Columbia c/o 2017 Applicants (2013-2014 cycle) Forum

[SFrost]

Is it better to have been held earlier or now? I'm in the earlier group. I'm thinking it's bad!

[drawstring]

Helds - don't give up!

Any idea why CLS is yield protecting like this? Do you think it was the last minute exodus of people last year?

[drawstring]

Is it better to have been held earlier or now? I'm in the earlier group. I'm thinking it's bad!

I recall reading the opposite.

[SFrost]

really disappointed to see so many people still getting no decision. volume of holds seems high, astronomically so, when added to the other two big waves. they must have decided to use the class of 2017 as guinea pigs to see how holding everyone in sight works for their admissions stats. I haven't been looking at a lot of the other boards...does anyone else seem to be rivaling them in holds?

Well on LSN there's over 150 people accepted. Accounting for some estimate of fake profiles and the number of people accepted who don't use LSN, it looks like they've sent enough acceptances to fill their class with a good enough yield. I interpret the holds as a decision between deny or waitlist, not deny/WL/accept.

[drawstring]

Columbia typically makes like 1000+ offers. I'm not sure 150 acceptances on LSN should be taken as a sufficient amount to fill the class.

[SFrost]

Columbia typically makes like 1000+ offers. I'm not sure 150 acceptances on LSN should be taken as a sufficient amount to fill the class.

I just looked up the profile - I had no idea the yield was so low / admits were so high. Gives me hope

[EquallyWrong]

really disappointed to see so many people still getting no decision. volume of holds seems high, astronomically so, when added to the other two big waves. they must have decided to use the class of 2017 as guinea pigs to see how holding everyone in sight works for their admissions stats. I haven't been looking at a lot of the other boards...does anyone else seem to be rivaling them in holds?

Well on LSN there's over 150 people accepted. Accounting for some estimate of fake profiles and the number of people accepted who don't use LSN, it looks like they've sent enough acceptances to fill their class with a good enough yield. I interpret the holds as a decision between deny or waitlist, not deny/WL/accept.

Even if all this is true, it doesn't explain why they would make people wait an extra month or two to be denied/waitlisted. There is something weird with them. YPing also seems suspect given how little YP room there is at the top and how arbitrary it would have to be to decide who above your 75ths is an admit versus a hold. It's like they decided we are going to accept half our top applicants like normal, the other half will need to wait and this way...(fill in the blank). My other theory is they have replaced their admissions officers with a new totally automated admissions algorithm that is making these decisions on a weird moneyball kind of statistical analysis that normal human intuition cannot understand.

[mulhollanddrive]

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[EquallyWrong]

So is it better to be on hold or reserve for Columbia?

Or does the meaning of a hold vary depending on the applicant? As in, is a hold for stronger applicants it means that they are between admit and waitlist, while for weaker applicants it means that they are between a waitlist and denial?

Being held is better by definition, since at the very least you are still eligible for spots in their initial class offering. Or course, it doesn't guarantee anything, by definition, either. Trying to speculate as to what a hold means or what signals it sends beyond the simple definition of it is a dead end, imo, because the holds seem so widespread as to be unprecedented. Last year, a few people went from hold to accepted, but that was a situation that seemed more par for the course. Hopefully, for holds, there are still enough unfilled spots to accommodate a high number or them, but only people at Columbia know the ratio of holds to spots left or what their strategy is for determining who gets them. The only way to know is to ride it out. Good luck, they're crazy this year!

[Nonconsecutive]

Is it better to have been held earlier or now? I'm in the earlier group. I'm thinking it's bad!

I recall reading the opposite.

Likewise

[bryanjbay12]

Still alive! But really just waiting on the inevitable wave of ding emails that come tomorrow.

[Cocoblues]

One more for the "Held" group here

[lawschoolgal90]

One more for the "Held" group here

[waferthinmint]

Columbia told me I was held today. After being under review since November, I'm like, "YA THINK?"

[papercut]

Columbia told me I was held today. After being under review since November, I'm like, "YA THINK?"

Where were you in relation to their 25-50-75 gpa and lsat?

[wheelhouse12]

Held
At GPA 75th, above LSAT 75th
I think my application was submitted too late--Jan 30

[wtrc]

Held
At GPA 75th, above LSAT 75th
I think my application was submitted too late--Jan 30

Sorry to hear. Not sure if this will provide any comfort, but I don't think you need to worry about application date. I have similar numbers to you and was also held recently, and I submitted in November.

[waferthinmint]

Columbia told me I was held today. After being under review since November, I'm like, "YA THINK?"

Where were you in relation to their 25-50-75 gpa and lsat?

25th gpa, 75th lsat
#splitterftw

[Mack.Hambleton]

is there anyone still waiting/under review who was NOT held today? Or did they put everyone left on hold (or reject)?

[bryanjbay12]

is there anyone still waiting/under review who was NOT held today? Or did they put everyone left on hold (or reject)?

Yes, they asked for my grades on Friday, no news today

[jjking]

deleted

[papercut]

Held
At GPA 75th, above LSAT 75th
I think my application was submitted too late--Jan 30

Yeah, this is YP. They're thinking you're off to Harvard for sure (so am I).

[bryanjbay12]

was this the "potentially viable" splitter hold wave? Breathing a sigh of relief at having evaded death...at least for now...

It was not just splitters. There were people with numbers all over the place.

[carolinainmymind]

Still waiting here as well. I didn't go complete until Feb though, so I'm thinking maybe they don't feel the need to hold me yet.

[jjking]

was this the "potentially viable" splitter hold wave? Breathing a sigh of relief at having evaded death...at least for now...

It was not just splitters. There were people with numbers all over the place.