Columbia students taking questions Forum

[welkertexasranger]

Hey there, admitted student here. Anyone know where to find info on the grade cutoffs various firms?

If you have ideas about the firms you're interested in, check out their websites. Most have sortable lists where you can list all the associates by where they went to law school. At the big NY firms you'll see a ton of Harvard and Columbia, a whole lot of NYU and then kind of a mix of a few people from everywhere else (partly because schools like Stanford, Yale, Chicago, Duke, etc. are smaller).

[mirroroferised7]

My wife and I have a cat, and though I'm still waiting to hear back from NYU and Columbia, CLS is my first choice. Is it possible to find a one bedroom apartment within 30 minutes of Columbia for under $1500 a month? I'm coming from Chicago, and we have a two bedroom place for $1,000, so I'm trying to figure out what the exact difference in rent is...

[jbagelboy]

My wife and I have a cat, and though I'm still waiting to hear back from NYU and Columbia, CLS is my first choice. Is it possible to find a one bedroom apartment within 30 minutes of Columbia for under $1500 a month? I'm coming from Chicago, and we have a two bedroom place for $1,000, so I'm trying to figure out what the exact difference in rent is...

My couples 1BDR is around $2000, but I'm very close to campus. That will be standard for a couples in law school housing. Cats aren't a problem there. You can find as low as $1600ish in UAH (normal graduate columbia housing), I'd check out 119th, 121st and 117th street.

You won't see anything shy of $1500 south of campus. I don't recommend living in New Jersey or the Bronx, it would be so inconvenient as a 1L. You might have better luck looking in Harlem across Morningside park, at 125th and above, but I can't speak to the apartment situation there exactly.

Either way, it will be way more expensive than your current place. ;/. (But not as expensive as NYU!)

[Tiago Splitter]

My wife and I have a cat, and though I'm still waiting to hear back from NYU and Columbia, CLS is my first choice. Is it possible to find a one bedroom apartment within 30 minutes of Columbia for under $1500 a month? I'm coming from Chicago, and we have a two bedroom place for $1,000, so I'm trying to figure out what the exact difference in rent is...

I know couples paying just under $1500 for a small place across from campus. I'm at about $1700 and I'm four blocks from campus. I also have a cat and it's never been an issue. The housing situation is the main reason I chose Columbia over NYU, FWIW.

[mirroroferised7]

My wife and I have a cat, and though I'm still waiting to hear back from NYU and Columbia, CLS is my first choice. Is it possible to find a one bedroom apartment within 30 minutes of Columbia for under $1500 a month? I'm coming from Chicago, and we have a two bedroom place for $1,000, so I'm trying to figure out what the exact difference in rent is...

I know couples paying just under $1500 for a small place across from campus. I'm at about $1700 and I'm four blocks from campus. I also have a cat and it's never been an issue. The housing situation is the main reason I chose Columbia over NYU, FWIW.

That's great to know that cats aren't an issue! I would LOVE to take student housing over trying to hunt down my own NYC apartment. Thanks for the insight!

[girlmonster]

The housing website says that a payment is going to be due within 5 days of the housing offer. How much is this payment usually?

[Sgt Pepper]

The housing website says that a payment is going to be due within 5 days of the housing offer. How much is this payment usually?

I believe it was 1k

[girlmonster]

The housing website says that a payment is going to be due within 5 days of the housing offer. How much is this payment usually?

I believe it was 1k

There's no way I can pay that.

[jbagelboy]

The housing website says that a payment is going to be due within 5 days of the housing offer. How much is this payment usually?

I believe it was 1k

There's no way I can pay that.

My payment to accept offer was deposit + full months' rent. So over $4000. It sucked

[girlmonster]

The housing website says that a payment is going to be due within 5 days of the housing offer. How much is this payment usually?

I believe it was 1k

There's no way I can pay that.

My payment to accept offer was deposit + full months' rent. So over $4000. It sucked

Thanks for the insight, y'all. I foresee a very awkward conversation with CLS in the future:
"Do I really need to pay all of this?"
"Yes."
"Oh... so where's the safest part of Morningside Park to sleep?"

[jbagelboy]

There's no way I can pay that.

My payment to accept offer was deposit + full months' rent. So over $4000. It sucked

Thanks for the insight, y'all. I foresee a very awkward conversation with CLS in the future:
"Do I really need to pay all of this?"
"Yes."
"Oh... so where's the safest part of Morningside Park to sleep?"

They will actually be understanding if you cant pay it. Apparently people moving in as 1Ls can request a temporary waiver until their loans are disbursed from financial aid office. Don't worry it'll be okay

[JVK]

They will actually be understanding if you cant pay it. Apparently people moving in as 1Ls can request a temporary waiver until their loans are disbursed from financial aid office. Don't worry it'll be okay

I can second this. It's exactly what I did and I had no trouble at all clearing it.

[girlmonster]

They will actually be understanding if you cant pay it. Apparently people moving in as 1Ls can request a temporary waiver until their loans are disbursed from financial aid office. Don't worry it'll be okay

I can second this. It's exactly what I did and I had no trouble at all clearing it.

Awesome, that makes me feel a lot better. Thanks for letting me know!

[tkim129]

My wife and I have a cat, and though I'm still waiting to hear back from NYU and Columbia, CLS is my first choice. Is it possible to find a one bedroom apartment within 30 minutes of Columbia for under $1500 a month? I'm coming from Chicago, and we have a two bedroom place for $1,000, so I'm trying to figure out what the exact difference in rent is...

My couples 1BDR is around $2000, but I'm very close to campus. That will be standard for a couples in law school housing. Cats aren't a problem there. You can find as low as $1600ish in UAH (normal graduate columbia housing), I'd check out 119th, 121st and 117th street.

FYI on couples housing ~ My SO and I have two dogs and are paying around $1,600. We live on 119th and Amsterdam at Butler Hall. We also have a 24 hour doorman, which is nice. I highly, highly recommend it.

Also about commuting, in our experience, we found that it's typically better if one person bites the bullet than both parties commute (we've lived together for 4 years in three different cities). The other will have to make up for it by contributing more around the house of course (i.e. picking up our new puppy's poop).

Lastly, if you are engaged and haven't had your ceremony yet, it might be advisable to just get married on paper. Makes a lot of things easier (insurance, taxes, Columbia gym membership for your SO, and etc.).

And you might as well get a nice tax return while you can (thanks Obama!)

[Monochromatic Oeuvre]

Lastly, if you are engaged and haven't had your ceremony yet, it might be advisable to just get married on paper. Makes a lot of things easier (insurance, taxes, Columbia gym membership for your SO, and etc.).

And you might as well get a nice tax return while you can (thanks Obama!)

Pre-ITE: "We can't get married yet, we're broke."
ITE: "We have to get married so we can be slightly less broke."

[Audeamus]

I disagree with the previous comments regarding the attractiveness of the CLS class, which should really be your priority over trivial things like housing. Female-wise its much better than expected, and actually pretty good on an absolute level. I don't think the same goes for the guys tho, from what I've heard.

Housing is good, just be prepared for really loud heaters.

+1 on the loud radiators, particularly in the old buildings.

-1 on advertising CLS guys as unattractive. Dammit Ship you're scaring away all the women.

For the record, I live in a really old CLS housing building and haven't had any problems with the radiators being loud.

[tkim129]

Lastly, if you are engaged and haven't had your ceremony yet, it might be advisable to just get married on paper. Makes a lot of things easier (insurance, taxes, Columbia gym membership for your SO, and etc.).

And you might as well get a nice tax return while you can (thanks Obama!)

Pre-ITE: "We can't get married yet, we're broke."
ITE: "We have to get married so we can be slightly less broke."

Just wondering, what's ITE?

[lawschool22]

Lastly, if you are engaged and haven't had your ceremony yet, it might be advisable to just get married on paper. Makes a lot of things easier (insurance, taxes, Columbia gym membership for your SO, and etc.).

And you might as well get a nice tax return while you can (thanks Obama!)

Pre-ITE: "We can't get married yet, we're broke."
ITE: "We have to get married so we can be slightly less broke."

Just wondering, what's ITE?

In this economy.

[Balthy]

My wife and I have a cat, and though I'm still waiting to hear back from NYU and Columbia, CLS is my first choice. Is it possible to find a one bedroom apartment within 30 minutes of Columbia for under $1500 a month? I'm coming from Chicago, and we have a two bedroom place for $1,000, so I'm trying to figure out what the exact difference in rent is...

My couples 1BDR is around $2000, but I'm very close to campus. That will be standard for a couples in law school housing. Cats aren't a problem there. You can find as low as $1600ish in UAH (normal graduate columbia housing), I'd check out 119th, 121st and 117th street.

FYI on couples housing ~ My SO and I have two dogs and are paying around $1,600. We live on 119th and Amsterdam at Butler Hall. We also have a 24 hour doorman, which is nice. I highly, highly recommend it.

Jbagelboy, so you don't live in UAH? Did you just get an apt on your own or is it some other type of uni-affiliated housing?

Do you guys know what the difference would be between the 2k and 1.6k options? If it's just location, the Butler Hall building that tkim mentioned looks like it's right on campus.

[tkim129]

[/quote]Jbagelboy, so you don't live in UAH? Did you just get an apt on your own or is it some other type of uni-affiliated housing?

Do you guys know what the difference would be between the 2k and 1.6k options? If it's just location, the Butler Hall building that tkim mentioned looks like it's right on campus.[/quote]

I'm assuming that the more expensive options offer nicer accommodations. But yea, Butler Hall is 3 blocks away from JG (but four blocks away from Ham Del )

[tkim129]

Jbagelboy, so you don't live in UAH? Did you just get an apt on your own or is it some other type of uni-affiliated housing?

Do you guys know what the difference would be between the 2k and 1.6k options? If it's just location, the Butler Hall building that tkim mentioned looks like it's right on campus.

I'm assuming that the more expensive options offer nicer accommodations. But yea, Butler Hall is 3 blocks away from JG (but four blocks away from Ham Del )

[Tiago Splitter]

For the record, I live in a really old CLS housing building and haven't had any problems with the radiators being loud.

My radiators are pretty quiet, but that might be because they rarely work.

As for cost, I think this may be a situation where size matters. I pay more than my buddy who lives right across from campus but my place is at least 50% bigger.

[Balthy]

Jbagelboy, so you don't live in UAH? Did you just get an apt on your own or is it some other type of uni-affiliated housing?

Do you guys know what the difference would be between the 2k and 1.6k options? If it's just location, the Butler Hall building that tkim mentioned looks like it's right on campus.

I'm assuming that the more expensive options offer nicer accommodations. But yea, Butler Hall is 3 blocks away from JG (but four blocks away from Ham Del )

Ahh, I was thinking that maybe by NYC standards a 2 or 3-block longer walk could mean $400 difference in rent, all else being equal. I guess I'll have to compare space/amenities and decide. I live in Texas so my closet is bigger than most of these apartments

[moonman157]

Question: How helpful are the 1L Firm events? I haven't been to any of them. Obviously the free food/drinks is appealing, but I'm feeling pretty swamped already this semester. Should I actually be going to these, or would my time be better spent studying?

[jbagelboy]

My wife and I have a cat, and though I'm still waiting to hear back from NYU and Columbia, CLS is my first choice. Is it possible to find a one bedroom apartment within 30 minutes of Columbia for under $1500 a month? I'm coming from Chicago, and we have a two bedroom place for $1,000, so I'm trying to figure out what the exact difference in rent is...

My couples 1BDR is around $2000, but I'm very close to campus. That will be standard for a couples in law school housing. Cats aren't a problem there. You can find as low as $1600ish in UAH (normal graduate columbia housing), I'd check out 119th, 121st and 117th street.

FYI on couples housing ~ My SO and I have two dogs and are paying around $1,600. We live on 119th and Amsterdam at Butler Hall. We also have a 24 hour doorman, which is nice. I highly, highly recommend it.

Jbagelboy, so you don't live in UAH? Did you just get an apt on your own or is it some other type of uni-affiliated housing?

Do you guys know what the difference would be between the 2k and 1.6k options? If it's just location, the Butler Hall building that tkim mentioned looks like it's right on campus.

I live in "law school housing," which is distinct from UAH. My SO and I didn't qualify for couples housing in UAH in August, but law school housing was more flexible with the requirements (6 months prior living together, ect).

I would probably have taken the 119th street 1BDR options if we could have. Then again, my apartment is relatively nice