still no news from CLS

Does anybody know how many seats Columbia has to give admissions to LLM apllicants a year?
I heard it is about 150 or so, is that right? Or more?
Thanks~~

I think about 200...

Hi,
Today I got the e-mail of my LLM admission at Columbia. Best of luck to those who have also applied.

congrats kalli! Still waiting here...

thanks acm123. all the best to u2.
just a few more details re CLS:this year they received more than 1600 appls. they will offer about 175-185 places. the process has not finished yet. my sense is that it will last until april.

More than 1600 applicants? Uff... It would be a difficult process to get in... How do you know it? Best

i live in nyc and i have some friends who are already studying there.

1.600? Huge number.. Does anyone know if they follow any pattern while releasing their admissions decisions?

actually, the selection process is on a rolling basis; hence, they release a bunch of decisions once in a while. till the last minute there are a lot of changes, so in fact it is difficult to predict or explain their modus operandi. i think it is still fairly early though...do not worry.

Let us hope we hear good news from CLS soon...*controlling anxiety*

kalliasus, when did u receive your aplicattion complete e-mail?

I havent even received the second letter from CLS. Only receipt of reception.

Hi all,

Just a more accurate update on the Columbia LLM admissions process. Today I visited the Admissions Office at CLS and I talked with the lady who is in the highest rank in the admission process.

She is a very dynamic, easy to talk to and friendly lady. I asked her a couple of questions about deadlines and then we discussed a bit about the admissions process.

I mentioned the llm-guide website and she said that she is aware of it. She told me actually that it would be good to share the comments below with all the people waiting for replies:

- they received more than 1600 applications this year
- they will admit about 200-210 people from all over the world
- the selection process works on a rolling basis
- each application is given several readings
- each time the Committee convenes they have many files in piles (randomly) and the Committee goes through each one of them as many times as they need to reach a decision
- they examine each application very carefully and they do not stick only to 'grades', rather they look also at the recommendations and the personal statement. Basically, since almost everyone applying there has high grades, they see e.g. at extracurricular activities or activities to the benefit of a community.

Re the time they examine each application:
-the whole process is random; i.e. you might have applied in early-November but your file may accidentally be reviewed on the pile containing other applications which have arrived in mid-December. So, basically the question on when an application went complete does not make any sense.
-they do not examine appls by country and they do not release decisions by country
-they do not examine appls by grade
-they do not examine appls by previous school etc.
-the whole process takes much time. She mentioned that people you have not heard so far should not worry, because this only means that a decision has not been made for them yet, and nothing else.
-the process takes till the end of april or even early may; i.e. they are still less than half-way through.

Hope you find the above comments useful. I just wanted to share them with you coz I can understand from my experience that many people are getting anxious. All the best. Take it easy!

One of the best posts ever! Thank you Kalliasus.

@Kalliasus
Congratulations and many thanks for making this search thru the "looking glass" a clearer process. This is the best post on CLS that I have ever seen in the year and half that I have been reviewing the site. It should be part of the "permanent information posts" for all future applicants.
I hope LLMGUIDE is monitoring/listening.
If we all could get this type of informantion from the schools our processes would, I think, significantly decrease the mis-information and quires to all the schools admissions office. Maybe someone from these offices who is inundated with questions, clarifications and updates would like to add this information to the chat for their schools. Or maybe thoughtful current student who has gone throught this process earlier could manage to give us the inside, like you have, on their schools.
Again, many thanks and Best of Luck in your final choice.

@Kalliasus
I just threw my anxiolitics away. Now, thanks to your post, I'm cool, smooth, even a bit high....

I have a question, though : do you think that a letter of recommendation from a Columbia LS Professor increase my chances to get admitted ?

you're from france and you know Professors from Columbia ?

Each year, several French students provide the Office of Admissions at Columbia Law School with letters of recommendation from George A. Bermann and are admitted to the LLM Program.

George A. Bermann is a Professor of Law, Director of European Legal Studies at Columbia. He regularly gives courses at the Universities of Paris I (Panthéon-Sorbonne) for its DESS Droit et globalisation économique.

One of my best friends was admitted to Columbia last year, despite average grades and personal statement, because he got a letter of recommendation from this law professor.

If you come from France and are seeking admission to the LLM Porgram at Columbia, it is better to know George A. Bermann.

I am not neither was a student in the DESS you mentioned. I know Professor Bermann from my Maitrise in Comparative law a few years ago, in which he gave lectures on US transnational litigation law. What you say reassure me, though I am not sure about the automaticity of the admission to CLS with such a recommendation.
Keep you posted....