LLM GUIDE Blogs > Columbia University - Class of 2010
Columbia University - Class of 2010
More FAQs from Applicants
By michaelcorleone in Columbia University - Class of 2010 on Nov 6, 2009
Did you include your transcript and diploma from undergrad in your application?
I INCLUDED MY TRANSCRIPT, BUT NOT MY DIPLOMA.
I'm asking this in line with the TOEFL requirement. Just wondering if there needed to be like official certification that we earned our first law degree entirely in English in an English-speaking country. Or did you take the TOEFL or get a waiver?
I GOT A WAIVER.
There is a strong suggestion to include only two letters of recommendation. Did you follow that suggestion? :)
INITIALLY I SUBMITTED JUST TWO. BUT I LATER IN THE PROCESS (AND THIS WAS AROUND APRIL) GOT A RECOMMENDATION LETTER FROM THE UNITED NATIONS, AND I FORWARDED IT TO THEM. THEY SAID THEY WOULD INCLUDE IT IN MY FILE. (IT WAS SCANNED AND EMAILED TO THEM.)
The Columbia Early Review got back to me and said my application is incomplete as I have not sent them ORIGINAL documents (ie transcripts, diplomas)?! I understood it should be enough with certified copies?
YOU SHOULD CALL THEM UP. I REMEMBER INCLUDING JUST CERTIFIED TRUE COPIES.
Are you enjoying it in CLS?
NO.
KIDDING, YES.
How worthwhile or valuable is the Corporate Law LLM for a US law student? I've heard that for US law students, the Tax LLM is the only LLM worth the time and money and even then only from a select few schools.
--- not really sure. you should take a look at this post from ATL:
http://abovethelaw.com/2008/07/the_value_of_an_llm_degree_rev.php
--- see also the responses in this thread:
http://abovethelaw.com/2008/01/open_thread_on_llm_degrees.php
Does Columbia have an LLM specifically in Business/Corporate Law? From what I have uncovered from my research, I thought they do not.
they do not. there's no specialized LLM in cls.
Did you apply to other schools and were you admitted?
YES, I APPLIED TO OTHER SCHOOLS AND I WAS ADMITTED.
Where are you from?
I’M FROM ASIA.
FAQs from Columbia Applicants
By michaelcorleone in Columbia University - Class of 2010 on Oct 9, 2009
I get questions from prospective Columbia Law School LLM applicants, and I thought it might be useful to put down the questions here, and my answers.
Q. What do they require among applicants?
A. Columbia generally requires you to be an honors graduate and to have at least one year work experience. This work experience requirement can vary. i heard that they don't require dutch candidates to have any work experience, because no one from the netherlands does an llm after they start working, so their pool of applicants from the netherlands will not have any work experience. but i guess most folks here all have some work experience, so I suspect they will require work experience in general. Of course, publication, law review experience, Nobel peace prize awards all help.
Q. I checked out Columbia's website, and it says that the LLM program is generally restricted to honor graduates of their respective law program. Do you know of any students that were admitted despite not having those grades?
A. Of course, admissions are very competitive; there were 1600+ applicants for 220+ seats, so just try anyway, and show that you have done something special apart from school.
Q. How is the scholarship and financial aid situation in Columbia?
A. Columbia does provide financial aid in the form of partial discounts to tuition.
There are other funding opportunities you can explore, such as Fulbright.
Q. How helpful is Columbia when it comes to helping students look for other financial resources?
A. If you look at Columbia's website, they have information on other sources of funding that you can look at. Apart from that, Columbia will not look for funding sources for you, you'll have to go hunting on your own.
Q. What did you put down in your personal statement?
A. My pre-LLM background is a bit fragmented. BS and JD, worked for 2.5 years in corporate firm, LLM in an exotic city for a year, 6 months UN internship, so my PS had a lot to do with explaining why I made those jumps in my career! I also indicated my post-LLM plans, how a Columbia LLM fits into that, and the classes I wanted to take.
Q. It would be REALLY helpful for me to see a copy of your personal statement. Can I take a look at it?
A. Sigh. Okay, see below:
What the fuck people! I need a motherfuckin LLM, and I have a resume that says I am fucking fit to be your goddamn commencement speaker of the graduating class. I have applied to a ton of LLMs in here, and not one of them responded (not even an “application complete email”), WHAT THE FUCK?!
Personal statement? Here's my fucking personal statement!
Now, I'm really low on financial aid now, and I'll suck a dick if I have to...that's right!
Got a bear in your backyard that keeps eating your garbage? I'll fight that motherfucker and I'll win! Can any other prospective LLM candidate say that?! FUCK NO! What'd you say? You lost your keys to the school? FUCK IT! I'll shoot the goddamn lock off your door with my laser eyes! That's how bad I need a motherfuckin LLM! Your brother is gay and you're not cool with that? I'll de-gay him with reverse buttsex. Don't believe me?! Then accept me (with financial aid) and I'll fucking show you!
OBJECTIVE
I need a motherfuckin LLM.
SHIT I HAVE DONE
-I invented the moon.
-Atlantis was around til 1988, but sunk when I shot out of my mom's vagina like a silver bullet into a wolverine.
-I am also a wolverine.
-Had sex with the Spice Girls.
-The Socratic method was originally my idea until that bastard Roscoe Pound stole it.
-I have prophetic visions of the apocolypse.
-Watched the movie "Legally Blonde" at least 18 times.
-Created a new genre of dance in which people get so into it that radiation waves pulsate off of them, I like to call this the microrave.
-I reverse engineered a door, I now know how it works.
-When I was 8, a frisbee flew into my backyard and I blew it up with my mind.
-My brother is the Eiffel Tower
-Direct descendant of Edward Cooke and William Blackstone
-Can make weapons out of anything, very useful in the classroom
-Beat my pornography addiction when I was 19
-Proficient in Microsoft Office and Photoshop
RELEVANT WORK EXPERIENCE
GlomGlom Corporation of Evil Doing
POSITION: Legal intern
DUTIES: Setting up sex scandals in which to blackmail wealthy politicians, forwarding email, burning down the houses of the poor, loan sharking, answering phones, greeting clients in a manner that would frighten most people
PUBLICATIONS
Corporate Law, 1986 (fucking Robert Clark stole my draft)
Little Brown & Co.
REFERENCES
Glomgor Evil
GlomGlom Corporation of Evil Doings
gorlock@peanutbutternipples.com
Sloblor the Muck Monster
GreenHate Enterprises
So, now that you know the real me, are you gonna get me into class of 2009-2010 or not? I would like to remind you that I can make weapons out of anything.
Sincerely,
michaelcorleone
remember.....anything.
my classes for the fall term
By michaelcorleone in Columbia University - Class of 2010 on Sep 29, 2009
securities - great professor, lectures are very clear, but he's very very fast.
Scholarship Opportunities offered by Peking University Law School
By michaelcorleone in Columbia University - Class of 2010 on Sep 25, 2008
Hi everyone,
If you're interested in the Peking University Law School LLM, some of the scholarship opportunities offered by the school, and some that I've pursued successfully, might be of interest to you.
First, there is the merit scholarship offered by the school. This merit scholarship is a cash gift of RMB8,000 that is given to five students that are selected by the Peking University Law School based on application credentials. Based on my experience, it seems that previous related work experience, publications, and academic credentials are considered by the school in selecting the recipients of this merit scholarship.
Second, there is the scholarship offered by the Beijing City Government. This is a cash gift of RMB30,000 that may be applied for by three students in the full-time LLM program who are nominated by the law school. The law school has nominated those who are able to obtain the top three grades based on the first semester of studies.
What if you got the RMB8,000 PKU merit scholarship AND obtain one of the top grades in class -- does this mean you will get the Beijing Govt scholarship of RMB30K in addition to the RMB8K? Unfortunately not! The school will no longer give you the RMB8K scholarship if you obtain one of the top three grades, and will nominate you instead for the RMB 30K scholarship.
The last scholarship that I was able to avail of are the fellowships offered by various institutions that require the submission of project proposals for studies on Chinese Law such as that of the Chinese Journal of International Law, and fellowships offered by law firms that require student applicants to compete on the basis of academic and professional credentials, as well as writing samples. Jones Day offers this for students in Beijing.
I'm sure there are other opportunities available, but these are the ones I've explored. Good luck with funding your Peking University LLM in China!
Internship Opportunities
By michaelcorleone in Columbia University - Class of 2010 on Sep 21, 2008
The website of Peking University's LLM Program states that there is assistance that will be offered for those who are looking for internships. But for one to obtain an internship with the help of the school, one has to ask for help actively. The internship search in China does not go the same way as in elsewhere. I've done internships in law firms before, and this involved sending application letters and resumes to the HR departments of the firm. However, in China, this might not be the best way to get an internship. There are so many foreigners looking to do internships in Chinese law firms, so there is a lot of competition. So it has been suggested to me by various people that to get an internship, it would be easiest to get one thru connections.
Chinese law profs in Peking University have classmates in Beijing law firms and could have consulted for the firms, or might even be working in the firms as of counsel. Looking for a target firm then talking to a professor about how to get an internship there, and asking for their help as early as possible would be a good way to secure an internship.
It is actually possible to do an internship search on one's own and thru one's own connections too. Using my connections, I was able to secure an internship in a large Chinese law firm in Shanghai. However, because of difficulties in processing my residence permit, I decided to just do my internship in the Secretariat in UNHQ.
Good luck with the internship search in China! Some of my classmates have been able to combine internships with classes, and found them to be great experiences. I myself chose not to do so, because I pursued fellowship opportunities instead.
