

School: "..."

Me: "White chocolate macadamia nut?"

School: "We'll see if you come up in our CRS sweep."

Me sends cookies to Dean Zearfoss who sent a hand-written fee waiver instead.

[ahduth]

Me sends cookies to Dean Zearfoss who sent a hand-written fee waiver instead.

Actually the only reason I bring her up, is Michigan sometimes manages to make a difference with the personal attention they give to this stuff. A friend of mine went to the same undergraduate school as Dean Zearfoss, and her little invitation to apply included a note to that effect. That personal touch got them an acceptance from a candidate with offers from some nominally higher ranked institutions. Obviously an anecdotal case... I just find this whole fee waiver process to be a really bizarre microcosm of the overall application process.

[ATR]

Received via email, plan on using:

Boston University
Duke
Indiana
Northwestern
Virginia
Washington University
William & Mary

Received via email, don't plan on using:

Cardozo
Cincinnati
Cumberland
Dayton
Drexel
Hofstra
Iowa
Mercer
Michigan State
Northeastern
Ohio Northern
Quinnipiac
Saint Louis
Saint Thomas
South Carolina
St. John's
Suffolk
Syracuse
Tulsa
Villanova

Sending request this afternoon:

Berkeley
Cornell
Emory
Fordham
George Washington
Georgetown
Minnesota
North Carolina
Southern California
Southern Methodist
UCLA