Help!! Emory v.s. School of G.S.??

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia School of General Studies
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<p>Hello all,
Let me explain my situation:</p>

<p>I essentially flunked out of University of Michigan in 2009, took a break and worked full-time, then went back to school and got a 3.9 while attending community college for three semesters, and was accepted to Emory University College of A&S for the current semester. I did not take any classes here for financial reasons and am eligible to enroll for the upcoming spring semester.</p>

<p>However, I just learned that I've been accepted to the School of General Studies for the upcoming spring semester. In terms of reputation, I've heard of people refer to the School of G.S. as a night-school type of program, and I've heard others say that graduating with a diploma from Columbia is a diploma from a top-5 university, regardless of which school it's from.</p>

<p>On paper, Columbia U. is ranked #5 on the U.S. Rankings report as compared to Emory U.'s ranking of #20. Both respectable, but I don't know if graduating from the School of General Studies has the same distinction as graduating from Emory University's College of A&S.</p>

<p>So I need help making a decision!! I don't have too much time, only about a month before the semester starts for Emory and about 5 weeks for the School of General Studies.</p>

<p>A quick list of my pro's and con's of transferring to the School of G.S. (there are many more than are listed here but these are the most important to me):</p>

<p>Pro- Close to home (born and raised in NY, about 1.25 hours to commute back and forth from school. But I'd probably stay on campus if I could find a cheap apartment/dorm to stay in that's near school)</p>

<p>Pro- Higher quantity (and quality?) of employment and networking opportunities</p>

<p>Pro- access to Columbia University's resources (their professors, libraries, alumni, etc)</p>

<p>Con- I have a lease that I would have to terminate if I left Georgia to come back to New York. It would cost upwards of $2k+</p>

<p>Con- I'm wary of any stigmas that might be associated with the School of General Studies.</p>

<p>(e.g. People who say that Barnard is just a backdoor to Columbia and believe that a degree from Barnard has a lesser standing than a degree from Columbia College. Is there a similar perception of the School of G.S.?)</p>

<p>Please help!! And if you have any questions please feel free to ask!</p>

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<p>Read the forums. A degree from GS is a degree from Columbia. Did you do your research? You must have if you applied to GS. If you are worried about the negative stigma that only comes from a select few, small-minded individuals and don’t mind that capping your potential, then perhaps Emory is your best option. On the other hand, if you stop to realize that attending Columbia gives you almost limitless options once you have a diploma in hand and that all courses (with the exception of one or two) have a mixture of CC, SEAS and GS students, then maybe GS is for you. The faculty is the same for all students and GS has the highest GPA between the three schools at CU.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the reply. I didn’t know that GS had the highest GPA of the 3 schools.</p>

<p>I think what I was trying to do by making this thread was make up reasons why this was too good to be true. Thank you for setting me straight. I also spoke with someone from the office who said that GS is fully integrated with the rest of CU as Sean said, whereas Barnard College is, to use my own example, (technically) an affiliate college.</p>

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<p>The reason why GS is too good to be true is simply financial, not academic. The school is quite expensive. Academically you’re a full part of the community and there’s no discrimination. Same classes, same professors, same grading, same degree. On campus nobody is going to give a **** that you’re GS.</p>

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<p>My situation was very similar to yours. Was accepted to GS, Emory, and NYU for this upcoming spring semester and had the same questions… Ultimately I have decided to attend GS. What was your final decision giwook???</p>

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<p>I’ve decided to enroll at Columbia! Once I learned that GS was not held in any lesser regard (although the name of the school is a bit misleading in my opinion), it was an easy choice to make. Columbia is a top 10 institution and an Ivy League to boot while Emory is a top 20 institution. The only thing that might have swayed my decision was the money but again, when you pit Columbia against Emory, there’s no question which is the more prestigious school with better name recognition.</p>

<p>Maybe I’ll see you around campus shammesham… what will you be studying at GS? And are you coming in as a 3rd year student?</p>

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<p>That’s awesome! Yeah, I will be coming in as a third year and studying financial econ. I’m sure we’ll run into each other…</p>

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<p>Campaigner is right.</p>

<p>Further, when you’re hunting for jobs, nobody is going to care which Columbia school you attended. They’re going to look at your coursework, your grades, and your overall performance. But, smart people looking to hire smart people don’t generally get hung up on this kind of thing.</p>