Columbia students taking questions Forum

[ph5354a]

Any 1Ls in here choose Columbia over money Cornell? I have 60k at Columbia and 120k at Cornell, and I'm looking for people who have made a similar choice.

I'm an 0L who picked 40k over 105k at Cornell. Not that helpful but at least you're not alone. I'll give you a rundown of how I came to my decision if you want, but I'd love to get a 1-3L perspective on this too.

[bhan87]

Anyone know about loan disbursement dates for fall? I know UAH is pretty lax on late rent, but how does this sort of thing work with tuition/fees/etc?

I've been late with UAH payments multiple times to no ill effects.

Don't worry about tuition, fees, etc. All of those will be AUTOMATICALLY deducted from your loan award, with only the remainder transferred to you. If you're taking financial aid that exceeds the tuition amount, it's basically impossible to be late with paying tuition because they pay it automatically.

[Bronck]

Anyone know about loan disbursement dates for fall? I know UAH is pretty lax on late rent, but how does this sort of thing work with tuition/fees/etc?

I've been late with UAH payments multiple times to no ill effects.

Yep. I've heard some legendary stories of uber-late payments with no ill effects

[ph5354a]

Anyone know about loan disbursement dates for fall? I know UAH is pretty lax on late rent, but how does this sort of thing work with tuition/fees/etc?

I've been late with UAH payments multiple times to no ill effects.

Yep. I've heard some legendary stories of uber-late payments with no ill effects

Does this apply to the initial payment when we accept our housing assignment, or are they pretty strict with that?

[jbagelboy]

How do we apply for the 119th street apartments? the housing app only offered 121, 115/116, and 112.

[jbagelboy]

For any students: do you know anyone pursuing a dual JD/MPA or JD/MPP? Esp. with the WW school? I'm curious how this impacts student life & employment, and trying to get a sense of just how common it is.

While I'm not a current student, I did ask one of the admissions deans about this and they gave me the impression that it's actually quite uncommon. Somewhere in the range of 3 per year (I think he was referring to the total of all the PP programs...so SIPA, HKS, and WW all included?) was the number I was given.

Ah. Thanks for the input. I'll prepare an application for the MPA program @ WW but I'm not even sure I'd do it if I got in. I thought the contacts might be helpful for my goals, but I suppose this could be premature.

For any students: do you know anyone pursuing a dual JD/MPA or JD/MPP? Esp. with the WW school? I'm curious how this impacts student life & employment, and trying to get a sense of just how common it is.

By pursuing a 4 year program, you will be thrown from the regular hiring model:
1L summer position (lucky SA, more likely something unpaid)
2L SA
3L offer at the firm of you 2L SA and select other firms you can show concrete interest in

I'm not sure what the consequences are of having that 4th year but know you won't be in this established model and your hiring cycle will be something different.

Yea I know how law students typically get firm jobs don't worry haha. My concern is whether "different" is necessarily "worse". I'm thinking if I want to work in France or the UK after graduation, the contacts via the degree and a semester at UCL/ENS could be helpful, but I wouldn't want to blow NYC firm work as a backup opportunity

[piccolittle]

Anyone know about loan disbursement dates for fall? I know UAH is pretty lax on late rent, but how does this sort of thing work with tuition/fees/etc?

I've been late with UAH payments multiple times to no ill effects.

Yep. I've heard some legendary stories of uber-late payments with no ill effects

Does this apply to the initial payment when we accept our housing assignment, or are they pretty strict with that?

Pretty sure you need to pay that one in order to actually get your keys etc.

On the other hand, I've been months late with rent so often that I get regular emails from "Mr. Schnepf."

[beepboopbeep]

On the subject of housing -

Not that I would dare try this without seeing if I could get away with it first, but has anyone heard of people applying for couples' housing to snatch up a nicer studio/1BR and then... not bringing their partner along? My girlfriend has been on my lease for the past couple years and it would be trivial to get a bank account or something, but I'm wondering if they, uh, check into that at all after move-in. She just got a new job in Chicago so she wouldn't be relocating with me (at least for first year), though it's not completely outside the realm of possibility.

[jbagelboy]

On the subject of housing -

Not that I would dare try this without seeing if I could get away with it first, but has anyone heard of people applying for couples' housing to snatch up a nicer studio/1BR and then... not bringing their partner along? My girlfriend has been on my lease for the past couple years and it would be trivial to get a bank account or something, but I'm wondering if they, uh, check into that at all after move-in. She just got a new job in Chicago so she wouldn't be relocating with me (at least for first year), though it's not completely outside the realm of possibility.

please don't do this! my SO and I are desperately trying to get a decent enough 1Bedroom so we don't have to live off campus ;/ you could reapply the following year for couples housing when she joins you?

[beepboopbeep]

please don't do this! my SO and I are desperately trying to get a decent enough 1Bedroom so we don't have to live off campus ;/ you could reapply the following year for couples housing when she joins you?

Ack, I definitely wouldn't want to screw people over who have legitimate need.

But I got the impression there are enough 1BDRs for actual couples/families, enough so that a few go to single applicants every year. Am I wrong?

ETA: on that note, does anyone know if making changes/updates to the app will change your submission/review date/place in the queue? Split between applying for law school housing and UAH, but submitted pretty early and don't want to lose my spot.

[GertrudeR]

Ack, I definitely wouldn't want to screw people over who have legitimate need.

But I got the impression there are enough 1BDRs for actual couples/families, enough so that a few go to single applicants every year. Am I wrong?

Julianna told me there was definitely enough housing for families/couples when I asked at ASW....so do with that information what you want. Also I applied for couples housing (non-law school though) and got EXACTLY the price/style I asked for. I get the feeling that they really try to accommodate couples/families.

Also asked this in the c/o thread but:
If any current students know anything about 1BRs in 414 West 120th st. please let me know! I got the sq footage but I guess for some buildings they don't have floor plans. Also curious if this is grad student housing or undergrad too?

[jbagelboy]

please don't do this! my SO and I are desperately trying to get a decent enough 1Bedroom so we don't have to live off campus ;/ you could reapply the following year for couples housing when she joins you?

Ack, I definitely wouldn't want to screw people over who have legitimate need.

But I got the impression there are enough 1BDRs for actual couples/families, enough so that a few go to single applicants every year. Am I wrong?

ETA: on that note, does anyone know if making changes/updates to the app will change your submission/review date/place in the queue? Split between applying for law school housing and UAH, but submitted pretty early and don't want to lose my spot.

Yes, you're right, some 1 bedroom apptments go to single people. And of course do what you'd like, not trying to discourage you from getting a one bedroom... there are just differences in size between them and hopefully couples will get the large enough spaces

[beepboopbeep]

Yes, you're right, some 1 bedroom apptments go to single people. And of course do what you'd like, not trying to discourage you from getting a one bedroom... there are just differences in size between them and hopefully couples will get the large enough spaces

For sure, but that would seem to be pretty random, no?

It's a moot point anyway. I don't want to lose my spot in whatever queue, or my lotto number, etc., by resubmitting.

[gabriella97]

Got the housing assignment today. 400 W 119th ST. Anybody has lived there before? What's the building like? Any good restaurants/supermarkets around?

[TheColonel]

To continue the housing questions: anybody have any info on 514 W 114th? Specifically the 2 bedroom units?

It was great to find out about housing so early, but wasn't expecting to pay 2 grand to Columbia this week...

[cardinals1989]

To continue the housing questions: anybody have any info on 514 W 114th? Specifically the 2 bedroom units?

It was great to find out about housing so early, but wasn't expecting to pay 2 grand to Columbia this week...

I don’t know how much this helps, but Columbia told me I could just pay the deposit and then pay the first month when I actually arrived. I would email and ask if you could do this, if it helps you out financially.

[Guchster]

To continue the housing questions: anybody have any info on 514 W 114th? Specifically the 2 bedroom units?

It was great to find out about housing so early, but wasn't expecting to pay 2 grand to Columbia this week...

I don’t know how much this helps, but Columbia told me I could just pay the deposit and then pay the first month when I actually arrived. I would email and ask if you could do this, if it helps you out financially.

I did this too. It was really easy.

I also didn't pay my rent for four months last spring because I forgot and was too lazy to fill out a check in my drawer. Didn't get any letters from anyone (except the usual bill with the balance) and no one cared when I finally paid it.

[TheColonel]

To continue the housing questions: anybody have any info on 514 W 114th? Specifically the 2 bedroom units?

It was great to find out about housing so early, but wasn't expecting to pay 2 grand to Columbia this week...

I don’t know how much this helps, but Columbia told me I could just pay the deposit and then pay the first month when I actually arrived. I would email and ask if you could do this, if it helps you out financially.

Oh wow that's really helpful. I'll be giving them a call today. They sound like pretty awesome landlords.

[mel2010]

Not that I would dare try this without seeing if I could get away with it first, but has anyone heard of people applying for couples' housing to snatch up a nicer studio/1BR and then... not bringing their partner along? My girlfriend has been on my lease for the past couple years and it would be trivial to get a bank account or something, but I'm wondering if they, uh, check into that at all after move-in. She just got a new job in Chicago so she wouldn't be relocating with me (at least for first year), though it's not completely outside the realm of possibility.

I'm in couples' housing. I'm here legitimately, but I can't think of a time where Columbia would have found out if I wasn't. It's not like they check in on the units (except for meter readers who don't know or care about that kind of status). I remember at the registration/orientation thing you have to do before move-in, my girlfriend was pissed because she missed a couple of hours of work to come with me that morning and they didn't even let her in the room (just the Columbia student on the lease allowed). All I can think of is that the super may ask about her when he's giving you the intro tour to the building if he knows you're supposedly in couples' housing.

tl;dr you could almost certainly get away with it

[untar614]

Yea I know how law students typically get firm jobs don't worry haha. My concern is whether "different" is necessarily "worse". I'm thinking if I want to work in France or the UK after graduation, the contacts via the degree and a semester at UCL/ENS could be helpful, but I wouldn't want to blow NYC firm work as a backup opportunity

Yeah, I'm just kinda curious as to how different dual-degree programs affect hiring. If one were to do a 4-year dual degree that had the entirely non-LS part after 1L, could/would someone be applying for SAa after that year in the way that a 1L would apply for SAs? If they got really lucky, could they potentially get 2 "1L" SAs? and then do EIP later when they start 2L I suppose?

What about someone who does a PhD or something that goes on past the awarding of the JD? Does that totally screw them up?

[Kitkatt]

Does anyone have any experience with the kitchenettes in the UAH housing? As someone who cooked every day in undergrad to save money I'm somewhat concerned

[ph5354a]

Does anyone have any experience with the kitchenettes in the UAH housing? As someone who cooked every day in undergrad to save money I'm somewhat concerned

oh god...is that what your new assignment is?? That sucks.

[Kitkatt]

Does anyone have any experience with the kitchenettes in the UAH housing? As someone who cooked every day in undergrad to save money I'm somewhat concerned

oh god...is that what your new assignment is?? That sucks.

I had a full kitchen and dining room in my first assignment. I'm near tears right now.

[ph5354a]

Does anyone have any experience with the kitchenettes in the UAH housing? As someone who cooked every day in undergrad to save money I'm somewhat concerned

oh god...is that what your new assignment is?? That sucks.

I had a full kitchen and dining room in my first assignment. I'm near tears right now.

What were the prices of the two options? I would hope that if you're getting screwed on a full kitchen you'll at least be saving some money.

[smaug_]

The kitchens are small but the stoves use gas. The size of the ovens depends on the apartment. There isn't much kitchen space, but you should be able to buy a kitchen rack to give you enough room to work. Some of the 3BRs easily accommodate what I said and a table, but others are smaller.

It's hard to say until you get there, but you will be able to cook. I won't promise you the best baking experience, but you can make it work.