Hello

Got a response from Columbia that I'm put on their waiting list and a final decision won't be made until end of May. Anyone else in the same situation? what are the chances of being admitted if I'm put on the list and how long is the wait? Thanks !

I just know that the offer of columbia must be accepted until may, 2. probably shortly afterwards a decision will be made with regard to the students listed on the waiting list.

I personally still haven't received any decision from CLS yet, which is starting to puzzle me...

I have not received a decision from Columbia either.

So far nothing from Columbia which is really weird... I wonder what´s going on!! I must pay Penn´s deposit by the end of next week and I´m still waiting for their e-mail.

I've received an email from Columbia saying I got in but I still haven't received anything in the mail.

At this rate, I'm highly likely to reject their offer on this basis - not very impressive.

Joseph, do you have admissions from other universities?

I do - I will probably go to Oxford. When I started the whole application process, Columbia was probably my top choice but has dropped due to a few things, such as this.

Hi Joseph!
When did you receive this email? Was it this week?
Luisa

No, a while ago. Maybe three weeks, maybe four.

Thanks all

Luisa - my deadline to pay deposit to UPenn is also this week so I guess I will have to pay the $500 and have my finger crossed for Columbia's decision.

Seems like lots of ppl are getting frustrated with Columbia's process this year. My friend still has not been notified of the decision either. Good luck to all though !

I haven't received a decision from Columbia. I mailed them two weeks ago asking for the status of my application, and they told me they'd have a decision in two weeks. I have to pay a deposit to Harvard soon, and to be honest, Columbia's attitude is most annoying. I don't see where the haughtiness is coming from. Other universities are equally good, and nice to boot.

Hey guys, dont worry, I think May 2 is the deadline for ppl to turn down the offer and then everyone else will hear soon..

for those who are irritated due to the delay in the admissions package, they had severe problems with the Fedex bulkmail. My offer letter was mailed on April 6 and it reached me last week.

Obviously CLS is the winner in the "Most unfriendly and inefficient admissions office" nomination! ;-)

I got my admissions package by ordinary mail yesterday. Took it 'bout two weeks to reach me - quite fast.

It took them ages to process my application - and they later explained it was because they got confused over the spelling of my surname!

Ni financial aid, though, so I won't be going. Anybody got any fin aid from Columbia?

Not that I know of... they seem to be pretty tight lipped on the aid they told me in my offer letter itself that they wont give me aid.

Vmanusph,
I had to make the deposit last month!!! By that time I hadn´t heard from many other schools so the only option left to me was to pay the 500 deposit. Next week I will have to pay the 1,500 deposit! And THAT is really worrying me because I would really like to have an answer from Columbia by then, also I am at NYU´s waiting list.. I think I´ll try contacting Penn to see if it´s possible to extend the deposit deadline, since the amount is quite substantial (it´s more than a month´s rent in NY!!!).
Anyone in the same situation? Suggestions?
Luisa

A word in favor of Columbia: from what I see in my own country, Columbia is the school that EVERYONE applied to. It is a great school, that at the same time isn't impossible to get into. I think that's why many who believed they had no chance at Harvard or Yale (and therefore did not apply) still applied to Columbia. Throw in the NYC factor, and you have yet another reason for CLS popularity. I think we can all see from this forum how many applicants Columbia has compared to other schools. Just imagine processing all these applications...
Because of its popularity, it seems understandable that it is taking them quite a while and that the responses seem somewhat confused. Another problem they have in giving clear responses is that they accept most of those who got into Harvard, Yale, Stanford and NYU, Penn and are dependent upon these school's answers. Furthermore, those who got in to Harvard, Yale and Stanford are quite likely to turn them down (and some take their time in doing so) and they probably have a long waiting list due to this. NYU solved this problem by saying "either accpet our financial aid offer immediately, or it goes to someone else". That will of course get you the answers immediately and then you can finalize the list pretty quickly. I personally did not like this "first come, first serve" attitude, having to make a decision on the spot, often before you have heard from others and at the risk of forfeiting your aid. I know of some who told them "yes" and were then quite bitter when the letter from Harvard arrived. The alternative, I am afraid, is Columbia's way. For those of you who are worried about losing a spot at Penn or elsewhere, I would recommend telling them you are still waiting for a couple of answers. From my experience, in most cases they will give you another few days.
There is an unfortunate chain reaction that those waiting for Yale's waiting list are holding a spot in Harvard, Harvard's waiting list are holding on to a spot in CLS etc...I guess what we can really do in order to help each other is to ask that those of the forum members who know for certain that there is a program they will NOT attend, decline ASAP (even if they don't yet have the full picture, they might know where they are definitely not going)
Good luck to those who are waiting!

I agree with Maverick.... in fact, based on my interaction with the admissions office of all the law schools, I was most impressed with Columbia.....They are very flexible and accomodating.... It is one of the few schools where you can pick up the phone and talk to the dean and do not have to deal with a graduate student representative who is confused most of the time.

All schools are releasing their financial aid packages soon , I guess then things will get moving faster...

Thanks for the detailed info. Very helpful. It's already the end of April, so hopefully we will hear the final decision soon. I'm not very optimistic though as I don't think many ppl would turn down a school like CLS but I'm still having my fingers crossed for a good news anyway :)

Luisa, are you able to get Penn to extend the deadline? Definitely hope so, $2000 is a lot!!

Just declined my Columbia offer... Good luck to those who are on the waiting list :))