<p>@ctjm88 it’s in the acceptance package 
mine came in the mail the day after decision but depending on where you live it may take longer, i think.</p>
<p>I started this thread 9 months ago, and application time seemed ages away. I can’t believe we’ve finally received decisions A month or so ago, I promised myself I would stop logging on to College Confidential so that I could relax and stop comparing myself to all the other unbelievably qualified applicants. When I logged on Thursday afternoon, I had nearly 600 notifications! </p>
<p>I’m so glad this thread has picked up, and so proud to see such supportive people on this page </p>
<p>To everyone whose decisions weren’t what they were hoping for, please know (as cliche as it sounds) you will end up at the perfect place for you.</p>
<p>To my fellow classmates of Columbia '19, CONGRATULATIONS!!! I can’t wait to meet you all next fall :)</p>
<p>Sounds like you are having a bad experience, but that is not the experience of 99% of the students. Most students love Columbia, the beautiful campus, diverse student body, proabaly one of the largest course selections for undergrads in the US, small class sizes, amazing faculty, and endles extrcurriculars and opportunities. Especially compared to other schools, Columbia is at the top of the list.</p>
<p>To all Applicants,
Choose your college based on this not based on US news ranking. </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.payscale.com/college-salary-report-2014/full-list-of-schools”>http://www.payscale.com/college-salary-report-2014/full-list-of-schools</a> </p>
<p>and this <a href=“http://www.payscale.com/college-roi/full-list/financial-aid/yes”>http://www.payscale.com/college-roi/full-list/financial-aid/yes</a> </p>
<p>@SteveWasko
I disagree. I’d say that if, God forbid, students are going to choose their college based only on rankings, then they should take a look at a wide array of rankings: US News and PayScale included. The first list you posted shows rankings based solely on mid-career salary, and while this might be something to take into account while choosing a college or university, it isn’t the determining factor for a lot of students.</p>
<p>And so, to all Applicants, please don’t choose your college based on any rankings, but if you feel you must, then look at both US News and PayScale, as well as others (Forbes, Niche/College Prowler, CollegeXpress, etc.)</p>
<p>@evanian15 </p>
<p>Payscale and soon to be published federal ranking (Feb 2015) will show just this (how much typical college graduate make after they finished). BTW, lot of colleges don’t want this federal study to come out for obvious reasons because people will start questioning their high inflated tuition with what we make after having close to $100,000 or more in debt.</p>
<p>I believe Payscale is the only ranking right now which shows true potential for our salary based on institution. We have to keep in mind that as a graduate will be moving with our parents with $50,000 a year salary (majority of the colleges) with $12,000 per year student debt or not.</p>
<p>Disagree as much as you want but cold reality after 2019 when we look for a job and with a debt already raked up will be challenge for all of us.</p>
<p>PS: it hurts me as well to see columbia ranked 54.</p>
<p>@SteveWasko </p>
<p>You’re right. This is an important ranking that should be treated as such, along with the federal ranking. I also agree that we need to keep in mind what’s going to happen post graduation.</p>
<p>What I disagree with is saying choices should be purely based off of $money$. If one is majoring in Art, Theology, or Education, perhaps they’re not in it for the money anyway, which would make PayScale’s rankings less important. My intended major is Anthropology, the least recommended major according to PayScale by a lot and a common major on the Top 10 Lists of “major wastes of money.” Despite seeing the definitive evidence that Anthropology might be a dumb thing to major in, I’m still willing to take it because of my interest in it.</p>
<p>And yes, it hurts to see Columbia anywhere outside of the top 20 in college rankings. But I chose Columbia for the Core, the people there, New York City, its history, its diversity, its clubs and organizations, etc. My salary after four years of Columbia wasn’t much of a factor. </p>
<p>Towards the beginning of my college search, Swarthmore sent me a small booklet titled “The Usefulness of Uselessness” : <a href=“Useless99”>http://www.swarthmore.edu/Humanities/tkitao1/useless.html</a>
This booklet and the aspects of Columbia I described earlier are what encouraged me to apply with intent to study Anthropology. They heavily influenced my views on colleges in terms of where to go and what to do. That’s probably the reason why I disagree.</p>
<p>I recognize and appreciate the importance in what you’re saying, but I believe I have valid opposition to some of it. We just have different criteria for choosing colleges and somehow ended up with an affinity for the same university.</p>
<p>@evanian15 </p>
<p>My best wishes for your future and passion you have for anthropology. </p>
<p>In my case and I think majority of the people here, we need a house to buy, kids to raise and have a well paying career much of a debt. </p>
<p>My question for interviewer was this and I never got a clear answer - how much you made after you graduated and how much student debt you still have? How long it take you to find a job?</p>
<p>I would suggest we all should ask this question to college interviewer when they look for fit and we should ask following </p>
<p>(1) How many students get placed before they graduate?
(2) What is the avg. salary your students make?
(3) How is alumni network ? And how much they help to get you a job? Please provide #s (not I got a job thru alumni is not a valid answer)
(4) Why their ranking in payscale is this?
(5) How many students go in default?</p>
<p>These colleges are not doing a single favor to us by choosing us and we have to keep that in mind. We own this process not them!</p>
<p>Without 34,0000 of us giving $85 we are making them great! </p>
<p>@SteveWasko </p>
<p>You seem quite salty about your rejection from Columbia, I advise you take your thoughts elsewhere. You’re trying to convince a group of people that are committed to Columbia that it’s not worth their time because you yourself were not admitted into the school. I don’t think that’s fair for everyone at all. </p>
<p>I agree with hellagucci. It seems a bit undignified for a rejected applicant to suggest that a “payscale” survey is a reason to not attend one of the most academically enriching colleges in the world. Aside from the fact that the sampling methodology is flawed and the confidence interval is surprisingly wide, the survey doesn’t really quantify success. The fact is that Columbia graduates attend graduate and professional schools in larger volumes and percentages that most colleges (including those in the Ivies). All of those graduates, according to the methodology, are disregarded because they pursued their education. The survey also doesn’t take into account Columbia’s rich heritage in the arts and theater and literature and journalism and public service Graduates working in those areas, by and large, earn less than graduates in pre-professional areas. The Columbia graduates who work in those disciplines, however, likely earn more – in fact significantly much more – than like-kind graduates of other schools. Need I continue? The point is that if you are considering Columbia, you should look at the academic environment, the course offerings, the quest for knowledge and the multi-faceted research, and not some shallow survey with little meaning or application. </p>
<p>@Plato23 & @hellagucci </p>
<p>You can both suck thumbs saying “if you are considering Columbia, you should look at the academic environment, the course offerings, the quest for knowledge and the multi-faceted research, and not some shallow survey with little meaning or application.” </p>
<p>But reality is different and about payscale (no one invest $100 million dollar) if what you selling as per you “sampling methodology is flawed and the confidence interval is surprisingly wide, the survey doesn’t really quantify success” </p>
<p><a href=“Warburg Pincus Buys Compensation Software Service PayScale For Up To $100 Million | TechCrunch”>http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/24/warburg-pincus-buys-compensation-software-service-payscale-for-up-to-100-million/</a> </p>
<p>and yeah, don’t shoot the messenger. I am also upset at columbia ranking, wish I knew this before!</p>
<p>@SteveWasko </p>
<p>If you think money is the only quantification of success, I’m sure Columbia had good reason to reject you. We dislike your comments here and they don’t bring discussion about Columbia ED (look at the thread title!) but rather instigate mindless arguments with others who have already decided to apply. </p>
<p>You make your own success @SteveWasko . If you want to make money, you definitely can. To say a Columbia degree will hinder you in that respect is pretty stupid. Many kids pursue majors that will not pay to well, but if they are happy then let them be. Also payscale is obviously weighted towards engineering schools since those majors make more money. If you want to get rich from Columbia (This statement probably doesnt apply to you Steve since you didn’t get in) you can pursue an engineering major or a business major. Then you can work at Wall Street or as an engineer and make bank.</p>
<p>If you want to pursue a school such as NYU-Poly or Babson rather than a school of Columbia’s quality, you are free to do so. Do not try to go rain on the Columbian’s kids parades just because your mad you didn’t get in.</p>
<p>Pay scale rewards narrow focused engineering schools. Schools that are diverse and excell in multiple subjects, including the arts and languages, will fair poorly on this survey. I would much rather attend a school like Columbia that excels in everything versus a school like MIT or Stanford which are very STEM heavy. </p>
<p>@SteveWasko</p>
<p>I have been deferred from Columbia, and given the huge number of applicants deferred, there is a high probability of an ultimate rejection. Accepted or not, Columbia will always remain THE dream college for me even if it went further down that ranking. I never selected the university based on payscale, because college is not and should be about money. That being said, the payscale is not as low as you make it sound. </p>
<p>Guys, @SteveWasko is simply ignorant to the details! All of the top schools listed on PayScale are more or less STEM based schools… And which fields generally make the most money? The STEM based ones. Columbia University graduated 1,092 students from Columbia College and only 415 from Columbia Engineering (SEAS) after the 2013-2014 academic year.</p>
<p>Anyone with a basic understanding of how an average works can conclude that the PayScale figure makes total sense. The PayScale figure is more representative of how many students graduate with STEM degrees.</p>
<p>How many non-STEM majors do you see Harvey Mudd offering? <a href=“Majors at Harvey Mudd | Academics | Harvey Mudd College”>https://www.hmc.edu/academics/majors-at-harvey-mudd/</a> ;)</p>
<p>Perhaps @stevewasko ’s analysis skills are in evidence throughout the rest of his app – thus the current position. If he (or anyone) were to drill me (as an interviewer) with his interrogation:</p>
<p>(1)How many students get placed before they graduate?
(2) What is the avg. salary your students make?
(3) How is alumni network ? And how much they help to get you a job? Please provide #s (not I got a job thru alumni is not a valid answer)
(4) Why their ranking in payscale is this?
(5) How many students go in default?</p>
<p>I’d point out that since my alma mater wants students who solely aren’t motivated by their eventual earning potential, why isn’t he applying to Georgia Tech or Harvey Mudd or MIT – since he’s obviously made a mistake wanting to attend my college.</p>
<p>Hey guys, so after I received my acceptance, I responded to their offer and paid the admission deposit, but am wondering how, or when, I can submit a housing application? So if any of you know, your help would be wonderful.</p>
The housing application doesn’t open until after the RD pool is admitted, and housing is done with no preference to turning in the application early, so it doesn’t really matter when you do so as long as it’s in before the deadline. Until then, I recommend checking out the five first-year housing options (John Jay, Carman, Hartley, Wallach, and Furnald) on the official columbia website here:
http://housing.columbia.edu/incoming-students/first-year-students
And additionally here are more informal reviews on the student-run website Bwog (which you should check out generally for other information about columbia as well):
Wallach: http://bwog.com/2014/04/08/freshpeople-housing-reviews-2014-wallach/
Hartley: http://bwog.com/2014/04/07/freshpeople-housing-reviews-2014-hartley/
Carman: http://bwog.com/2014/04/06/freshman-housing-reviews-2014-carman/
John Jay: http://bwog.com/2014/04/10/freshpeople-housing-reviews-2014-john-jay/
Furnald: http://bwog.com/2014/04/09/housing-reviews-2014-furnald/
If you have any questions about the dorms feel free to message me.
-Current Columbia College student, class of 2018