Columbia students taking questions Forum

[JVK]

JVK,

Thank you for answering my questions. For some reason, I had an impression that there were not so many graduates going PI work.

I don't want to give you any false impressions either, it's definitely a minority. You'll learn a lot about firms by the end of 1L even if you never intend to go through Columbia's OCI process. That said, they are there, and they're passionate about what they want to do.

[jbagelboy]

How much or little do you 2Ls/3Ls think LPW actually matters? I operated under basically a minimal effort theory, and unsurprisingly, scored P's both semesters. Do judges/employers care about this if your letter grades are otherwise up to par?

Dude, P is par.

lol i'm just glad djs didn't LP us

If he was going to give anyone a LP, it would have been me.

Do you know what that email was about the other day with "grade changes"? It's an ungraded course, what grade changes could he have to make?? Lol. I didn't email him but I guess others did.

And fyi it would not be you: you showed up.. There were two people who actually just came like twice all semester lol

[Monochromatic Oeuvre]

Can anyone speak to the EIP post-lottery signup period? I'm imagining it's a madhouse and everything's gone in 10 seconds. Would it be unreasonable to be planning to pick up more than one or two of the underbid firms then?

[Tiago Splitter]

Can anyone speak to the EIP post-lottery signup period? I'm imagining it's a madhouse and everything's gone in 10 seconds. Would it be unreasonable to be planning to pick up more than one or two of the underbid firms then?

There will be plenty of smaller firms and offices in secondary markets that you can add day-of, so you'll have plenty of opportunity to add interviews.

[smaug_]

Can anyone speak to the EIP post-lottery signup period? I'm imagining it's a madhouse and everything's gone in 10 seconds. Would it be unreasonable to be planning to pick up more than one or two of the underbid firms then?

how many firms you can pick up probably depends more on how effectively you bid than anything else—if you bid well you won't have time to pick up many interviews, but if you didn't end up with many interviews through bidding, you'll probably be able to pick some up through the lottery/open sign-ups

[girlmonster]

So I just got my housing assignment. Even though I told Utley and UAH multiple times that I have a dog, so my number one priority is an unfurnished studio or 1BR, they put me in an apartment share. Any thoughts on how I should deal with this? Do they change the offer, or am I better off trying to butter up my assigned roommate? I'm also gonna have to ask them to waive the deposit until loan disbursement, so I don't want to piss the housing office off (and it looks like that request already didn't go as well for someone this year as it has for others in previous years).

[dcpanther]

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[mylifeis24]

Hi Columbia students! I'm looking for an off-campus apartment with a friend. Any popular buildings within a 15 minute walk from campus that students frequently live in? Looking for a solid starting ground to NYC apartment hunting. Thanks for your assistance!

[BerkeleyMan5]

Does anyone know if you have to use the furniture that comes with the furnished apartment shares? I really wanted unfurnished but didn't get it. I read somewhere that they may let you store at least the bed if you like?

Also, if I'm set on doing housing through the school, is it not wise to decline this offer and ask for a new one through the waitlist? Has anyone had success with doing that?

Thanks!

[jbagelboy]

Does anyone know if you have to use the furniture that comes with the furnished apartment shares? I really wanted unfurnished but didn't get it. I read somewhere that they may let you store at least the bed if you like?

Also, if I'm set on doing housing through the school, is it not wise to decline this offer and ask for a new one through the waitlist? Has anyone had success with doing that?

Thanks!

I believe my apartment was originally labeled "furnished," but I had them remove all the furniture before I arrived because I was bringing my own.

The shitty part is, usually they will make you pay the furnished rate even if you unfurnish the unit.

[girlmonster]

Are there many people who want to do human rights work at Columbia? Do you ever talk to people in the LLM program? I'm trying to decide if I should ED at Columbia or NYU.

I'm a long time Manhattan Valley resident. My spouse and I shop mainly at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. Take advantage of WF's original brand products and sales if you like organic food. Garden of Eden on Broaway gives Columbia students 10% off all the time. Check out their salad bar if you're a vegetarian. It's 50% off after 8:30 every night. If you want to order food, take advantage of delivery.com. They often send you $8 off orders of $20 or more on weekends.

There definitely are, and many more who hope to do it long-term after a couple years at a firm. A lot of us are doing some pretty neat human rights work during 1L summer, though it's more difficult to know who'll be transitioning to that directly after law school given the relatively low availability of positions straight out. I do know a decent number who'll go straight to domestic human rights/immigration work right after law school.

You see people in the LLM program all the time, that's really not a problem. Some of them have pretty interesting backgrounds, from criminal defense work in Nigeria to being professors in their home country.

I'm sure NYU's fine too, but you won't be in a bad place at either one.

I don't know how I missed this post. Since you mentioned the shortage of positions, do you know of many CLS students committed to IHR who couldn't find positions after graduation? It seems the guaranteed post-grad funding would help with this.

Thanks for your help!

[buffalo_]

I am thinking of changing cell phone providers. Verizon is too expensive. Has anyone had experience using T-Mobile in Morningside Heights? I had them years ago and had to switch because I was constantly dropping calls.

[de_loop]

Thanks to the current students answering questions! Do any of you have experience with the apartments at 456 Riverside? The price and location both seem great, which makes the pessimist in me think that there must be something less than desirable about the building and/or neighborhood. Maybe I just got lucky...

[JVK]

I don't know how I missed this post. Since you mentioned the shortage of positions, do you know of many CLS students committed to IHR who couldn't find positions after graduation? It seems the guaranteed post-grad funding would help with this.

Thanks for your help!

Hey, no problem!

It's tricky to say, because most people I know wanting to do IHR down the road didn't go all-in trying to find an IHR job directly post-grad. They went through EIP and locked down firm jobs related to international arbitration or some other group with a transnational emphasis, with the hope of transferring to public international law down the road. They'll do fine but it means they're not good data points on looking for international human rights work and striking out... for the most part, I'd guess the reasoning was to pay off some debt first while still building a legal skill set.

I know one girl who graduated the year right before I came in who went straight to Human Rights Watch, and another guy who went straight to rural China to help build up local governments. That's all I know off-hand. If you email the school, though, I'm sure they can tell you about some of the careers and maybe numbers on exactly how many students did it! The one you'd probably want to email would be Heather Moore over at SJI, her contact info's at this link:
http://web.law.columbia.edu/social-just ... c-interest

There are also professors who've done some great work, and I'm sure they'd be responsive to email, too. Lori Damrosch is a monster, and if memory serves she's the head of some huge international law group (American Bar Association on IL? I forget...), and regardless she's super well-connected so she could probably point you toward some people. I shot her a few questions after the Admit Weekend last year and she fielded them all pretty nicely. She spoke at an event earlier this year and brought in a woman who'd help get the ICTY up and running, as well as a couple other IHR people. If you're looking at China, you can try Ben Liebman, who's also great.

Good luck!

[waferthinmint]

Is there a way to view the layout of your assigned apartment/building? They don't seem to provide any information aside from your room number..
Also, is 111th street a quiet area?

I was able to view mine here: https://uah.facilities.columbia.edu/

Also just got assigned to 111th street. Is this a decent spot? Luckily it's reasonably priced, I just want to be sure I'm not in a terrible area. I know almost nothing about the area/NYC.

I'm on 111th now. I think it's a great street. It's pretty quiet, though of course you're close by with neighbors so you may hear music or whatnot. (Never kept me up at night.) It's an easy walk to campus and the broadway area around 111th has a good selection of restaraunts/shops. Also some pretty popular CLS bar hangouts nearby on Amsterdam (Lionshead, Pourhouse, etc.)

And it's cheap!

I'll be on 111th as well. Is it pretty safe? (I like to run outdoors.) Also, are the apartments tiny or decent for NY standards?

[girlmonster]

Someone, please tell me 127 square feet is livable. I really need to hear that right now.

[the_phoenix612]

Someone, please tell me 127 square feet is livable. I really need to hear that right now.

127 square feet is livable. Not spacious, but livable.

Welcome to NYC

[Monochromatic Oeuvre]

I am thinking of changing cell phone providers. Verizon is too expensive. Has anyone had experience using T-Mobile in Morningside Heights? I had them years ago and had to switch because I was constantly dropping calls.

SO has T-Mobile. Can confirm atrociousness in the entire neighborhood. .

[bowser]

Can anyone speak to the EIP post-lottery signup period? I'm imagining it's a madhouse and everything's gone in 10 seconds. Would it be unreasonable to be planning to pick up more than one or two of the underbid firms then?

There will be plenty of smaller firms and offices in secondary markets that you can add day-of, so you'll have plenty of opportunity to add interviews.

You have to be ready to grab the popular ones quickly though. I think Paul Weiss NY may have been the only large NY office with spots left post-lottery, and it was gone in minutes.

[Monochromatic Oeuvre]

Can anyone speak to the EIP post-lottery signup period? I'm imagining it's a madhouse and everything's gone in 10 seconds. Would it be unreasonable to be planning to pick up more than one or two of the underbid firms then?

There will be plenty of smaller firms and offices in secondary markets that you can add day-of, so you'll have plenty of opportunity to add interviews.

You have to be ready to grab the popular ones quickly though. I think Paul Weiss NY may have been the only large NY office with spots left post-lottery, and it was gone in minutes.

What about the less popular ones? Like the ones with 10 bids for 20 slots? How many of those could I snatch up if I were on there at noon sharp adding anything I could?

[buffalo_]

I am thinking of changing cell phone providers. Verizon is too expensive. Has anyone had experience using T-Mobile in Morningside Heights? I had them years ago and had to switch because I was constantly dropping calls.

SO has T-Mobile. Can confirm atrociousness in the entire neighborhood. .

Really? Damn, they are so much cheaper than VZW. Does anyone have a carrier they recommend? I don't want to keep paying $80 a month to big red.

[Balthy]

For anyone who furnished their place with Ikea stuff, are they pretty good with delivery times? Can I plan for same or next day delivery?

[tlsapp2017]

Anyone know anything/have thoughts about the housing on W. 122nd St? Just got my housing assignment!

[bitcheslovecake]

For anyone who furnished their place with Ikea stuff, are they pretty good with delivery times? Can I plan for same or next day delivery?

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/store/brooklyn/services

Seems to be same day delivery if you pick up your items at the store and have them just drop it off

[Balthy]

For anyone who furnished their place with Ikea stuff, are they pretty good with delivery times? Can I plan for same or next day delivery?

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/store/brooklyn/services

Seems to be same day delivery if you pick up your items at the store and have them just drop it off

Thanks! Somehow didn't see that.