questions to current columbia students

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
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<p>Hi!!</p>

<p>I'm going to Columbia this fall (am really really excited) and I have a few questions to ppl who are attending Columbia right now!</p>

<p>1) I am a "John Jay Global Scholar." If anybody is a scholar, could you tell me if it's as special as they claim to be, or is it just one of the ways Columbia uses to increased its yield rate... Is the "special advising" and the special events beneficial at all??</p>

<p>2) How are the pre-major advising, career advising and internship opportunities at Columbia? (I heard that advising isn't one of Columbia's strengths) Does it benefit from its location in NYC in terms of internship possibilities? How difficult would you say it is to get an internship at one of the top investment banks or management consulting firms??</p>

<p>3) Would you say it is harder to get a good GPA if you choose a more popular major, for example, econ??</p>

<p>4) Anybody knows how many people in average major in applied mathematics each year? And how is the math department at Columbia?</p>

<p>5) Is there a way for a CC student to double major - one major in CC and another in engineering at SEAS?</p>

<p>6) Does a double major need to take more than the average 4 course a semester??</p>

<p>7) Do you think Columbia undergrads have an advantage in getting into Columbia law or business? I know that at many grad schools their own undergrad students represent the highest percentage.</p>

<p>Wow that's quite a few questions.. I'd really appreciate it if you guys can at least answer some of these for me.. Thanks!!</p>

2

<p>1) I am a "John Jay Global Scholar." If anybody is a scholar, could you tell me if it's as special as they claim to be, or is it just one of the ways Columbia uses to increased its yield rate... Is the "special advising" and the special events beneficial at all??</p>

<p>It's basically a nice thing to have on your resume. You don't really get many benefits from it, but it looks really nice on your resume. Financially it could be a bit helpful though, but that depends on a lot of stuff. The special advising can be hit or miss. Some people get the head of the scholar's program as their advisor which is pretty nice since she has some powerful contacts, and some people get grad student advisors who aren't always the best at their jobs. The special events are viewed by most as a pain in the neck where we have to listen to someone speak, then a few pseudointellectuals ask pointless questions of the speaker to demonstrate what they believe is their intelligence but what's in reality just their annoyingness. It is good to be in the program though, don't get me wrong about that.</p>

<p>2) How are the pre-major advising, career advising and internship opportunities at Columbia? (I heard that advising isn't one of Columbia's strengths) Does it benefit from its location in NYC in terms of internship possibilities? How difficult would you say it is to get an internship at one of the top investment banks or management consulting firms??</p>

<p>Pre-major advising isn't bad, and the career center is relatively helpful for resume help and job-searching. the city is definitely a benefit in the job hunt. Also Columbia's great for networking and meeting people with powerful parents that can help w/ internships.</p>

<p>3) Would you say it is harder to get a good GPA if you choose a more popular major, for example, econ??</p>

<p>Popularity doesn't really effect gpa, although obviously some majors are easier than others, and an A in organic chem is a lotttt harder than an A in an American Studies class, usually.</p>

<p>4) Anybody knows how many people in average major in applied mathematics each year? And how is the math department at Columbia?</p>

<p>Applied math is really a SEAS major, math is the CC major. to give a pretty rough approximation, i'd say there were maybe 20 or so math majors in each class, but i'm probably underestimating a bit.</p>

<p>5) Is there a way for a CC student to double major - one major in CC and another in engineering at SEAS?</p>

<p>not that i know of, other than the 5 year program where you get a SEAS degree and a CC degree in 5 years.</p>

<p>6) Does a double major need to take more than the average 4 course a semester??</p>

<p>hell yes. maybe you can get away with 5 most semesters, but you'll probably end up doing 6 for some.</p>

<p>7) Do you think Columbia undergrads have an advantage in getting into Columbia law or business? I know that at many grad schools their own undergrad students represent the highest percentage.</p>

<p>not really, i know with math at least columbia grad kinda doesn't want its own undergrads.</p>

<p>Any more questions or clarifications feel free to private message me.</p>

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<p>in general they discourage undergrads matriculating to grad, but if you're a superstar they'll want you anyways. this is, at least, the case with the seas departments.</p>

<p>4 classes is not enough to double major, definitely 5-6 range every term. and applied math IS a program in CC as well; it's one of two majors that's in both schols (the other being CS).</p>

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<p>
[quote]
in general they discourage undergrads matriculating to grad

[/quote]
</p>

<p>this is not true or at best erroneously stated. </p>

<p>
[quote]
and applied math IS a program in CC as well

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</p>

<p>this is also incorrect...applied math is in SEAS while math (ie. pure math) is in CC</p>

<p>....to palhe20 each and every one of your questions has been answered in one way or another by current students or alumni elsewhere in this forum...why don't you go do a search before asking a slew of basic questions like that</p>

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<p>
[quote]
1) I am a "John Jay Global Scholar." If anybody is a scholar, could you tell me if it's as special as they claim to be, or is it just one of the ways Columbia uses to increased its yield rate... Is the "special advising" and the special events beneficial at all??

[/quote]

There is a thread about this. Search for it. Seriously, search for it.</p>

<p>But the highlights would be that (1) you get better financial aid, (2) you're given free stuff like theater tickets and entrees to cool events that the general student body isn't invited to, and (3) you're hanging out with a group of people that is even smarter and more interesting than the general student body - which already ain't chopped liver.</p>

<p>
[quote]
2) How are the pre-major advising, career advising and internship opportunities at Columbia? (I heard that advising isn't one of Columbia's strengths) Does it benefit from its location in NYC in terms of internship possibilities? How difficult would you say it is to get an internship at one of the top investment banks or management consulting firms??

[/quote]

The one thing the career center does really well is placement into investment banks and management consultancies. It doesn't do a particularly great job in any other area, but those areas are specialties. Visit CCE early and often.</p>

<p>
[quote]
3) Would you say it is harder to get a good GPA if you choose a more popular major, for example, econ??

[/quote]

depends more on intelligence and work ethic. the average applied math student would get a 3.9 in econ.</p>

<p>
[quote]
4) Anybody knows how many people in average major in applied mathematics each year? And how is the math department at Columbia?

[/quote]

as stated earlier, applied math is for SEAS students (works more with data and modeling), pure math is for CC students (works more with proofs and theory). you can do cross-over stuff depending on your interests, the professors are friendly with each other. I was Applied Math '06 and there were about 20 students graduating the department that year; I got the sense that Pure Math was bigger. The department advisor in APMA, Marc Spiegelman, is an AWESOME human being.</p>

<p>
[quote]
5) Is there a way for a CC student to double major - one major in CC and another in engineering at SEAS?

[/quote]

you'd either take up permanent residence in the library, get no sleep, or both. Logistically, I think they may allow minors, but I don't think you can major in any cross-school major, except for Computer Science which exists as a department in both schools.</p>

<p>
[quote]
6) Does a double major need to take more than the average 4 course a semester??

[/quote]

the average student takes 5 classes a semester. double majors may take more than that, plus summer classes.</p>

<p>
[quote]
7) Do you think Columbia undergrads have an advantage in getting into Columbia law or business? I know that at many grad schools their own undergrad students represent the highest percentage.

[/quote]

a slight advantage. You still have to do well in undergrad and have a compelling application, but there is a small preference, yes. For the business school, of course, several years' work experience is necessary so you'll need to get a (business-related and/or management-related) job before returning to morningside heights.</p>

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<p>metsfan, ivilleslacker and denzera, thank you so much!! your answers really helped a lot..!</p>

<p>about the scholar program, i do know what kind of events and benefits is has. i just wanted to know how much ppl take them seriously and how helpful they actually are.</p>

<p>and i remember seeing applied math as one of the majors offered at CC...</p>

<p>the thing about searching other threads is that there aren't always the exact answer u want, and believe me, i HAVE searched other threads about the questions i asked, and i was not satisfied with the answers, and that's why i started a new thread, so if you're annoyed of me asking "a slew of basic questions," why are you even posting on this thread?</p>

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<p>because our aim is to help people with information they can't get anywhere else.</p>

<p>and when people post questions that they can answer for themselves with a search of this board, we want to help them, but the help consists of telling them to use the search feature.</p>

<p>seriously, there have been a good dozen threads on the scholars program just this year, to say nothing of past years. i've been posting here since 05, shraf and others longer. trust me, your questions have been answered.</p>

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<p>Denzera, you are incorrect.</p>

<p>Columbia</a> College Bulletin</p>

<p>applied math is a CC major as well. </p>

<p>Additionally, professors i have talked to in seas are the ones who say undergrads are discouraged from continuing at grad in order to broaden their connections/experiences. my advisor confirmed this sentiment.</p>

<p>by grad school i refer to phd/ma programs. professional school may be different, as I haven't looked into it much at columbia.</p>

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<p>^^ by "may be different", i meant probably is different.</p>

<p>also, unless you're trying to major in applied physics in seas, the requirements are just too heavy to double major an actual engineering program with something in CC. possible, i'm sure, if you exceed the credit limit almost every semester (which i myself am doing), but be aware that your gpa and social life will take a huge hit if you do so.</p>

<p>3-2 program makes it more doable to double major across schools, though, if you're willing to spend another year as an undergrad.</p>

10

<p>
[quote]
if you're annoyed of me asking "a slew of basic questions," why are you even posting on this thread?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>the only reason i posted on this thread was to respond to lvilleslacker</p>

<p>
[quote]
Additionally, professors i have talked to in seas are the ones who say undergrads are discouraged from continuing at grad in order to broaden their connections/experiences. my advisor confirmed this sentiment.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>this might only be the case if you are doing a grad program in the same department as your undergrad. However, as a columbia grad student who went to columbia undergrad, I certainly dont think this is the case if you do a grad program in a different department/school or one of the professional programs. Not to mention...as i said before in another thread.... if you went to columbia undergrad and had a good GPA you are practically a shoe-in for most columbia masters programs.</p>

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<p>^^ you're right. i always read "graduate school" as phd programs in a field you studied as undergrad, which clearly isn't always the case. for stuff like sipa/law/health/etc. you're probably right about the advantage.</p>