Columbia College vs. School of General Studies - Page 4

soxNlions · 03-02-2005, 10:37 PM

To settle the issue once and for all: clearly some people perceive a difference between the two colleges. Whether or not those people are members of groups that matter (e.g. ad coms, highering managers, exciting people at a dinner parties) is an open question. My general sense is "no".

Also, outside of Columbia alums and people who see the occasional GS advertisement in a local paper, I doubt anyone would even know that such a division exists. I mean, its not like studying Columbia's organizational structure is a national obsession.

The diplomas are different. Both CC and BC have Latin diplomas, but GS and SEAS have English diplomas. GS and CC have different but overlapping core requirements. I don't know of any instances where a major is offered at one or the other, or there is a difference in major reqs. Maybe someone else on the board does?

WindowShopping · 03-02-2005, 11:32 PM

If you guys would be willing to wait a few days, I'd be more than happy to share a few more thoughts. In the interim, I've got a few midterms to prep for. Big one in Political Theory tomorrow!

GaussGodden · 03-03-2005, 12:16 PM

major requirements are design because it is depend on the department
not the school

soxNlions · 03-05-2005, 05:45 PM

I feel like maybe I was a little too diplomatic in my earlier post. GS students regularly get into top professional schools. This includes the law schools at Yale, Chicago, Harvard and Columbia. GS also places people into top PhD programs. It should also be noted that GS sometimes sends people to programs that would seem a tier below Columbia, so not everyone goes onto top programs. One difference here with CC is that students have already taken their time off, (and usually been successful), so they often go straight to graduate/professional school upon graduation.

GS also places a large quantity of students in Wall Street. There are some cases where they are hired into positions far above the entry level seen by most recent grads. Again, this is a result of previous experience. So the point here is that employers and ad coms look very highly upon GS students.

As far as different privileges on campus, there are some, but they are few and far between and are almost never academic in nature. The university culture does place an emphasis on what school you go to (this is relevant for Barnard and SEAS too). The 'spec prints your school and year when they quote you, but no one seems to care after they've been here a while.

right-there · 03-08-2005, 01:36 AM

I have some questions. What is the acceptance rate for international applicant? Is there any financial aid for international GS student? Thank you.

GaussGodden · 03-08-2005, 01:18 PM

i think international acceptance is really high..
most gs students ive seen are not from us

right-there · 03-08-2005, 11:20 PM

But I can not contact the admission officer through emails. One staff just replied to me and asked me to communicate by phone! It will cost much for international call!

Is there anybody here to tell me a specific email for me to contact directly with an admission officer/advisor?

Thank you very much.

right-there · 03-08-2005, 11:27 PM

BTW, how many ppl in total are there in school of GS?

AMILkita · 03-11-2005, 07:21 PM

Hi everyone,
I've been thinking of going through the application process for Columbia's GS program. My problem is that my GPA is very low (2.5.5) due to a really bad start in college. However, I come from a solid background in retail banking and the music industry with rocking referecences from top exec's in the respective fields. I've taken on the task of writing an entrance essay which I'm gonna have my college English prof. take a look at it and give me some pointers. My question is, do you cats think I stand a chance or am I just wasting my time?

khorsani · 03-11-2005, 07:39 PM

Are interviews necessary as part of the admission process? could a few GS students please answer this for me.

If you did have an interview what kind of questions did they ask.

GaussGodden · 03-16-2005, 02:58 AM

i dont think the interview is necessary.. i had one..
but ive heard some dont have an interview..

pauldix · 03-16-2005, 07:53 PM

I just received a phone call yesterday letting me know that I've been accepted to GS. Since I was never called for an interview, I can safely say that not everyone has to do it.

khorsani · 03-16-2005, 10:19 PM

there are 1200 students at GS. Roughly.

djat1200 · 03-23-2005, 03:32 PM

I was tracking my application online and found that Columbia is missing a 'Planned Enrollment Form.' Does anyone know what this is?
Thanks,
Aaron

fairburn · 03-23-2005, 07:09 PM

as a CC alum, i would say that i don't see the difference in the quality of the education, because the classes are the SAME... as for status, i guess CC is considered the traditional ivy (whatever that means)... who really cares anyway?

one possible difference is that the dorms and other "undergraduate amenities" might be separate...

i would like to address the question of the person who started this thread by saying that CC may not be a good place to do a double major. once you are finished with all of the core curriculum courses, then you have to spend most of your time on your (single) major. if you tried to double major (which i'm not sure is possible), it would be to the exclusion of everything else. that would be a real shame... some of the best courses that i took were not core curriculum or my major, but rather "out of the blue" kind of courses that looked interesting or that i heard from other students were really great. i can't imagine a four year college education with all required courses (even if they are in the 2 fields that you have chosen to major in)...

i hope that this post was somewhat helpful...