<p>Hi all! I'm planning on applying to Columbia GS for Fall 2012. I am in my second year at community college and will graduate with a 3.97 GPA (Got a B in Statistics, had to take my mother to cheemotherapy) and a member of Phi Theta Kappa Anyway, I'm 22, on my own (my mother passed and my father is difficult) I did poorly in High School as I worked and had too much fun. After taking 2 years off I went to Nassau Community College and got great grades. I will have 7 honors, mid 600's on SAT's so far, though I am taking them again, and my ec's include volunterring and raising money (team leader) for the American Cancer Society. I also volunteer at a drug prevention group in my community providing awareness to parents and helping adolescents with addiction. My essay skills are fairly strong. I have decent classes on my transcripts, but I will only have math completed up to intro to statistics and pre-calculus. Will this hinder my chances? I also was contacted by Upenn LPS and Cornell ILR, but I fell in love with Columbia on the campus tour. Any current GSers help me out here? Thank You!! Also, as I mentioned I am completely on my own, so financing this thing is a huge concern.</p>
<p>anybody?.. please.</p>
<p>With all the research I’ve been doing about this, it sounds like you’d have a good shot.</p>
<p>The only issue might be paying the tuition, also from what I read I don’t think they hand out full scholarships to GS students. (it would be great if someone could clear this up)</p>
<p>Congratulations on you bouncing back and wanting to get everything on track at a relatively young age. Good luck with your application.</p>
<p>You sound like a decent applicant. Especially if you can get the SATs or GSAE scores up. Polish the essay quite a bit, it matters a ton.</p>
<p>GS hands out very few full ride scholarships, and you can’t apply for them. You may be selected for one when you apply for the general financial aid offer. I think most students receive a small merit scholarship of $5000-$10,000 per year. Some will receive Pell grants, subsidized loans, federal work study allotments, etc as well based on need.</p>
<p>thank you guys. Sorry, I’ve been camping all weekend and didn’t get back on here until tonight. Anyone else…?</p>
<p>Since you are 22, I think the federal gov. still considers you dependent on your father’s income, which may limit your loan options depending on his income. It’s definitely something to look into. Even though I received the max of all federal grants and loans available, plus a scholarship from GS, I still fell a couple k short of a year’s tuition. I took out an immense private loan (needed to be cosigned by my father… and I have decent credit), but I luckily found employment to cover (almost all of) my living expenses. That’s the hard part! I earn enough between two on-campus jobs and one profitable weekly house/dog-sitting gig. I think I lucked out because while I work around 30 hours per week, I’m still able to study during two of my jobs (for the full courseload I’m taking). I had to move here which was really hard and expensive. If not finishing school asap is a big priority for you, and working while going to school is impossible, maybe consider working part time and going to school part time. </p>
<p>I can’t really comment on your chances of getting in because GS is really selective, but you definitely seem like you have a shot. I don’t think the actual classes you take at your current school will factor into their decisions. What matters is that you are taking any classes, doing well in them, and ready to challenge yourself more!</p>