Continuing our glimpse into the new Clear Admit Law School Guides – which began with our post last week that takes a gander into the University of Chicago Law School Guide – we are excited to next look at the Columbia Law School Guide!
For any applicant who wants detailed information on CLS and is interested in seeing how CLS compares to other leading programs, this guide is a critical resource. As we indicated in our post announcing the guides’ release, these publications are useful to prospective applicants at every stage of the application process, providing information for exploratory research into specific law schools for those who are just beginning to think about where they might want to apply as well as for applicants who are looking to strengthen their personal statements and “Why School X” essays with school-specific details.
For example, to give Columbia applicants a sense of what to expect once they arrive on campus at the start of 1L, the CLS guide contains information about Columbia’s’ pre-term Legal Methods course:
“Columbia’s 1Ls are required to arrive on campus in mid-August before the formal start of Autumn Term for a Legal Methods course that exposes them to the skills they will need to be successful in their law school courses. These skills, which include learning to critically read statutes and understand cases within the context of Anglo-American legal thought, are commonly developed at other leading law schools in the process of learning about civil procedure or constitutional law during the term, which puts pressure on 1Ls to quickly understand not only the legal issues their cases focus on, but also how to find and interpret those issues.”
And while the New York City location and numerous recruiting programs are alluring to career-oriented applicants, CLS is additionally well-known for its international study opportunities. In our guide, we take a look at the details of Columbia’s international study offerings to examine the reasons why CLS has developed this reputation:
“Columbia Law School offers more opportunities for study abroad and international dual degrees than any other leading law school in the U.S., and it actively encourages its students to take advantage of these programs to help them develop linguistic, cultural and legal experience in an international context. A pioneer in the study of international law since the mid-nineteenth century, CLS seeks to instill in its students an understanding of legal systems throughout the world.”
In addition to these examples, the guide touches on CLS curricula, clubs and conferences and financial aid options, among many other topics.
The Columba Law School Guide is on sale now at the Clear Admit Shop, along with law school guides from Chicago, Harvard, NYU and Yale. And check back next week for another look at the remaining publications!
