Rift between General Studies and traditional students?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
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<p>(This was posted a few days ago as a reply to the Frankenthread, "Columbia College vs. School of General Studies". It was originally posted there because it responds to issues in that thread. I'm reposting it as a thread partly to "bump" it and partly to put it where it has a chance of being seen. After all, the Frankenthread is 33 pages long...)</p>

<p>I'm seriously considering Columbia's School of General Studies (GS) and therefore would appreciate clarification on some of the issues raised in the Frankenthread. I've read all 33 pages of the thread but still have questions on the issues raised. You probably don't want to read all 33 pages, so I've quoted specific comments at the bottom of this post.</p>

<p>To what extent is a GS student isolated from the non-GS population? Is it just that a GS student doesn't live in the dorms? Or are GS students more generally separated from or even rejected by CC, SEAS and Barnard students? If so, to what extent?</p>

<p>About my situation: I'm returning to school to change careers after several years in the workforce. I'm still unmarried, without children and planning to focus on school full-time. I've lived in NYC for a couple years in total. I'm specifically interested in Columbia for the rigorous academics, particularly the Core. Dorm life is not particularly interesting at this point in my life, so not being part of it isn't a problem.</p>

<p>However, I'd be interested in being able to join campus activities. Another aspect of Columbia that appeals to me is its history of activism and social concern. Is this realistic, even though campus activities are likely to consist primarily of traditional-aged undergraduates?</p>

<p>Along a similar vein, are people I'd meet through classes likely to reject me just because of being in GS or being several years older? (Obviously this is a non-issue if the other student in question is themselves in GS. But if GS doesn't generally have its own classes, I'd primarily be taking classes with traditional-aged undergraduates, right?)</p>

<p>FWIW, within the past couple years, I was at Columbia for a couple of activities to which I was invited. The people I met, many of whom were traditional-aged undergraduates, seemed at least superficially friendly. It wasn't difficult to talk to them at all.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance for your time.</p>

<p>GS_Banding, May 25, 2008: "Listen to Burb Parent s/he is a wise person. GS != CC. You will not be rooming with CC students, you will probably not be dining with CC students either and you'll probably miss out on all the 'fun', impromptu activities that are characteristic of traditional college life. If that's what you're looking for, then GS might not be for you. I think of GS as a 'come get your stuff done and move on with your life' kind of school."</p>

<p>collegegrad1, May 29, 2008: "You're only excluded from the 'Columbia community' in the sense that you don't live on campus. When you're married and 29 years old, I don't think you're looking for this anyway."</p>

<p>precious10, May 29, 2008: "gscanadian, I can see where you're coming from with being 20 and worried about the college atmosphere. However, I am not sure if some of you noticed this, and perhaps GS_Banding has some input on the subject, but what I have noticed is the CC students seem to complain about 'older' GS students. I wouldn't see why you couldn't have a very normal social experience minus the dorm life. Then again, I am not there, so I could be wrong."</p>

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<p>As I've spent more time at Columbia, I think I've grown less cynical regarding the interaction between CC/GS/SEAS. So I might not be of the same opinion as my previous posts in this forum.</p>

<p>You will not be excluded from anything unless you exclude yourself. You will not be excluded from anything unless you exclude yourself. You can join any club/university group you desire and as long as you're interested in and dedicated to that club your experience will be a positive one.</p>

<p>Sure, there might be some people that have no interest in establishing a friendship with you but you can't please everyone all the time. As far as dating/social life goes, I've dated some CC/Barnard girls so that shouldn't be a concern.</p>

<p>The less you come to this forum and read about the supposed animosity between CC/GS/Barnard/SEAS students, the less likely you are to experience said isolation/animosity.</p>

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<p>I'm just a freshman, so I can't generalize. However, in my experience so far, I don't really see any animosity that could be potentially debilitating to GS students. In my classes and clubs, there's usually a mix of SEAS/CC/Barnard/GS/Grad Students, so I don't really notice who's from which division of the school, let alone discriminate against them. </p>

<p>There might be some people who still cling to the difficulty of admissions as a sign of their accomplishment, and those are the ones that generally have trouble with people from other branches of Columbia. But you probably don't want to be friends with jerks like that anyway. In general, as long as you don't purposely separate yourself or act obnoxious, it shouldn't be too much of a problem.</p>

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<p>GS_Banding and Hanajima,</p>

<p>Thanks for the input. It helps to hear from people who are actually at Columbia and living the experience first-hand.</p>

<p>I don't plan to separate myself or act obnoxious, so hopefully there won't be a problem (-:</p>

<p>"The less you come to this forum and read about the supposed animosity between CC/GS/Barnard/SEAS students, the less likely you are to experience said isolation/animosity." - That's an interesting and humorous way of putting it!</p>

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<p>I love meeting GS people. They have some of the most fantastic life stories.</p>

<p>Like, yeah I was on a mission for a few years, spreading christianity in africa, or I flunked out of high school, went to the military, and now im trying to become a lawyer. I'm just like, wow, I'm glad these people are part of this community here.</p>

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<p>I don't notice anything. I play a club sport with some GS students and there definitely is no animosity there.</p>

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<p>mikenthemaddog66 and shockwaveride: Thanks for your responses.</p>

<p>Now that I think about it, there are two different issues here. The first is which college one is enrolled in, e.g., GS as opposed to CC or SEAS. I'm more confident this won't be a problem now based on everyone's responses.</p>

<p>The second is age. A GS student isn't automatically older than a CC or SEAS student. In practice, the GS student will be older in many cases. In my case, I worked for a few years and am now planning to go back to university whenever I can come up with enough money to do so.</p>

<p>To what extent is someone likely to be accepted even if they're a few years older than a traditional-aged student?</p>

<p>I'm not looking to go wild partying or anything. But it's important to me to get involved rather than being a commuter student who takes classes and then leaves.</p>