I’d take a gap year. Part of the college experience (and arguably the most memorable part) is meeting people, spending time with like-minded students and enjoying the campus and city. That’s not happening online…
My daughter was saying she would not want to take a gap year because under the current circumstances, there are bound to be some differences in the college experience and hopefully, they’ll have cleared up by her sophomore year. Columbia is her dream school and I’m hoping she gets off the waitlist.
Has anyone heard anything recently?
@Bnp214 still waiting
For people that are already in as well as people on the waitlist, doesn’t the May 15th deferral deadline still stand for CC?
It’s over. Any spots left are highly filtered based on demographics. I heard from an insider, nearly all the waitlist spots were selected based on the key criteria of demographics. The quality of the LOCI or interest in the school didn’t matter: Was there a demographic profile that fit an opening (i.e. geography & ethnicity + economic/social handicap)? C’est la vie for the top-tier schools: mere mortals are competing for a few dozen spots outside the athletes, international superstars, & those who are under-represented due to historical/financial hardships. Make the best of what you have plus Columbia has many opportunities for terminal masters degrees. My opinion: Game Over.
I imagine there will be another opportunity to defer once the plan for the year is officially announced. If it will be online/hybrid, I would expect mass deferments. What’s the point of a college experience from your own bedroom? It will be a memorable first year of college, but not for the reasons so many people remember uni. And let’s not forget that it is in a COVID-19 hotspot.
Can your insider give some proof? It sounds like a fair point but I don’t think the game is over yet
would any of you guys consider transferring sophomore year to Columbia? do you think it’s worth it?
I don’t think it’s worth it at all. You’ll probably end up making amazing friends and meet incredible professors wherever you go in the end. Reality is, we were basically softly rejected. And that’s perfectly fine. You basically have to be Gandhi or extremely, extremely lucky to get into these schools. I would say just roll with it and enjoy where you’re going because you’ll probably get the same learning benefit anyway. You can’t let the glory of getting into an Ivy League school define you, because honestly, it won’t make that much of a difference in the end anyway (so I’ve heard from basically everyone)
Columbia right now is the most expensive and dangerous university out there given the Covid-19 crisis, protests, police brutality, crime in the area & crazy price of NYC. The administration is in a difficult situation – why not do an online year? It would protect the faculty, who must be in mortal fear of a Covid-19 resurgence (not to mention possible crime/riots that have gripped NYC). Given the population of Columbia (undergrads, graduate + professional) the chances of an outbreak are high. If there is a 0.3%-2% fatality risk, it’s like a allowing a mass murder to take place. This is true even if they allow dorms but only online classes. Tough spot for everyone involved.
Over the course of senior year, especially, my second semester, I came to realize that I no longer wanted to major in the what I applied on (and wrote my common app essay on/related to, as well as the Columbia supplemental which asked about which field I was interested in). Now, being waitlisted, I am wondering whether my major could impact the result of my waitlist status. Can I change it? Should I change it? And if I do, would it harm me or be of benefit to me? Or would I better off leaving things as they are? Most of my high school extracurriculars are related to the major I originally applied on.
Also, I visited Columbia yesterday with my mom. The campus was open, but all the buildings were closed and no administrators or faculty could be seen. Nevertheless, we enjoyed our time on the beautiful campus.
@siobhanm: I could not agree with you more on your post #268. With my educational exp 1G year @Columbia in comparison with two other schools (3.5UG years @UC Berkeley and 3G years @Stanford University), there’s no much difference in my opinion, in teaching quality, resources (facility, library, faculty), student body, etc. Please refer to a thread for personal exp. sharing: “My own public and private school exp. (Cal, Columbia, and Stanford)”
Indeed, this pandemic has an universal impact on every college’s waitlist and student enrollment decision.
Here is the link of my college experience sharing (UC Berkeley, Columbia, and Stanford):
@CalCUStanford do you think transfer waitlists will be affected as well? If so in what way?
I’m a transfer currently waitlisted at Columbia for this fall.
@nickvader7: The pandemic is certainly affecting all kinds of enrollment in this very year. Columbia along with other schools, I believe, are currently striving their very best to find a perfect equilibrium point of demand and supply. Do you have a backup plan? And what if CU decides to offer online education this coming fall, will you accept that with “that” amount of tuition?
@nickvader7: what’s your intended major?
@CalCUStanford my intended major is anthropology. I’ve already committed to Cornell. I already emailed admissions office saying that I will matriculate at Columbia even if fall semester is one line. Yes my family and I are will to pay for online. If I don’t get off waitlist, then Cornell it is.
It’s June 19th, has anyone heard anything? Are they extending when we hear back by, since they are announcing their plans for next year around July 1st?
My guess is that they will announce the plan July 1, give admitted students a period of time to contemplate the plan (let’s say a week or two), and then go to the waitlist. I’m guessing WLers will hear mid-July. Or the admin’s calculations were so precise that they over-admitted students and with the deferments (already announced and anticipated post announcement) they will hit the number they want. That’s a gambler’s move. And these are not the times to gamble, so I feel like WLers will be contacted en masse!
I’m a transfer waitlister. I called a couple days ago and the woman said that people on transfer waitlist should hear back late June/early July. I can’t imagine them using the whole month if spaces are already filled.