http://www.law.columbia.edu/admissions/graduate-legal-studies/tuition-fees-and-financial-aid
Tuition and Fees: As you can see, full-time law students at Columbia Univer$ity will be slammed with a tuition bill of $65,252– for the 2017-2018 academic year. This is the equivalent of posting a sign that reads “Poor people: Keep out!” I’m sure that is part of the charm for rich students – and their parents. It’s exclusive, just as those expensive prep schools were, when they were little.
Don’t forget the following mandatory fees: Student Activity in the amount of $270; University Facilities to the tune of $960; and Health Services reaching $1,082. This takes the total cost of admission to $67,564. Again, this is for a single year of “legal education.” Apparently, law schools have ridiculous overhead, equipment, and laboratory costs. Actually, that is medical school.
Total Estimated Cost of Attendance: Based on this same page, the school includes Student Health Insurance costs of $2,991 and a Document Fee for first year law students of $105. That brings the tab to $70,660. We haven’t even reached living expenses yet. Who doesn’t cringe when seeing those numbers? Plus, books and supplies add another $1,575 to that immense amount.
Now, we can address living costs. Columbia Law $chool lists room as $12,405, board as $5,200, and personal expenses at $3,900. Transportation is not listed but that is fair since most denizens of New York City get by on public transit. At any rate, this brings the estimated Total Academic Year Budget to $93,740.
Since actual, breathing law students will accumulate expenses over the entire damn year, and not just for nine months, we will prorate the following items: room, board, and personal costs. Doing so, we reach the following, more accurate total COA of $100,908. If that figure doesn’t make you lightheaded, then you must be from an incredibly wealthy family. Congratulations for coming out of the right birth canal. For the rest of you, i.e. the vast majority of the populace, proceed cautiously.
https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/law-rankings
Ranking: Columbia Law $chool is rated as the 5th greatest and most astonishing law school in the entire nation, by US “News” & World Report. It doesn’t even share this distinct honor with any other in$titution of “higher learning.” Then again, they charge a king’s ransom in tuition. Hell, at those prices, they should guarantee that you will land a Biglaw position or federal clerkship.
http://www.law.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/microsites/career-services/files/employmentquestionnairesummary_2017_final.pdf
Employment Placement Statistics: Look at the ABA Employment Summary for 2016 Graduates, for this school. There were 389 members of this cohort. Of this amount, a total of 377 reported landing full-time, long-term employment within 10 months of receiving their degrees. That is an effective placement rate of 96.9 percent. Then again, 12 grads were in posts funded by the univer$ity of law school. Without those dozen jobs included, the rate drops down to 93.9% of the class. Regarding outcomes, most landed Biglaw positions.
http://abovethelaw.com/2009/09/disturbing-message-about-the-legal-job-market-from-columbia-law-school/
Back on September 23, 2009, Elie Mystal informed ATL readers that Columbia Law School recommended that its students attend the undergrad job fair. That piece was labeled “Disturbing Message About the Legal Job Market From Columbia Law School.” Check out this opening:
“We all know about the difficult legal job market facing current law students. But is it so bad that J.D. candidates would have been better off never going to law school in the first place? At Columbia Law School — the fourth best law school in the country according to U.S. News— is suggesting that job seekers crash the undergraduate job fair. A tipster puts it this way:
Recruiting is bad this year, as you know, but CLS is just highlighting it by recommending we attend an UNDERGRADUATE career fair. It says it is open to all, and that is true, but when you look at the actual companies and organizations coming to the career fair the vast majority require only a bachelors, and none want a law degree specifically. Great to know that $200k+ and 3 years of lost opportunity cost can leave you in the same position as if you never went in the first place.” [Emphasis mine]
https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/grad-debt-rankings
Average Law Student Indebtedness:USN&WR lists the average law student indebtedness - for those members of the New York Univer$ity JD Class of 2016 who incurred debt for law school - as $159,769. By the way, a mere 63% of this school’s 2016 graduating cohort took on such toxic debt. Remember, this amount does not include debt from undergrad. It also doesn’t take accrued interest into account, while you are enrolled in school. Of note, while it is ranked 5th best in terms of overall reputation, it only has the 8th highest amount of average law student debt. That must make it a ridiculous bargain for the students, right?
Even with outrageous costs of attending this school, 37 percent of the 2016 graduating class did not incur a single dime of student debt for law school. Have fun breaking your ass so you can make law review, while those young men and women can put forth minimal effort and still land the best positions available. When you are basically living in the law library that first year of school, just keep in mind that those students can rely on their wealthy parents – or connected uncle – to make a few phone calls, in order to secure stellar employment.
Conclusion: In the final analysis, if you are not from a financially loaded and politically connected family, then you will be out of place here. Even if you land a coveted Biglaw position, you will need to stand out and bring in major new business in a relative short time span. If you do not make partner within 3-5 years, the firm’s partners will find that you are expendable. And other white shoe law offices do not make it their practice to hire those who failed in Biglaw.