Columbia 2012 Transfer Applicants Forum

[piccolittle]

Can you give me a brief explanation about why that is so? Are they in radically different parts of the city?

Ha.

[Certiorari]

If I do get in I'm worried about finding an apartment in time... anyone else?

Eh, if worst comes to worst, I figured I could just occupy something. Riverside park is nice. . .

In all seriousness, though, no, I'm not too worried; there's of housing options. We'll have to get a roommate thread going when decions start coming.

[NYC1983]

Can you give me a brief explanation about why that is so? Are they in radically different parts of the city?

Are you being mean or genuine?

[mileslibertatis]

No I am serious. I thought they were both in Manhattan. And while I grew up in New Jersey, it is bizarre to me that two schools in the same borough of a single city would be so far apart. I guess I'm a Mid-Atlantic country bumpkin.

[piccolittle]

No I am serious. I thought they were both in Manhattan. And while I grew up in New Jersey, it is bizarre to me that two schools in the same borough of a single city would be so far apart. I guess I'm a Mid-Atlantic country bumpkin.

They are both in Manhattan, but look them both up on Google maps and figure out how to get to Columbia from Jersey. NYU is way more convenient.

I really need to step out of this thread, I don't belong here. But just in case, I'm happy to answer any questions anyone might have (rising 2L).

[NYC1983]

Glad to hear you aren't being mean

From Hoboken to NYU you can just take the path (maybe 30 mins) but Hoboken to CLS will be about 1 hour + with at least 2 transfers.

Totally different parts of Manhattan... totally different feel between the two areas as well

[Certiorari]

Actually, piccolittle, I am curious about where most CLS students live. I figured Harlem or UWS, maybe UES. But those neighborhoods can get pricy on a student's budget, though I know there are inexpensive options in those neighborhoods if one looks.

[mileslibertatis]

Saying NYU is closer to NJ and easier to access make me think of a giant university in between strip malls. True?

[piccolittle]

Actually, piccolittle, I am curious about where most CLS students live. I figured Harlem or UWS, maybe UES. But those neighborhoods can get pricy on a student's budget, though I know there are inexpensive options in those neighborhoods if one looks.

Columbia University owns pretty much all of Morningside Heights, which can be a good thing or bad thing. The good part of that is that we get "subsidized" housing (in quotations because I have no idea how different it would be from market rate). There are Columbia buildings surrounding the school, and most CLS students live in Columbia-owned apartments which are guaranteed for three years. You are welcome to move further north or south to save on cost of living (though north is more likely to be cheaper than south), but the most convenient places are right around school. There are two massive blocks of solely law school housing on 115th and 116th, across the street from the law school. The only place I would not recommend is across Morningside Park, as it can be dangerous at night and the convenience of cutting through the park rather than walking around it is way too tempting. Most people I know live in shared apartments in Columbia buildings in the 112th - 120th St. range. When submitting your housing application, you can apply for law school-only or simply university owned housing.

Here is the university housing website if you guys haven't seen it already: http://facilities.columbia.edu/housing/

ETA: I have a couple of friends who live a few stops down on the 1 line in the UWS (like 76th St. or so), but those places are, as you imagined, expensive. The difficulty of getting across town above 59th St. makes UES and East Harlem very impractical, not to mention price or safety concerns.

[Certiorari]

Cool — thank you very much for that information. I guess there's a reason like 50% of Law and Order episodes start with a jogger or a sanitation worker finding a body in Riverside park; takes my Occupy Riverside plans off the table.

Anyway, I'd browsed the housing website only briefly, and had no idea there was that much housing! My UG school could only house about 10% of students on-campus, and nobody at my home LS lives in school-owend housing.

[forestgirl]

Yeah NJ is not ideal for Columbia, but if I'm lucky enough to get in, I'll happily take the commute. Maybe I can get some work done on the train. If the bf finds a job in the city though, all bets are off... to Manhattan we go! That's awesome to hear Columbia has so much housing. I hope I get the "chore" of figuring out where to live in NYC.

[NYC1983]

Any word on what a 1bd on campus costs per month?

Also what's the deal with living with non-student SO's on campus?

Thanks!

[quiver]

Any word on what a 1bd on campus costs per month?

Also what's the deal with living with non-student SO's on campus?

Thanks!

1. Depends on the building.

2.

Do you guys know if my girlfriend and I will have to show proof of having lived together when we move in? I asked for, and received couples housing but haven't been asked to provide anything.

Yes, when my SO and I moved in, they were looking for a marriage license, joint bank account, or a similar document to show that we were together. We didn't have any of those but we did have a joint credit card for four months and a prior lease that we were on together. They approved us with just those two things.

Yeah this is what kept me from doing couple's housing. The options are:

ONE of the following items:
-Documentation of marriage or domestic partnership.
-Joint mortgage or lease.
-Documentation showing, for a period of at least six months prior to the application for housing, an actively used joint bank account, joint credit account, or joint ownership of a motor vehicle.

Or

TWO items documenting that the applicant and his/her partner have resided together at the same address for a period of at least six months prior to the application for housing (such as drivers' license, voters' registration, utility bills, etc.).

[piccolittle]

Any word on what a 1bd on campus costs per month?

Also what's the deal with living with non-student SO's on campus?

Thanks!

You can live with non-student SOs in a studio or one bedroom but you have to show through documentation that you're either married or have lived together for a certain amount of time before (as detailed in the post above). A one bedroom is going to obviously be more expensive than a studio, and you might be relegated to living in the Arbor, which is up in the Bronx and so far away. Apparently it's nice, though, so if you're comfortable having to get a shuttle to school I guess it would work for you. To my knowledge, the only studios available are in law school housing on 116th St., but I honestly don't want to speculate about cost. Maybe have a look at the Housing site? The law school-only housing prices are here: http://facilities.columbia.edu/housing/ ... LawHousing, but I don't know what it's like for university-owned housing.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help!

[PrayingforHYS]

I realize that CLS' deadline to file your app still hasn't even passed, but I'm surprised we haven't seen at least a few TLSers report decisions. Maybe tmrw though.

Seeing as how I'm not auto-admit, looks like it'll be another unproductive week at work obsessively checking my email and TLS!

[NYC1983]

Any word on what a 1bd on campus costs per month?

Also what's the deal with living with non-student SO's on campus?

Thanks!

You can live with non-student SOs in a studio or one bedroom but you have to show through documentation that you're either married or have lived together for a certain amount of time before (as detailed in the post above). A one bedroom is going to obviously be more expensive than a studio, and you might be relegated to living in the Arbor, which is up in the Bronx and so far away. Apparently it's nice, though, so if you're comfortable having to get a shuttle to school I guess it would work for you. To my knowledge, the only studios available are in law school housing on 116th St., but I honestly don't want to speculate about cost. Maybe have a look at the Housing site? The law school-only housing prices are here: http://facilities.columbia.edu/housing/ ... LawHousing, but I don't know what it's like for university-owned housing.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help!

This is very helpful! Thanks!

[NYC1983]

I realize that CLS' deadline to file your app still hasn't even passed, but I'm surprised we haven't seen at least a few TLSers report decisions. Maybe tmrw though.

Seeing as how I'm not auto-admit, looks like it'll be another unproductive week at work obsessively checking my email and TLS!

I'm equally surprised. How would you define auto-admit?

[PrayingforHYS]

I realize that CLS' deadline to file your app still hasn't even passed, but I'm surprised we haven't seen at least a few TLSers report decisions. Maybe tmrw though.

Seeing as how I'm not auto-admit, looks like it'll be another unproductive week at work obsessively checking my email and TLS!

I'm equally surprised. How would you define auto-admit?

Idk, top 5% at T30, I guess. Then again, it's CLS, so perhaps their "auto admits" are limited to t14 schools

[etk2103]

just went complete.

top 20%, t14...

[mileslibertatis]

Is CLS considered more elite than NYU?

[forestgirl]

Is CLS considered more elite than NYU?

Yes. Especially if you're considering academia or clerkship. But for biglaw, career prospects are probably similar.

[FlanSolo]

Is CLS considered more elite than NYU?

Yes. Especially if you're considering academia or clerkship. But for biglaw, career prospects are probably similar.

I don't really know much about academia other than that if that's what you really want, you should be at HYS, but I think NYU and CLS are actually pretty even when it comes to Art. III clerkships. In 2011, NYU placed about 40 percent in biglaw, and CLS placed about 51 percent in biglaw. But when you include Art. III clerkships and "prestigious government" NYU was at 53.13 and CLS was at 64.65. Thus, CLS placed about 0.5 percent more in Art. III clerkships and "prestigious government."

http://insidethelawschoolscam.blogspot. ... stats.html

That said, the 10 percent better placement in biglaw suggests that median is a much better place to be at CLS than it is at NYU. Fortunately for us transfer students, that shouldn't really matter.

[SoNorthern]

I am assuming some of us waiting have heard from other schools, how are you guys dealing with seat deposit deadlines and waiting on a decision for CLS? Can you put down a seat deposit and later back-out? (I guess loosing $500 or so in the process)

[gdizz01]

I'm starting to get anxious! Every time I hear an email notification sound from my iPhone or computer, my heart skips a beat. I open my email, looking for good news, and it's usually an ad from Groupon or Gilt. Now, I'm not saying those email's aren't good news, too, but fifty percent off artisan pizza or boxing classes isn't the kind of news I'm hoping for. . .

I can't say how much I relate to this...phone almost gets thrown after every single irrelevant e-mail.

My $.02 on Jersey housing...Jersey City waterfront area is a greaaat place to be, and Hoboken is basically a college town without the college - all NJ college grads that migrate up to work in Manhattan, move to hoboken, so it's basically just a party town. Neither are particularly cheap, but both are good options to think about (although, as has been said, they are more convenient for NYU). I'm currently living in JC waterfront and commuting to NYC, so if I get into either school I'll most likely stay put.

[NYC1983]

I bet we are waiting until next week folks