I just checked my email for the first time today; turns out they’d sent me a notification of a change in application status around 2pm PST and I got accepted! I posted my stats earlier in the thread if anyone’s interested. I’m so overwhelmed right now that my hands are shaking! Congrats to everyone who got in and best of luck to all who are still waiting to hear! 
@joelfromthemoon The vet status definitely helps. They mostly look for recent academic achievement. Did you use service to school?
I just got accepted!! It was posted on the 24th. I can’t believe it. I’m an international student so I’m nor sure what my GPA would be. These are my stats:
- 24, nontraditional student
- HS GPA: roughly translates to a 3.8
- international flight attendant for an european airline
- former computer game tester
- went to business school for one year (had very average grades in Business subjects but a 4.0 in my minor which I now want to pursue as a major and I made sure to justify both of that greatly)
- left school to work in different startups
- since then working in different big tech companies
- good EC’s: Rotary, started a project for refugees in my city, in general social services...
- I guess my recommendations were good, one was from a former teacher that knows me well and another one from a manager
- As a standardized test score I only had to submit the TOEFL score which was 117.
Good luck to everyone! It‘s 6AM in Germany so I feel like I‘m still in a dream 
Oh I forgot to add that I applied for the March 1st deadline and submitted the application on Feb 27th
@AndyG130 no I did not—though I’ve heard of s2s here and there, I didn’t really get the chance to utilize any resources as applying to an Ivy League school never even crossed my mind until a friend just told me to apply. I definitely rushed my application trying to get it in by the early action deadline. Does utilizing S2S increase chances for admission?
@oatafix congratulations!!
Seems like a lot of people are getting their decisions—hope is dwindling. 
@whiskeybizness congratulations!! Hopefully I’m lucky enough to see you at orientation! Fingers crossed
@joelfromthemoon thank you! when did you submit your application? Since it‘s rolling they might also release the admissions in a chronological order? If I applied on Feb 27th and received my decision on the 24th, March 1st applicants might receive theirs on the 26th or later. Although that‘s just an assumption, they could also release them randomly ??♀
I found the posts from past applicants throughout the years to be useful and informative so I’ve made an account myself to contribute. Hopefully this is helpful to any future applicants in some small way.
Application submitted on the early decision deadline of 3/1/19
Letters of recommendation submitted separately by both my references on 3/20/19
Notified of acceptance via email on 4/24/19 (email stated there was an update to my application status on the admissions portal; upon logging into the admissions portal there was a new link which led to the acceptance letter)
My background/stats:
26 y/o male
US Army Veteran - Green Beret/JTAC (2012-2019)
High School GPA - 2.82
Rutgers GPA - 2.1 (2010-2012)
Community College GPA - 4.0 (2015-2016; took a few online classes while in the military)
SAT: 1930 (taken 11 years ago in 2008 while I was attending high school)
Some things to note:
- I attended a GS tour and admissions information session. The information session was extremely worthwhile. The tour was well conducted, but was of little use to me personally.
- After speaking with an admissions manager during said information session, it was abundantly clear to me that test scores matter little in comparison to the essay, LOR’s, and what you bring to the table as a non-traditional student; thus, I did not elect to take the GSAE or retake any standardized tests despite my SAT score being over a decade old.
- I submitted a resume even though it was optional. My resume was pretty much a more easily-digestible version of my DD214 and military service history.
- I did not have any extracurricular activities or community service listed on my application.
- I did not use service-to-school or any such similar program, though I do hear that they are indeed awesome and quite a valuable resource.
I believe having solid LOR’s and furnishing a well written essay that communicates what drives you as a person, what fuels your passions, and your story/unique experiences that have brought you to this point in your life are monumental towards getting accepted. I have no doubt that those two components of my application are by far what carried me the most.
Good luck to those who are still waiting to hear back; looking forward to meeting everyone in the Fall!
@joelfromthemoon S2S doesn’t increase your chances directly, though they help you a lot with your essay and resume. I had S2S look over all my documents and so far i’ve been accepted into UC Berkeley and Columbia. I’ve also been selected for an interview with Yale. They really do prepare you.
@AndyG130 I’m from San Pedro I wrote about the same thing. Different branch of service though, I was in the army not the marines. If I get accepted we got to go grab some baleadas lol
@Punisher1 Down af! I actually looked for Baleada and Pupusa spots in NYC lol. Unfortunately, there are no central american restaurants in Manhattan. We would have to cross over into Jersey.
@AndyG130 Born and raised in NYC here. There are definitely Central American restaurants all over Manhattan, but Columbia’s hood is probably the wrong area. Part of your fun here will be finding those places… often times the best things don’t really come up on your google searches. I will admit there are lots of ethnicities that are better represented just outside Manhattan… for Central American, try Astoria!
@AndyG130 I’ve been to the one in Brooklyn but the one in jersey is closer.
@mamabear336 Always nice to get a local’s tips! Thanks! I will check it out if I end up at Columbia.
Guys, going to columbia gs is now my number one priority. I don’t see any rejection posts here and wonder what I should do to increase my chances. I Worked my ass up for the past four semesters to get straight A’s and decent SAT scores in my Uni.(us top100) However, I don’t have EC or any regular job experiences in the past. I am in mid to late twenties and feel I don’t have that much compelling stories to explain my lack of job experiences. I was pessimistic ideologist who was unproductive and suicidal unril two years ago.Right now I feel GS is the only place to achieve my dream and stand as a non traditional student. I know I should explain this in my essay, but when I tried to put it, it was very bad sounding:( what do you think my chances are or can you give me any advice? I am an international student btw
Congrats y’all ! My brother is still waiting his result! Does anybody know how Columbia GS announce the “Rejection”? Thanks!
@SMSNYAL when are you applying?
@Punisher1 I am applying for this Fall semester and plan to submit soon.
@SMSNYAL I haven’t gotten a decision yet, so take my advice with a grain of salt—that being said, it already sounds like you have a foundation to write a compelling story. Your strength comes from your experiences and how you responded to those experiences. Being an international student alone is interesting and compelling. I myself goofed around in HS and my first go at CC (dropping out with a 1.13) and I used that as a basis to my essay. Why did I fail? Why didn’t I have a drive? What made me pick myself back up? How? When? Why? These are some of things I put in my essay and tied all of that together with my Army experience as well as every other menial jobs and experiences in my life and how Columbia fits into that picture. I’m decently satisfied with how my essay turned out—though I do think it could’ve been better. Perhaps you can start by just writing whatever comes to your mind. I myself had 20+ different Word Documents with a storm of random thoughts and then cherrypicked my best ramblings, polished them up, and organized them into an essay. I hope I gave you some ideas. Best of luck!
Spring 2019 welcomed 232 students while Fall 2018 welcomed over 700. Stay strong ya’ll and pray for the best!