<p>Maybe there's not really a "rah-rah" football-mob mentality, but are alumni loyal to the school? Or care about the school after graduation? I was talking to a Williams alumnus who is still madly in love, and also a Colgate - they were saying how great alumni connections were, especially in getting jobs, finding places to stay, and just making good connections. </p>
<p>What has been your experience with Columbia alumni connections?
Or, how do you feel about Columbia after graduation?</p>
<p>I’m sure you’ll get much more informative stories from other people, but I do get the impression that Columbia alumni aren’t as active or loyal as alumni from other comparable schools. (You need only look at Barack Obama for evidence–he graduated from CC in 1983 and has reportedly not been back since, and rarely talks about his Columbia days.) There are plenty of reasons for this…two of them always come to mind for me. First off, as you mentioned, Columbia doesn’t have such a strong or proud athletic identity–not much to bring alumni back year after year. And secondly, not to beat a dead horse, but I’m sure we’re still seeing the effects of the 1968 riots that alienated many alumni and discouraged them from giving to the school. The rift that event created among alumni certainly disrupted the school’s sense of pride and tradition.</p>
<p>It seems that’s getting better, though. As New York has improved its fortunes over the past two decades, Columbia has become a hotter school than it’s ever been and is attracting (and therefore turning out) more and more intensely active and motivated students–students that, I think, will get more excited in later years about being loyal to a college. Plus there have been major efforts over the past decade to attract alumni (and their money) back to the school. I think Columbia alumni will build a stronger presence in the coming decades.</p>
<p>Nightowl: no offense but what do you know of columbia alumni? are you one yourself (or even a current student)? have you ever even been to homecoming? i think you’re just speaking out of your as*</p>
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<p>Barack is not the best example of a columbia alum.<br>
[The</a> Bwog: A Corner Confluence](<a href=“http://www.bwog.net/articles/a_corner_confluence#comments]The”>http://www.bwog.net/articles/a_corner_confluence#comments)
<a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/30/us/politics/30obama.html?_r=2&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/30/us/politics/30obama.html?_r=2&hp&oref=slogin&oref=slogin</a></p>
<p>Don’t infer anything about the alum by him.</p>
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<p>i doubt it. at most you would have 5 year of people affected (the 4 years of ppl currently in attendance there and the prospective freshman class).</p>
<p>to answer the OP tho: my suitemate works in the calling center (they call alumni for donations) and he says it is INCREDIBLY rare to call someone who doesnt want to donate money to columbia. even the people who may not be in the best place financially ask to be called back next year or whatnot so they can make a donation then. additionally, in the spring and early fall it’s really common to see groups of old people walking along college walk who graduated in the 30s,40s, and 50s. i’m not an alum yet but i can definitely say i will support my school when i graduate.</p>
<p>and seriously, williams grads boast about connections? not only are there columbia grads in high positions in just about every major investment bank, consulting firm, and every other high level business, but also in every major yacht and sports clubs on the east coast.</p>
<p>I agree with what NightOwl said but wanted to clarify one thing:</p>
<p><a href=“You%20need%20only%20look%20at%20Barack%20Obama%20for%20evidence–he%20graduated%20from%20CC%20in%201983%20and%20has%20reportedly%20not%20been%20back%20since,%20and%20rarely%20talks%20about%20his%20Columbia%20days.”>quote</a>
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<p>Perhaps because he’s a transfer student and didn’t have good experiences with Columbia. This isn’t a great example of your point. You can point to other famous alums who are very active Columbia supporters. Robert Kraft would be the first person to come to mind.</p>
<p>True, I should have taken Obama’s status as a transfer student into consideration. My main point in bringing him up, I suppose, was not to say that he is typical of all, or even most, Columbia alums but rather to note how unusual it is that such a public political figure would seem so unenthusiastic about his undergraduate experience; it’s not something you typically see among politicians who graduated from, say, Harvard, Yale, or other schools in Columbia’s league. At the end of the day I admit it was a poorly-made point…and yes, I could have mentioned that there is certainly no shortage of active Columbia alumni just as famous as Obama.</p>
<p>As for what part of my anatomy I’m speaking from 
…no, I am not an alum, nor did I pretend to be someone with an extensive knowledge of Columbia’s alumni relations (I admitted as much in my first sentence). I do, however, know a number of Columbia alumni personally, some who graduated within the decade and a couple who graduated as many as four decades ago. Some of the alums I know are still extremely active in the school, which is terrific. Some others, however, are not only inactive alumni but seem outright reluctant to talk about their undergraduate experience with me, even when I initially told them of my interest in the school. One asked me almost disdainfully why I wanted to go “there”; another, who not only attended CC but stayed at CU for graduate school and is involved with a number of academic institutions, never even told me he went there until I found out elsewhere, and then (half-jokingly) called himself a “bad alumnus”. Again, I’m not saying these examples are the rule as far as alumni go, but you have to admit that attitude isn’t typical of many alumni of other great colleges and universities. As I said, my anecdotal evidence isn’t the be-all and end-all of this discussion, but I’m certainly not the first to characterize CU’s alumni relations in this way.</p>
<p>As an alum, who goes to NYC alumni events (and interviews undergrad applicants), I can say that most people love the school, they’re just not given a reason to show it most of the time. There’s no school-spirit related stuff to get them worked up, but 90% of them had a blast at the school and look back on it fondly. (And the other 10% are either political extremists, transfers, or just aren’t city people at heart)</p>
<p>Just like how it’s possible to be patriotic without flag-waving at every opportunity, Columbia alums are short on talk but long on action when it comes to supporting their school.</p>
<p>A good measure of alumni loyalty is the alumni giving rate. According to USNWR, Columbia ranks #15 in alumni giving among top national universities with 35% of alums contributing. That is an indicator of strong alumni loyalty.</p>