Columbia Dilemma

[V00Jeff]

Hmm, do you have a link to that Chicago announcement?  I wonder if Columbia will say the same thing.  Anyone have any info on this? 

(Even if they do, however, I still don't recommend that the OP go to CLS, for the reasons noted above)

[St. Shaun]

Take a look at Chicago's 25-75 salaries in this years USNEWS report (it's in the directory in the back)  Chicago reported a 25% salary of 90K (a drop of 35K from last year) and a 75% salary of 125K.  I would find it hard to believe that there average salary would rise to 155K in such a short amount of time.

Also from what I hear salary drop offs are sharp.  In otherwords even if a school has a 25% salary of 125K (which in actuality is probably more likely to be there median salar because only 75% of students report there salaries-- most of which probably aren't too proud of what they make-- and some go into the public sector) there salaries could drop very steeply from there to around 40-50K.  You have to be aware of the fact that even at Columbia if you score in the bottom quater of your class you could be making only around 50K a year.

[Edster]

Hmm, do you have a link to that Chicago announcement?  I wonder if Columbia will say the same thing.  Anyone have any info on this?

No, it was a verbal announcement made by career services folks.

(Even if they do, however, I still don't recommend that the OP go to CLS, for the reasons noted above)

Uh-huh.

[dreamer1]

I've changed my mind.  Come to Columbia.  You will lower the curve.

lol. 

[V00Jeff]

Take a look at Chicago's 25-75 salaries in this years USNEWS report (it's in the directory in the back)  Chicago reported a 25% salary of 90K (a drop of 35K from last year) and a 75% salary of 125K.  I would find it hard to believe that there average salary would rise to 155K in such a short amount of time.

Also from what I hear salary drop offs are sharp.  In otherwords even if a school has a 25% salary of 125K (which in actuality is probably more likely to be there median salar because only 75% of students report there salaries-- most of which probably aren't too proud of what they make-- and some go into the public sector) there salaries could drop very steeply from there to around 40-50K.  You have to be aware of the fact that even at Columbia if you score in the bottom quater of your class you could be making only around 50K a year.

In all honesty, I think anyone that comes out of CLS who wants to make $125K a year can.  I'm sure that it's harder for the bottom of the class to find those types of jobs, but I think they do generally get them.  The only people that get paid less than $125K from the top 6 schools are those that choose to work outside of biglaw, or in secondary markets.

[Thomas 239]

In all honesty, I think anyone that comes out of CLS who wants to make $125K a year can.  I'm sure that it's harder for the bottom of the class to find those types of jobs, but I think they do generally get them.  The only people that get paid less than $125K from the top 6 schools are those that choose to work outside of biglaw, or in secondary markets.

Also, a lot of people that go to the top 14 law schools have trust funds or other sources of income, so many of those people would have much less of a reason to go to BigLaw. I mean, if you were already "earning" 300k per year from a trust fund, why would you want to work 60+ hour weeks to make a mere 125k more? They are probably more likely to go work for the ACLU (ewww- they are defending NAMBLA for free) or get a clerkship and eventually become a judge, or they might decide to become a DA, or do public interest work.

So, I agree with V00jeff that the earning stats of CLS is misleading. A rich CLS grad might not want to go for BigLaw- and a lot of students at the top schools are rich. Now, they try to offset this by admitting a lot of students from the working class, but there's still about 30 - 40% of the class that won't even consider BigLaw due to the money they have from their parents.

[St. Shaun]

I didn't meet anybody at my michigan visit day that seemed like the trust fund type.  I really doubt that even a large minority gets anywhere near six figure trust funds.

[V00Jeff]

I think the trust fund thing is possible...but it's also possible that people just find PI, government, or academic work much more interesting or rewarding.  I mean, $125K is nice, but the median U.S. household income IS something like $45K.  It's not like you have to have a $125K/year salary or a trust fund to be happy. 

(I'm actually not being sarcastic here in case anyone is confused.  I mean, I'm seriously interested in government stuff, and it's really possible that I might take the earnings hit largely because I want to help the US and do interesting work.  And I unfortunately don't have a six-figure trust fund.)

[davisxa]

I didn't meet anybody at my michigan visit day that seemed like the trust fund type.  I really doubt that even a large minority gets anywhere near six figure trust funds.

It seemed like everyone except me had a trust fund at the Cornell admiited students day... Actually one guy even openly bragged about the fact that he hadn't even bothered to apply for financial aid, like getting financial aid for law school makes you some kind of welfare queen. Thinking back, I don't think I've ever SEEN so many LV bags in one place.

Assuming the OP isn't a flame, the fact that he got $0 from Columbia basically means he does have money coming out his  *ss hole, so he should shut the f*ck up & go to Columbia.

[Nizzy]

I didn't meet anybody at my michigan visit day that seemed like the trust fund type.  I really doubt that even a large minority gets anywhere near six figure trust funds.

It seemed like everyone except me had a trust fund at the Cornell admiited students day... Actually one guy even openly bragged about the fact that he hadn't even bothered to apply for financial aid, like getting financial aid for law school makes you some kind of welfare queen. Thinking back, I don't think I've ever SEEN so many LV bags in one place.

Assuming the OP isn't a flame, the fact that he got $0 from Columbia basically means he does have money coming out his  *ss hole, so he should shut the f*ck up & go to Columbia.

Actually, he said Columbia was giving him 10k.  That being said, it is a bit scary how many people took this post even marginally seriously.