Columbia Class of 2017 Forum

[Typhoon24]

People, like my parents, who play down debt are out of their fucking minds.

+1000

[jbagelboy]

Received my financial aid package, certainly not too shabby considering what I consider others are probably getting. If I could get just a little more I'd definitely bite. My parents however, aren't nearly as thrilled...they are traumatizing me with regards to this prospective debt.

My parents are the exact opposite. "You're young, everyone has to take out debt for cars, houses, tuition. Don't let that bother you."

Columbia at sticker is basically a mortgage in amount. They do have a point: most Americans theoretically live in debt (although you could point out that's securitized). I would actually be far more inclined to support attending at sticker if 1) interest didn't accrue and capitalize while you're in school and 2) interest rates were more like mortgages @ 2-3%. 5.4-7% is insane.

[mt2165]

Received my financial aid package, certainly not too shabby considering what I consider others are probably getting. If I could get just a little more I'd definitely bite. My parents however, aren't nearly as thrilled...they are traumatizing me with regards to this prospective debt.

My parents are the exact opposite. "You're young, everyone has to take out debt for cars, houses, tuition. Don't let that bother you."

Columbia at sticker is basically a mortgage in amount. They do have a point: most Americans theoretically live in debt (although you could point out that's securitized). I would actually be far more inclined to support attending at sticker if 1) interest didn't accrue and capitalize while you're in school and 2) interest rates were more like mortgages @ 2-3%. 5.4-7% is insane.

Right. Most American's don't live in that kind of debt though, 200k+. It really comes down to what you're willing to pay for the added security in finding a job you hypothetically (and possibly shortsightedly) think will be fulfilling. But that kind of debt is so crippling.

[EquallyWrong]

As far as the to go at sticker or not to go at sticker question...it definitely seems like the nuclear option. If you are going to do it, though, try to get as pessimistic a picture about what your life will be like...so, apparently, imagine being driven to the verge of suicide for three to five years on account of the GULAG labor conditions you will be subjected to. Then again, in Russia five years hard labor was known as the children's sentence...so gather your incredibly depressing tales from the various people's histories now for when you'll need cheering up later. If I go to Columbia, I'll bring my highlighted copies of Solzhenitsyn along and we can read them aloud while drinking low quality vodka, crying about our alienation from humane society, an oppressed brotherhood of hopeless debtors.
Debt is the bane of just about everyone's existence nowadays, etc etc ad nauseum, but the caustic levels of buyer's remorse people get who freely chose to heap 200k of it on their own head can probably be eliminated if you are at least are up front with yourself about the likely realities and what you will be sacrificing...the joyful parts of your pre-top-law-schools.com that you will have seen the last of until, if there is a heavenly afterlife or at least an eternal recurrence, you breath your last waking breath. As someone who nobody would mistake for a youth of promise until they saw my LSATs, this is kind of the safest, quickest, perhaps most lucrative way to hit the reset button. I'm sure though, if you are somebody with something to lose and have not yet surrender to a totally bleak worldview...this may not help, but it might not be that bad...but at least give yourself the opportunity to be pleasantly surprised by lowering your expectations to the level of the most basic economic and psychological subsistence. This is my way of dealing.

ETA: Fine, if you add 3 years of school plus 5 years of grind you get what is considered the lenient adult sentence. I also hope anybody losing sleep and grinding their teeth over debt sees I am being tongue in cheek...

[Balthy]

Equallywrong, I love your posts.

[jdapplicant]

Is it possible to get more $ than the Butler, without getting a named scholly? If it is possible to get >90k, how uncommon is it?

[papercut]

Is it possible to get more $ than the Butler, without getting a named scholly? If it is possible to get >90k, how uncommon is it?

There's no way you can get a reliable answer to this, other than what you already suspect is true.

[jdapplicant]

Is it possible to get more $ than the Butler, without getting a named scholly? If it is possible to get >90k, how uncommon is it?

There's no way you can get a reliable answer to this, other than what you already suspect is true.

I guess I was just asking if anyone ITT has received >90k this week in their initial aid offer. Some posters ITT that I trust have already reported getting 90k. Just one new report of >90k would help. I suspect that it's possible to negotiate it up, but the initial offer would not be. I don't think it makes a lot of sense to award people Butlers and then give other people better schollies later on, but the possibility isn't precluded.

Edit: But if your statement was in reference to my second statement, then yes I agree.

[FuriousDuck]

...

[buffalo_]

Looks like one person ITT received a package on Friday.

Did anyone else receive an email with a scanned offer on Friday or today? I called and asked them to scan my package and they said I was in final review (as of last Thursday), but I haven't hear anything since.

ETA: Email from Columbia! It's my financial aid package right!?

No, just a survey about ASW...

[AdInfinitum]

Looks like one person ITT received a package on Friday.

Did anyone else receive an email with a scanned offer on Friday or today? I called and asked them to scan my package and they said I was in final review (as of last Thursday), but I haven't hear anything since.

ETA: Email from Columbia! It's my financial aid package right!?

No, just a survey about ASW...

I emailed Thursday night asking them to do this but they haven't gotten back to me yet. I'm guessing they're just taking forever or something.

[canes14]

How many days can go by after sending a negotiation email before it's alright to follow up? I sent an email 5 days ago that went unacknowledged, which seems like an eternity to me, but I'm sure they're busy right now.

Thoughts?

[ga208]

If you need an answer because of an expiring scholarship from another school, you may want to give them a call.

[jdapplicant]

How many days can go by after sending a negotiation email before it's alright to follow up? I sent an email 5 days ago that went unacknowledged, which seems like an eternity to me, but I'm sure they're busy right now.

Thoughts?

They may be waiting until after they complete the first batch of initial offers. Some people that submitted before their deadline haven't received their first offer yet. They were helpful when I called last week and gave me pretty direct and useful answers to my questions, so I think it might be worth calling.

[wealtheow]

How many days can go by after sending a negotiation email before it's alright to follow up? I sent an email 5 days ago that went unacknowledged, which seems like an eternity to me, but I'm sure they're busy right now.

Thoughts?

They may be waiting until after they complete the first batch of initial offers. Some people that submitted before their deadline haven't received their first offer yet. They were helpful when I called last week and gave me pretty direct and useful answers to my questions, so I think it might be worth calling.

^probably this. i called last week and was told i would be "hearing soon" - i submitted all my stuff early/as soon as i was admitted back in early march. they were extremely nice.

[MyopicVisage]

.

[Humbert Humbert]

Anyone else still waiting on financial aid from CLS but have to accept/decline NYU scholarship offer by next week?

Yes.

[MyopicVisage]

.

[Humbert Humbert]

Anyone else still waiting on financial aid from CLS but have to accept/decline NYU scholarship offer by next week?

Yes.

What's the plan?

I'm also still waiting on an appeal decision from NYU, so I'm probably going to have to ask them for an extension. Hopefully they will grant it. It's going to be a pretty stressful 1-2 weeks though. Hopefully CLS makes my decision easy.

[buffalo_]

Got my aid offer emailed to me today!

[Humbert Humbert]

Got my aid offer emailed to me today!

Nice - how is the offer?

[buffalo_]

Got my aid offer emailed to me today!

Nice - how is the offer?

More than NYU. So I guess I am content with the offer. It was more than I was expecting, but it is still going to be very expensive.

I would say based on my offer from NYU and the offers I received at other lower ranked school, Columbia seems to be more generous all things considered.

[canes14]

Financial aid emailed me back. No luck on a scholarship bump. Chicago it is, it's been real guys!

[milkandcheerios]

Anyone else still waiting on financial aid from CLS but have to accept/decline NYU scholarship offer by next week?

Yes.

What's the plan?

I asked CLS if they could speed up my financial aid decision due to an upcoming deadline and their response was to ask me send in my competing offers. I feel like this is some manipulative ploy on their part to force me to show them my hand because I don't see how it's relevant to the timeline. Or maybe i'm just being paranoid because I spend too much time on TLS...

I'm not quite sure how to proceed at this point, should I send my NYU offer or wait patiently?

In the meantime, I'm going to request an extension from NYU.

[papercut]

Anyone else still waiting on financial aid from CLS but have to accept/decline NYU scholarship offer by next week?

Yes.

What's the plan?

I asked CLS if they could speed up my financial aid decision due to an upcoming deadline and their response was to ask me send in my competing offers. I feel like this is some manipulative ploy on their part to force me to show them my hand because I don't see how it's relevant to the timeline. Or maybe i'm just being paranoid because I spend too much time on TLS...

I'm not quite sure how to proceed at this point, should I send my NYU offer or wait patiently?

In the meantime, I'm going to request an extension from NYU.

We're all a bit high strung at the moment, but I don't think there are any dark motives on CLS's part here.

I sent them my competing offer letters too. I got the sense that they used them in an unofficial "matching" program. They just want to give you a competitive offer.

It'll all be over soon.