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[Frank]

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[of Benito Cereno]

do you know any students doing research work with professors?

[Core]

Are a fair amount of your classmates interested in PI, or is it as corporate-y as is rumored?
Have you had any experience with the Center for Public Interest Law? Did you find the staff helpful?
You likely won't be able to answer this, but do you know if the CLS LGBT student organization is particularly active?

[Frank]

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[Frank]

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[Core]

Are a fair amount of your classmates interested in PI, or is it as corporate-y as is rumored?
Have you had any experience with the Center for Public Interest Law? Did you find the staff helpful?
You likely won't be able to answer this, but do you know if the CLS LGBT student organization is particularly active?

1. Are a fair amount of your classmates interested in PI, or is it as corporate-y as is rumored? Probably like 65/35. Considering how the economy is no good and people won't all get BIGLAW, it will probably increase after OCI.

2. Have you had any experience with the Center for Public Interest Law? Did you find the staff helpful? Indeed, I have. I am doing some PI stuff this summer. They are very helpful, yes.

3. You likely won't be able to answer this, but do you know if the CLS LGBT student organization is particularly active? I see people wearing the shirts, (Columbia Outlaws), so I am assuming they do stuff.

Glad to hear all of that. Thanks!

[Frank]

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[democrattotheend]

Does anyone know anything about the law school only housing on the 400 block of 115th Street? It seems like it is slightly more expensive than other UAH housing...is it any nicer/newer/more spacious, or are you just paying for proximity?

If anyone lives in that building and can post pictures, that would be super helpful. I didn't get a chance to check it out during ASW, but I am thinking that might be where I want to live, depending.

Also, if anyone is willing to discuss/post pictures of any other specific UAH buildings that are fairly close to the law school, that would be really helpful. I admit I'm a little fussy, so the more info I can gather about specific buildings, the more specific I can be when I fill out my housing application.

[Hattori Hanzo]

Does anyone know anything about the law school only housing on the 400 block of 115th Street? It seems like it is slightly more expensive than other UAH housing...is it any nicer/newer/more spacious, or are you just paying for proximity?

Where can you see the building-specific rents?

[jms1987]

Not sure if this is something you can answer, but how many non-NY based BigLaw firms recruit a Columbia? I really want a clerkship followed by biglaw, and Columbia would be my first choice for either

[Tofu]

Does anyone know anything about the law school only housing on the 400 block of 115th Street? It seems like it is slightly more expensive than other UAH housing...is it any nicer/newer/more spacious, or are you just paying for proximity?

Where can you see the building-specific rents?

I think: http://facilities.columbia.edu/housing/ ... mmodations

[sophie316]

No idea if anyone in this thread would be able to answer this, but can anyone speak to Columbia's advising(general and career services) for international students/people that want to work internationally? Or just general job prospects for international students that don't want to do firm work? I'm a NYU 1L considering transferring as their advising etc is horrible I think mainly becuse there are so few international students here and thus very few alums outside of the US.

Also on a side note is there a community type feeling or is it pretty much people just come to school go home and do their own thing?

Finally, does anyone know any transfers? is it hard to integrate?

[chris0805]

That's a tough question to answer. I've felt like the advising has been great, but I also think there's a certain aspect of you get out of it what you put into it. People won't come find you because they suspect you might share their interests. You have to make the first move and have some idea of what you want to do and where. After that point though, I've had nothing but good experiences (interested in international human rights work, spent 1L summer in West Africa). They have helped me consider different organizations, talked to me how to integrate a career as a domestic lawyer with international human rights, and talked to me about options of doing a year or two abroad and how that could affect a domestic PI legal career. I know that's not exactly what you're looking for, but it involves similar issues.

Still, I would hesitate to encourage a transfer for that reason though because I've heard really positive things about NYU too, which means you might be looking for more than what I consider to be good advising. To be honest, I'm VERY surprised you described NYU as "terrible" in this department. Obviously, you know better than I do, but it does make me wonder a little about your expectations.

Also, I feel like there's a very strong community here, but a lot of community building happens 1L year. That's when the foundation is sort of set for it all. I do know a few transfers who have "integrated" so to speak without a problem, but I imagine it's a little bit tougher for them.

[sophie316]

That's a tough question to answer. I've felt like the advising has been great, but I also think there's a certain aspect of you get out of it what you put into it. People won't come find you because they suspect you might share their interests. You have to make the first move and have some idea of what you want to do and where. After that point though, I've had nothing but good experiences (interested in international human rights work, spent 1L summer in West Africa). They have helped me consider different organizations, talked to me how to integrate a career as a domestic lawyer with international human rights, and talked to me about options of doing a year or two abroad and how that could affect a domestic PI legal career. I know that's not exactly what you're looking for, but it involves similar issues.

Still, I would hesitate to encourage a transfer for that reason though because I've heard really positive things about NYU too, which means you might be looking for more than what I consider to be good advising. To be honest, I'm VERY surprised you described NYU as "terrible" in this department. Obviously, you know better than I do, but it does make me wonder a little about your expectations.

Also, I feel like there's a very strong community here, but a lot of community building happens 1L year. That's when the foundation is sort of set for it all. I do know a few transfers who have "integrated" so to speak without a problem, but I imagine it's a little bit tougher for them.

Thanks for your reply. It could be that my expectations are too high...I don't know. Part of it is also that I'm more certain that I want to go home and work either in the domestic legal system or for the government and I feel like the Columbia name might do more for me/theres a larger alumni network. The other is that I went to Columbia undergrad and really don't like NYU much at all in general. I've found little to no sense of community and I hate the neighborhood. I'm probably going to move back up to Morningside Heights regardless of whether or not I transfer. I guess I;ll see how the rest of the semester plays out and make a decision once I get my second semester grades, since I can't apply til then anyway.

[chris0805]

Columbia does seem to have more international alumni, and that could help improve advising. I guess it depends where you're looking, but a transfer could be really beneficial for you. The fact that you're not happy down in the village and at NYU generally just makes it an even compelling argument to transfer. Good luck wherever you end up next year, though!

[sophie316]

Thanks! I thin kthe fact that I know i love living up there is also skewing me in favor of transferring way more than it would otherwise. Thanks for the advice!

[Frank]

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[Frank]

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[Frank]

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[Lem37]

Columbia 1L here, also willing to take questions, as I am procrastinating on my homework and watching the Cornell basketball game. Whee!

[dixiecupdrinking]

Why are you guys at Columbia instead of NYU? Any regrets? It may be an obvious question, but I like to hear people's reasons for choosing between the two schools.

[Lem37]

Why are you guys at Columbia instead of NYU? Any regrets? It may be an obvious question, but I like to hear people's reasons for choosing between the two schools.

No regrets here. Honestly, a lot of it was location for me. I like going out downtown (I've lived in NYC for three years), but I'd never want to live in that area - it's really loud, noisy, drunken, touristy, and overpriced. Morningside is beautiful and quiet while still being a part of the city (there are numerous restaurants, bars, parks, clubs, etc. around). Also, when I was comparing UAH-rent for both NYU and CLS, CLS was a lot cheaper and seemed to give better bang for your buck, so to speak. The Columbia campus is brilliant and beautiful - not to mention that you're right by Central Park, the river, and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.

I also received financial aid from CLS, and jack from NYU. This was after wrestling with NYU's automated FinAid responses for three weeks (as opposed to speaking directly with officers at CLS).

Program-wise, I think the two are very similar. NYU claims they're all about PI, but CLS has a huge PI focus (I'm gearing towards prisoner rights work, personally) and guarantees a great stipend for the summer. Most of my friends are doing public interest.

Aside from that, a lot of the professors and grads have done amazing things - example, Jack Greenberg and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It's inspiring to be in an environment where people have really shaped our judicial system.

[Frank]

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[Antipodean]

I didn't visit either campus. It came down to the simple fact that Columbia gave me $ and NYU gave me nothing (like the above poster). Columbia matched Chicago, to give you the whole CCN perspective. I assume NYU had a rough year with its endowment when I applied due to the crashing economy. I heard of multiple people getting nothing from them.

You know, that might explain why our class is overenrolled.

[Jules Winnfield]

How do you think most Columbia students view the administration and its efforts to improve the outlook for its' students in light of the recession in the legal field?