<p>Oh good, another dick-measuring thread. I love these.</p>
<p>1) Re: OP’s question. CU undergrads have very strong applications to most PhD work at most programs at Columbia, in part because the professors already know them if they’re any sort of serious candidate at all. The professional schools are a bit different as admissions are more quantitative and structured rather than driven by relationships and research work. </p>
<p>If you go to Cindy Cogdill at the pre-professional office, she can show you the stats that Columbia is the undergraduate school best represented at Columbia Law - although not by very much, and H/Y/P are right behind it. At Columbia Med, I’m sure Columbia UG students are at no specific disadvantage - certainly, your rationale is silly as grade inflation is as-bad or worse at many other top schools - but it doesn’t appear that they are at any particular advantage. At CBS, enough professional experience is required that they are less interested in your college career and more in your professional promise. However, Columbia B-school is particularly interested in yield rate; they only want to admit students who are VERY likely to attend, this affects their admissions, and Columbia UG students are certainly better bets to matriculate, so they likely enjoy a small boost in that regard, all else being equal.</p>
<p>edit: The post right above mine shows what i’m talking about for YLS. Cindy has equivalent data for CLS and it shows much stronger Columbia representation. Harvard College, of course, places well at all top law schools.</p>
<p>2) Jumping from Undergrad. There is an AILE program that gets you into Columbia Law after 3 years as an undergrad. However, you have to have a 3.9, a 170 LSAT, and have completed your major after only 3 years. After that, the application to the law school is something of a formality. However, those requirements are so huge that only 1-2 people do it every year.</p>
<p>I know of no similar program with the business school, although undergrad students are allowed to take classes there, and certainly do so frequently. If you say that GS students are “allowed” to apply to CBS after 75-90 credits, I’m sure they are, but they likely enjoy no special privilege or chances for doing so. Such a program may only be any sort of advantage at all for GS students who had substantial, meaninful business experience prior to starting at GS to finish a bachelors degree. Depending on LUKEJDAVIS’ experiences at that software company, he may qualify, but most will not be more than a blip on CBS’s radar.</p>
<p>3) C02 spouting off.
As I hope you’re aware, Harvard Med is not really regarded as a top school. Med School rankings are more multidimensional than undergrad or business and certainly far more multidimensional than law; however, aside from research, HMS offers rather little prestige to med school applicants. Poor example on your part; your point is otherwise well taken.</p>
<p>4) HBS/Wharton vs CBS. This is an issue I’m confronting with my forthcoming MBA admissions, so I’ve been doing a whole lot of research on this very subject. Suffice that regardless of what USNews might say, while there is a qualitative difference on average between H/S/W and Columbia/Kellogg/UChicago Booth/MIT Sloan/Tuck, in individual disciplines that 2nd tier may equal or exceed the first tier. For example, Sloan is particularly strong in tech/biotech entrepreneurship, Kellogg of course in marketing, and for either one you might prefer it to H/S/W. Along similar lines, Columbia is particularly strong in private equity, has a program dedicated to it, and does things like have Henry effing Kravis available to go have lunch with any student, anytime. I might prefer Columbia to Wharton for launching a career in private equity (though Harvard, probably not).</p>
<p>5) Fordham Law. With prestige of law school mattering so much to biglaw firms, especially right now with their market contracting, you would be hard pressed to claim that Fordham was anywhere close to quality (in terms of job placement) with CLS.
Something tells me that when he adds up all his hours, he’s not making $60/hr. He may in fact have a salary of $120k, which is standard outside of top biglaw firms (many of whom were starting at $140-145k as of 2006), but per hour worked, it’s quite possible that I out-earn him myself, with exactly zero years spent in law school. Something also tells me he’s not exactly working at the IP equivalent of a firm like Crevath.</p>
<p>My point is that, especially in any industry as prestige-conscious as Biglaw, there is always someone bigger than you, and humility is very important. If he’s big-timing you because he works at an IP lawfirm in manhattan and got standard biglaw 1st-year Associate pay, that’s great, but you really ought to put him in his place. Maybe ask him the last time he got to take a vacation without still being tied to his blackberry.</p>