<p>@ckinglam</p>
<p>I am scheduled for a monday interview! My interviewer would be Ivonne, the admission manager</p>
<p>Damn, it really looks like after interviews there will be rejections. Ah well, time to get realistic and move on. </p>
<p>Yay- summer here I come!</p>
<p>Yeah. After going through last cycle’s EA Fall thread, it isn’t looking too good. Pretty much every accepted applicant during the last week (and after) were international applicants. That being said, I’m still hopeful and will be until told otherwise (via USPS)! I still believe!</p>
<p>i am rooting for you james!</p>
<p>Thanks Liz! Maybe I’ll get in next Spring or Fall. I guess I have a whole year to revamp my essay, ace the ACT (I must’ve skipped a bubble on that GSAE!), or just go to UCLA or Berkeley full ride. I’m just stoked that you got in! We should hit up McDonalds with the families if I’m ever in NYC. It’s on me! I insist! lol</p>
<p>@Hellojan, @BoolaBoola, @MC, (or any other current GSer): How do our chances look at this stage of admissions decisions? It looks like you were all accepted fairly early in your respective cycles, but do you know of any (domestic) EA applicants being accepted this late in the notification period? Is there really a “waitlist” and if so, are those applicants notified of that status? Am I being too optimistic to think that with 4-5 of us (actively posting &) remaining on this thread, at least 3 or 4 of us will be accepted in the coming week? From the looks of it we’re getting the feeling that the acceptance end of EA has been taken care of and the interview and rejection stage is upon us. Can you shed some light, harsh truth, and/or hope on any of my questions? Thanks for all of your help & insight through all of this.</p>
<p>James —</p>
<p>You got a FULL RIDE to UCLA or BERK??? </p>
<p>Dude, I’m sorry, but I’d do that over Columbias 100k+ pricetag in a heart beat! just me though</p>
<p>yes seriously!! i love how a full ride to UCLA is your back up plan!</p>
<p>First off, in response to Philly or anyone else, if Columbia is going to cost you $100k, DO NOT COME HERE. There’s no undergraduate education that’s worth that sort of debt and the life that inevitably comes with it. </p>
<p>You can go to sites like Salary Wizard and see that, assuming the $100k is loaned at a reasonable rate like 6.8%, you’re going to need to make about $90/hr to service that debt comfortably. Even if you end up on Wall Street, which you won’t in this economy without connections, you’re going to face some hard sledding for years to come.</p>
<p>Next, to James, I can’t answer that. Neither I nor anyone else, on this forum or otherwise, has been here during an admissions cycle that included the hugely successful Science Po option. Things in the GS admissions office have been turned upside-down this term and any record of past cycles or trends is no longer relevant.</p>
<p>I know that it’s impossible to stop speculating, but, at this point there is no data or even anecdotes to go on. So, just try to relax, and take comfort in knowing that you’re still in the game.</p>
<p>James, seriously? I would dump GS in heartbeat for a full ride @ Cal or UCLA, especially Cal. (This is, of course, assuming receipt of the standard/average fin. aid at GS). That, to me, is a “no brainer.”</p>
<p>Thanks Hellojan. Still in the game is really better than a rejection letter. As my record shows, I like to speculate out loud a little too much. </p>
<p>The saying is always “It’s not what you know, but who you know.” Im going to spare everyone my reasons (which I just spent a good amount of time typing on my phone, only to delete because it is not the issue here) for putting Columbia ahead of my “backup” plans. Just know that I do.</p>
<p>Thanks @MC! I was furiously typing on my phone when you posted. I’m very fortunate in my connections. Call it stupid, or a chip on my shoulder, but it’s just me wanting to achieve on the highest level on my own merit. (I don’t want to get into it with anyone trying to convince me otherwise, it’s who I am and how I feel and way too many personal reasons, so let’s skip the discussion on that, I shouldn’t have posted anything about “fullride” options. I apologize.)</p>
<p>James, I totally get that. We all have our reasons. No judgment! :-)</p>
<p>And you just don’t know yet anyway. Columbia is still a possibility.</p>
<p>Awesome. Thanks again MC and Hellojan!</p>
<p>Soooo…Monday huh? lol</p>
<p>It’s strange to me that someone who is so obviously talented as to receive full-ride to Berkeley would be concerned about even getting in to Columbia GS. It’s also strange to me that someone would just throw that out there and suddenly not want to talk about it.</p>
<p>So, maybe we should qualify that statement? Is it a full-ride in respect to the compensation you receive from the GI Bill plus Yellow Ribbon Program? Or, is it a full-ride because of your extraordinary academic ability?</p>
<p>Phrasing it the way you did implies the latter. If this is the case, your stats and story must be so obviously stellar that you should have no concern about getting into Columbia GS.</p>
<p>Not neccesarily. Again, it’s “who you know,” and for those two institutions, I know all of the right people. Believe me, that plays a huge role in my wanting to get into GS. Ill just feel like everything was handed to me if I matriculate at either of those two schools. I’m not a vet. Academically stellar? Not really. I hold a 3.865 GPA, but at a community college and taking “normal” classes. No AP or honors courses. In fact, because I dropped out of high school mid-sophomore year, I had to take math courses from the lowest level. Chem and bio (my major) classes have math prereqs, so I only have one bio class under my belt so far.</p>
<p>Like I’m sure a lot of us here, I felt like a shoo in when I first applied. 20/20 hindsight has me kicking myself though. My autobio essay, which I thought was great, seems horrible now. I also mentioned something that, as unbiased as I would like to think GS is, could cost me admission. I have a very diverse r</p>
<p>As a former Californian; Let me point out that just because you are accepted at “non-haas” Berkeley, or any UC for that matter, doesnt necessarily translate to automatic GS acceptance. And here is why:</p>
<ul>
<li>As a California Resident, UC’s HEAVILY favor California Community College students versus any one else outside the state. A student with a 3.7 with barely any EC’s from a CCC WILL be accepted over a student with a 3.9 with lots of EC’s from New York. In fact ( although I hate to use analogies for obvious reasons ) , FOUR of my friends from a CCC that had a high 3.6 with barely any extracurriculars got in to the College of Letter and Science & the college of Engineering. Why? Well, this has alot to do with overpopulation and the fact that the state has an extremely high unemployment rate ( probably because there is so much fun stuff to do that people tend to forget about school at a young age plus too many people moving into California ). The main reason I actually moved out of California was because I could not concentrate in school. In fact, most UC’s ( not including Berkeley and UCLA) have TAG ( Transfer Acceptance Agreements ) where all you need is to take “X” amount of courses and maintain a 3.0 would constitute an automatic acceptance. Moral of the story, as a CCC student you dont have to be “smart” per se to get into a UC like " non- haas "Berkeley. Honestly, in a state where a 3.0 is looked at by your peers as “phenomenal,” you just need to be able to follow directions and maintain a certain GPA and your basically a shoe in.</li>
</ul>
<p>In Addition, from what I am reading on the forum, to gain acceptance to GS means to be not JUST non-traditional, in most cases the odds are IN FAVOR of EXTREMELY non-traditional; i.e Campaigning for some hot shot Senator or whatever for a couple years, Dodging bullets as a Green Buret, or raised in extreme poverty while raising children while maintaining a high GPA.</p>
<p>So as with Berkeley, in most cases, you need the minimum GPA and a few clubs here and there. Where Columbia GS you dont neccessarily need a high GPA as much as you need a great story ( although in plenty of cases it appears most have great GPA’s)</p>
<p>Yes, Berk has a 21 % acceptance rate, but I am willing to bet that plenty of those applicants ( especially CCC students because they like to party, bon fires etc etc ) have Gpa’s below 3.6. In california, UCB and UCLA are those dream schools that people just apply to any way because, " Why not? , Im applying to UCI and UCSD, why not UCB for the heck of it?"</p>
<p>In a state where UC grads come at a dime a dozen, I can totally see why even a Columbia GS education would be a wise investment; small class sizes, and besides the Columbia name would be an eye opener in a sea of UC resumes in California.</p>
<p>What Random said is pretty much how it is. On top of the relative “easiness” of getting into a UC (even LA and Cal) from a CCC, like I said before I know all of the right people. They would be offended if I didn’t let them help me, and I definitely don’t want to offend them.</p>
<p>^ YES! What Random said is completely true. As a current GSer who had the option of attending both UCLA and Berkeley I can personally speak to the inherent truth in Random’s post. I am moving back to Los Angeles after graduation, and a Columbia degree on my resume will help a great deal there.</p>
<p>LOL I couldn’t help but laugh reading Random’s post- “raised in extreme poverty while raising children while maintaining a high GPA” - that’s me, the EXTREMELY non-traditional student. Just got admitted a couple weeks ago, and I do have a 4.0 GPA which I managed to obtain while taking Honors classes, volunteering a BUNCH, etc. etc., AND raising four kids, in EXTREME poverty (our income is about $900 per year- yikes). It’s been difficult…but I feel like it’s all been worth it and I’m finally going to give my kids the life they deserve, thanks to GS. Now I’m just waiting on that financial aid letter… :(</p>