Doubts about Columbia University School of General Studies.

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia School of General Studies
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Hey you all,

I am planning on applying to Columbia University School of General Studies. I am a high school senior and I am going to graduate in May. I am originally from Colombia, the country in South America and I just came to the U.S. one year ago. Because of this, when I just came to the country I did not speak english very good so I had to be really focused on my language skills and I did not have much idea of the college system in the U.S. and the big amount of things I needed to get into a good school like Columbia.

Then, by the time I had to apply I could not because I was not really prepared. So, I have been accepted in other colleges but I don’t really want to go there because even though they are really good schools, they are not as pretigious as Columbia, NYU, etc. Also, I have been dreaming about Columbia University for a long time now, and I am aware I can go first to other college and then just transfer to Columbia later but I know that getting into Columbia or any other good school as a transfer is almost 3 times harder because of the spaces available in classes. So I decided that the best thing for me would be to take a year off and have enough time to get the things I need done and I apply as a first-year student.

In order to do this, I have to apply to Columbia School of General Studies, so I have read A LOT about it and I just end up more and more confused each time. I worry about the prestigious of General Studies in comparison with Columbia College during career, Grad school, and any other places where this difference would matter. Also, the age difference within GS because by the time I hopefully start going to GS I will be just 18. The housing and financial aid help as a GS student. And If would it be better for me to go to Columbia as a GS student or go to NYU, or maybe other Ivy League school, or consider some other schools in California, such as Stanford, USC, UCLA, etc. (All of them considering my year off).

Also, ANY advice or tips that you guys can give me about Columbia GS and my situation in general, are more than welcome to me.

Thank you so much,
Camila

2

Hi Camila,

It seems like there are a lot of misconceptions about the GS program, and hopefully I can share my experience with the application process.

Firstly, there’s no need to worry about the quality of the GS education vs Columbia College, as all of Columbia’s programs have the same access to courses. With the exception of degree specific courses (like those for engineering), you’ll be in classes with a mix of students from all across Columbia. It’s rumored that GS students often excel beyond those from College due to experience; you can take that or leave it as rumor, but it does appear to be true the the average GPA for students transferring into GS is 3.9, and that’s pretty astonishing.

Speaking on transferring, it’s not necessarily true that it’s “three times harder” - I’m a student transferring from a community college for the exact reason that, in most cases, it’s easier. Many colleges use transfer applicants to compensate for first and second year drop-outs; by replacing them at an equal rate, a college can improve its retention and graduation percentages, which when low, look really bad to perspective applicants (and for federal endowments). This, along with the money you save, makes transferring a really good choice for students like me; I’ve gotten into a lot of programs I didn’t dream of prior to community college. As for transferring to Columbia specifically … well, it’s a little different. As a top Ivy, Columbia has no issues with retention and graduation rates. Also, the curriculum is rather unique, and they limit what kind and how many credits will be transferred, which can negate a lot of the time and money you save at a more affordable school. That being said, the transfer applicant pool is significantly smaller than first years; the acceptance rate for transferring to GS is quoted at 34%, a huge difference from the 6.9% overall quote. Even though that number looks great, bear in mind that the applicants for GS will likely be more competitive, as they have more experience and more ways to stand out from the traditional high school applicant. Even so, if you can qualify for GS, there’s arguably no downside to applying there over CC; your chances of getting in are much better, and your eduction will be the same. There’s no equivalent program at NYU or other Ivies. If Columbia is your dream school, GS is a great option and you should feel free to take advantage of it. Continue to do research on it, visit the campus and take a tour if you can. My experience with Columbia’s admissions officers has thus far all been positive and highly informative. This link gives a good overview, but as always, try to cross-reference to get a better feel for how the school really functions. And good luck!

http://www.wikicu.com/School_of_General_Studies

*As a side note, what are you looking to study? Columbia’s education is heavily liberal arts based, but for instance, you’ll have a much different experience at NYU depending on the program you’re in; they are not all equally prestigious, unfortunately. If you’re just looking to acquire that name on your diploma, it’s fine, but when it comes to schools like NYU and UCLA, employers in a particular field are going to be much more attuned to the efficacy per program as opposed to just the school as an umbrella. If you can share what you want to do in particular, you should get much more effective advice.

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personally I don’t think you shoulbe be looking at schools like this if your english isn’t very good. Maybe start off somewhere else and then transfer. You would have to take the TOEFL (english proficiency exam ) and recieve a score of at least 100 to even get into GS.

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Hi, my name is Orit and I am a GS Tour Guide and Student Ambassador. Hungrybears17 makes some good points about GS and its fit in the structure of Columbia University. Starstruck, I would strongly recommend that you contact the Office of Admissions by email at gs-admit@columbia.edu or directly by phone (always happy to chat in person) at 212-854-2772 to discuss your eligibility. In terms of testing, it is true that if English is not your first language then they will ask for either a TOEFL or IELTS score, however, there is no minimum score. The TOEFL is only a part of a student’s application, and there are ranges that successful applicants enter with. Again, we encourage you to reach out directly to the Office of Admissions to discuss your options at Columbia.