<p>Does anyone on here have any experience/information on Columbia GS GPA requirements? The website says 3.0 and above, but from what I've read, I'm getting the vibe that most on here believe if your below a 3.7 GPA your out of the game...?</p>
<p>I assumed this was a non-traditional student admissions program, that even accepts people with GEDs. I also assumed that work experience/individual special situations would compensate for any lack in GPA.</p>
<p>I would imagine that most students need a 3.7 or above to remain competitive. If someone has below a 3.7 because of a particular situation then it’s more of a qualitative question and one that would be difficult for anyone to answer.</p>
<p>Lets say that, best case scenario, an applicant this year has they exact same story, grades and test scores as someone who was admitted last year. Unfortunatley, this says nothing of that persons chances this year. Colleges of this caliber have different qualitative admissions criteria from year to year. Of course, many of the same characteristics apply year to year, but it sounds like you are referring to unique cases which are really hard to judge from this side of the admissions process.</p>
<p>You are correct in assuming that work experience is weighed with your GPA. But how much work experience counts for any lack of GPA is a question that can never be answered.</p>
<p>It’s frusterating! I wish we had better info on this subject, but I think they keep it vague so that they receive the widest variety of candidates. If you have a situation that you feel justifies a less desirable GPA, then that should be good enough for you to apply. You never know who on the panel will relate to your story!</p>
<p>This question was asked a GSAE session I attended last Saturday. The answer was that rigor of course work weighs heavily on the decisions, so a lower GPA combined with rigorous classes would be better than a 4.0 with a bunch of easy ones. </p>
<p>Someone asked about a 3.7 specifically and answer was that it was a competitive GPA.</p>
<p>Personally, it is my belief that if this program does indeed have some sort of cutoff GPA above 3.0, then it is in fact not a non-traditional program. </p>
<p>If a business owner has a sub 3.7 GPA but above 3.0 GPA while working full time (typically way above 40 hours per week), and is able to articulate via essay his or her emotions, beliefs, and life in a manner similar to that of a traditional Ivy League student, their chances of admittance should be much higher than that of someone who simply works a regular job, regular hours, and has a 4.0 in my opinion.</p>
<p>I completely agree with you on that point. Almost anyone will tell you that the “real world” is much more difficult than college is. Therefore it makes sense that your efforts there should mean more than those in academics. In fact, I hope this is true since my gpa isn’t perfect either.</p>
<p>OP, you might be mistaken. the 3.7 rule applies to TRANSFER STUDENTS TO CC OR SEAS. not sure what the rule for gs is.</p>
<p>I think it depends on where you went previously. If your GPA is lower than 3.7 but you attended a challenging school, you will still be able to get in.</p>
<p>Personally, I believe if there is any sort of high GPA cutoff, this is definitely not a non-traditional program.</p>
<p>I believe you would need at least a 3.7 if you hope to be a competitive applicant. If you have lower than that, you would need to write an extremely good admissions essay convincing the board that you can meet the rigorous academic challenge of an Ivy League school. And for GS, you need to show character, depth, and determination to be a good fit.</p>
<p>I don’t think there is a cutoff point. I’ve run into GS’ers who were out of school for years and had less than competitive grades on both the high school and college front. </p>
<p>In light of this, there is more than one way to indicate that you can handle an Ivy League environment. Regardless as to how you’ve gotten there, (via high grades or whatever), GS needs to see that you have the discipline and are intellectually capable of handling the environment. Applicants can show this either through a high GPA, life experience, etc.</p>
<p>Signed, a GS transfer</p>
<p>When I applied for admissions in 2006, my application was rejected on the basis of having 6-B’s and 1-D on my academic transcript. The 12 remaining grades that I got were all A’s, along with a strong essay and recommendations. According to the admissions officer that I spoke to concerning my rejection application, I was also told that my application essay was excellent. However, my GSAE scores were in the upper mid-range, which meant that I passed the test; but not the top-tier scores that they expect. In conclusion, I was told that Columbia GS expect their applicants to have straight “A’s” on their academic record, which made me very angery. I don’t recall ever applying to Columbia College. I applied to Columbia GS for the opportunity to test my academic abilities within a rigorous scholastic environment that would allow my to pursue my academic interest in history and sociology.</p>
<p>It saddens me to think that just because it’s GS, you think the standards shouldn’t be as stringent as CC/SEAS (at least in some ways). CC/SEAS’ low admit rates are just as much due to the relatively large size of their applicant pools as it is due to the high level of their admit standards. GS’ higher admit rate is due to the self-selecting nature of the relatively small applicant pool but there is still a tough threshold that needs to be met in several ways.</p>
<p>In the end, an applicant still needs to instill confidence in the college admission officers that he or she is a good fit for Columbia. Being GS, the difference is just that they look more carefully at all the different ways in which you might be able to prove yourself in the application process BEYOND simply a GPA, test score, and essay. Personal and professional accomplishments seem to carry just as much weight as all the other factors in admissions. Who knows, perhaps they carry even more weight than the traditional factors in admissions.</p>
<p>“I don’t recall ever applying to Columbia College”. This really doesn’t make any sense. You’re taking the same classes CC’ers are and therefore need to be up to the same academic standard to be able to excel. </p>
<p>ComaPrison gets it right, as usual :).</p>
<p>I went to the lunch event with Dean Awn and learned a lot of interesting things. A) They spend 4 hours (average) looking at each GS applicant’s file. B) They are looking for a huge donor who they can rename the college after. If this happens as they want it to, alums would be free to apply for new diplomas. C) Their stats show that GS graduates have GPA on par with CC graduates. D) They are acutely aware that GS’s discounted rate (for tuition) is half that of CC, and they’re working to bring it up to match that.</p>
<p>Conclusions I might be able to draw from this? A) Your essay, CV/resume, and personal/professional experiences carry a LOT of weight. Maybe close to or equal to the importance of GPA/standardized test scores. B) Thank goodness. The GS administration believes that the name “school of general studies” is misleading (did you major in general studies?) and doesn’t allow for the college to be taken seriously enough by people. C) I’m sure many GS students already realized this fact, but it’s nice to know that there are statistics that back it up. Also, this proves the validity of GS’s non-traditional admission criteria. D) Future GS students will have lower indebtedness and better financial aid.</p>