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So up until now I have been dead set on applying ED to Columbia, which is my dream school. I love NYC and have no problem working biglaw, and with my 174/3.64 it seemed like the best bet for me. I am coming out of undergrad with no debt and have a decent amount of money saved up for law schol.

However, $260K is a TON of debt and that's really just starting to hit me. I don't want my life and career choices completely limited by debt. Like I said, I would absolutely work NYC biglaw, but PI alternatives are attractive as well (though I know how difficult these are to get now) and striking out is always a scary possibility.

Long story short, am I making a huge mistake by applying ED to Columbia?

I probably wouldn't ED. I'd just apply elsewhere in T14 and get a lot of money. Cornell will give you $$, NYU may throw you a good bit (60K+), etc. Those will give you solid options in NY if you want to stay there (then again, a lot of T14s give you good options for NY)

Columbia isn't a bad choice, but T14 at half cost (or cheaper) is really nice

That's just me.

Imo ED is only a good decision if 1) you aren't going to get money anyway and 2) it gives a significant boost. CLS doesn't give much if any boost to EDers and your numbers are good enough to actually get some T-14 scholys so if I were you I wouldn't ED anywhere.

Ya, that's where my dilemma comes in. Columbia definitely has the best career prospects out of the schools that I have a chance at, but I don't know how much those added prospects are worth compared to the money I would receive at other T-14s (most specifically NYU and Cornell). I guess I'm interested to see how much people would give up Columbia for, although I understand that this largely depends on the person and his/her financial situation/debt aversion. Any input is appreciate though! Thanks.

I wouldn't ED Columbia. You have a good shot at 50K or more from NYU.

Added a poll

Have you thought about Northwestern ED? If you have some work experience, I'm pretty sure you'd be competitive with your numbers. While I'm sure Columbia provides an edge in NYC hiring, I doubt it's a $250k advantage.

TheColonel wrote:Have you thought about Northwestern ED? If you have some work experience, I'm pretty sure you'd be competitive with your numbers. While I'm sure Columbia provides an edge in NYC hiring, I doubt it's a $250k advantage.

Unfortunately no work experience Northwestern full ride would be pretty sweet though!

I think the deciding factor for me would be that Columbia doesn't seem to give a bump to ED applicants

Swimp wrote:I think the deciding factor for me would be that Columbia doesn't seem to give a bump to ED applicants

Is this the case though? I did go through LSN a little while ago, and it seemed that I'm right at the cusp of Acceptance and waitlist, and the ED candidates around numbers got in and the ones who applied RD got WL'ed. Am I just terrible at reading data, or do I not remember this correctly?

I mean, with an ED they would get a guaranteed 174 and full tuition. That has to count for something, right?

moonman157 wrote:

Swimp wrote:I think the deciding factor for me would be that Columbia doesn't seem to give a bump to ED applicants

Is this the case though? I did go through LSN a little while ago, and it seemed that I'm right at the cusp of Acceptance and waitlist, and the ED candidates around numbers got in and the ones who applied RD got WL'ed. Am I just terrible at reading data, or do I not remember this correctly?

I mean, with an ED they would get a guaranteed 174 and full tuition. That has to count for something, right?

Obviously there aren't many data points, but the ED boost doesn't seem to exist.

http://myLSN.info/e23fzh

http://myLSN.info/fy2nfu

Don't give away your good stats for full price.

moonman157 wrote:Ya, that's where my dilemma comes in. Columbia definitely has the best career prospects out of the schools that I have a chance at, but I don't know how much those added prospects are worth compared to the money I would receive at other T-14s (most specifically NYU and Cornell). I guess I'm interested to see how much people would give up Columbia for, although I understand that this largely depends on the person and his/her financial situation/debt aversion. Any input is appreciate though! Thanks.

Over NYU 15K+, Over nonT6-T13 30-45K+.

Thanks for the responses everyone. I'm definitely starting to lean towards applying RD and seeing what happens, but it's hard to move away from my dream (even if it is in the more practical direction). Is 15K at NYU really enough to draw someone away from CLS, given NYU's higher COA/lower career prospects?

I voted risk the WL mainly because I think you have a great shot RD (or at least the numbers say you have as good of a shot RD as you would ED), and I think you'd be better off making a decision whether to pay sticker at CLS (assuming no aid) when there are other offers in play. If ED gave a significant boost I would feel differently.

Also, your tar makes me smile.

ohpobrecito wrote:I voted risk the WL mainly because I think you have a great shot RD (or at least the numbers say you have as good of a shot RD as you would ED), and I think you'd be better off making a decision whether to pay sticker at CLS (assuming no aid) when there are other offers in play. If ED gave a significant boost I would feel differently.

Also, your tar makes me smile.

I'm a big fan of the movie, particularly that scene. Love to me is two people facing each other on a couch while reading.

It seems like you'll be somewhere between this:

http://lawschoolnumbers.com/Heath444

And this:

http://lawschoolnumbers.com/davidboring

First got substantial money from other schools. 60k from Chicago and 37k from NYU are both acceptable, and perhaps better options to Columbia at sticker. Second guy was lucky to get NYU at sticker. Don't know what went wrong, or why the huge disparity, but there it is.

twentypercentmore wrote:It seems like you'll be somewhere between this:

http://lawschoolnumbers.com/Heath444

And this:

http://lawschoolnumbers.com/davidboring

First got substantial money from other schools. 60k from Chicago and 37k from NYU are both acceptable, and perhaps better options to Columbia at sticker. Second guy was lucky to get NYU at sticker. Don't know what went wrong, or why the huge disparity, but there it is.

That's what I'm afraid of lol. Do you think the disparity had anything to do with the one user's Ivy League background, or potentially better softs/LORs? Though the consensus seems to be that CCN is very numbers-based. Sorry for sounding so neurotic, I've just been stressing over this recently. Thanks.

moonman157 wrote:

twentypercentmore wrote:It seems like you'll be somewhere between this:

http://lawschoolnumbers.com/Heath444

And this:

http://lawschoolnumbers.com/davidboring

First got substantial money from other schools. 60k from Chicago and 37k from NYU are both acceptable, and perhaps better options to Columbia at sticker. Second guy was lucky to get NYU at sticker. Don't know what went wrong, or why the huge disparity, but there it is.

That's what I'm afraid of lol. Do you think the disparity had anything to do with the one user's Ivy League background, or potentially better softs/LORs? Though the consensus seems to be that CCN is very numbers-based. Sorry for sounding so neurotic, I've just been stressing over this recently. Thanks.

It looks like it may be a case of him not waiting out the waitlists or not updating at the end of his cycle. Consensus seems to be that Ivy league UG is only a tiny bump but better softs/LORs are definitely a possibility.

How should my lack of post-undergrad work experience play into this decision? I read someone post that you shouldn't ED if you're not willing to work in NYC. Is the same thing true for work experience?

moonman157 wrote:How should my lack of post-undergrad work experience play into this decision? I read someone post that you shouldn't ED if you're not willing to work in NYC. Is the same thing true for work experience?

I think they were probably saying that because, if you ED, you're not going to get much money from CLS, if any. So you'll have to work NYC biglaw to pay off the loans. I don't see what that has to do with prior work experience.

Swimp wrote:

moonman157 wrote:How should my lack of post-undergrad work experience play into this decision? I read someone post that you shouldn't ED if you're not willing to work in NYC. Is the same thing true for work experience?

I think they were probably saying that because, if you ED, you're not going to get much money from CLS, if any. So you'll have to work NYC biglaw to pay off the loans. I don't see what that has to do with prior work experience.

Sorry for the confusion, I was referring to a post from another thread.

Alright, I've made my decision and I'll be applying RD. Thanks everyone for the responses/votes, and keep your fingers crossed for me!