<p>Curious!!!</p>
<p>Dear XXXXXXXXXXXX:</p>
<p>I hope you are enjoying your senior year. As your college application process begins in earnest, I want to help you get to know Columbia University a bit better. </p>
<p>You probably already know about Columbias traditional campus in an urban setting, our Core Curriculum and our innovative Gateway Lab, and you may even know a little about the philosophers whose names are etched on the façade of Butler Library. Choosing a college, though, often comes down to the feeling you get when you step on a college campus and meet current students. Do they seem like people with whom you want to spend four years? Do they represent the sort of college student you hope to become? We want to help you answer those questions by introducing you to just a few of our students through a new publication called Our Columbia . </p>
<p>Columbia students are remarkably different from one another. They hail from all fifty states and almost fifty other countries. 48% of students in the Class of 2010 self-identify as students of color. Undergraduates study over 90 different majors, and their vast extra-curricular interests span over 350 student organizations. All Columbians, however, share a questioning intellectual spirit, a sense of academic adventure and a desire to make their own impact on the campus community, New York City and the world around them. </p>
<p>Our Columbia also highlights Columbias history of innovation, leadership and change. Continuing that tradition, we recently announced a new financial aid initiative: beginning in the fall of 2007, we will eliminate loans for economically disadvantaged families who earn less than $50,000 per year and replace them with additional institutional grant funds. This new initiative will allow us to make a Columbia education all the more accessible for students from every socioeconomic background. We believe cost should be no barrier to pursuing educational dreams, and so we currently award over $55 million a year in need-based financial aid; over half of our students receive some sort of financial assistance. It is this commitment to diversity - of every kind - that makes Columbia University such an exciting place. </p>
<p>Our Columbia is our story, and it could be yours as well. We hope you will continue to consider Columbia, and we invite you to contact us if we can be of any help in your college search. </p>
<p>Sincerely,
Jessica Marinaccio
Executive Director
Undergraduate Admissions</p>