<p>I was admitted to Columbia University GS and Smith College's Ada program. Would anyone can give any suggestions? list some pros and cons. I'm a 23 year old female with a one year old child. I screwed up my first two years at Georgia Tech and then transferred to a community college. Because of my awful experience at Georgia Tech, one of my concern toward GS is the class size. I really wish to avoid a class crowded with more than 200 students. Even though I know the GS faculty ratio is 1:7, just wondering what is the real class size for a junior student. The other worry is the diploma. Diploma from Smith college would be just the same as other Smith students while GS is a little different. I did my research about the GS of course, and I know it is an official undergraduate school of Columbia University, but just wondering, after graduation, which diploma looks better, GS or Smith College? assuming I have the same GPA stuff.
Great Thanks!!!</p>
<p>Class size varies hugely by department, what are you thinking of majoring in? In my own experience, I was in a huge history class (400 people? one of the largest classes in all of Columbia), a lot of key courses in my majors (Comp Sci and Econ) that are ~100-175 students, miscellaneous courses in the 50-75 range (math, etc), and seminar-ish courses (university writing, lithum, language classes) with only 15. </p>
<p>My experience is that very few people look askance at the GS name at all. Based on my experience with hiring in technology-ish fields, people notice Bachelor of Arts, Columbia University, and tend to not notice or care that it was GS. They’re mostly excited about my non-traditional background and want to hear more about deciding to go back to such a rigorous school after a break.</p>
<p>The physical diploma differs only in the sense that it’s printed in English. Many Columbia College students pay $300 to get their diploma translated to English.</p>
<p>Hi, I graduated from Columbia University last Spring through the GS program. My daughter graduated from Smith two years ago. Perhaps, I can offer some insight. </p>
<p>First, have you been to Smith, toured the campus, stayed for a weekend with an ADA? I do think that it’s important to see the vast differences between the two campuses. Smith is in a typical college town, has a “new age” vibe. It’s very different than going to college in NYC. We are from NYC and my daughter absolutely loved North Hampton. There is theater, music, shopping, wonderful restaurants…but again, very different from NYC.</p>
<p>Second, my daughter reports that much like the GS community at Columbia, the ADA population is fully integrated into the student population. An ADA is valued for her life experiences, same as the GS student.</p>
<p>I didn’t feel that there was much of a difference when it came to class size. At Columbia, I was in classes for my major where there were 5 students in the room. Smith can have large classes, such as an art history class with over 50 students in the room. The largest class I’ve ever had at Columbia was 105 for some introductory science classes. </p>
<p>My daughter’s diploma says Smith College; my diploma says Columbia University.</p>
<p>Personally, I think you might want to stay more focused on the pros/cons of each school, especially since Smith is an all female college, what you intend to major in, scholarship money, the community, networking, prospects for graduate school etc…I don’t feel that the size of the class ought to be your primary issue.</p>
<p>BTW, Smith has a huge focus on women in science with new buildings going up, lots of financial funding, etc. If this is your area, you might want to give it a second glance. For my daughter and I, it was about fit. She wanted to attend a prestigious, small, liberal arts, female college. For me, I was considering Smith but they wouldn’t consider my application because I was interested in a second bachelor’s degree. The GS program offered me more flexibility, plus it’s in NYC for goodness sake!</p>
<p>The people see Columbia and not the GS part. Seriously. You get a Columbia degree having taken the same classes as other columbia students. There is a lengthy history of GS students that includes people like Isaac Asimov and the Princess of Jordan and other luminaries. It’s a great degree. </p>
<p>Well, they do see the GS part: it’s noted on your transcript, and the GS students are given English diplomas whereas CC kids get theirs in Latin. But you’re right: I can’t think of an employer or graduate admissions officer that would really care. You still take the same classes, and you are held to the same standard as CC and SEAS students are.</p>
<p>No one should be ashamed of going to GS. For one, GS is the most selective nontraditional school in the country (23% accepted) after Yale’s Eli Whitney (0-5%) and Brown’s RUE (~10%), and GS students have the highest undergraduate average GPA out of the three undergraduate schools.</p>