<p>Hi Guys,</p>
<p>Can anyone shed more information on the AILE (Accelerated Interdisciplinary Legal Education) Program or the Sciences-Po 5 year MA program? This is one of my main draws to applying to Columbia and it would be great if a student can elaborate on this. Is it highly competitive to gain entry into these programs for Columbians? How much are these programs sought after by Columbia students? The website does not give much information.</p>
<p>Cheers</p>
<p>hi the merlion - </p>
<p>okay to i guess get into your thinking, i am confused. so are you saying you would only be considering columbia because of such a program? i think that is a bad way to approach it. in general unless it is a program you apply to before hand (i.e. 8 year med programs) then do not attend or go to a school with the expectation in mind. you might (and hopefully should) change your mind and so choose a school that perhaps has a program you like, but choose it because even without the program you would love it there.</p>
<p>for most of these programs my comment would be as follows - do you want to spend only 3 years in college? are you that interested in growing up so quickly? you can apply to law school after 4 yrs and still be admitted and still only be 21.</p>
<p>but this is the preface to get you out of thinking that cu’s programs or any school’s programs ought to be the draw. nyu has great study abroad opportuntiies, but singlehandedly it shouldn’t be the only reason you apply. you should do it for the education proper itself.</p>
<p>re: aile. it is the hardest program to get into. most years go by without a student being admitted. because you have to be able to get into one of the toughest law school programs in the country with only 3 yrs experience, perhaps without a strong relationship with faculty referees, limited activities. it is a true commitment - the moment you get onto campus you have to work essentially with this in mind alone, which means other things about columbia (the rich academics, the cultural and city life) may not be possible. and thus in general i think this is geared toward students who are truly ridiculous - you know them, perhaps you are one of them. someone who can work a job, captain a sports team, research in a lab and still get an A in every class. and then considering columbia’s academics are hard - no cakewalk in any class - it is a tall order to do aile, that most students take that extra year, and then apply - and guess what, there are more columbians in CLS than any other school represented (or go to another great law school like HLS, YLS or SLS that all have large cu contingents).</p>
<p>sciences po and also columbia’s mia dual degree are more popular and more plausible to be admitted (a handful of students each year, and i hear that most students who apply are admitted, but this is such a self-selecting group often only applying if their advising dean thinks it makes sense with their academic program). good programs, but again you have to commit yourself pretty much the moment you arrive on campus. i know some folks who did both programs and they loved it. one person who was admitted to the sciences po program, but pulled out because she was going to miss Columbia too much.</p>
<p>i think many students come to columbia with one of these programs in mind, but few pursue. it is like being a premed coming in and deciding against it. you realize that your view of a career was narrowly shaped by what high school told you, and that indeed there are more opportunities than you previously imagined. of my close friends, not a single one applied to one of these programs though some of us had thought about it early on. i think the adventure and joy of college is unique, and the added pressure of trying to condense that into 3 years is not for everyone.</p>
<p>Hi admissionsgeek, thanks a lot for the comprehensive reply. I love Columbia for what it is, Core, NYC and a great Linguistics department which is my interest as well. As much as I want to be Peter Pan, in my country I already loose 2 years of my life for military service and because of our Jan-Dec calendar. Therefore I enter into college 3 years older than most students. Nevertheless I have visited Columbia and spoken to many students there and I really love the place very much. I feel confident that my stats would make me a competitive applicant and I have visited Harvard and Princeton. But my first choice is pretty clear. Plus, the academic rigor of an asian high school more than prepares me mentally for a 3 year Columbia. If I am admitted,I probably would not want to leave Columbia and all but I want to take advantage of these great programs that the school offers. The main point here is that I loose 3 years in relation to Americans which is what I hope I can make up by coming there. Lastly, if all else fails, then I would be more more more than happy with a year or semester or summer abroad in France or any other country - which of course many college students opt to do :)</p>