<p>The question once again; how do you anticipate paying for Columbia GS? How do you plan on paying for housing?</p>
<p>You may be better served applying to CUNY, which would really be the affordable option. Personally, I do not think that GS is going to give you more research opportunities than stony brook or CUNY. WHile I understand that GS is specifically geared for adult learners, you will not have access to the same resources at Columbia College that a Columbia undergrad would have.</p>
<p>Hi emeraldkity4. I am occupying my current living quarters without the church’s knowledge. Apparently it is illegal for the church to provide permanent housing without some sort of license, so I only come here to sleep since it is the closest to my school (I am a full-time student).</p>
<p>sybbie719, I have been researching the faculty and their research groups, departmental awards, funding/grants, graduate school statistics, etc. and Columbia far exceeds Stony Brook, especially in my field. The resources open to GS students are the same as CC undergrads get. As long as there is a professor willing to work with you, there shouldn’t be any issue.</p>
<p>In any case, it’s not just Stony Brook and Columbia I am comparing, it’s several other schools as well. Many of them are out of state, but some are offering more money than others (I’m still receiving my financial award letters at the moment). So I’ll be able to make a final decision by December, but until then I am trying my best to plan out my finances, which I admittedly have not prepared for ahead of time as I was very focused on my studies so far.</p>
<p>As sad as this may be to you, you may have to take Columbia off of the table as it is not going to be affordable to you.</p>
<p>To take the 12 credit minimum you would need to get full financial aid, your tuition would be 18, 144</p>
<p>Columbia states</p>
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<p>For kicks and giggles, lets say you do get the max money for the spring semester:</p>
<p>Columbia Scholarship $4500
TAP (if you are a NYS resident) $2500
Pell $ 2822
Direct loan $ 4750</p>
<p>Total $ 14, 572 You would be operating at a decifit of $3571. You haven’t paid fees, insurance, a text book or a metro card (if you do not live walking distance from Columbia. At this point, you have no funds for housing).</p>
<p>Once again, how are you going to financially swing this for not just this term but for the following 3.5 years?</p>
<p>sybbie719, precisely the reason I am exploring all financial options at the moment, including something for this deposit fee thing. I haven’t accepted/denied any offers yet because I am still trying to work out the economics of everything first, but I don’t mind which school I go to as long as I am confident they can offer everything I need to succeed for grad school. I spoke with a financial advisor at another school because they were not offering enough money for me to attend, and that same week after I explained my position, they suddenly awarded me more money out of nowhere. So I can either hope that other schools will do the same, or some of the many scholarship programs I’ve applied to will accept me.</p>
<p>What is your anticipated field of study. There are very, very few fields where it makes any difference where you go for undergrad and your grades and GMAT have much more impact on grad school admission. Don’t buy into prestige hype. </p>
<p>I’ve been a hiring manager for 25 years. Your undergrad degree is a check box on a form. From where really does not matter.</p>
<p>CUNY, you would get money back and if your EFC is below $3k, you are exempt from paying the fee.</p>
<p>Stony brook, if you have a full tuition scholarship, you would get the pell and the loan, leaving you a little short fees and incidentals (you would just be able to cover room and board for the term).</p>
<p>Iron maiden is correct (went local for undergrad, did not hurt my chances of getting admitted to an Ivy grad school for 1st grad degree, then a to 20 school when I went on to get 2 additional masters). It is not the name of the undergrad, but what you do while you are in undergrad. At the end of the day, it is all about GMAT/GPA, LSAT/GPA, MCAT/GPA</p>
<p>Are you saying that SUNY’s don’t waive deposits for Pell students?</p>
<p>The main issue with choosing a school is balancing the strength of the particular programs I’m interested in, and the costs of attendance. If I am unable to perform adequate research in my field of interest during undergrad, I may not be able to attend a decent graduate school for my specific topic that will pay me a decent stipend and possess enough resources to fund my dissertation research. So attending the right undergraduate program is critical to admissions for the correct grad program for me.</p>
<p>all of this is irrelevant since you won’t have the money to pay for Columbia. </p>
<p>What is in your aid pkg for Columbia? How much is UNCOVERED after Direct loans. How much was given in Direct Loans for Spring?</p>
<p>I’m concerned about you starting in the spring because Columbia is going to give you a YEAR’S worth of federal loans for ONE semester (which still won’t be enough money). But, then NEXT year, your loan will get split between TWO semesters…leaving you with a BIGGER gap.</p>
<p>You can get into a funded PhD program from a SUNY…happens all the time.</p>
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<p>In most cases, SUNY will not waive deposits for pell students. Some 4 year SUNY schools will waive deposits for students accepted through EOP.</p>
<p>I agree that the school’s name doesn’t mean anything, nor do I care. I mainly care about the strength of their faculty and research. If a local city college had the same credentials and funds as any top-tier school, of course I would choose it. But the fact of the matter is that brand name schools just happen to have better programs in general. Many lower-ranked schools do not even offer the opportunity or option to perform intimate research for specific areas. Then there are schools like SUNY who do offer it, but are very weak in those areas (low rate of publication, unmotivated professors, awards won by the department such as Nobel laureate production, saturated research groups with very little chance of independent research, too little funding to get the research going, etc.). I’m not familiar with the academic system enough to assume a reason why schools with famous names are strong in these fields, but I’m guessing it’s because they have more money, and charge more tuition to those that can afford it.</p>
<p>But the fact of the matter is that brand name schools just happen to have better programs in general.</p>
<p>But you’re overlooking the elephant in the room… HOW WILL YOU pay the amount that Columbia will expect you to pay? </p>
<p>Have you rec’d your FA pkg? If so, what’s in it? How much in grants? How much in LOANS? What do you still owe?</p>
<p>Again, I’m concerned that you’ve been given a full year’s worth of loans for one semester. That can mislead you into thinking that next year will be affordable.</p>
<p>So no one had a comment about this?
<p>He’s worried about the quality of his graduate school while he doesn’t have a legal place to stay?</p>
<p>What address did you give your college, OP?</p>
<p>It is a tad surreal thinking on the part of the OP if this situation is real and true.</p>
<p>Regarding your concern about why some people don’t apply to cc if they have strong academic credentials, I think it’s because those who have had a gap year(except for veterans) would be automatically “transferred” to the GS pool even if they originally applied to cc.</p>
<p>I do know a few cases in which a student with a gap year chose GS(applied to cc and got transferred) over HYPS for various reasons.</p>
<p>And I think GS is one of a very few top US schools that accept international college dropouts or those who want a second bachelor. (internationals take like 17% based on statistics)</p>
<p>There are many international dropouts who want to start in a new field(myself included) and I am sure GS is the only ivy that accepts people like us, which makes GS really special and attractive. Most of us have had proven track records in non-us unis or other ivys but just could not apply to most of the US schools.</p>
<p>The answer to this is really quite simple. You ask the college for waiver or options to pay the deposit fee. If they give you none, and you can’t come up with it, then you cannot go to college until you save up at least enough for that. </p>
<p>Some folks I know live off of loans and financial aid while they go to college. Yes, it can be done. The problem is that those loans do come due, and the ones I’ve known who have done this are now struggling mightily with the payback. Even at best, those students who have to repay loans on their owns have a rough time of it, so if you have your back up against the wall financially now, understand that you can be in worst shape with loans on your head as well, some years later. </p>
<p>You likely will not get the proceeds of any of your financial aid until after the term begins. Every school has its policies on this, but even those who are on full rides have to come up with seed money for the school. The enrollment fee is just the tip of the iceberg. You have to buy books, there are often other costs, transportation and if you are expecting to live off some of those loan and aid proceeds, be aware that they may not come as late as the drop date for your courses. Colleges do this because people borrow money get aid, pocket the excess and then drop out, leaving the school with a mess. This way, the student owes it all, as if you completed the courses.</p>
<p>OP, are you posting on the Columbia SGS forum with a different log-in?
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/columbia-school-general-studies/1579763-gs-really-easy-get-into.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/columbia-school-general-studies/1579763-gs-really-easy-get-into.html</a></p>
<p>moderators note
threads have been merged. Op, please remember that it is against the CC TOS to have multiple IDs.</p>