UCLA vs. COLUMBIA GS

College Search & Selection
41

<p>The above post is nonsense. What about the girl who had to drop out of UCLA for posting a racist youtube rant?</p>

<p>[‪Asians</a> in the Library - UCLA Student’s Racist Rant‬‏ - YouTube](<a href=“- YouTube”>- YouTube)</p>

<p>Don’t judge an entire school because of one person.</p>

<p>What about the fact that UCLA is easier to get into than Columbia GS? It’s unfortunate, but admit rates do play a role in a school’s prestige factor. </p>

<p>Don’t believe me: </p>

<p>Columbia GS acceptance rate 23%
[College</a> Search - Columbia University: School of General Studies - GS - Admission](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board)</p>

<p>UCLA acceptance rate 33%
[College</a> Search - University of California: Los Angeles - UCLA - Admission](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) </p>

<p>Anyone, and I mean anyone, with a 3.7+ at any California Community College can get into UCLA. Not to mention TAG students (transfer admission guarantee) programs. Sorry, but transferring into UCLA is just not that difficult.</p>

<p>Columbia GS, on the other hand, has an acceptance rate that is on par with Northwestern. </p>

<p>Northwestern acceptance rate 23%
[College</a> Search - Northwestern University - NU - Admission](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board)</p>

<p>Every Californian I know at Columbia GS, including me, got into UCLA. EVERY SINGE ONE. </p>

<p>As for your second arbitrary point, plenty GS students didn’t want their diplomas in Latin. This is ridiculous, as you are trying to bring down an entire undergraduate college because a loud group of students wanted their diplomas in Latin. The reason that a SEGMENT of GS students wanted their diplomas in Latin was simple, once enrolled at Columbia, a GS student’s path to a degree is, ostensibly, identical to their CC counter-parts, and these students felt that their degrees should reflect the identical EDUCATIONS that GS-CC students receive. As for me, I’m glad my diploma will be in English. </p>

<p>"The same GS students who would have no shot tranferring into Columbia college so instead they opt for Columbia general studies? "</p>

<p>^
This quote might be the most foolish of all. Columbia GS students do NOT opt for GS, they HAVE TO apply to GS. The policy at Columbia University is that if you’ve had a year gap in your education you can only apply to GS. It’s simply not true that a GS student has no shot at Columbia College, it’s that they are ineligible from applying there. Same goes for Columbia College students, they cannot apply to GS unless they have had over a year gap in their education after high school. I know a girl who transferred to GS from MIT, she HAD TO APPLY TO GS because she took a year-and-a-half off from school and found that GS was her only conduit to Columbia. </p>

<p>Try having a bit of knowledge and perspective before you post this nonsense.</p>

42

<p>when your best and brightest (laughable) plagiarizes a <em>comedian</em>…that’s funny. Your rubbish post is nonsense. My classmates here at a school MUCH better than Columbia <em>general studies</em> respect UCLA <em>a ton</em> more than Columbia <em>GENERAL STUDIES</em>. Have fun pretending you actually braved difficult admissions. Northwestern might have a 23% acceptance rate, but oh wait…they actually have academically accomplished applicants. Go to the Columbia general studies admissions thread on CC, and they even quote GS adcoms saying you need “oh about a 1200 SAT”. Who knows, maybe one day you’ll run into the Harvard extension degree students who say they went to Harvard undergrad.</p>

43

<p>[How</a> to get into Columbia University [Archive] - Calguns.net](<a href=“http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/archive/index.php/t-363897.html]How”>http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/archive/index.php/t-363897.html)</p>

<p>From a GS poster in the above site:</p>

<p>"GS is awesome because it overlooks the screwups of your past… I had 3 years of 1.02 GPA (105 units IIRC) from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, followed by a 3.45 at Cuesta (some screwing up, then a break, then straight A’s) And then I had 2 AA’s (one in film and one in liberal arts transfer studies) from Santa Monica College where I had a 3.97 GPA</p>

<p>I applied to UCLA, USC and a number of others, but they all weighted my GPA evenly and my early screw ups pretty much shot me down.</p>

<p>Because of the forward weighting Columbia GS accepted me even though the others didn’t."</p>

<p>Wow…I guess everyone at columbia GS from cali really did get into UCLA!!! What an impressive applicant.</p>

44

<p>Your post makes zero sense and is void of any FACTS. Nice try though. Your paltry opinions are laughable, at best. Your classmates respect UCLA more than Columbia GS? What a great statistic, your fake-Stanford/anonymous online status is amusing. </p>

<p>It’s funny how you type General Studies in all caps, like the name is indicative of the education one receives at GS. For a little history on why the school is named in such a way: </p>

<p>“The school’s name refers to its diverse student body by alluding to medieval universities, which were also known as studia generalia. Studia generalia were degree-granting institutions that served a much broader, often international group of students and scholars.”</p>

<p>Our 2 Nobel Laureates would beg to differ about GS not cultivating “academically accomplished” students. </p>

<p>2 Nobel Laureates for a school as small and as young as GS is quite impressive:</p>

<p>Simon Kuznets: [Simon</a> Kuznets - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Kuznets]Simon”>Simon Kuznets - Wikipedia)
Baruj Benacerraf: [Baruj</a> Benacerraf - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baruj_Benacerraf]Baruj”>Baruj Benacerraf - Wikipedia)</p>

<p>By comparison, UCLA, a school that is vastly larger has 6 Nobel Laureates.</p>

<p>Your ignorance is quite evident as you seem to try to equate GS with Harvard Extension. This notion is laughable, at best. </p>

<p>“GS is a degree-granting college. Students are expected to pursue a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree. The separate Columbia School of Continuing Education offers individual courses on a non-degree basis.”</p>

<p>Again, keep spewing nonsense and innuendo, I will just dole out facts, quotes, and statistics. </p>

<p>Your attempts at degrading GS only serves to highlight your own sense of self-worth, or lack there of. </p>

<p>I chose Columbia GS over UCLA and haven’t looked back since. </p>

<p>Nice try though, next time bring some facts, and keep your spiteful dribble to yourself.</p>

<p>Have a nice day!</p>

45

<p>The last post only serves to highlight that GS has a much more comprehensive admissions process. Bravo GS for looking at an applicant’s entire application (life story, CURRENT GPA, etc.). I prefer GS’s holistic approach to the bureaucratic state-run institution that is the UC-public school system.</p>

46

<p>I said everyone I know, I do not happen to know this anonymous poster in some opaque message board. </p>

<p>Your research skills are impressive. </p>

<p>While I have presented admissions statistics and links to actual published material, you’ve managed to tell me what your classmates think and you’ve dug up some random post by someone who claims to be a student at GS. Bravo! Your argumentation skills are quite impressive. Keep trying though, as I enjoy watching you fail!</p>

47

<p>And if you wanna post random message board posts, how about this one from the Yale Daily News.</p>

<p>“I am a bit late to this topic, so please forgive me. I would hate for someone to read this and be misinformed.
Harvard Extension and Columbia’s School of General Studies are completely different.
The School of General Studies is in fact more in line with Yale’s non-traditional student program, with the obvious exception that Columbia has an entire college devoted to these students. It is is one of three colleges that comprise the undergraduate landscape at Columbia University. Students enrolled take the same classes as all other undergraduates and earn the same degree as students at Columbia College. They must also meet the requirements of Columbia’s legendary “Core”. They have access to the same resources and are fully regarded as Columbia students. Also, it is somewhat difficult to gain admission, whereas Harvard Extension is a breeze.
In short, The School of General Studies is a traditional Ivy League college within Columbia with deep roots. Think of it as the Eli Whitney Program on steroids.”</p>

48

<p>This is per our college Dean regarding admission to GS:</p>

<p>“Admissions here is really interesting because you have to evaluate people in a very different way from the way you have to evaluate seniors in high school. It’s not less rigorous. It’s just more comprehensive, and in fact we try to prequalify applicants. When you contact us—and we try to make you contact us—we want to have at least one or two initial engagements to help you decide, is it really worth applying? The last thing we want is a pointless application. So we want to convince you not to apply if we don’t think you’ve got a good shot at getting in. So getting thousands and thousands of applications is not to our benefit. We want to be engaged with applications that are seriously viable.”</p>

<p>“First of all, we’re a small operation and we spend an average of FOUR HOURS PER APPLICATION. You show me a traditional college that does that. Now we have to on some levels because you all come with very complex lives and there’re no two applications that are going to be the same.”</p>

<p>Q & A Article on Bwog.
[From</a> the Issue: Who Are These Kids? – Bwog](<a href=“http://bwog.com/2011/04/25/from-the-issue-who-are-these-kids/]From”>From the Issue: Who Are These Kids? - Bwog)</p>

49

<p>My friend got into Columbia GS with these stats:</p>

<p>Applying from: American River College in Sacramento,California
Accepted: Columbia GS, UC Davis, UCSC, UCI
Rejected: UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD
Major: Anthropology B.A
GPA: 3.14
Major Prerequisites: Done
Major GPA: 3.41
SAT: 1500/2400
IGETC/General Education requirements for GS: Done
ECs/Work Experience: Volunteer at the share institute, works at the transfer center (32 hours a week) and at a kids science camp (16 hours per week)</p>

<p>Life story: She first enrolled at the community college right after high school in 2000 but she dropped out after one year because she only had a 2.0 gpa and she got discouraged from going to school as she was not involved on campus and no one guided her. She then worked full time for five years as a waiter at a casino and a few odd jobs here and there.
In 2006, she decided to go back to school and in her fist semester back, she did ok with a 3.0 GPA but while going to school and working at the same time, the apartment she was living at evicted her because she was not able to pay the monthly rent as she was putting most of her limited budget into school, and food. Even financial aid was not enough to put her through. She then had to live in a homeless shelter close to campus for six months and at the same time, she still went to school and worked full time in the transfer center trying to put her life back together. It was during her stay in the homeless shelter that she got interested in anthropology as she was exposed to different people and cultures. She still managed to get a 3.0 average during her stay in the shelter. Her family tried to help her during the ordeal she had to go through but it still was not enough as they were going through with financial problems of their own. She eventually found another apartment to live at.
Her work and volunteer experiences reinforces her openness to other cultures and her ultimate goal is to earn a Ph.D in cultural anthropology and do research on California Native Americans. </p>

<p>Hooks and other information: She is the first in her whole family to attend college
In her last 60 semester units, she was able to get a 4.0 average.
30 years old</p>

50

<p>Honestly, who cares about college life as a GS student. I honestly would prefer not to hang out with 18 year-olds that are in college straight out of high school. I know that things had really changed for me from the age of 18 to the age of 24, or even 22 for that matter. I have absolutely nothing in common with an 18 year-old student. It’s all just a ****ing contest. I don’t need to be recruited, because I have the skills and connections to gain my own employment. I don’t need housing, because I have a home of my own and I don’t need the distractions of college life. I respect all the students of Columbia equally as a student body, but I do not feel the need to fit in. I honestly don’t feel the need to have my diploma scripted in Latin and I don’t care that is says “Dean of General Studies” on my diploma.</p>

<p>If these are the things you want, I wouldn’t go GS. If you’re looking for a superior education and you are able to commit yourself (and your money) to a Columbia education, then go GS. I chose a community college for my associates which freed up money for me to go to Columbia. I think in either case, it does not matter. It’s how well the school prepares you for your career goals that matters. If you are well prepared, you can open your own doors.</p>

<p>As for spelling and grammatical errors, give me a break. This is a forum. If there is any place in the world that I should be able to relax and not have to worry about grammar, it’s here on a forum. I’m a liberal arts major and every now and when I’m not required to contemplate, rationalize, or come up with a solution, I simply don’t feel like thinking.</p>

<p>GPA 3.7
Dean’s List
Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society</p>

51

<p>Question about Columbia: since Columbia has the School of General Studies for non-traditional students who would otherwise be in Columbia College, what does it do about non-traditional students who want to study a major that is not in General Studies / College (e.g. a major in the School of the Arts, School of Engineering and Applied Science, or Jewish Theological Seminary)?</p>