@Editor440 what classes did you take this semester ??
Accepted! I couldn’t be more happy! Congrats to everyone that got in as well and good luck to those still waiting!
@sasaskid Congrats! 
I am in the same boat as you. I am an international applicant too and I still didn’t get any letters or emails. Any news from you? @671242491 & @TedNicholas
@Lulynyc I got an email last week requesting my spring 2015 grades. No letter or official decision yet. I have finals next week, May 11-14, and look to send my transcript by May 21. I expect to receive a decision shortly after GS receives my spring grades.
@TedNicholas good luck for your finals and I hope you will receive a decision soon after they get your spring grades.
I got off the phone right now with Columbia GS and they said my application is under review and I will know something by June 1st. I applied as an international student on March 1st but for some reason my application wasn’t complete until March 15th. I don’t know what to think anymore. I am just super stressed about it. I just wanna know something. I really wanna get in.
Any other international applicants here?
Hi everyone, I just got accepted into Columbia University GS.
About me:
male, 23 yrs. foreign student, GPA 4.0, and Student body President of my community college.
I also got into UC Berkeley, School of business, which offered me full ride.
However, Columbia has not told me how much scholarship I am going to get.
I have 2 questions:
First, has anyone heard anything about their scholarship?
Second, which university would you guys go if you were in my place? Berkeley or Columbia? my major is Finance and business Administration.
@Hagboorn If they cost the same, choose Columbia. I have the same question about scholarship. Anyone know when and how we are going to be informed about scholarships?
@Hagboorn We do not find out scholarship information until acceptance forms are submitted. I was curious about the same thing and that is what the admissions office told me.
For all those still waiting, I just found out today I am accepted. Anyone else get the call way before you got an email saying you got accepted? I got the call around 1 this afternoon and I still haven’t received an email yet. I like to think they were so happy to accept me they did not want to keep me waiting haha.
Hello I am applying Regular Decision and although I do not have a gap year, I believe I have a compelling reason as to why I am still a non-traditional student, I submitted my Part I application which contained the Explanation Essay, although now that I look at my essay I don’t think I like it so much, and I definitely want to change the feel of the essay…Im not sure what to do, do any of you guys have an idea as to what is the best thing for me to do?
Is anyone applying Regular Decision? I see no threads and nobody seems to respond…
I have a 3.41 GPA in a CC right now Studying Physics, my first few years of college were not very good and I had a GPA of 2.6 during which time I had many things happen such as cancer (mother), a stepfather who was killed, monetary problems and other things. I am from a former USSR country from a political family. Throughout the entire time starting with HS (I earned a medical assisting license in HS as well) I was working on my path to a medical career, worked at hospitals, and hospice and alzheimers centers, as well as started a program for pre meds at my CC. Interned at a surgical center in a different country. Moved to NYC and interned in Research studies. Other extracurriculars include: writing (publishing book in my country), work with animal shelter in my country to provide monetary help to animals, yoga, rock climbing, tennis. I see everyone getting in with 3.90 GPA avg. and I am very nervous, I don’t think they will accept me.
@Hagboorn I am in a similar situation. Accepted to Berkeley (although letters and sciences) with full tuition plus 10k in living expenses, among a few other west coast schools. GS only offered ~$22k in grants, which I understand is actually quite generous from a GS-point of view. Out of the $50k in tuition plus NYC living expenses, attending Columbia would put me in the hole upwards of $150-200k.
Assuming you get a similar aid package, you will have an easier decision than me I think. Haas is one of the best undergrad business programs in the world. I attended a Berkeley admit function the other night and they said that Haas had a ~10% transfer admission rate this year, the lowest in the school. You’re probably one of very few actually considering turning that opportunity down.
Admittedly, I am struggling with giving up a future at Columbia. Some people think I am an idiot for even considering turning down a free education at Berkeley in lieu of a debt saturated GS degree, while others say that money/debt shouldn’t be a factor at all and that I should do what I want to do. I don’t know what I am going to do, but the way things are going, it’s going to be hard letting go of the financial side of things.
I’m sure you guys found out more info since you posted, but just in case: I was informed of my full financial aid package 3-4 weeks after my acceptance. A few small hoops need to be jumped through, as outlined in your admission package. You do NOT need to submit the $400 enrollment deposit in order to get your aid package info. I submitted the required documents online, waited a few weeks, called them, and had my package available online the next day.
@kozarts Hi I have a lot of friends who attend Berkeley and it is a fine institution and they all seem to love it there. It is very prestigious and you are lucky to have a full ride, congratulations. How I would weigh my options is this - do you think you may struggle financially? Because many times finances can bring down an education, in case you have to work to provide for yourself etc. If you really can not afford Columbia I would suggest going to Berkeley because it is a wonderful opportunity. On the other hand if you think you will have good financial support with family and will be able to succeed academically given the finances I would say go for Columbia since it seems to be your desired Institution to be. You should really think about how the finances can affect you. You can always apply to Columbia for a Masters Degree after you graduate from Berkeley as well!
Thanks @premed9000 for the sound advice. Definitely is very parallel to how I’ve been thinking lately. I don’t receive financial support from my family, and the debt would fall on me unfortunately. Taking that kind of money out is seeming more and more irrational. That being said, depending on the industry a GS student goes into, that money could be repaid a lot quicker than most schools. I still have a lot of thinking to do, but good luck to everyone on this thread who have applied.
@kozarts congratulations for being accepted into such prestigious universities…Let me tell you what my idea is about my own situation, hopefully it helps you somehow…
A lot of people think I’m an idiot for even considering giving up Columbia specially because everyone knows that Columbia has been my dream school since I was a kid…However, I am not so sure if School of General Studies is my dream school! Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying GS is not a good school, I am just saying compare to Berkeley, specially Haas, GS does not seem such a big deal anymore.
Haas has %5.3 acceptance rate with ave GPA of 3.95, (min 3.8); however, GS has a %40 acceptance rate with ave GPA of 3.65 (min 3.4). I know fewer people apply for GS, but still Haas is more selective by far.
As you know, GS is has a very bad reputation among Columbia University students. They look at it as a back door to Columbia…Even though it is NOT true at all, when I compare it to Berkeley where they look at the Haas students as the smartest students of the university, I kinda lean towards Berkeley…Since I want to run for student government President, this one is very important for me…
Another positive point about Berkeley is that they accept up to 70 units!! Columbia only accepted 49 of my units. So I have to stay longer, and pay more. Since I am 23, I want to get my BA asap.
However, in my opinion, Columbia’s degree is way more appealing to employers and is worth the money that I have to pay. But again, I do not know if GS’ degree is different from Columbia or not in regards to prestige…
It is a very hard decision to make…I am going to visit Berkeley on May 24th-28th; if you were around, let me know, we can talk about it…
My heart says I should go to my dream school, Columbia University, but my brain says Berkeley, Haas School of Business.
Is anyone on this thread anymore that is waiting as they are Regular decision as well? I have not heard anything from anyone here. If anyone has any input, I would be grateful!
@Hagboorn money/debt is a huge factor and anyone telling you otherwise either has loads of money or is blinded by the big name of a school. Imagine paying back $1000 a month in student loans…that’s what 100k in loans looks like. You’ll never be able to save for a house, vacation, nothing. All for an undergrad degree? Not worth it, not from anywhere. Go to Berkley.