Columbia College vs. School of General Studies - Page 50

allyn · 07-16-2009, 03:19 AM

I'm on the housing waitlist too. I still have no idea about financial aid.

doc2g14 · 07-16-2009, 08:35 AM

Well, Allyn, there's some comfort in numbers buh this anxiety is eating my heart out!

allyn · 07-22-2009, 02:59 PM

Has anyone heard about financial aid, housing, or transfer credit yet?

knitty321 · 07-23-2009, 09:53 AM

I've got my finaid information (better than I thought) and am currently waiting on the transfer credit stuff. I sincerely hope they don't screw me over too much. If they haven't sent anything to you in the mail, you can always check to see if a financial aid award letter has at least been posted online -- that's how I got my information a week before the mail came with the details.

I don't know anything about housing since I currently live right across the Hudson (Jersey City) and plan on commuting there. Thank goodness, as it significantly reduces my overall cost.

MMDC11 · 07-23-2009, 11:44 AM

I haven't heard anything about financial aid as of yet. I'm worried about my credits though! I hear they're sticklers about it. I desperately do not want to re-take all my science and english core again etc! Has anyone heard anything yet/ know anything about their policies?

FreeAtLast · 07-23-2009, 01:31 PM

got my rejection letter today. Comes in a tan-white business envelope sent first class USPS mail.

I applied late in the game (end of May, wasn't complete with GSAE until early June). I'm getting out of the military in 3 weeks, and it would have been nice to go straight to Columbia, but oh well we don't always get what we want right.

Good luck to you guys and gals at GS.

dhetzel · 08-28-2009, 03:52 AM

Dretzerik:

"Typically, if you earn enough you won't worry about paying for tuition. If you don't, you get financial aid that covers most of your costs."

Clearly you aren't familiar with the history of Ivy league financial aid. Only very recently have Ivy League institutions begun to give a large portion of the student body significant financial assistance. And if there is the division between GS and CC that you claim there is, very little if any of that money would be seen by GS students. And even if you disregard that and GS students do happen to receive scholarships of 30 or 40k per year, that still leaves a cost of around $25,000 per year to cover. If you make less than a 6 figure salary that still leaves a nearly insurmountable cost burden on students. Even with loans, this leaves a 6 figure debt at the end of your education. I'd hardly call that being taken care of.

"Here's the issue: 48% of people who apply for GS are accepted (this is SOME ivy league, eh?)"

Did you ever stop to consider that perhaps the applicant pool is self-regulating? That 48% rate would be much lower if the atypical "adult going back to college" was the type of student applying to GS because more applicants for the same number of spots very obviously = lower acceptance rate, plain and simple. Most of those admitted to GS that do have collegiate level coursework have extremely high gpa's in that course work, in addition to having professional experience in the real world. You don't get the 40 year old soccer mom who passed high school with a C average applying to GS and getting accepted as the norm. Yes, the acceptance rate is 48%. Does that really matter when that 48% is as accomplished as/more accomplished than the rest of the student body?

edbraga · 09-02-2009, 07:24 PM

Dretzerik is a troll, don't even waste your time.

kyle212 · 09-07-2009, 11:39 PM

Columbia General Studies cost $67,000 PER YEAR?

LOL, ***? Why would someone blow $67,000 per year to attend GS, especially when they have no financial aid from what I've read on here?

knitty321 · 09-08-2009, 09:43 AM

@kyle212 -- it really depends on each person's situation. The $67000 is an estimate of all expenses if someone is attending full-time and gets housing from CU. Not everyone does this. For example, in my case, the awards that I received were more than adequate because I will be attending part-time for the first year, and commuting from my current residence. I'm not saying that the financial aid is great -- far from it. But the number is highly variable.

Beren · 09-24-2009, 07:17 PM

I'm 24, so sort of between the traditional and mature student categories. For such a transfer student, would financial aid be the same for Columbia College and GS? I know I'd have a smaller chance being accepted at Columbia "proper," but I have other options and will not be taking out 35k in loans per year.

ziv_2k · 09-25-2009, 06:41 PM

So I discovered this blog last night as I was trying to find some shred of info regarding the GSAEs...
Reading about the CC/GS rivalry, the different diploma, the lack of financial aid and conflicting reports on the gsae in terms of difficulty had me a little un-nerved....

that being said, today I sat for the GSAE at Lewisohn hall... there were about 10 of us at the table in the Baer room. they allotted 1 minute per question for the reading comprehension and sentence structure portions and 1 1/2 minutes for the critical reasoning portion (+ 1 hr essay)
i found myself averaging about 30-40 seconds per question so i had PLENTY of time to go over answers and stare at the wall for about 10-15 minutes... during the break between the critical reasoning and the essay i spoke to a few of the people taking the exam with me, and we all agreed that its really not so hard (surprisingly)...
all in all, not something to get all worked up about, if you are a person that deems him/her self 4-yr college material (not even Ivy League per se) then you should have little to no problem with this exam....
now i just need to wait and see what will happen with my early decision application and (if accepted) financial aid.....

sarah04 · 09-26-2009, 06:17 PM

hello everyone,
im sure this question has been asked many times before, but after reading this post i need some perspective from people who are/were in the same boat as me...
i graduated hs with a 3.5+ gpa and an 1190 sat score (only took them once). i attended a state university for 2 years but due to an illness and family issues, did HORRIBLY. the college was not a right fit for me, an hour away, and i was academically dismissed. i spent the next few months under the care of a doctor and later volunteering abroad. i came back to the US for a fresh start, so to say. i began working as a loan officer at a company that specializes in helping low-income families get back on track. also, my best friend and i started an online magazine that showcases local talent in our community. i spend a lot of my time volunteering with cancer organizations and participated in the 5k avon walk/run. i took classes this past summer and did well. i went to an info session for GS a few weeks ago, absolutely fell in LOVE with the campus. the directors and staff are sooo friendly! so, my question to current GSers is...do you think i can get in? any input would be great.
-also, should i take the GSAE even though my SAT scores havent expired?
-im ready to thrive in an ivy environment and cannot wait to get back in school. (obviously, ill go into extensive detail about this in my essay)
-i made an appoint with kay, assoc. director of admissions just to get a feel about the process.
-any other tips/info would be great!

redlinekid2 · 09-27-2009, 01:24 PM

Sarah,
Take the GSAE. Don't submit your SAT scores(or tell anyone else about it, either) because it might count against you. Focus on your classes at your current college until it gets to around 45 credits with a 3.70 GPA, which is the cutoff for admission. Don't believe in the BS notion that a 3.0 is the GPA cutoff because it's not. Aside from that, good luck with your academic goals.

knitty321 · 09-29-2009, 10:05 AM

For the record Sarah, my SAT score was lower than yours and I got in. I don't think there is as much of an emphasis placed on scores from the SAT taken years and years ago, especially if your current college coursework is exemplary but that is just my opinion. Also, I am not too sure about withholding SAT scores or anything like that, I submitted whatever I had for them and don't think it's a good idea to withhold something that isn't too tough for them to track down if they really want to -- especially if you have other college coursework. This is, of course, under the assumption that SAT scores are treated the same way as college transcripts.

I would recommend staying at your current school longer to build your confidence up and to provide GS with more of a foundation to let you in in light of your past college coursework. Basically, what redlinekid2 said. Don't skimp on the essay. Do VERY well at your current college -- I think staying for at least a year+ is a good idea.

-knitty321
Transfer who graduated from community college and then transferred to GS.