Columbia c/o 2021 Applicants Thread (2017-2018) Forum

[mwells56]

Okay I so deeply object to this, Columbia's neighborhood IS SO BORING. It's just a bunch of older people and there's like no good food and basically no nightlife. That said, it's not exactly hard to commute from Columbia to anywhere else, so, uh, just live in Brooklyn or downtown.

Getting all the way to Columbia from Brooklyn could take quite a while

[tinycatfriend]

Okay I so deeply object to this, Columbia's neighborhood IS SO BORING. It's just a bunch of older people and there's like no good food and basically no nightlife. That said, it's not exactly hard to commute from Columbia to anywhere else, so, uh, just live in Brooklyn or downtown.

Getting all the way to Columbia from Brooklyn could take quite a while

Depends on where, but it shouldn't be more than like, 45 min - 1 hr. Which you get used to, and is totally worth it to not live in Morningside Heights

[tinycatfriend]

Only subway that gets up there is the 1 train though

The B and C at 116th are a short walk!

I hope that all the track fires and line outages won’t spike back up, especially since they seemed to affect the uptown trains.

And yes, Morningside Heights is pretty wack. Harlem is great if you gel with the vibe. Otherwise, you have to go to midtown at least.

And honestly who wants to fight tourists every goddamn day just to go home... you could also go up to Inwood I guess, it's super pretty and cheap

[subpoenacolada]

Ok, so some reflection on my interview: it went well I think. Was about 35 minutes, which is a good length. Comparing it to my JS1 I feel like 15 minutes for the JS1 was just too damn short, not sure how they can get much out of it. Anyways. Interviewer was very nice, had a good conversation, not a question-answer-question-answer type interview, good back and forth.

Obviously be prepared to answer "why Columbia". I also got a "why NY" which was interesting. Maybe my app just screams homebody idk.

Also, my interviewer did advise that decisions will likely begin late Jan. She strongly implied earlier applicants (fyi she said anyone interviewing at this stage is early) will hear back sooner rather then later.

Any questions about it let me know!

I think a big reason for why NY is because it's very much a love it or hate it type of city and if you hate it, it's gonna be really hard for you.

+1, it's definitely not for everybody, but Columbia's location is pretty stellar

Only subway that gets up there is the 1 train though

The B and C at 116th are a short walk!

Okay I so deeply object to this, Columbia's neighborhood IS SO BORING. It's just a bunch of older people and there's like no good food and basically no nightlife. That said, it's not exactly hard to commute from Columbia to anywhere else, so, uh, just live in Brooklyn or downtown.

Seconded. I think I'd have a tough time choosing between CLS and NYU just because Greenwich Village is sooooo much more livable than the Upper West Side. That's just me tho

[mwells56]

Seconded. I think I'd have a tough time choosing between CLS and NYU just because Greenwich Village is sooooo much more livable than the Upper West Side. That's just me tho

Village is ~half hour from Morningside, which isn't too bad.

[mwells56]

Okay I so deeply object to this, Columbia's neighborhood IS SO BORING. It's just a bunch of older people and there's like no good food and basically no nightlife. That said, it's not exactly hard to commute from Columbia to anywhere else, so, uh, just live in Brooklyn or downtown.

Getting all the way to Columbia from Brooklyn could take quite a while

Depends on where, but it shouldn't be more than like, 45 min - 1 hr. Which you get used to, and is totally worth it to not live in Morningside Heights

Yeah I mean that's a fine commute for a job but for a student it'd certainly be a lot easier to be near the campus unless you scheduled all your classes in more/less consecutive blocks

[appind]

I mean I think that we should just remember what a thank you note really is... a nice gesture. Someone receiving a thank you note will probably appreciate it for about four seconds and then forget about it. If they do not receive a thank you note, the WORST thing that would happen is they would go home to their spouse and be like, "Ugh, people never say thank you. Anyway, let's binge watch The Crown."

Also, though, perhaps more importantly, this is clearly stressing you out. So it seems like one obvious solution would be write the note and stop panicking.

+1

I didn't mean to set off any panic! I just meant to say that if it's on your mind and the interview happened fairly recently, it certainly can't hurt you, and I personally prefer to err on the side of caution. I just really think it takes such minimal effort to write a thank you note, so it's not a big deal for me to do it. (Also, I'm in a PR role in a company that critiques people in their official annual performance review for failing to say "good morning" and "how are you" on a regular basis, so I certainly don't mean to imply that my experience is the norm everywhere... the obsession with pleasantries here is a little on the extra side.)

Thank you both, I stopped freaking out haha. That PR company sounds excessive...but sounds like you're going to be trained to kill it in OCI and all that.

how long should a thank-you note in admissions interview context be? anything more than 5 sentences total seems excessive for a thank-you

[principalagent]

Seconded. I think I'd have a tough time choosing between CLS and NYU just because Greenwich Village is sooooo much more livable than the Upper West Side. That's just me tho

Village is ~half hour from Morningside, which isn't too bad.

Rent in the Village tho

[mwells56]

Seconded. I think I'd have a tough time choosing between CLS and NYU just because Greenwich Village is sooooo much more livable than the Upper West Side. That's just me tho

Village is ~half hour from Morningside, which isn't too bad.

Rent in the Village tho

I know, it's insane. My mom spent her 20s in the village and the prices then would make you explode, and even that was considered expensive back in the day.

[tinycatfriend]

Seconded. I think I'd have a tough time choosing between CLS and NYU just because Greenwich Village is sooooo much more livable than the Upper West Side. That's just me tho

Village is ~half hour from Morningside, which isn't too bad.

Rent in the Village tho

I know, it's insane. My mom spent her 20s in the village and the prices then would make you explode, and even that was considered expensive back in the day.

It's not worth it - you can get cheap rent if you live right above a bar, but, well, you're living right above a bar, so there's that. For NYU, living in Jersey is actually a pretty easy commute + PATH is clean and reliable - for Columbia, probably the best bet is to go north, Inwood/Bronx

[tinycatfriend]

Okay I so deeply object to this, Columbia's neighborhood IS SO BORING. It's just a bunch of older people and there's like no good food and basically no nightlife. That said, it's not exactly hard to commute from Columbia to anywhere else, so, uh, just live in Brooklyn or downtown.

Getting all the way to Columbia from Brooklyn could take quite a while

Depends on where, but it shouldn't be more than like, 45 min - 1 hr. Which you get used to, and is totally worth it to not live in Morningside Heights

Yeah I mean that's a fine commute for a job but for a student it'd certainly be a lot easier to be near the campus unless you scheduled all your classes in more/less consecutive blocks

That would probably be my plan/I'd just chill in the library until I wrapped up all my classes. Basically would treat it like a job - I'm not giving up my apartment for ANYTHING, the rent is cheap, it's in a great neighborhood, and it's huge.

[mwells56]

That would probably be my plan/I'd just chill in the library until I wrapped up all my classes. Basically would treat it like a job - I'm not giving up my apartment for ANYTHING, the rent is cheap, it's in a great neighborhood, and it's huge.

Ah, well if you already have an apartment in the city that makes total sense.

[Aplet]

The location is excellent and alive with all the students in the area.

[subpoenacolada]

Seconded. I think I'd have a tough time choosing between CLS and NYU just because Greenwich Village is sooooo much more livable than the Upper West Side. That's just me tho

Village is ~half hour from Morningside, which isn't too bad.

Rent in the Village tho

I knowwww. Dorms are probably the most viable option for me!

[feralflamingo]

Five sentences itself sounds excessive. I mostly just write thank you, very much appreciated your time (eloquently and politely ofc).

[38981928]

how long should a thank-you note in admissions interview context be? anything more than 5 sentences total seems excessive for a thank-you

Five sentences itself sounds excessive. I mostly just write thank you, very much appreciated your time (eloquently and politely ofc).[/quote]

Ditto. I'll usually throw in a sentence about something my interviewer and I discussed, but the total usually is 2-3 sentences max.

[andysimbi]

Okay I so deeply object to this, Columbia's neighborhood IS SO BORING. It's just a bunch of older people and there's like no good food and basically no nightlife. That said, it's not exactly hard to commute from Columbia to anywhere else, so, uh, just live in Brooklyn or downtown.

Getting all the way to Columbia from Brooklyn could take quite a while

Depends on where, but it shouldn't be more than like, 45 min - 1 hr. Which you get used to, and is totally worth it to not live in Morningside Heights

That would be a magical day for sure.

With all the subway issues lately, I feel like you'd have to plan for a 2 hour commute, to be safe.

[appind]

how long should a thank-you note in admissions interview context be? anything more than 5 sentences total seems excessive for a thank-you

Five sentences itself sounds excessive. I mostly just write thank you, very much appreciated your time (eloquently and politely ofc).

Ditto. I'll usually throw in a sentence about something my interviewer and I discussed, but the total usually is 2-3 sentences max.

do these go to the files or are discarded after reading? it seems a generic thank you style email doesn't need to go to files but i don't really know.

which email are they sent to typically?

[feralflamingo]

how long should a thank-you note in admissions interview context be? anything more than 5 sentences total seems excessive for a thank-you

Five sentences itself sounds excessive. I mostly just write thank you, very much appreciated your time (eloquently and politely ofc).

Ditto. I'll usually throw in a sentence about something my interviewer and I discussed, but the total usually is 2-3 sentences max.

do these go to the files or are discarded after reading? it seems a generic thank you style email doesn't need to go to files but i don't really know.

which email are they sent to typically?

Just the admissions office general email, though if you have your interviewer's email that's a good spot to send it to.
It's just a thank you email. I doubt what you send or where you send it to matters at all, though NOT sending it might seem a little rude (which was why I commenced to freak out). Even if it did go into your files no one's going to care about it or give it a second glance.

[azd416122]

I'm sure I don't want to know the answer to this, but is an ED deferral essentially a rejection?

I got the "thanks but no thanks, we'll reconsider for RD" letter. Well, technically I got it twice (anyone else experienced this? Once on Dec. 5 and then another one on Dec. 12, which was a dick move if you ask me. Salt in the wound, there CLS).

Should I stop myself from getting my hopes up? Or do they actually admit deferred students RD?

[SopranoSaxophone]

I'm sure I don't want to know the answer to this, but is an ED deferral essentially a rejection?

I got the "thanks but no thanks, we'll reconsider for RD" letter. Well, technically I got it twice (anyone else experienced this? Once on Dec. 5 and then another one on Dec. 12, which was a dick move if you ask me. Salt in the wound, there CLS).

Should I stop myself from getting my hopes up? Or do they actually admit deferred students RD?

Sorry to hear that! Not sure. Could you provide stats?

[subpoenacolada]

I'm sure I don't want to know the answer to this, but is an ED deferral essentially a rejection?

I got the "thanks but no thanks, we'll reconsider for RD" letter. Well, technically I got it twice (anyone else experienced this? Once on Dec. 5 and then another one on Dec. 12, which was a dick move if you ask me. Salt in the wound, there CLS).

Should I stop myself from getting my hopes up? Or do they actually admit deferred students RD?

If they wanted to reject you, they'd reject you. A deferral means they need to see how the rest of the class shapes up before they can make a decision. There's an old thread floating around somewhere that shows the percentage of ED-deferred admits for a bunch of schools

[azd416122]

I'm sure I don't want to know the answer to this, but is an ED deferral essentially a rejection?

I got the "thanks but no thanks, we'll reconsider for RD" letter. Well, technically I got it twice (anyone else experienced this? Once on Dec. 5 and then another one on Dec. 12, which was a dick move if you ask me. Salt in the wound, there CLS).

Should I stop myself from getting my hopes up? Or do they actually admit deferred students RD?

Sorry to hear that! Not sure. Could you provide stats?

I'm at right about 25% for GPA and LSAT, with decent softs (I think / hope). It's definitely a reach for me, but I really want it, you know?

[virginia_direwoolf]

Had Columbia interview this morning. Was kinda nervous after how stiff and awkward the UChicago interview was, but the CLS interviewer was so so nice that it actually made me like Columbia a lot and it was a really enjoyable chat.

[tinycatfriend]

Okay I so deeply object to this, Columbia's neighborhood IS SO BORING. It's just a bunch of older people and there's like no good food and basically no nightlife. That said, it's not exactly hard to commute from Columbia to anywhere else, so, uh, just live in Brooklyn or downtown.

Getting all the way to Columbia from Brooklyn could take quite a while

Depends on where, but it shouldn't be more than like, 45 min - 1 hr. Which you get used to, and is totally worth it to not live in Morningside Heights

That would be a magical day for sure.

With all the subway issues lately, I feel like you'd have to plan for a 2 hour commute, to be safe.

Just don't take the numbered trains. Ever.