Hey guys, I hope everyone is doing well! I’ve read lots of comments asking for a Facebook/social media platform to help us get to know each other better and I have a suggestion that is already in place. We have a Discord server with 500+ newly admitted Columbia students including GS, CC, Seas, and Barnard as well. We would be happy to have more GS folks over there. If you’re interested in getting to know students from other colleges at Columbia as well as your fellow GS students, you should join us there.
The auto-moderation on this website is preventing me from posting a link directly to the Discord server, but if you’re interested in joining, add me on Discord and I’ll invite you. My username is Cypher Vorthos#3781
@llinrs would it help if you guys made the group “Visible” while still being a private group? I can’t find you guys anywhere on the groups list on FB, even if I search “Columbia University GS Fall 2020” word for word. Regardless, thank you tons for setting this up for all of us!
Congratulations to all of the newly admitted students.
@llinrs Hello! I have a very similar profile to yours. I also didn’t have the best grades(under 2.5 GPA) in high school and am currently in a community college looking to transfer to GS! I was wondering if you could give me some insight on what you wrote for you essay in the application? Thank You and I hope you have a great day!!
Hello GS applicants. I considered applying to GS 2 years ago when I was researching non-traditional programs. I ended up not applying because it was going to cost more than $60k a year (my FAFSA EFC is 0, btw). I’m not sure if they’ve changed policies to make things more affordable, but I felt compelled to give you guys some advice.
Under no circumstances should anyone be taking out $100-200k in student loans to attend GS. It’s just not worth it. Calculate your monthly payments. You’ll be drowning in debt for YEARS to come, and you can forget about grad school. Now I’m sure some of you can afford to pay for GS without taking out loans (or taking out minimal ones). That’s totally your choice, and you’re getting an excellent education from Columbia. This post isn’t for you guys, though. This post is targeting those of you who would qualify for lots of financial aid at schools that meet full demonstrated need (like Columbia college, not the school of General Studies). If you’re considering paying for GS by taking on an insane amount of debt, I highly recommend you reconsider going to a public school where you qualify for in-state tuition or reapply to elite schools that will give you lots of financial aid. Now, getting into Columbia college (and similarly selective schools) may be more difficult than GS, but you have to realize that if you’re low-income, you could pay under $10k a year at a school that meets your full demonstrated need. Even if you don’t get into any of those schools, taking out $20k in student loans to attend your in-state school is better than taking out over $100k to attend Columbia. Plenty of middle-class high school seniors deal with this predicament every year. I know getting accepted to Columbia seems too good to pass up, but the reason they accept a higher percentage of GS students is that they aren’t offering you guys the same financial aid as other undergrads at Columbia. Be cognizant of this, research your options, and don’t let the allure of the “Columbia” name impair your financial judgment.
@bertbert@schoolisstress Unfortunately, the mod won’t let me post the link but the group is visible. If anyone is having such a hard time finding it (which idk why, honestly) then idk what else I can do. Any suggestions?
@Transfersssss hey thanks for posting this - it’s definitely good to have this insight. I was super excited to get accepted but then started researching exactly how much aid is available to GS students and after doing the price calculator it still might cost $50K+ per year?! How is that feasible! It also looks like we have to submit our reply confirmation before we can see what aid will be given… so that seems like of sketchy.
@brooklyngal16@llinrs Hey guys, can you add me to the group on FB? It is under Remy Ch, no photo. This is my secret Facebook profile so no activity on it, so don’t think I’m Spam or anything. Thank you!
The endowment is not the same as Columbia College so it doesn’t meet nearly as much financial need.
Were you offered $0 in financial aid? The trend is that it offers at least 10k for the first year and then will increase that amount for the following year.
@Yankeefan20 thats a good idea - if anyone is willing I’m super curious about the potential financial aid. Even with the $10K they’ll put forth that still leaves like $60-65K when you include housing costs… and is it true we can’t get an FA decision until we send in the paperwork accepting admittance?
@Yankeefan20 Since I never applied, I wasn’t offered anything. The net price calculators told me that I’d get a small merit scholarship, but it would still put costs at $60k+ per year. There was no reason for me to apply after that when there are plenty of other schools that meet full need, and some don’t even include loans. I did research on GS, and the concerns I’m raising (about lack of financial aid and affordability) have been posted before on cc and other places online. My guess is that GS is targeted towards a wealthy demographic that took time off after high school. They obviously won’t tell anyone that, and they also won’t be advising low-income admitted students that they can’t afford the school. I’d personally hate to see people take out loans they will struggle to pay back because they think attending Columbia is worth $200k plus interest. Those students are much better off looking at public schools or other elite privates that will give them a lot of financial aid. People who aren’t extremely well informed about college admissions and financial aid risk making a bad decision and getting taken advantage of.
If low-income students on here have gotten their aid packages, and they’re affordable, that’s great. Maybe GS is giving students more grant aid. I’m just warning people based on my research from 1-2 years ago. Everyone should do their own research and form their own conclusions based on what I’ve posted. I don’t want people thinking “Wow I got into Columbia! I’ll never have this kind of opportunity again! It’s my only path to a great career! $60k of loans per year? That’s nothing! It’s Columbia, I’ll pay it off after graduation!”
Do you (or anyone else) know the acceptance rate of Columbia GS over the past couple years? I always try to verify this but with no avail. I hear mixed things about its selectivity.
Do you (or anyone else) know the acceptance rate of Columbia GS over the past couple years? I always try to verify this but with no avail. I hear mixed things about its selectivity.
@froshman12 I have no clue what the real numbers are. You’re right that the acceptance rate and test score ranges vary from each source on the Columbia GS site. I’m pretty confident that GS is nowhere near as selective as Columbia College or Columbia Engineering. Beyond that, I have no idea. I’ve heard 15%, 35%, and even numbers above 50%.
