Columbia Law School 2012! Forum

[takingmytime]

I got all of mine done in February as well.

In March, after I got offers from Michigan, Duke, and Cornell, I sent them a letter (e-mail) containing all of the offers (pdf) and wrote that I would need for them to make a similar offer if I was to attend. I also sent them NYU's offer when it came a few weeks ago.

They were really nice in their e-mail response and said that, although they don't match, it would be put into my file. When I got my finaid offer, there was a hand written response saying that they had taken my other offers into consideration and that they hoped I would join them next year.

ditto.

Me as well.

[whyamidoingthis]

I got all of mine done in February as well.

In March, after I got offers from Michigan, Duke, and Cornell, I sent them a letter (e-mail) containing all of the offers (pdf) and wrote that I would need for them to make a similar offer if I was to attend. I also sent them NYU's offer when it came a few weeks ago.

They were really nice in their e-mail response and said that, although they don't match, it would be put into my file. When I got my finaid offer, there was a hand written response saying that they had taken my other offers into consideration and that they hoped I would join them next year.

ditto.

Me as well.

this is interesting about the matching. something moderately unrelated that I've been wondering--if your financial circumstances change, you can't apply for need-based aid, say, your third year, can you?

[onenotesamba]

I got all of mine done in February as well.

In March, after I got offers from Michigan, Duke, and Cornell, I sent them a letter (e-mail) containing all of the offers (pdf) and wrote that I would need for them to make a similar offer if I was to attend. I also sent them NYU's offer when it came a few weeks ago.

They were really nice in their e-mail response and said that, although they don't match, it would be put into my file. When I got my finaid offer, there was a hand written response saying that they had taken my other offers into consideration and that they hoped I would join them next year.

ditto.

Me as well.

this is interesting about the matching. something moderately unrelated that I've been wondering--if your financial circumstances change, you can't apply for need-based aid, say, your third year, can you?

I've actually asked schools this. The general consensus is that your financial aid usually only will go down from your original award. However, I'm sure schools would be flexible for extenuating circumstances - I have to think that once they accept you, they want you to succeed.

[daisyduck]

I got all of mine done in February as well.

In March, after I got offers from Michigan, Duke, and Cornell, I sent them a letter (e-mail) containing all of the offers (pdf) and wrote that I would need for them to make a similar offer if I was to attend. I also sent them NYU's offer when it came a few weeks ago.

They were really nice in their e-mail response and said that, although they don't match, it would be put into my file. When I got my finaid offer, there was a hand written response saying that they had taken my other offers into consideration and that they hoped I would join them next year.

ditto.

HugerThanSoup, Frank and anybody else that received this response, so did they "match" the awards? How big was a gap between Mich/Duke/Cornell offers and Columbia's? I have an offer from a school but it's not considered on par with Columbia so I didn't even bother telling them about it..

[takingmytime]

I got all of mine done in February as well.

In March, after I got offers from Michigan, Duke, and Cornell, I sent them a letter (e-mail) containing all of the offers (pdf) and wrote that I would need for them to make a similar offer if I was to attend. I also sent them NYU's offer when it came a few weeks ago.

They were really nice in their e-mail response and said that, although they don't match, it would be put into my file. When I got my finaid offer, there was a hand written response saying that they had taken my other offers into consideration and that they hoped I would join them next year.

ditto.

HugerThanSoup, Frank and anybody else that received this response, so did they "match" the awards? How big was a gap between Mich/Duke/Cornell offers and Columbia's? I have an offer from a school but it's not considered on par with Columbia so I didn't even bother telling them about it..

I had a couple of offers I sent to them (all in the CCNMVPB category + Duke). My CLS award was higher than all of the others.

[onenotesamba]

I got all of mine done in February as well.

In March, after I got offers from Michigan, Duke, and Cornell, I sent them a letter (e-mail) containing all of the offers (pdf) and wrote that I would need for them to make a similar offer if I was to attend. I also sent them NYU's offer when it came a few weeks ago.

They were really nice in their e-mail response and said that, although they don't match, it would be put into my file. When I got my finaid offer, there was a hand written response saying that they had taken my other offers into consideration and that they hoped I would join them next year.

ditto.

HugerThanSoup, Frank and anybody else that received this response, so did they "match" the awards? How big was a gap between Mich/Duke/Cornell offers and Columbia's? I have an offer from a school but it's not considered on par with Columbia so I didn't even bother telling them about it..

They quite nearly matched (but I also had the same scholarship amounts from Virginia and Penn that I had from the U of C). Anyway, my offer was incredibly generous and not expected.

[Lem37]

I really hope I get...well, anything from Columbia. Sent them my other offers in mid-March. The chatter on this board gives me hope, because I'm definitely not going to qualify for need-based.

[huckabees]

Wow, that's amazing that so many people had great grants from CLS!

Are all of you super-high LSAT scorers? It seemed like that was the case for at least one person...

[onenotesamba]

Wow, that's amazing that so many people had great grants from CLS!

Are all of you super-high LSAT scorers? It seemed like that was the case for at least one person...

Nope. But my GPA is above their 75% mark. Good luck to everyone still waiting!

[HugerThanSoup]

CLS gave me more than all the others (except for Michigan). Needless to say, I was surprised and was not at all expecting that much. (see profile for more details).

And yes, my LSAT is far above their 75th.

[Lem37]

CLS gave me more than all the others (except for Michigan). Needless to say, I was surprised and was not at all expecting that much. (see profile for more details).

And yes, my LSAT is far above their 75th.

Was some of it need-based, or do you suspect it was their combo need/matching-but-not-matching scholarship policy?

[huckabees]

CLS gave me more than all the others (except for Michigan). Needless to say, I was surprised and was not at all expecting that much. (see profile for more details).

And yes, my LSAT is far above their 75th.

Was some of it need-based, or do you suspect it was their combo need/matching-but-not-matching scholarship policy?

Yeah, I'm concerned about how much is need-based also.

I have several good offers from other schools that I WOULD take if CLS didn't give me something that is at least half to 2/3 of what the other schools offered, but I am not sure how "needy" I am compared to other applicants.

[nycRadRead]

On the topic of cash, my earlier post to another thread may be relevant:

A NYT Editorial last week by Adam Cohen was pretty striking. He posits this recession will remake the current legal landscape, especially affecting T-20 students and BigLaw prospects. Even BigLaw are laying off attorneys at a staggering rate and old, venerable firms are failing. No longer will first-year associates at top firms start at around $160,000; he suggests they may go down to as low as $100,000, where they were about 10 years ago.

To be sure a huge gap exists between private BigLaw practice and public sector jobs, which start new attorneys at anywhere from $40k-$60k a year. There wasn't always such a gap, and it will certainly shrink.

I would add (from what I've read from Alan Blinder and other econ/fed/finance types) that the breakneck growth in the financial sector we've seen over the past 10 years will never happen again, as investment banks like Morgan Stanley are now legally considered "banks", which subjects them to greater regulation and scrutiny. We can be sure hedge funds will also be regulated more closely. The days of leveraging 30 to 1 are over, as are the days of making a 30% return on capital. Greater regulation will obviously greatly decrease fat financial sector profits and therefore affect salaries for BigLaw attorneys of all sorts in the long-run as well.

So those on this forum who are attracted to law principally for the cash may want to rethink their law school plans. Especially since most of us will graduate with around $100k in debt, much of it from private loans carrying a ridiculous interest rate. And those that aren't should take a look at the realities of paying steep loan payments on a lower-than-anticipated salary.

Check out Cohen's article at: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/opini ... u4.html?em

[Lem37]

Ugh, no one cares, take it to the Recession thread on the Admissions forum. Now, back to how amazing CLS is...

[SleekFire]

So anybody get packages today?

[SleekFire]

On the topic of cash, my earlier post to another thread may be relevant:

A NYT Editorial last week by Adam Cohen was pretty striking. He posits this recession will remake the current legal landscape, especially affecting T-20 students and BigLaw prospects. Even BigLaw are laying off attorneys at a staggering rate and old, venerable firms are failing. No longer will first-year associates at top firms start at around $160,000; he suggests they may go down to as low as $100,000, where they were about 10 years ago.

To be sure a huge gap exists between private BigLaw practice and public sector jobs, which start new attorneys at anywhere from $40k-$60k a year. There wasn't always such a gap, and it will certainly shrink.

I would add (from what I've read from Alan Blinder and other econ/fed/finance types) that the breakneck growth in the financial sector we've seen over the past 10 years will never happen again, as investment banks like Morgan Stanley are now legally considered "banks", which subjects them to greater regulation and scrutiny. We can be sure hedge funds will also be regulated more closely. The days of leveraging 30 to 1 are over, as are the days of making a 30% return on capital. Greater regulation will obviously greatly decrease fat financial sector profits and therefore affect salaries for BigLaw attorneys of all sorts in the long-run as well.

So those on this forum who are attracted to law principally for the cash may want to rethink their law school plans. Especially since most of us will graduate with around $100k in debt, much of it from private loans carrying a ridiculous interest rate. And those that aren't should take a look at the realities of paying steep loan payments on a lower-than-anticipated salary.

Check out Cohen's article at: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/opini ... u4.html?em

Dude! Is there a thread you did not post this on?

[Lem37]

Just got my FinAid package - 25K over 3 years! I know it's not as much as some of the other offers on here, but I'm so, so excited nonetheless!

[daisyduck]

Just got my FinAid package - 25K over 3 years! I know it's not as much as some of the other offers on here, but I'm so, so excited nonetheless!

Congrats. When did you apply (for FinAid)?

[Lem37]

Just got my FinAid package - 25K over 3 years! I know it's not as much as some of the other offers on here, but I'm so, so excited nonetheless!

Congrats. When did you apply (for FinAid)?

The last week of March. Like, two weeks ago.

[SleekFire]

Does the package come in the mail or in Fed-Ex?

[Lem37]

Does the package come in the mail or in Fed-Ex?

Mail. It's not a literal package.

[SleekFire]

Thanks! You can ignore the PM now Lem...

[MeTalkPrettyOneDay]

I waiting on CLS's Fin Aid response too. I hope they take my NYU offer seriously, cause I'm certainly considering the offer very seriously... but I prefer CLS to NYU.

[facker09]

As my Duke offer is quickly EXPIRING (sad), I called them, and the lady said I should receive the letter "early this week." And I submitted my stuff March 19th...

I really hope I am getting more than 0. Good luck to everyone else!

[06132010]

Wow, that's amazing that so many people had great grants from CLS!

Are all of you super-high LSAT scorers? It seemed like that was the case for at least one person...

175. idk if that's super-high, but based on my family's financial situation I shouldn't qualify for need-based aid, so 40K from Columbia was a nice surprise, especially after Chicago gave me nothing.