Columbia Fee Waiver

jsfollower

Hey guys,

Did anyone just receive a fee waiver from Columbia?

I know fee waivers don’t mean anything in terms of my chance of admission, but it was kind of surprising to see I received one from Columbia, considering my LSAT score is 167. (Hopefully I scored higher on the Dec. LSAT)

What do you guys think?

stepharizona

Yep got one & don't stand a chance with current stats.

Abset710

I got one from Columbia too today. I do not stand a chance too(169).

Alex

@Abset710 said:
I got one from Columbia too today. I do not stand a chance too(169).

Don't count yourself out if you have a decent GPA. A 7Sager got in last cycle with a 3.9x/169

d576llerg123

@Abset710 Hopping on what @"Alex Divine" said, I wouldn't count yourself out. I was recently accepted with stats lower than what Alex Divine just mentioned. And no, I'm not an URM. Nor did I find a cure to cancer.

Obviously I'm not an expert (I just feel extremely lucky), but if you're curious about my situation, feel free to PM. Hope everything goes well!!!

goingfor99th

@Abset710 said:
I got one from Columbia too today. I do not stand a chance too(169).

Sure you do!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1XfblJqji8wlaCbc9cUTAheOsZPRRaP_hyWafn3NEYQE/edit#gid=299903710

Columbia took around 100 applicants with a 169 LSAT score OR LOWER last year. Write a great personal statement and your chances are better than you think, I bet. (They'll also be looking to keep that new 169 25th percentile LSAT v. last year's 168, so your GPA may not be disqualifying unless it's way low.)

goingfor99th

Oh, whoops, thought you meant you were accepted haha.

Paul Caint

I got one with a 167 LSAT as well, but my GPA is pretty high.

I wouldn't read too much into fee waivers though.

lawchoolpi

Is it possible for law schools to see the scores before they come out?

Seeking Perfection

@lawchoolpi said:
Is it possible for law schools to see the scores before they come out?

Yes, but only slightly and it is not so much that the schools see them as that the candidate referral service sees them and sends fee waivers based on them.

jsfollower

@"Seeking Perfection" said:

@lawchoolpi said:
Is it possible for law schools to see the scores before they come out?

Yes, but only slightly and it is not so much that the schools see them as that the candidate referral service sees them and sends fee waivers based on them.

So you are saying, CRS sends list of students to law schools based on the schools' request without disclosing the scores before the release date? (like above certain LSAT scores)

Seeking Perfection

@jsfollower said:

@"Seeking Perfection" said:

@lawchoolpi said:
Is it possible for law schools to see the scores before they come out?

Yes, but only slightly and it is not so much that the schools see them as that the candidate referral service sees them and sends fee waivers based on them.

So you are saying, CRS sends list of students to law schools based on the schools' request without disclosing the scores before the release date? (like above certain LSAT scores)

I'm saying that I don't know how exactly it works(probably something like that). However, I know what the effect is. Batches of people do sometimes get fee waivers a couple days before the score release which only seem to make sense with a high score. They then all recieve a high score.

It's not worth reading into too much though since fee waivers are sometimes also given out to people with scores significantly below median and people with high scores can be overlooked.

We can only tell for sure whether it was a high scoring fee waiver batch in hindsight. So you might as well focus your stress on grey day.

annadale

Do you have to apply for fee waivers? How did y'all receive them? Was it just a totally random email?

LSATcantwin

@"Seeking Perfection" said:

@jsfollower said:

@"Seeking Perfection" said:

@lawchoolpi said:
Is it possible for law schools to see the scores before they come out?

Yes, but only slightly and it is not so much that the schools see them as that the candidate referral service sees them and sends fee waivers based on them.

So you are saying, CRS sends list of students to law schools based on the schools' request without disclosing the scores before the release date? (like above certain LSAT scores)

I'm saying that I don't know how exactly it works(probably something like that). However, I know what the effect is. Batches of people do sometimes get fee waivers a couple days before the score release which only seem to make sense with a high score. They then all recieve a high score.

It's not worth reading into too much though since fee waivers are sometimes also given out to people with scores significantly below median and people with high scores can be overlooked.

We can only tell for sure whether it was a high scoring fee waiver batch in hindsight. So you might as well focus your stress on grey day.

If that were the case, in this instance, the LSAC would have released the scores to the CRS 6 days after the LSAT and to schools 26 days before the official release date. This seems unlikely to me.

It's much more likely that the school can see who has them in their shopping cart, who has expressed an interest, signed up on a website, been to a forum, or something like that.

I'm not here to argue that the schools/CRS get the scores early. I'm just here to remind everyone that in this case it seems extremely unlikely. Don't let it get you down if you didn't get one from Columbia.

goingfor99th

@"Seeking Perfection" said:
I'm saying that I don't know how exactly it works(probably something like that). However, I know what the effect is. Batches of people do sometimes get fee waivers a couple days before the score release which only seem to make sense with a high score. They then all recieve a high score.

I'm interested to read about this. Is it on a forum somewhere?

Seeking Perfection

@goingfor99th said:

@"Seeking Perfection" said:
I'm saying that I don't know how exactly it works(probably something like that). However, I know what the effect is. Batches of people do sometimes get fee waivers a couple days before the score release which only seem to make sense with a high score. They then all recieve a high score.

I'm interested to read about this. Is it on a forum somewhere?

I read some things about it on TLS(toplawschools.com) when I began recieving fee waivers in advance of my first lsat score in February.

Seeking Perfection

@LSATcantwin said:

@"Seeking Perfection" said:

@jsfollower said:

@"Seeking Perfection" said:

@lawchoolpi said:
Is it possible for law schools to see the scores before they come out?

Yes, but only slightly and it is not so much that the schools see them as that the candidate referral service sees them and sends fee waivers based on them.

So you are saying, CRS sends list of students to law schools based on the schools' request without disclosing the scores before the release date? (like above certain LSAT scores)

I'm saying that I don't know how exactly it works(probably something like that). However, I know what the effect is. Batches of people do sometimes get fee waivers a couple days before the score release which only seem to make sense with a high score. They then all recieve a high score.

It's not worth reading into too much though since fee waivers are sometimes also given out to people with scores significantly below median and people with high scores can be overlooked.

We can only tell for sure whether it was a high scoring fee waiver batch in hindsight. So you might as well focus your stress on grey day.

If that were the case, in this instance, the LSAC would have released the scores to the CRS 6 days after the LSAT and to schools 26 days before the official release date. This seems unlikely to me.

It's much more likely that the school can see who has them in their shopping cart, who has expressed an interest, signed up on a website, been to a forum, or something like that.

I'm not here to argue that the schools/CRS get the scores early. I'm just here to remind everyone that in this case it seems extremely unlikely. Don't let it get you down if you didn't get one from Columbia.

I think you are entirely right. The scores can't be the basis of any fee waivers before the tests are even graded.

Even in the couple days before the score release when it is plausible, it is not a possibility worth stressing about due to the difficulty of interpreting what the fee waivers from various schools mean.

lawchoolpi

I agree with what is being said here. I received my Columbia waiver on the 7th, which is not even a week after the test date (2nd). I do as well find it unlikely that they can grade our scores that soon, but I just think it is weird that they sent the waiver in December when my only score in LSAC profile is from September.

@"Seeking Perfection" said:

@LSATcantwin said:

@"Seeking Perfection" said:

@jsfollower said:

@"Seeking Perfection" said:

@lawchoolpi said:
Is it possible for law schools to see the scores before they come out?

Yes, but only slightly and it is not so much that the schools see them as that the candidate referral service sees them and sends fee waivers based on them.

So you are saying, CRS sends list of students to law schools based on the schools' request without disclosing the scores before the release date? (like above certain LSAT scores)

I'm saying that I don't know how exactly it works(probably something like that). However, I know what the effect is. Batches of people do sometimes get fee waivers a couple days before the score release which only seem to make sense with a high score. They then all recieve a high score.

It's not worth reading into too much though since fee waivers are sometimes also given out to people with scores significantly below median and people with high scores can be overlooked.

We can only tell for sure whether it was a high scoring fee waiver batch in hindsight. So you might as well focus your stress on grey day.

If that were the case, in this instance, the LSAC would have released the scores to the CRS 6 days after the LSAT and to schools 26 days before the official release date. This seems unlikely to me.

It's much more likely that the school can see who has them in their shopping cart, who has expressed an interest, signed up on a website, been to a forum, or something like that.

I'm not here to argue that the schools/CRS get the scores early. I'm just here to remind everyone that in this case it seems extremely unlikely. Don't let it get you down if you didn't get one from Columbia.

I think you are entirely right. The scores can't be the basis of any fee waivers before the tests are even graded.

Even in the couple days before the score release when it is plausible, it is not a possibility worth stressing about due to the difficulty of interpreting what the fee waivers from various schools mean.

tylerdschreur10

On a related topic, is there any way to retroactively apply a fee waiver? I've already applied to several schools and paid the fee (Chicago, and Georgetown off the top of my head). I'm curious if I magically scored a 175 on December 2, or if they just feel generous and throw me a waiver now, could I get my money back?
I'm assuming it's too late, but curious nonetheless.

goingfor99th

@tylerdschreur10 said:
On a related topic, is there any way to retroactively apply a fee waiver? I've already applied to several schools and paid the fee (Chicago, and Georgetown off the top of my head). I'm curious if I magically scored a 175 on December 2, or if they just feel generous and throw me a waiver now, could I get my money back?
I'm assuming it's too late, but curious nonetheless.

I don't think LSAC does refunds for application fees.

StrangerThanFiction175

I received a fee waiver back in October specifically because of my LSAT score (said so in the email). My assumption then was that they were sending those out to everyone with a certain LSAT score who's signed up for CRS. Maybe this round is to get interest right before the December/January peak season starts?

Also, a 167 is definitely not outside the realm of possibility at Columbia. If you think you have a chance with your GPA, what's $30 to apply?