@GabelliBoy: You make a great point. I looked at the posts in that thread and no one mentions being a transfer applicant ----and, A2C is focused on first-year applicants…
What makes me somewhat pessimistic is their emphasis on the “low chance” as written in the letter we received. Not sure why they included that. I mean, it’s Columbia, obviously there’s a low chance. So I’m not sure why they took the space to say that. Is the chance THAT crazy low? Or were they playing Jedi mind tricks with us to shrink the amount of people who accepted the waitlist offer? I doubt it’s the latter, but it’s hard to know.
@8will2 . . . I think they included the “low chance” language because Columbia wanted all of us on the extended waitlist to know there are no promises, no guarantees and that we need to make other plans if it does not work out. I really think Columbia was trying to be fair and trying to look out for all of us by including the low chance language.
That said, my gut tells me that they would like to offer us all spots if they have the room. We all made it this far, multiple reviews of the pool, etc. Clearly, there are no guarantees for sure but, if Columbia spots open up, then we all still have a shot at being considered for one of those spots.
While we all have to make other plans for the fall, I think we can all still be optimistic and hope for a positive outcome for the 14 of us at Columbia.
Its not over yet and I think we can all keep up hope so long as we all realize that we need to make plans to do something else for the fall and that we can not count on anything positive happening at Columbia.
I think we all have to take it one day at time until early August when hopefully we will hear more, hopefully we will all hear something positive in August.
I think the original AO extended waitlist letter was reviewed by a lawyer who made them add the “you have almost no chance” phrases to make it clear that there were no guarantees…
Do y’all think that we will find out in the next few days? My tuition for my school is due next Tuesday and I would really like to know beforehand otherwise I will have to pay the tuition and withdraw from the waitlist.
My letter said they would update us in early August. Based on that, I guess we will get an update sometime next week.
I think we just have to be patient a little longer. We are almost there.
There are some Columbia “back to school issues” that I saw on R*ditt and Twitter-- Nothing huge, but maybe distracting enough to delay waitlist decisions until next week…
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Columbia had to delay fall class registration a week because “not enough” professors are willing to teach “in person” this Fall. From the thread, it appears professors have to make a decision before July 30. Again, this is from Columbia R*ditt and Twitter (@quidamabo), so it may not be reliable. However, International students from the Class of 2024 do need to take a least one in person class to satisfy visa requirements.
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Quarantine?: Many colleges in New York State have announced quarantines for new students arriving from Covid-stricken states. Each school is handling it differently. Cornell is putting people in their hotel for 14 days —Ithaca College is banning these students from the Ithaca campus until Covid infection rates fall in their home state. Columbia has not announced any quarantine plans, but -if- the plans were “disruptive” (like having student pay extra to quarantine in NYC) then this could possibly lead some students to defer attending this fall…AGAIN, PURE SPECULATION
Here is the current comprehensive plan as laid out by BWOG (online newspaper) staff:
https://bwog.com/2020/07/everything-we-know-about-columbias-reopening-plan-as-of-7-28-2020/
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And here is additional info about Dean Hungerford’s letter to faculty and graduate teaching assistants: https://bwog.com/2020/07/email-from-columbia-admin-requests-that-graduate-students-and-faculty-reconsider-teaching-solely-online-gives-three-days-to-decide/
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whidbeyite2002: Thanks for the info!
Wow, this is really important information. My guess is we will not hear back until at least the second week of August now, as Columbia digests how many students will decide to register for ‘fully remote’ classes etc.
I actually just flew home from Chicago tonight to NY. While I was in route to O’Hare this afternoon, NY put Illinois on the mandatory 14 day “Quarantine” list. That was a big shock. I had to fill out the NY quarantine forms when I landed at LGA around 9:30 p.m. tonight. 14 days of quarantine was really a big shock to me!
NY now has 34 states, DC and Puerto Rico on the mandatory quarantine list. I bet a very large number of Columbia students come from those states.
I imagine that the mandatory 14 day quarantine for so many Columbia students from those states is going to make many Columbia students rethink coming to campus this fall. 14 days of quarantine is a long time, particularly when most if not all of the classes are fully on zoom.
So my guess now is its going to be a few more weeks before Columbia can decided whether they can admit us. The school has a lot of moving pieces to figure out in the next couple week. So it seems to me we are going to have to hang in there and be patient a few weeks longer. Hang in there everyone.
How are quarantines enforced? My inclination is that most students simply won’t care and will break the quarantine rather than defer enrollment
I think Columbia University is trying to persuade NYS for “gentle” quarantine requirements for returning students. The BWOG article stated: “The mechanics of this are still being worked out. Columbia is working with state officials to determine whether testing will allow this requirement to be waived.”
All Universities are relying on Room & Board revenue. If Columbia was planning on 3,800 students staying on campus (low-density) for an estimated R&B cost of $9,300, that’s about $35 million in revenue that Columbia will not want to lose.
If the quarantine terms are very strict, and some returning students object, I think Columbia will look to the extended waitlist to fill those openings.
The NYS quarantine forms I filled out last night at LGA required me to give a copy of my ID, my cellphone number so they can track my location and references a $2,000 fine for failure to quarantine. The quarantine requirements are real with serious penalty for violating. Strict quarantine is required if you have been in one of the 34 states for more than 24 hours before entering NY.
“Incoming out-of-state students express financial and logistical concerns over New York quarantine advisory”
Thanks everyone for all those links! Super useful info.
Sorry to shift gears, but are all of you rising sophomores? I am a rising Junior, and if I’m not mistaken, Juniors and Seniors won’t be on campus until Spring. Not sure if any of you are in the same boat as me in that sense. It seems to me like there were a lot more rising sophomore transfer applicants than juniors, at least in these forums. I wonder how being a sophomore or junior would affect their upcoming decisions. Hard to know.
All this speculation is really tough! I’m not sure how optimistic y’all are, and it’s tough to know exactly what to make of all these factors. Fingers crossed I guess.
Hang tight until August 15 — there are a lot of “shoes to drop”…
• The number of Columbia faculty agreeing to teach in-person will be confirmed soon. If most teaching is done remotely, that will impact new student visa holders and current international students who won’t make the trip if everything is online.
• Quarantine: It’s getting late and Columbia needs to reveal details soon so that returning students can make travel plans. I have a hunch it’s going to be strict, so they going to wait until the very last moment before announcing final details. If current students with Columbia R&B plans object, the Extended Waitlist candidates are ready to take their place----->They are relying on that R&B revenue.
This is the most insane back to school period since WW2 – Even Columbia is not yet certain how many students will actually return. Fall tuition payments are due August 15.
If the Extended Waitlist (“the final and most selective waitlist”) has 20-50 candidates on it I would be stressed, but hopeful…
I received a phone call from the NY State quarantine trackers last night and they asked me questions for half an hour. Then today the Nassau County Medical Examiner sent me a formal Quarantine order for 14 days.
Its a very strict Quarantine order. I was not in contact with anyone who has Covid, I just was in Chicago for a quick visit. Now I have to stay in quarantine by myself for 14 days.
I suspect this New York State quarantine regime is going to discourage a lot students from coming to campus here in NY this fall. I imagine its going to impact Columbia and the other schools here in NY. It is hard to imagine having a few thousand students in complete self-isolation and quarantine at the same time on the same campus. Even food delivery from the cafeteria for all those students in quarantine would be a huge logistical problem for the schools.
I think there is definitely going to be a lot more fall out on campuses with regard to the implementation of the NY State Quarantine regime. Just in my own family, the quarantine logistics are proving a challenge for my mom, dad and sister having to help me while I am quarantining in the basement.
I think we all have to be patient.
Cornell has updated quarantine plans:
"In a reversal from previously announced plans, Cornell said that it would no longer provide quarantine housing arrangements for all students living on-campus, Provost Michael Kotlikoff and Vice President of Student and Campus Life Ryan Lombardi announced on Thursday night.
Now, international students and students returning to Ithaca from one of the 34 states on New York’s 14-day quarantine list must either find a place to isolate off-campus or take courses online until their state is removed."