Columbia transfer class of 2012 Forum

[forestgirl]

I asked the admission office. They said it took five days to activate UNi after you laid your deposit.

Mine only took two days. I had to actively look it up though-- I didn't receive an email or anything like that.

[forestgirl]

Has anyone else talked to their career counselor yet? Mine is really friendly but EXTREMELY urgent about everything, like in terms of wanting updates on my resume within hours. This is all while I am still working two jobs. I'm excited to be admitted and really stoked that EIP has so many opportunities, but I feel like a fish out of water. My old school only had 15 possible firms to bid for the New York Interview Program. I don't really know where to start.

Also, what about taking our GPA's and ranks off of our resumes? Apparently Columbia's instructions are to not include this information from either undergrad or 1L school. I took it off my resume because I want to do everything by the book, but this doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. My grades are, of course, a major selling point on my resume and I feel that I look weaker without them listed. If I send a resume to a firm that isn't necessarily familiar with Columbia's policy, it's going to look like my grades were so poor that I did not want to list them. Note: I understand that Columbia doesn't do GPA and rank, so this is not a question about Columbia-- it's a question about my previous school information.

[trbrny]

Has anyone else talked to their career counselor yet? Mine is really friendly but EXTREMELY urgent about everything, like in terms of wanting updates on my resume within hours. This is all while I am still working two jobs. I'm excited to be admitted and really stoked that EIP has so many opportunities, but I feel like a fish out of water. My old school only had 15 possible firms to bid for the New York Interview Program. I don't really know where to start.

Also, what about taking our GPA's and ranks off of our resumes? Apparently Columbia's instructions are to not include this information from either undergrad or 1L school. I took it off my resume because I want to do everything by the book, but this doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. My grades are, of course, a major selling point on my resume and I feel that I look weaker without them listed. If I send a resume to a firm that isn't necessarily familiar with Columbia's policy, it's going to look like my grades were so poor that I did not want to list them. Note: I understand that Columbia doesn't do GPA and rank, so this is not a question about Columbia-- it's a question about my previous school information.

I also found my career counselor to be super nice but extremely urgent. She told me to remove my previous law school GPA but to keep the rank. Apparently most firms understand from the fact that you transferred into Columbia that you had extremely high grades in your previous school.

I'm still struggling with putting together a bid list - there's so much info to process and not sure what to do. Does anyone have any incite into this process?

[shock259]

Well, I think the counselors are urgent because the bidding is coming around so fast. Mine wanted me to submit my bid list on Monday at the latest just in case there were any technical issues/unforeseen circumstances.

With the class rank from your previous school, I was also told to remove it for OCI. I'm not sure if I should include it or not for mass mailing. But even if I don't include it on the resume, I will be sending a transcript along with the resume, so the info will be there. Also, I agree that it creates a pretty strong impression if you transferred to Columbia. They'll assume you are a superstar, I think. I'm leaning towards keeping it off.

Also, this whole process is terribly unnerving. I've gone through revision after revision of my bidlist, but I'm pretty sure I'm still doing it all wrong. There's so much data to consider yet so many unknowns. Blah.

But whenever I get too overwhelmed, I tell myself that the only reason I even have these opportunities is because I transferred. These firms wouldn't give me an interview if I stayed at my school. And even if I strike out, I'll still be in a better position than I would have been had I stayed.

[trbrny]

anybody else breaking their heads over the bid list? if anybody wants to exchange or post lists so we can get feedback, let me know.

[lawschoolgrapedme]

Im a previous transfer, and I'm surprised they said no rankings.

when i transferred, I wasnt allowed to put my undergrad or law school GPA. however, i was allowed to put summa cum laude for undergrad and top x% for law school.

I transferred last year, so unless they changed the policy since then u should be allowed to do the above - u just cant list a hard number GPA.

[FlanSolo]

Im a previous transfer, and I'm surprised they said no rankings.

when i transferred, I wasnt allowed to put my undergrad or law school GPA. however, i was allowed to put summa cum laude for undergrad and top x% for law school.

I transferred last year, so unless they changed the policy since then u should be allowed to do the above - u just cant list a hard number GPA.

This kind of sucks for me because the only designation my (former) school gives is top 15% percent, and based on honors cutoffs and the TLS estimator, I was top 1-2%. I guess they'll see my transcript though, right?

[quiver]

Im a previous transfer, and I'm surprised they said no rankings.

when i transferred, I wasnt allowed to put my undergrad or law school GPA. however, i was allowed to put summa cum laude for undergrad and top x% for law school.

I transferred last year, so unless they changed the policy since then u should be allowed to do the above - u just cant list a hard number GPA.

This kind of sucks for me because the only designation my (former) school gives is top 15% percent, and based on honors cutoffs and the TLS estimator, I was top 1-2%. I guess they'll see my transcript though, right?

I think I was told the same thing last year. IMO it's important to remember that the CSO is there to help, but they cannot bar you from participating in EIP just because your resume doesn't conform to their template. You can do whatever you want with your resume; your name is at the top. That's how I thought of it at least.

Oh, and I put my GPA on there.

[FlanSolo]

Good point, thanks Quiver.

[trbrny]

Im a previous transfer, and I'm surprised they said no rankings.

when i transferred, I wasnt allowed to put my undergrad or law school GPA. however, i was allowed to put summa cum laude for undergrad and top x% for law school.

I transferred last year, so unless they changed the policy since then u should be allowed to do the above - u just cant list a hard number GPA.

This kind of sucks for me because the only designation my (former) school gives is top 15% percent, and based on honors cutoffs and the TLS estimator, I was top 1-2%. I guess they'll see my transcript though, right?

I got the following email from career services:

"My apologies for telling you it was okay to have your GPA on your resume, but we are asking all students to remove it. You can have your rank (#/#), and Top X% if available. "

So I think its ok to include both rank and percentile.

[grok123]

How are you all handling contacting firms in your current market? I know the general advice is to not contact a firm outside of OCI if they're interviewing there, but there are a number of firms that have an OCI slot for say their SF office and not their Silicon Valley office. Do you think it's okay to contact the Silicon Valley office outside of OCI?

[FlanSolo]

Anyone have information about journal applications, or where I can find the information?

[iu_transfer]

In yesterday, deposited last night. I started some prelim housing research myself but would love to room with someone else (or two) if anyone is looking to fill a spot. PM me if so

[lockiller]

Any idea how many people are on the waitlist of the university housing list? Do I still have a realistic chance to get housing from the university (applying now)?

[shock259]

I was told by someone last year that they hit #400 by 8/12 and they eventually got to about 500, but it wasn't until much later. He was unsure if they got further. I signed up for housing on 7/18 and got assigned #600. So I'm going to say unlikely based on last year's data. I'd start the craigslist slog.

[forestgirl]

For people living off-campus: where are you looking? I am being strongly discouraged from looking above the 80s because the neighborhoods in the UWS and around Columbia are less than great, but midtown is really pricey. And we have cats, so I keep getting my hopes up and then seeing "no pets." I'm close to throwing my hands up and accepting the commute from New Jersey.

[shock259]

Looking like I'll be up in East Harlem (if this deal goes through). It's kinda far from the excitement in the city, but it is cheaper and pretty close to Columbia.

[forestgirl]

Strongly considering a new development right next to the Secaucus train station-- it's cheap and the commute would only be 40 minutes. Maybe I'll just go with that and be done with this mess.

[piccolittle]

Strongly considering a new development right next to the Secaucus train station-- it's cheap and the commute would only be 40 minutes. Maybe I'll just go with that and be done with this mess.

Hey, I know this is the transfer thread and I totally don't belong here, but unless "cheap" is really important to you, I would seriously look closer to Columbia. If it's older people who have been telling you where to avoid, the neighborhood has changed a lot in the last 10-20 years, and things can be fairly cheap around here (though of course with a bit of a boost for being close to the university and campus security).

[lockiller]

Just to check with you guys.
The template resume provided by Columbia has margins of 0.9' on top and bottom, and 0.6' on left and right. We should adhere to the margins, right?

[yanks88]

Has anyone confirmed the Journal Application deadline is Friday? I got in today, but trying to decide if I can even make all this happen in essentially 4 days without losing my mind.

[shock259]

It is Friday. I think it's at 3PM. Most of the docs are routine stuff, though. Only thing you'll have to "write" for it is a personal statement (max 2 pages).

[nadopretz]

What is my "sign up code" for housing? BLAH.

[grok123]

It is Friday. I think it's at 3PM. Most of the docs are routine stuff, though. Only thing you'll have to "write" for it is a personal statement (max 2 pages).

Do you have a link? The websites are pretty bad and I haven't been able to find it. Also has anyone seen anything on transfer class registration?

[shock259]

Log into the admitted students portal, hit "Opportunities" on the left, then hit "Journals"

I don't think it will link right, but you should find it there.