i have the option to go to GT for CS or Columbia GS. Cost doesn’t matter at all and i will choose GS if they are treated exactly the same as CC/SEAS alumni, Wallstreet recruiters, professors, grad admission committee, fellow CC/SEAS/Barnard classmates etc. But if not, then i think the choice is simple. Is GS treated exactly the same as SEAS/CC grads?
Why don’t you ask for careeer outcomes of grads in the program ?
Based on your beliefs simce you’re likely a prestige hound, you can argue that G Tech is greater than Columbia. Not GS.
The reality is likely it doesn’t matter. GS is jus a different, non traditional audience. Many students will be attractive because they’ll be more mature with work experience.
Have you received transfer acceptances to these schools or is this a hypothetical question about future acceptances?
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Nobody is treated exactly the same as everybody else.
Companies don’t hire colleges- they hire individuals. You should make a phone appointment to talk to career services at Columbia; find out what is and is not available for GS seniors, and make a decision.
You may need more/less support than a 21 year old “traditional” senior; you may have broader or more narrow interests; you may want to be applying for fellowships or go straight to a professional career. You can’t lump all these outcomes together-- each pathway has its own twists and turns.
Talk to someone at GS Career Services and find out what is and is not available.
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Nobody is treated “exactly the same”, and the farther you get from the center the more variation there is.
Asking ‘are CS students in GS disadvantaged in any way compared to CS students in CC?’ would be a meaningful question.
Asking if CS students from GS and CC are treated the same by Wall Street recruiters or potential grad schools is a different question- and much less meaningful, b/c there are many other, more relevant variables, at play.
tl;dr- the much bigger question is 'where are you likely to do better: GS or Georgia Tech? which program is a better fit for you? what path do you think you want to follow (IB/Wall Street is a completely different path than grad school)?
i got into both!
As far as fellow CU students, most wouldn’t even know which college the person next to them attends. Based on what my daughter related, it truly doesn’t matter in that respect.
She might have found out eventually, when they were grouping-up for certain projects/labs - or because a word was casually dropped that someone needed to rush out to pick up a child from after-care - but again, it certainly didn’t matter.
Eventually, people bond over a class/course being a “shared pain”, rather than what college they happened to have enrolled in.
There are some classes (e.g., late afternoon) that might have a noticeably higher proportion of GS students because of their work/family schedule - but again, they are mixed-in with traditional students who despise getting up early.
Socially of course, there are differences, between on-campus students of the same age range, who will have more opportunities to connect and “hang out” together vs “commuter” students, or those of another age group. Again, not specific to GS, but just a matter of practicality/opportunity to connect.
Unfortunately, I have no insight with respect to perception for job applicants.
FYI:
GS students use the same career center and online platform as other students (CC/SEAS). Only the people within Columbia really pay attention to the difference between CC/SEAS/Barnard/GS.
Outside of this bubble, not many people care. But note that when applying for jobs at some high brow firms (like IB or consulting) the first round interview will be with people who graduated from Columbia. But as long as you have a good GPA and do well on the interviews, I don’t think it makes a difference.
Note that some wall street firms specifically look for GS students. Mainly because of maturity, and military experience.
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Also wanted to point out that the CS curriculum is identical between CC/SEAS/GS/Barnard. The only difference is the core requirements. But the requirements to get a degree are the same. So in that regard GS is treated exactly the same as the other columbia undergrads.