<p>I agree Vlad. I'm biased, but I think if anything, GS students bring a richer dynamic to Columbia. I can see that when I compare my experience at Columbia to Yale. I'm surprised to see that some CC students feel that GS students are bringing down their college community, instead of strengthening it.</p>
<p>Could analysis menunno.</p>
<p>sorry, no harm intended. i did not mean to come off as arrogant and if i did i apologize, seriously. did not mean to hit a nerve.</p>
<p>Vlad:</p>
<p>I am very normal and middle class and if you met me you would not think i was arrogant -- i was just making some stupid comments. you don't need to take everything so seriously. i am one tiny opinion in a huge universe and i just say what comes to mind. and i am actually a very nice guy.</p>
<p>"I suspect that we are raising a generation of elitist club members--doesn't bode well for our country"</p>
<p>seems like top institutions are actually becoming a lot LESS elitist than before. (columbia used to be only male and i don't think there were many minorities at all) also, you're dealing with a extremely small percentage of the overall population when referring to those in top schools. a whole generation of elitists? hmm... and now that i think of it, weren't george w and kerry both members of skull and bones? elitism can't be that new.</p>
<p>"I'm sure there are CC students who are capable of giving Columbia a bad name...it depends on the individual"</p>
<p>you're totally right. i think i just had some bad experiences and i was extending it. apologies. menunno -- please disregard my comments.</p>
<p>i believe GS overall has a smaller undergrad class than CC</p>
<p>the only reason why GS has higher acceptance rate because there are fewer admission to begin with..</p>
<p>8 years ago columbia graduate school of business has acceptance rate over 45%
and now it's only 9%.. that's only because more people apply...</p>
<p>same with GS, if there are the same load of admission as CC and SEAS, it is very likely that the acceptance rate for GS will go down...</p>
<p>and how can you really say it is easier to get in to GS than CC?</p>
<p>there are fewer GS students than CC students... out of the same given population..
doesnt that mean that there are more requirements to be a GS student than CC student?</p>
<p>"there are fewer GS students than CC students... out of the same given population..doesnt that mean that there are more requirements to be a GS student than CC student?"</p>
<p>well if i follow the logic correctly then...necessarily YES! GS must have more stringent admissions criteria than CC!</p>
<p>and in a given population since there are fewer homeless people than there are lawyers, there must be more requirements to be a homeless person than to be a lawyer!</p>
<p>GS is much easier to get into then CC---the requirments are an elementary admissions test in both math and English. Once accepted the drop out rate at GS is huge because the academics are as rigorous as CC. By the way, I believe that you have to be a certain age to apply to GS--not sure though--its been many years--I graduated GS in 1982, and I am currently a physician at a major hospital. Great education but very difficult.</p>
<p>I think there's a lot of misinformation in this thread, so I'll take the next few minutes that should be spent studying for a big exam to reply to this thread.</p>
<p>I'm a student in General Studies at Columbia. My academics are no different from Columbia College if I choose to follow a particular path. Other than University Writing, which GS students take amongst fellow GS kids, as the course is meant not only to serve as a standard English 101, but also as a first-semester course of sorts, so the university feels it important for students with such unique backgrounds, coming in with an average age of 29, to share those amongst the group. The class itself is taught no differently than the College version, and many of the professors alternate between College and GS sections. The other courses that offer GS sections -- LitHum, CC (I think), and at least a few foreign language sections -- are NOT mandatory. If students with to pursue the more traditional College track toward the BA, they can, and can easily appeal to take the courses through the College. The requirements toward the degree are more distributive than restrictive and allow for more independence, but are, at the end of the day, quite analogous to the College.</p>
<p>I think it's fairly safe to say that some students throughout the university make you scratch your head, so to speak, as to how they actually got there. There are quite a few students in the College that this can be said for, as are I'm sure there are comparable students at GS, SEAS, Barnard, etc. At the same time, I've been able to share some fascinating dialect with some of the brightest people I've ever met, specifically at GS. These students, for one reason or another, decided to come back and complete their education at Columbia through a school that allows them a level of academic freedom that's not entirely offered through some of the other schools. We go about as full-fledged members of the Columbia community, and if we didn't tell you, you'd have a difficult time distinguishing us from the College, SEAS, etc. We can partake in every club open to undergraduate students throughout the university, including varsity sports (see gocolumbialions.com if you believe this to be incorrect).</p>
<p>Though the average age of GS is 29, there are students as young as 17 and as old as 70 in the school. In terms of age, I'm right on track with a traditional college student, but for a multitude of reasons, my path to Columbia was outside the norm of a traditional student. Getting in was anything but easy. For me, part of it included busting my ass for a few years to consecutive semesters of 4.0 college work. GS was really my only gateway to the university, and I'm grateful for its existence. It's so far fulfilling everything I've expected out of a unique school within a fantastic university. Rarely do I see myself as "second class" to the other undergraduate divisions. In terms of advising alone, I sometimes believe that GS students have an advantage. In time, we'll probably get our giving rate up a little higher, and our acceptance "rate" will go down (though there's no pre-determined figure that GS enrolls -- if you meet a particular criteria, you're in -- unlike other divisions, you're not at competition with everyone else). Much of this has to do with the esoteric nature of the school. I wouldn't be surprised if this changes at a point in the near future.</p>
<p>You have to take a step back to understand that 99% of the time, we're all students at Columbia University, each of us part of the Columbia community, and, in own ways, working toward the same degree. It's difficult to put an elitist or prestige tag on each individual division once you're actually here. From an outsider's perspective, GS is seen as the continuing division (which it is not), meant for adults (which is also not correct), and the "lesser" of Columbia's undergraduate schools (which is hard to fathom once you're enrolled). Regardless of the path, once you're in, you're in. Why not just appreciate that fact and take the most you can from the university?</p>
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<p>Please forgive my ignorance on the topic..</p>
<p>So, is there absolutely no difference bw going to GS and CC???
(Then, how come the columbia adcom only evaluates the apps for CC and SEAS?? how come more ppl are driven to go to CC, but not GS?)</p>
<p>In other words, people who get their columbia degrees from GS and CC are considered the same?? (in terms of getting a job and applying for grad schools..etc)</p>
<p>Sorry about my lack of knowledge/common sense.. =)</p>
<p>As someone who really wants to go to columbia, I thought I'd ask..lol thanks</p>
<p>GS is not looked upon as highly as CC, and the idiots in this thread who say CC looks at them equally are totally wrong. This goes the same with GS in NYU as well, when they have all the rankings, you'll notice GS NEVER gets added into these gpa or sat averages, that's why they are a whole different program</p>
<p>Zetsui -- It certainly sounds like you don't know a whole lot about Columbia's School of General Studies. If you did (and read my earlier post), you'd know by now that Columbia's School of General Studies is completely unrelated in every given way to New York University's General Studies Program. GSP at NYU is designed to give students, admitted traditionally, the guaranteed opportunitiy to transfer to their initital school of choice after two years. To many, GSP frowned upon as the remedial undergraduate school at NYU. GSP students take classes separate from their NYU CAS, Stern, Tisch, etc. colleagues. Though I'm no expert on NYU as I do not go there (I go to Columbia), I can tell you that the program in Greenwich Village is completely unrelated in every way to The School of General Studies at Columbia University. As for prestige, there is little to no difference in attaining the BA between Columbia College and The School of General Studies. The School of General Studies holds a seat on the Ivy Council (<a href="http://www.ivycouncil.org/affiliates.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.ivycouncil.org/affiliates.html</a>), the only nontraditional school in the Ivy League to do so. In terms of applying to graduate school or going for a job, each of us are graduates of Columbia University. There is little difference, if any, in the given evaluation process. Graduates of The School of General Studies move on to study at the nation's top graduate schools, just as those from Columbia College the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Amazingly enough, we work toward the exact <em>same</em> degree. I suggest you review the website for The School of General Studies, <a href="http://www.gs.columbia.edu%5B/url%5D">www.gs.columbia.edu</a>, before articulating false information (as is the case commonly on this message board).</p>
<p>Kyong -- In terms of the curriculum itself, there is no difference between GS and CC <em>if</em> you wish to pursue the Core, which many of us do. General Studies has its own distribution requirements which can be fulfilled by completing the Columbia College core (e.g. two literature courses can be fulfilled thorugh LitHum, one of the science requirements can be fulfilled through Frontiers of Science, and ALL of us HAVE to take University Writing, ArtHum, and MusicHum, just like our Columbia College contemporaries). The admissions process is different as one office is meant to serve the needs of "traditional" students (Columbia College / SEAS) while General Studies is meant to serve those that have completed a more "non-traditional" track to Columbia. In my case, it involved two previous colleges (with a 4.0 cumulative GPA) and skipping half of high school. The average age the General Studies is 29, though there are students as young as 17 and as old as 70. It's extremely diverse in nature, as advertised, and its students present a welcomed contribution to the school community. The degree is the same. The classes are the same. (I had a hellish Psych exam today -- as did those from Columbia College, SEAS, JTS, and Barnard, who are also in the same class). And tomorrow morning, I wake up to American Politics with the same students from Columbia College, SEAS, JTS, and Barnard.</p>
<p>Put bluntly, if you're applying right out of high school, Columbia College and SEAS are your only two options. You may be able to make an extreme case for General Studies, though such instances are very rare. If you've taken a year off from your studies after graduating high school and you've used the time to show some sort of academic and personal growth, you can apply to General Studies. GS is more concerned about the personal strengths of the applicant and what that person can bring to the University, rather than the "stats" that many on this board live and die by. I hope this helps.</p>
<p>First of all GS, caters to a whole different audience as it caters to adult learners. The typical student graduating our of high school applying for freshman admissions cannot apply to GS . Applicants may not simultaneously apply to the School of General
Studies and to any other undergraduate division of Columbia University (Columbia College or the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science), nor are applicants eligible to apply to the School of General Studies if in the last three years they applied to any of these divisions and were not accepted. Applicants are admitted to the School of General Studies as matriculated degree candidates.
Students may enroll either full- or part-time and may change their status from semester to semester.</p>
<p>The School of General Studies is the college at Columbia University
created specifically for students who pursue a nontraditional path to complete a B.A. or B.S. degree. Nontraditional students include persons whose education since high school has been interrupted or postponed for at least one academic year or individuals who for compelling personal or professional reasons need to attend college on a part-time basis</p>
<p>GS students have full access to the richness of a Columbia education. They take the same courses with the same faculty and major in the same departments as all other undergraduates on the Columbia campus. Students take the same classes and study with the same professors as do students from Columbias three other undergraduate colleges.</p>
<p>At the end of the day, no matter what people say the degree still says COLUMBIA.</p>
<p>im not sure the stats are...
but people that i know accepted for GS typically has a GPA of 3.9
ive heard exceptions.. but also heard that their essay was spectacular</p>
<p>hope this helps</p>
<p>Did any GS student on this board have to have an interview with the admissions committe before being accepted?</p>
<p>GaussGodden thank you for the reply, did you go to GS?</p>
<p>i goto GS, i had a 3.97 GPA with 60+ units of completion with hardclasses, calculus etc..
and i did have an interview</p>
<p>in your essay, you might want to focus on how you will utilize the school in addition to what can you offer to the school.. they want people that understand why they want to study.. not because everyone else is doing it..</p>
<p>GPA is simply something that they can evaluate that your seriousness of what you said..</p>
<p>Thank you again for your prompt reply. What did they ask you in the interview? Was it with one person or with many? Was the interview long? I'm sorry for all the questions, I just want to thoroughly prepare for this.</p>
<p>thank you
Khorsani</p>
<p>I had a 3.99 GPA with 54 units (two years of full-time study), and instead of an interview, I decided to meet with the admissions staff on my own before starting the process just to see it the School of General Studies was right for me. After speaking quite casually for about an hour, I was highly encouraged to apply. The match has so far been everything I've ever expected it to be.</p>
<p>If you have any further questions, feel free to ask!</p>
<p>edit: Just before I forget, I don't know if it's encouraged, but in my situation, I decided I had to go well beyond the word-limit on the essay. I think my essay came out to something like seventeen pages (seriously!), but there was a lot to be told and little be left out.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for the reply. </p>
<p>Does the essay have to be very tight? will they overlook one or two disjointed thoughts you think? I've spent close to sixty hours woking on this essay and its complete, but I know its not very tight. </p>
<p>I want to write the perfect essay because I've heard they put a lot of weight on it and also because I only have a 3.6 GPA from a community college in manhattan.</p>
<p>The content is good and I have quite an interesting story to tell but English is not my first language, so I know the essay could be a lot better.</p>
<p>I had one good editor, edit it for me but I'm still not happy with it. Should I keep stressing out over this?</p>
<p>Also what is the acceptance rate for GS? do you remember how many new people there were for new student orientation? are there students there whose first language is obviously not english? </p>
<p>sorry for all the questions, my life has revolved around this application for the last three months and I would really like to get in.</p>
<p>Thank you for your time,
Khorsani....</p>