My big takeaways were:

1. The admitted students in general seemed too uptight. Some examples:
-A few students were taking notes on laptops at the mock class.
-When Tim Wu gave a funny presentation on copyright, admits acted like it was the funniest thing they had ever seen. Granted, it was a good, humorous presentation--it just seemed like admits were trying too hard.
-At the cocktail sessions, I didn't encounter anyone who just came up to me with a smile and introduced themselves besides current students--maybe it's more a reflection on me, but this was my experience at least.

Balance: Some students on my tour seemed genuinely nice, and a few others I spoke with at lunch were friendly and a little more laid back.

2. The library is really poor--definitely not a place to study.

3. Classrooms were very good quality--nice chairs, desks, set-ups.

4. Administrators were unimpressive--I had an encounter with the Dean of the school and the guy was the opposite of personable. He may be very intellectually sharp, but he was super awkward, and did not make me feel the warm, "welcome to our community" I was looking for. I guess that's what I should have expected from a Dean that is a tax lawyer.

5. Columbia's gym is sub-par--one basketball court, and a small, narrow little weight section. There is an indoor hallway-track if you're into that.

6. It looks like the place to study is somewhere on the university campus--students at the school all mentioned various libraries like Butler, the East-Asian library, Architecture library, etc. as really nice, academic spaces.

7. Food situation doesn't look great--the cafe in the law school sounds like it is only good for coffee/drinks. Obviously, there are places to walk to off-campus, and a grocery store, but I was hoping the law school had their own place for students to eat 3 full meals.

That's enough from me--thoughts from others?

I think the foot situation is OK in that there are tons of shops around the area that seem fairly affordable. I agree the cafe seemed fairly useless for getting a real meal. It felt more like an extension of the lounge area.

I got the feeling that the lounge areas were fairly crowded and a bit noisy for working, but that may have just been an isolated occurrence.

Agreed. However, I found that if I initiated conversation, most of them turned out to be alright. Also, I got along with the current students, which is what really matters. Some of the admits won't attend CLS (obviously), and most of the others will probably calm down. Honestly, I think the uptightness of some of the admits was largely a function of nervousness - at least, that's the impression I got.


Agreed.


Yes. CLS definitely had the best classrooms I've seen on my law school tour.


I can't comment directly on this. But I did think the Dean gave a pretty good speech and did a reasonably good job fielding questions.


I didn't stop by, but I have heard this about the University's gym. Ah well.


Yes, although the library isn't fantastic, it seems like there are plenty of other places to study.


There are tons of good eateries within a few blocks of CLS. I wouldn't want to eat more than 1 meal a day (lunch) at the school, but that's certainly a matter of personal preference.

My big take-aways:
1. I found current students very friendly. Also, current students reported that the curve is so damn generous, and as a result CLS is not competitive.
2. Gorgeous campus, and a great university-feel.
3. Fantastic professors and amazing classes. The best I've seen thus far. I was also impressed by the students in the class I sat in on - the students provided reasonably well thought-out responses, but didn't give off a gunner-vibe.
4. Library aside, I liked the facilities a lot.
5. Morningside Heights seems like a good place to go to school. There are plenty of good restaurants, parks, and other attractions right near campus, but the general pace of life isn't too overwhelming. Busier (and more touristy) parts of the city are a short subway ride away.

I went in fearing (based on a few rumors I'd heard) current students would be competitive jerks. I ended up being pleasantly surprised by the current students. The current students, the professors, the campus, and the location all left me with a very good impression of CLS.

I'm still on hold at Columbia, but I was in the city for NYU ASW, so I snooped around Columbia while I was there (envious of all the admitted students). I loved the campus and the neighborhood. I agree that it had a more laid back pace of life and seemed to be a neat place to live. I found the gym to be kind of cool...very unusual layout, but it was so much nicer and roomier than NYU's gym (their older gym that is, which is closest to the law school).

If nothing else, I thought NYU looked pretty dull and unimpressive after I had visited Columbia.

I basically fell in love with Columbia at the ASD. NYC (as in Greenwhich Village) is a little overwhelming, but Morningside Heights seems like a nice intellectual atmosphere. I think the one distinction from Columbia and all other LS is not the faculty, since many of the places I've visited boast superstars, but the quality of the students. The admitted students were articulate and asked good questions and the current ones seemed really intelligent and nice. I definitely didn't get the over-the-top competitive vibe from any of them.

Another positive: students seemed to collaborate in clusters in between classes, which is something I did not expect to see. The facilities were really nice/new except for the library which apparently no one uses to study. The COA is still a little depressing, but hopefully the aid package will be generous. Also, the administrators I talked to were very approachable and friendly.

On another note, I tried to give myself a mini tour of NYU in the morning and the people at NYU were universally secretive/evasive. I'm not sure why but they would not direct me to the admissions office or help me. NYU lost a lot of points and I still have no clear idea of how that school is run. The facilities, however, seemed to top even CLS in newness.

Well, if you were there on an admitted student day and you aren't an admitted student, they were probably very stand-offish. I knew going into Columbia that they wouldn't be helping me out at all since they were busy with the admits.

I am an admitted student but I was not registered for/could not attend the NYU ASD. I wanted to be fair to NYU and at least visit the school while in NYC but the people there were not very helpful.

I went to each school on my own since I couln't make ASDs. I felt like the students at CLS were more helpful than NYU students. However, I thought the administrators at both schools were great. I just got a standoffish vibe from NYU whereas CLS seemed for open. However, I do like the village better.

I guess I never really got to the administrators at NYU which accounts for most of my frustration. Also, when I walked into NYU the security guard asked me for verification that I was in fact admitted. I didn't bring my acceptance all the way from Austin, and I thought that was a little over the top. She did let me without it, though. I never got anything near that treatment at CLS. I agree that CLS was very open. I actually prefer the location of CLS. It seems more practical.

The security guard asked you that because all the admitted students had been sent passes for the ASW so he/she was looking for your pass. NYU is pretty tight on security, which can be annoying, but Columbia is too in every building besides the law school (the law school has a guard at night, from what I can remember), so it's not a factor of the neighborhood by any stretch.