Columbia students taking questions Forum

[RSN]

Can anyone help me out with info on the move-in process? I'm moving into Lenfest on Monday morning and have received no info on where to go, what to do, etc.

Do I go to the housing office first, and if so, where is it?

Fellow 0L. I think you should've gotten an initial confirmation email, and a reminder message. Here's what was in the email reminder I got a few days before my move-in:

REVIEW YOUR APPOINTMENT
Please review your appointment to ensure the date/ time is correct.

• [My appointment time last week]

If you need to make changes to your appointment, please log into the HOUSING PORTAL to request the change.

WHAT TO BRING TO YOUR APPOINTMENT
To sign your rental agreement, please go to the UAH office located at 401 West 119th Street, near Morningside Drive on the day of your appointment.

You MUST have the following with you:
• Two (2) passport-size photographs of you and your partner/family members (if applicable)
• Your Social Security Number or Passport with Student Visa
• Documentation of “Couples Status” (if applicable)
• Documentation of “Family Status” (if applicable)

After you have signed your agreement, you may move into your unit. Please remember, large furniture may only be moved in during business hours (Monday – Friday, 9:00AM - 4:00PM).

ETA: Also, not sure if it'll work out for you the way it did for me, but I actually got there half an hour before my appointment, and I knocked on the door of Lenfest to see if I could start unloading my car -- they not only let me in, but one of the staff actually opened up my apartment and helped move stuff in, which was awesome. No guarantees they'll do it again, but worth a try. Easily best interaction I've had with any Columbia staff so far, haha.

[White Dwarf]

What is the process like for receiving packages in the mail at the unnamed 115th/116th type residences? Do they get delivered to your door, the front desk, a shipping center, etc.?

Please tell me they don't have a single campus pick-up point like my undergrad did.

[jbagelboy]

What is the process like for receiving packages in the mail at the unnamed 115th/116th type residences? Do they get delivered to your door, the front desk, a shipping center, etc.?

Please tell me they don't have a single campus pick-up point like my undergrad did.

most of my packages are delivered to my door, but those that aren't are either left downstairs or in a larg secondary mailbox whose key they leave in my personal mailbox.

[kingpin101]

I don't move in until the 11th, but would it be safe to send a package there right now?

[Nebby]

I don't move in until the 11th, but would it be safe to send a package there right now?

Just wait.

[hyl387]

Where do people get their groceries around campus?

[Nebby]

Where do people get their groceries around campus?

Grocery stores. I lived in Harlem and used Best Market on 118th and 8th (Frederick Douglass). It's the best for good quality goods at reasonable prices.

[MCFC]

Where do people get their groceries around campus?

In entirely too much detail...

Westside Market @ 110 and Broadway (nice, but expensive)
Morton Williams @ 116 and Broadway (expensive, and not even all that nice)
Appletree Supermarket @ 120 and Amsterdam (fine, though a little small)
Met Foods @ Amsterdam and LaSalle (a little dirtier, but cheaper too)

Fairway Market is a little further northwest, at around 132nd. It has its adherents but I'm not a huge fan.

If you're into Whole Foods, there's one at 97th and Columbus, or in Columbus Circle if you get on the subway.

Trader Joe's off the 1/2/3 at 72nd is also popular.

More ambitiously, you could take a bus or get a car across town to East 116th and go wild at Costco or Aldi.

[Monochromatic Oeuvre]

Where do people get their groceries around campus?

In entirely too much detail...

Westside Market @ 110 and Broadway (nice, but expensive)
Morton Williams @ 116 and Broadway (expensive, and not even all that nice)
Appletree Supermarket @ 120 and Amsterdam (fine, though a little small)
Met Foods @ Amsterdam and LaSalle (a little dirtier, but cheaper too)

Fairway Market is a little further northwest, at around 132nd. It has its adherents but I'm not a huge fan.

If you're into Whole Foods, there's one at 97th and Columbus, or in Columbus Circle if you get on the subway.

Trader Joe's off the 1/2/3 at 72nd is also popular.

More ambitiously, you could take a bus or get a car across town to East 116th and go wild at Costco or Aldi.

D'ag at 110th/Broadway is the best combination of decent, close, and not insanely expensive. When I'm lazy, I go there. When I'm cheap, I go to TJoes.

[hyl387]

Where do people get their groceries around campus?

In entirely too much detail...

Westside Market @ 110 and Broadway (nice, but expensive)
Morton Williams @ 116 and Broadway (expensive, and not even all that nice)
Appletree Supermarket @ 120 and Amsterdam (fine, though a little small)
Met Foods @ Amsterdam and LaSalle (a little dirtier, but cheaper too)

Fairway Market is a little further northwest, at around 132nd. It has its adherents but I'm not a huge fan.

If you're into Whole Foods, there's one at 97th and Columbus, or in Columbus Circle if you get on the subway.

Trader Joe's off the 1/2/3 at 72nd is also popular.

More ambitiously, you could take a bus or get a car across town to East 116th and go wild at Costco or Aldi.

Wonderful tips! Thank you Market Committee of Food Connoisseurs!

[Nebby]

When I'm cheap, I go to TJoes.

Two words I've never seen used in a sentence together.

[jbagelboy]

When I'm cheap, I go to TJoes.

Two words I've never seen used in a sentence together.

What? Trader joes is the cheapest grocer in our area. Its where I do basically all my shopping except random one off items. Everything is 1/2 cost of westside or less.

[Nebby]

When I'm cheap, I go to TJoes.

Two words I've never seen used in a sentence together.

What? Trader joes is the cheapest grocer in our area. Its where I do basically all my shopping except random one off items. Everything is 1/2 cost of westside or less.

I was told my opinion on this matter was "really fucking dumb," and it appears it is. Back where I'm from, TJoes is more expensive than most other places, so I have never gone to the one near school thinking the same thing. The place I buy groceries is priced similarly to Kansas' prices, so I just assumed TJoes would be more expensive.

[jbagelboy]

When I'm cheap, I go to TJoes.

Two words I've never seen used in a sentence together.

What? Trader joes is the cheapest grocer in our area. Its where I do basically all my shopping except random one off items. Everything is 1/2 cost of westside or less.

I was told my opinion on this matter was "really fucking dumb," and it appears it is. Back where I'm from, TJoes is more expensive than most other places, so I have never gone to the one near school thinking the same thing. The place I buy groceries is priced similarly to Kansas' prices, so I just assumed TJoes would be more expensive.

K

You've clearly heard ppl refer to TJs as cheap before tho

I guess I've always lived in high CoL areas so TJs has always been affordable for its quality, although never more affordable than in manhattan. The lines are obnoxious but its hard to imagine a better deal. If you've found one major kudos.

[Nebby]

You've clearly heard ppl refer to TJs as cheap before tho

Today was the first time, haha.

[MCFC]

Yeah, back where I grew up I never liked TJ's and it was comparatively expensive. Now though it's my go to store.

[Tiago Splitter]

TJ's brags about how they charge the same prices at every store in America. Which sucks for the people in Little Rock but is a pretty sweet deal for people in Manhattan.

[White Dwarf]

I lived right next to a TJ's when I worked in Albany, and I would still drive 20 minutes to Walmart to shop because of the prices.

Guess I've been spoiled living in dirt-cheap rural Upstate most of my life.

[cws277]

Fairway is the best if you live uptown from campus just a few blocks. Not sure what MCFC doesn't like about it. Generally cheaper than TJs.

[MCFC]

Fairway is the best if you live uptown from campus just a few blocks. Not sure what MCFC doesn't like about it. Generally cheaper than TJs.

That's fair. It's at least a 20 minute walk one-way for me, at which point it just becomes better to do TJs.

[playwright]

Trying to decide whether I need to buy a window AC before moving in.

Would it make more sense to move in and measure my window before getting one?
Also, is it easy to install the unit yourself?

[Brentwood]

To what extent do Columbia students actually have geographic mobility when it comes to biglaw employment? Obviously better grades = better chances outside NYC mkt, but I'm curious how much of a mobility advantage a successful Columbia student might have over a similarly ranked student from a "lesser" school?

[jbagelboy]

To what extent do Columbia students actually have geographic mobility when it comes to biglaw employment? Obviously better grades = better chances outside NYC mkt, but I'm curious how much of a mobility advantage a successful Columbia student might have over a similarly ranked student from a "lesser" school?

this is a complicated question. it varies -- in CA, CLS hits heavier than other schools; in DC, it's probably a wash. could you be more specific? PM me if you'd like.

[Brentwood]

To what extent do Columbia students actually have geographic mobility when it comes to biglaw employment? Obviously better grades = better chances outside NYC mkt, but I'm curious how much of a mobility advantage a successful Columbia student might have over a similarly ranked student from a "lesser" school?

this is a complicated question. it varies -- in CA, CLS hits heavier than other schools; in DC, it's probably a wash. could you be more specific? PM me if you'd like.

I was mostly thinking CA actually. I've heard a fair amount of rhetoric claiming that CLS has a truly national presence, but I've been snooping around the EIP thread and it seems a lot of people are extremely skeptical of ops outside of NY. Maybe that's not a representative sample, but as someone with relatively few ties to CA, I'm curious if CLS could keep that door open for me if I were to perform well academically. Would you say that CA mobility is a legitimate strength of CLS that would set it apart from its peers within the T14?

[jbagelboy]

To what extent do Columbia students actually have geographic mobility when it comes to biglaw employment? Obviously better grades = better chances outside NYC mkt, but I'm curious how much of a mobility advantage a successful Columbia student might have over a similarly ranked student from a "lesser" school?

this is a complicated question. it varies -- in CA, CLS hits heavier than other schools; in DC, it's probably a wash. could you be more specific? PM me if you'd like.

I was mostly thinking CA actually. I've heard a fair amount of rhetoric claiming that CLS has a truly national presence, but I've been snooping around the EIP thread and it seems a lot of people are extremely skeptical of ops outside of NY. Maybe that's not a representative sample, but as someone with relatively few ties to CA, I'm curious if CLS could keep that door open for me if I were to perform well academically. Would you say that CA mobility is a legitimate strength of CLS that would set it apart from its peers within the T14?

I'm not sure I'd go that far, I'd just say that for the CA firms I've interviewed with and worked at, your grades can be a little lower at CLS than at UVA, Penn, Duke, ect. Berkeley and Chicago are probably comparable. I'd re-frame it a little: at many less selective firms, your grades don't even really matter from Columbia if you have ties and a little hustle; at the highly selective firms, your grades will matter from every school (except yale, I suppose).

That being said, it's tougher to advise someone with 'relatively few ties to CA'. I think poor ties and bad grades would be the kiss of death for California; you need one or the other. If you do perform well, you'll create California options, although you have to be strategic since class sizes are a lot smaller (especially in SF) than at New York firms.

I wouldn't go to Columbia over another school in the T14 strictly on the basis of more powerful placement in California. The school's greatest asset is still its placement into the most elite firms in the new york market.