Quick Question: Does Almost Every 2010 Columbia Student Have a Job?

1Ls are getting settled into their routine at Columbia Law School. Apparently, that routine includes receiving super positive messages from Columbia Law Dean, David Schizer. The dean emailed all of the new 1Ls and communicated some very positive stats about the law school.

It’s never too early for law students to think about their employment prospects. And so Dean Schizer decided to tell 1Ls the employments stats of their colleagues in the class of 2010.

But can the stats be trusted? Columbia has not signed up for the Law School Transparency Project, so Dean Schizer’s numbers should be looked at with inherent skepticism. But he wouldn’t mislead current students, right?

Here’s what the Dean told his 1Ls about the class of 2010:

Despite the challenging job market, the Class of 2010 has done quite well, with more than 98 percent of them employed. This success derives from the extraordinary talent of our students, the strong international reputation of our School, and our firm institutional commitment to provide students with a broad range of support as they pursue their professional aspirations.

98%! 98%? Really? Well, congratulations Columbia Law School!

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If the numbers are true.

But it would make little sense for Columbia to lie about these numbers. It would make little sense for Columbia to be reaching into the bottom of the barrel to count unpaid interns and short-order fry cooks as “employed.” This is Columbia, it’s one of the top law schools in the country. The real numbers (if these numbers are not real) of 2010 grads employed as lawyers can’t be so bad, can they?

And this communication was sent to current students, students who have already committed to paying Columbia its pound of flesh for the shot at getting a legal job. We understand why Columbia might need to artificially inflate employment statistics for U.S. News, but it would seem unnecessary to do it here.

So, maybe Dean Schizer is telling the truth? But, jeez, 98% for the class of 2010? That’s a huge number. I hope it’s real.

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