Beating the odds: Columbia Reserve c/o 2016 Forum

[StillIll]

I haven't seen anyone else who posts here report a similar question, so it may have just been a "me" thing... who knows.

Edit: And for the record, it never came down to it, as I was offered regular admission / enrollment.

Double Edit: If I figured I could make more than a pittance of money during an off year to make a dent in upcoming law school costs, I would actually consider requesting a deferral now. But it just wouldn't be worth it, I don't think. I'm a humanities major with no job lined up, and a part-time job that will expire in September whether I'm still there or not. FWIW Columbia is supposed to be "very liberal" (their words) with granting deferrals.

[Monochromatic Oeuvre]

Do we know if any school has ever utilized deferral to smooth out cycle volatility, though? Suppose you're Harvard and worried next year's application drop means you won't be able to snag 550 qualified candidates. So you admit numbers corresponding to 575 matriculants instead, while convincing 25 of them to defer to next year. Then you don't have to worry about your numbers that much next year, since you only have to admit numbers corresponding to 525 matriculants. It seems like it would be a decent insurance policy if you thought top-quality candidates were going to be harder to come by next year and had a little room to have slightly looser standards this year.

[lunaraeon]

Asking above-median LSATs to defer unprompted = Not at all confident about next year's applicant crop, right?

my gut reaction is that it means the class has been (over) filled. anyone's guess is as good as mine.

It (probably) isn't that. If the class was truly filled they wouldn't want to admit anyone else, like they did with Stilllll. But I could see it coming up soon, possibly as of now. I don't know how to feel about that, haha, I'd much rather they still need a good number of splitters for the fall. I should know once I see what they ask in my call.

I've never heard of it being used, Mono, but I'm not sure how it would play out. You're unlikely to convince stellar admits to defer unprompted without offering them money, and while waitlist admits might be more amenable to deferring if it got them in, they're by their nature going to be less stellar applicants. I don't have enough foresight to know whether a candidate like myself is worth locking in if the general applicant pool stays steady or doesn't drop too much. If it happens to improve, I might be a liability.

[puppiespaws]

Congrats to the new admits!

For the rest of us stuck in second reserve, how many are going to write another LOCI? I already wrote one upon being put on reserve the first time, talking more specifically about why Columbia, what I could contribute, mentioning my campus visit, etc. I'm wondering if I should send another in addition to having already responded to the online form about staying on second reserve? I don't have any significant updates to my resume, other than to simply say, "Hey, Columbia, I still want you. Badly." Like, idk, has anyone else done this lol?

[StillIll]

If you haven't yet, tell them they're your number one choice and you'll commit no matter what it accepted. I basically said as much, and I didn't even write a formal formal loci, just a semi formal email one.

[untar614]

I'm really curious about this deferral thing. I wonder why they'd ask that. If deferring a year for more money were an option, I'd take it, as I have a decent job which I think another year of on my resume would actually help, plus I found out that once I stopped paying all these application-related expenses, my bank account actually started growing Damn, really wish I'd stuck out that June retake now. Oh well, still happy with what I've got.

[puppiespaws]

If you haven't yet, tell them they're your number one choice and you'll commit no matter what it accepted. I basically said as much, and I didn't even write a formal formal loci, just a semi formal email one.

Hm, I mean I think I was pretty clear in my first letter, saying I would definitely attend if admitted/would withdraw all other offers and from all waitlists. So I can't imagine I'd need to spell it out anymore. I guess I was thinking another brief LOCI would just be a way to say that I'm still just as interested or at the very least remind them of my existence lol idk. I just don't want to annoy them with email that's like a couple sentences long telling them they're my first choice again.

[jbagelboy]

Do we know if any school has ever utilized deferral to smooth out cycle volatility, though? Suppose you're Harvard and worried next year's application drop means you won't be able to snag 550 qualified candidates. So you admit numbers corresponding to 575 matriculants instead, while convincing 25 of them to defer to next year. Then you don't have to worry about your numbers that much next year, since you only have to admit numbers corresponding to 525 matriculants. It seems like it would be a decent insurance policy if you thought top-quality candidates were going to be harder to come by next year and had a little room to have slightly looser standards this year.

Northwestern did this to a bunch of k-jd's with stellar numbers (75ths). Said work for a year, come back with a full ride in 2014.

[Monochromatic Oeuvre]

Do we know if any school has ever utilized deferral to smooth out cycle volatility, though? Suppose you're Harvard and worried next year's application drop means you won't be able to snag 550 qualified candidates. So you admit numbers corresponding to 575 matriculants instead, while convincing 25 of them to defer to next year. Then you don't have to worry about your numbers that much next year, since you only have to admit numbers corresponding to 525 matriculants. It seems like it would be a decent insurance policy if you thought top-quality candidates were going to be harder to come by next year and had a little room to have slightly looser standards this year.

Northwestern did this to a bunch of k-jd's with stellar numbers (75ths). Said work for a year, come back with a full ride in 2014.

Interesting. NU obviously has the standing to say "We need you to get some WE before you come" in a way that UVA and Penn don't, but you have to presume all three are desperate to hold on to the 170 median, right? All three have gamed it pretty hard (they're all 164-171), but I think you see more evidence that NU is working really hard to keep it. The more desperate you are to keep up your LSAT median, the more splitters you'll take. UVA and Penn will probably both keep theirs (although I'd imagine with a very tenuous grasp), but I wouldn't be at all surprised to see NU lose theirs just like Duke and Georgetown did. Take a look at the NU acceptance rates from this cycle:

169 LSAT: 8/40 (20%)
170 LSAT: 32/34 (94%)

I mean, wow. I've never seen a single point be such a drastic factor in your likelihood of admission.

Also, look at how NU sticks out like a sore thumb in taking absolutely anyone with a 170+:

[Lurkasaurus]

So, for those admitted after the phone interview, how did you accept your offers? I know some schools have a response form, but I don't see one readily available on the website, and I wasn't given any login information. Do you just email the admissions office? Call them?

[StillIll]

I called them with my answer, and they then sent an e-mail that was essentially the response form, with a link to the deposit website. 600$ fyi.

[Monochromatic Oeuvre]

Just call or email. I sent them an email and I got confirmation from a response, and in about an hour they sent the acceptance PDF, which contains the links to enroll and pay your deposit.

[Lurkasaurus]

Enrolled this evening! Thanks to everyone for all the guidance.

In case it's helpful for anyone, my numbers were 3.2 / 176, with no extraordinary factors to explain the low GPA. Out for 2 years, not doing anything special. Columbia got back to me today with enough aid that I didn't need to wait for Chicago's final offer to decide. As it turned out, Chicago's offer was lower anyway.

Best of luck to everyone still waiting it out!

[jbagelboy]

Enrolled this evening! Thanks to everyone for all the guidance.

In case it's helpful for anyone, my numbers were 3.2 / 176, with no extraordinary factors to explain the low GPA. Out for 2 years, not doing anything special. Columbia got back to me today with enough aid that I didn't need to wait for Chicago's final offer to decide. As it turned out, Chicago's offer was lower anyway.

Best of luck to everyone still waiting it out!

Pretty inspiring dude, congrats again. This cycle is distinctly different from all prior. A 3.2 non-urm would never have had a shot at CLS (or UChi) in the past. Its truly a splitters world for the next few yrs

[Tekrul]

Enrolled this evening! Thanks to everyone for all the guidance.

In case it's helpful for anyone, my numbers were 3.2 / 176, with no extraordinary factors to explain the low GPA. Out for 2 years, not doing anything special. Columbia got back to me today with enough aid that I didn't need to wait for Chicago's final offer to decide. As it turned out, Chicago's offer was lower anyway.

Best of luck to everyone still waiting it out!

See you in the fall you rascal! Congrats on your acceptance! I'm glad to see the aid worked out for you.

[untar614]

So I'm curious, how many total TLS'ers here now have beaten the odds and gotten in off reserve?

[Tekrul]

I think lurk makes 7 announced tlsers?

[Monochromatic Oeuvre]

Tekrul
Rosie (GPA 3.71-3.83, LSAT <172)
Buddyboy (3.5/176)
Me (3.45/176)
The Bean (3.55/172)
Lurkasaurus (3.2/176)
StillIll
narbyk (LSN) (3.75/171)
ksw47 (LSN) (3.18/178)
Lawgirl56 (LSN) (3.29/174)

Either the reserve is not as much a dead end as it was in the past, or they have fewer than four acceptances left in the cycle.

[amsong]

Or secret option C: Columbia is only pulling from TLS.

[lunaraeon]

That went okay. Pleasant conversation and I enjoyed it, but my answers could have been much stronger and a bit more focused. I'll post specifics of the interview and my LOCI if I get it, but it may be relevant that I had a question after my intent to enroll, effectively "what are your current plans for the fall."
To me, that seems like either a gauge of commitment to attend in general, or a potential opening for a deferral question.

Supposed to hear within a week, and it's still a 48 hour window to decide.

[jbagelboy]

Tekrul
Rosie (GPA 3.71-3.83, LSAT <172)
Buddyboy (3.5/176)
Me (3.45/176)
The Bean (3.55/172)
Lurkasaurus (3.2/176)
StillIll
narbyk (LSN) (3.75/171)
ksw47 (LSN) (3.18/178)
Lawgirl56 (LSN) (3.29/174)

Either the reserve is not as much a dead end as it was in the past, or they have fewer than four acceptances left in the cycle.

THAT SPLITTER LOVE

[Monochromatic Oeuvre]

Tekrul
Rosie (GPA 3.71-3.83, LSAT <172)
Buddyboy (3.5/176)
Me (3.45/176)
The Bean (3.55/172)
Lurkasaurus (3.2/176)
StillIll
narbyk (LSN) (3.75/171)
ksw47 (LSN) (3.18/178)
Lawgirl56 (LSN) (3.29/174)

Either the reserve is not as much a dead end as it was in the past, or they have fewer than four acceptances left in the cycle.

THAT SPLITTER LOVE

As predicted, it appears an application decline of this magnitude means open season on splitters.

Still, not as high-stakes for the non-splitters as in years past. Pretty much anyone with a 170+ got into NYU if they were even in the same ballpark as their 25th. (Side note: Even money on NYU dropping to 170.)

[lunaraeon]

THAT SPLITTER LOVE

A 170/3.93 who was deposited at CLS just got in at Harvard--might be some additional hope for sort of reverse splitters. (Unfortunately most high LSAT admits were NYU deposited, to my chagrin.)

[StillIll]

Tekrul
Rosie (GPA 3.71-3.83, LSAT <172)
Buddyboy (3.5/176)
Me (3.45/176)
The Bean (3.55/172)
Lurkasaurus (3.2/176)
StillIll
narbyk (LSN) (3.75/171)
ksw47 (LSN) (3.18/178)
Lawgirl56 (LSN) (3.29/174)

Either the reserve is not as much a dead end as it was in the past, or they have fewer than four acceptances left in the cycle.

THAT SPLITTER LOVE

Continuing with that trend, I'm a ~3.4/176. Wish I got a little more money, but hey, overall I can't complain.

[Monochromatic Oeuvre]

That's 8 out of 10 reserve admits who are splitters, including The Bean (who has a 3.55 at HYP, which probably compares favorably to 3.7 elsewhere), plus a 3.75/171 Ivy, plus Rosie who seems to have special softs.

Pretty sure we're down to the last handful or so of acceptances, but as noted, a spot just opened up today.