@pixelated you need fill out your planned enrollment form before they can send it to you, FAFSA and new student scholarship as well. I called their FA office to ask when I would get my package and thats what they told me.
Yes, thank you @Cj95zz! I just spoke with a rep about it. I was confused about the planned enrollment form because I didn’t see it on my student viewer initially, but now I do and filling it out asap. The other additional advice my rep gave me is to schedule an appointment with the Director of Educational Financing, or the Associate Director, if you need to report any changes in income like unemployement, etc.
Hello guys. Did any of you received or schedule an interview by phone? I also submitted everything by March 1st. But yesterday May 1st. (The day they were supposed to give the response) I got a mail telling me they needed me to do a phone interview with them. I do not know if this is a good or a bad sign. I have my phone interview tomorrow. And if some of you have done it, what can I expect? What kind of questions? How can I get ready for it. Any tips?
Thank you, and CONGRATULATIONS to everyone who got in!
@SergioPavon a blessing in disguise. Most likley meant they are on the fence about you (my admissions manager said everyone had to, but his replacement said it wasnt standard). Think of it as a chance to prove yourself and support your application.
@pixielated When does the planned enrollment form become visible? Is it only after one has paid the deposit and/or their Spring term grades have been received?
@pixielated Nevermind, found it!
@imanormalalien When I first received my admissions decision, I had this question too. On the Student Viewer portal, it does not show up immediately, but after a few days of your acceptance. Hope this is helpful for everyone else!
@SergioPavon interview questions and results vary from person to person. The overall goal is to get a better understanding of you as a person or to clarify questions they may have about your academic history if you didn’t explain reasons for low SAT scores or GPAs in the supplemental essay or include it in your general essay. It’s mostly a good sign that they took notice of your application. However, it’s not a guaranteed green light for acceptance. There have been cases where people are rejected after interviews. Some interview questions are very generic such as why Columbia GS, what are your goals, biggest challenges/achievements, favorite books, etc.
@vidoll @Cj95zz Thank you! I had the interview today! It was exactly as you described. I didnt had a complete year gap in my studies, so it was basically question regarding that. They also asked me questions about my passion, why GS, why my major financial economics, etc. But the main reason was to clarify that small red flag of the year gap not being met. My interviewer was amazing, very open, friendly, like a conversation with a friend! I think it went really well! Lets hope and wait to see what happens! Thanks again! Ill probably see you guys next fall!
Does anyone know when the Facebook group for the Fall 2018 admits will pop up? I’m not sure who is in charge of creating it, but I’ll be looking for a roommate this fall!
I believe there is already one. Should say: “Columbia University School of General Studies --Admitted 2018-2019”
Got my FA package… considering not going now… 45k in loans is not ideal at all.
The more I research around the more online prejudice I seem to find about GS.
Hmm anyone thinking heavily about this?
The loans would worry me. But the prejudice is virtually non-existent IMO. Employers and graduate schools view the education as the same as Columbia U college.
Most of the prejudice that I’ve seen are Columbia College students (not Barnard, not Engineering, the other two undergraduate colleges of CU). CU college students seem to get bent out of shape because of the higher acceptance rate of GS. This leads to lots of discussion about whether this means the “quality” of the student is somehow lower.
If they used their critical thinking skills they would realize quickly that the higher acceptance rate of GS is largely explained by the student body that it serves and a few disadvantages of the school. The student body it serves are “nontraditional” students, many of whom have careers and/or families. They may be veterans or have been people with careers that are best done when young, such as dancing or being an Olympic athlete. Schools that serve other niche populatins also tend to have higher acceptance rates, such as women’s colleges.The disadvantages of the school are the less generous FA package compared with the other three colleges and the lack of housing in NYC–a notoriously tight and expensive housing market. Otherwise the education is exactly the same as Columbia College. My understanding is that the average GPA of GS students is usually higher than that of CU college students.
@Dustyfeathers thats what I gather. I will be able to afford up to half of it OOP. There’s all this talk about how employers, particularly in NYC and in some industries, distinguish between CC and GS grads. All of this are from forums posted up to ten years ago. The perception may have changed since then.
So let’s chat about the FA at GS. Currently, and I underline, currently, there is no official need-based aid package. It has been the source of a lot stress (and attrition) for hundreds of GS students. Skip Bailey, the director of FA has had to tell many of us that we should be considering state schools because its just not financially feasible. The second element that makes things on GSers just little harder is that unlike our CC/SEAS/Barnard counterparts, we pay per credit hour and don’t hit a flat rate after 12 points/semester. I will tell you that merit aid is in full effect. Your first year you will get next to no institutional aid, but if you keep your grades up and get at least a B average and keep up with FA paperwork and file appeals every semester, you can get a fairly decent institutional package that will increase yearly…which once awarded will not decrease unless you majorly screw up academically.
With the advent of a new DOS, Lisa Rosen-Metsch this year, a renewed focus has been put on why GS gets the short end of the stick when it comes to aid. Officially the story is that our endowment, at ~75 years old, simply doesn’t have the establishment that Columbia College does (~250+ years) and thus we don’t have as much to go around. Dean Lisa is a former GS Student herself, and knows how ruddy hard it was to make it through the program. Many ideas have been floated including post-award endowment sharing from CC.
My biggest advice,use every advantage you have. If you qualify for any gender/ethnic/major based scholarships apply for them, do your diligence. Look into transfer scholarships like Jack Kent Cooke and honors scholarships like PTK. GS and Columbia in general is an academic gauntlet of sleepless nights and unmatched opportunities. It is worth it, but you are going to have to do a lot of the leg work.
Let me know if there are any questions I can field.
Best,
Ami
GS '18