<p>Zetsui – It certainly sounds like you don’t know a whole lot about Columbia’s School of General Studies. If you did (and read my earlier post), you’d know by now that Columbia’s School of General Studies is completely unrelated in every given way to New York University’s General Studies Program. GSP at NYU is designed to give students, admitted traditionally, the guaranteed opportunitiy to transfer to their initital school of choice after two years. To many, GSP frowned upon as the remedial undergraduate school at NYU. GSP students take classes separate from their NYU CAS, Stern, Tisch, etc. colleagues. Though I’m no expert on NYU as I do not go there (I go to Columbia), I can tell you that the program in Greenwich Village is completely unrelated in every way to The School of General Studies at Columbia University. As for prestige, there is little to no difference in attaining the BA between Columbia College and The School of General Studies. The School of General Studies holds a seat on the Ivy Council (<a href=“http://www.ivycouncil.org/affiliates.html[/url]”>http://www.ivycouncil.org/affiliates.html</a>), the only nontraditional school in the Ivy League to do so. In terms of applying to graduate school or going for a job, each of us are graduates of Columbia University. There is little difference, if any, in the given evaluation process. Graduates of The School of General Studies move on to study at the nation’s top graduate schools, just as those from Columbia College the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Amazingly enough, we work toward the exact <em>same</em> degree. I suggest you review the website for The School of General Studies, <a href=“http://www.gs.columbia.edu%5B/url%5D”>www.gs.columbia.edu</a>, before articulating false information (as is the case commonly on this message board).</p>
<p>Kyong – In terms of the curriculum itself, there is no difference between GS and CC <em>if</em> you wish to pursue the Core, which many of us do. General Studies has its own distribution requirements which can be fulfilled by completing the Columbia College core (e.g. two literature courses can be fulfilled thorugh LitHum, one of the science requirements can be fulfilled through Frontiers of Science, and ALL of us HAVE to take University Writing, ArtHum, and MusicHum, just like our Columbia College contemporaries). The admissions process is different as one office is meant to serve the needs of “traditional” students (Columbia College / SEAS) while General Studies is meant to serve those that have completed a more “non-traditional” track to Columbia. In my case, it involved two previous colleges (with a 4.0 cumulative GPA) and skipping half of high school. The average age the General Studies is 29, though there are students as young as 17 and as old as 70. It’s extremely diverse in nature, as advertised, and its students present a welcomed contribution to the school community. The degree is the same. The classes are the same. (I had a hellish Psych exam today – as did those from Columbia College, SEAS, JTS, and Barnard, who are also in the same class). And tomorrow morning, I wake up to American Politics with the same students from Columbia College, SEAS, JTS, and Barnard.</p>
<p>Put bluntly, if you’re applying right out of high school, Columbia College and SEAS are your only two options. You may be able to make an extreme case for General Studies, though such instances are very rare. If you’ve taken a year off from your studies after graduating high school and you’ve used the time to show some sort of academic and personal growth, you can apply to General Studies. GS is more concerned about the personal strengths of the applicant and what that person can bring to the University, rather than the “stats” that many on this board live and die by. I hope this helps.</p>