Harvard v. Columbia Forum

[MDB408]

Is there a HUGE difference between the two? What about Columbia v. NYU??

[Aberzombie1892]

It's a subjective question, but, in my opinion, Harvard is closer in outcomes to Columbia/Chicago/Penn than Stanford/Yale. NYU, in my opinion, is a little lower on the chain than those 6.

[4for44]

It's a subjective question, but, in my opinion, Harvard is closer in outcomes to Columbia/Chicago/Penn than Stanford/Yale. NYU, in my opinion, is a little lower on the chain than those 6.

Fantastic opinion... with no basis in reality...

There tend to be a lot of "HLS v. Columbia (Hamilton)" threads. Suggesting at least some people think there is about a $200k difference between the schools. These are not stupid people (they did get into HLS and a full ride at CLS). Not saying it's that much of a difference (I don't think it is), but its food for thought.

It really does depend on what you want- and how much the peace of mind for 3 years (read: 1 year before OCI), and the increased chances for Clerkships/ Academia/ Government/ Non-NY Big Law, is worth to you.

[Tiago Splitter]

[ManOfTheMinute]

.

[hume85]

Yes, there is a real difference. Columbia is willing to pay you $150K to overlook the difference - if there wasn't a big diffrence, Columbia would save tens of millions a year, do a marketing campaign to spread this information, and it would be HYSC

Obvs, my view, which is likely biased since i'm HYS bound

You never want to miss a chance to brag about the holy trinity. Amirite?

[ManOfTheMinute]

.

[Crowing]

hahaha

[Hattori Hanzo]

Yes, there is a real difference. Columbia is willing to pay you $150K to overlook the difference - if there wasn't a big diffrence, Columbia would save tens of millions a year, do a marketing campaign to spread this information, and it would be HYSC

Obvs, my view, which is likely biased since i'm HYS bound

You never want to miss a chance to brag about the holy trinity. Amirite?

No, I added the last part as an edit just so someone else wouldn't bring it up. Also, don't care about what people on the internet whom I will never meet think of some fictional name I use to represent myself anonymously.

Yep. That's why nobody on the Internet ever brags, right? Because we're all anonymous.
Also, by that math, assuming a minimum of $20MM for "tens of millions", CLS is giving away 400 free tuitions every year, or 133 Hamiltons to each class.

[LRGhost]

If you have a full scholarship to CLS, are paying sticker at HLS, and have no aspirations beyond Big Law and whatever comes after, you'd be an absolute idiot to forgo CLS.

[JWalker]

It's a subjective question, but, in my opinion, Harvard is closer in outcomes to Columbia/Chicago/Penn than Stanford/Yale. NYU, in my opinion, is a little lower on the chain than those 6.

OP, I'd listen to this man. He clearly knows more about t14/t6 placement than anyone who, you know, actually went to or goes to a t14/t6.

[bhan87]

If you have a full scholarship to CLS, are paying sticker at HLS, and have no aspirations beyond Big Law and whatever comes after, you'd be an absolute idiot to forgo CLS.

Pretty much true. Biglaw hiring numbers are very similar.

If you're going to gun for clerkships / academia it's a different story.

[pastapplicant]

It's a subjective question, but, in my opinion, Harvard is closer in outcomes to Columbia/Chicago/Penn than Stanford/Yale. NYU, in my opinion, is a little lower on the chain than those 6.

what's up with this dude? i've been on this board for a while since I was an 0L and this guy loves trying to establish some sort of strange CCP bracket and trolling NYU. judging by your profile you don't even attend one of these schools.

like everyone else said, if you want biglaw take CLS with Hamilton.

[RodneyRuxin]

hahaha

classic

[BruceWayne]

hahaha

Honestly that's pretty cool.

But let me go ahead and post the general Tiago Splitter/TLS response. 80 % of Columbia gets a big firm job and it's a top 6--the difference between the two is minimal. What matters is "top 6" vs. the rest of the top 14.


Lol get below median at Columbia and get back to us with how similar you think Harvard and Columbia are OP. Also try getting a firm job somewhere other than NYC from Columbia as opposed to Harvard and see how "similar" they are.

[Tiago Splitter]

The only people who equate Columbia with Harvard are a Chicago 3L and a Tulane upperclassman. Got a Hamilton? Come to Columbia.

[Crowing]

The only people who equate Columbia with Harvard are a Chicago 3L and a Tulane upperclassman. Got a Hamilton? Come to Columbia.

TaipeiMort is still in LS?

[Nelson]

OP, I'd listen to this man. He clearly knows more about t14/t6 placement than anyone who, you know, actually went to or goes to a t14/t6.

Excellent necro of a post by OP who abandoned TLS 2 weeks ago.

[Rahviveh]

It's a subjective question, but, in my opinion, Harvard is closer in outcomes to Columbia/Chicago/Penn than Stanford/Yale. NYU, in my opinion, is a little lower on the chain than those 6.

OP, I'd listen to this man. He clearly knows more about t14/t6 placement than anyone who, you know, actually went to or goes to a t14/t6.

LOL. That Tulane guy is OBSESSED with Penn and "CCNP". If Penn finishes behind M and V in the new NLJ rankings coming out soon, his head might explode.

[Davidbentley]

It's a subjective question, but, in my opinion, Harvard is closer in outcomes to Columbia/Chicago/Penn than Stanford/Yale. NYU, in my opinion, is a little lower on the chain than those 6.

OP, I'd listen to this man. He clearly knows more about t14/t6 placement than anyone who, you know, actually went to or goes to a t14/t6.

LOL. That Tulane guy is OBSESSED with Penn and "CCNP". If Penn finishes behind M and V in the new NLJ rankings coming out soon, his head might explode.

Hey Man, Some dudes just really love JoePa.

[AllTheLawz]

If you have significant money at Columbia, none at Harvard and want NYC biglaw take Columbia and don't think twice. If you want a secondary market (especially w/o ties), an international job outside of London (2L year has taught me that they shockingly do exist), clerkship/academia or something weird then its time to think about how much you value certain options and do the cost-benefit analysis.

Most of my friends at Columbia who are around median didn't really have the options that a fair amount of below-media students did at HYS. I've also seen international places (including law firms) create positions for HYS students when they normally don't even have summer programs. I honestly don't know any CCN students who took that path so I cant tell you if the same applies but it does at HYS.

It might be that summer hiring has contracted to the point that HYS is actually getting an even bigger boost than normal. Of course, could very well also just be sampling error on my part (I have only seen the 2013 SA list at a few firms and other info is from anecdotes based on people I know).

[NDJ]

Lol get below median at Columbia and get back to us with how similar you think Harvard and Columbia are OP. Also try getting a firm job somewhere other than NYC from Columbia as opposed to Harvard and see how "similar" they are.

Is it really true that half of CLS is locked out of getting a biglaw gig? I am trying to gauge this as there is a lot of conflicting information re: this on these threads. I've seen it written on here that as long as one is not at the bottom of the class at CCN, biglaw is generally attainable if wanted. I've seen the "80%" number floating around for callbacks from OCI. Posters like rayiner seem to say that outside of the top and bottom of the class, personal fit is the biggest factor at schools in that range. I know this topic has been BEATEN TO DEATH on these boards and yes I can and have used the search function etc, I just want to get these facts as straight as possible before making a 3 year time/money investment, and posts like this ^ one scare me..

And sometimes people say "sure as long as you're at median, you'll be fine" .... how easy is this to do??? Does Columbia really admit 200 zombie slackers every year?

EDIT: I have heretofore been misunderstanding the notion of 'median' at law school, which this guy below me has so graciously pointed out.

[Davidbentley]

Lol get below median at Columbia and get back to us with how similar you think Harvard and Columbia are OP. Also try getting a firm job somewhere other than NYC from Columbia as opposed to Harvard and see how "similar" they are.

Is it really true that half of CLS is locked out of getting a biglaw gig? I am trying to gauge this as there is a lot of conflicting information re: this on these threads. I've seen it written on here that as long as one is not at the bottom of the class at CCN, biglaw is generally attainable if wanted. I've seen the "80%" number floating around for callbacks from OCI. Posters like rayiner seem to say that outside of the top and bottom of the class, personal fit is the biggest factor at schools in that range. I know this topic has been BEATEN TO DEATH on these boards and yes I can and have used the search function etc, I just want to get these facts as straight as possible before making a 3 year time/money investment, and posts like this ^ one scare me..

And sometimes people say "sure as long as you're at median, you'll be fine" .... how easy is this to do??? Does Columbia really admit 200 zombie slackers every year?

Median. Does not mean Half. It means, amongst other things, not more than half below, and not more than have above. That is, 12345,3 equals median. 112233333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333344444444444455555555555, 3 also equals median. Law school looks more like the second example.

[banjo]

Is H in a different league at the undergrad level too? I feel like I didn't really pay attention to this stuff as much when I was 18.

[vzapana]

Is H in a different league at the undergrad level too? I feel like I didn't really pay attention to this stuff as much when I was 18.

yeah - excluding military schools and stuff like that, HYPM are the undisputed cream of the crop. Columbia and Chicago are the next tier down. S is somewhere in the middle of those two tiers, and depending on the person, S will be considered peers of HYPM or CC.