<p>Since when is the job market this easy?</p>
<p>its ny. check craigslist, theres always jobs</p>
<p>I’m not sure why you would understand it that way. Forgive me if I’m missing something ridiculously obvious - I would think my admissions offer is as it stands, and expects that the conditions on which I was accepted (which did not include having transfered to GWU this semester) remain the same …schoolwise anyhow. If I was accepted with my credits/transcript from my previous university, and not GWU, I would think GWU might add some complication or change my status. Like I said I’m clarifying this with her but that’s my suspicion.</p>
<p>I am from near NY and might do that. While this is pending I haven’t thought much about the interim, since all my energy is going into WTH did I do and what should I do now…if you haven’t noticed by my posting, hah.</p>
<p>Oh, and to answer your Q, I’d be a mid-year sophomore creditwise. Unfortunately I’m 23, would be 24 by then, delaying my schooling another semester seems crazy but…I’m already older than the norm for undergrad and…well, in the scheme of things, what’s 6 more months older, really?
Oh, now I’m just full-on unloading. Feel free to ignore that last bit.</p>
<p>It might be similiar to getting accepted to college as a freshman straight out of high school where colleges assume satisfactory completion of another semester. Again, this is an area to be clarified. Do you know your status with Columbia? Will you be a freshman, sophomore or junior at Columbia when you start there?</p>
<p>a sophomore… I didn’t think of that, but you might be right.</p>
<p>what other school did you attend and what were your stats?</p>
<p>That would be a long list. My school was Montclair State. GPA 3.6…To explain my getting into GS would include an enormous list of extras that compensated for my weak (underachieving. I didn’t have difficulty, I just barely showed up.) HS record and my good-but-not-quite-stellar performance since. I won’t bore you with thorough detail as I’m already accepted so not looking for chances, and I doubt you’re interested in reading a page worth of my bio. </p>
<p>Let’s just say I was a risky applicant but it was that handful of interesting details on my app. + excellent recs, essay and interview (not to overstate it. I wasn’t super confident with my app, but they seemed to like it enough…). A few second languages I’ve learned as an adult, lots of overseas study and work, some decent jobs where I performed well, etc.</p>
<p>^^ hey rck, if you decide to go to Columbia in the Fall, I think it’ll be a good thing, because there’ll be a ton of kids (freshmen, transfers…) who are just starting out. I always sort of felt that the start of the Spring semester had kids coming back to continue what they finished in the fall–it had less of that ‘new beginning’ feel that September brings. Plus, it’s warmer and more welcoming in September.</p>
<p>^I know this sounds like a brainfart but I honestly think it’ll be more fun to enroll in the fall.</p>
<p>rck716, I think there’s two issues that haven’t had discussion here: The money now, and the atmosphere later.</p>
<p>Columbia is telling you that their offer isn’t good for next week (the start of the spring semester), but will be good for the fall. If that’s correct, then you have a quick follow up question for them - will you accept further graduate work at GWU on top of the existing transfer credits I listed in my application? If the answer is no, then you need to evaluate whether you can get your semester’s worth of tuition back from GWU. If not, you might as well stick it out and enjoy the ride.</p>
<p>The other question goes deeper into your motivations here. Obviously, you’ve rarely been happy with where you were currently taking classes, whether that was GWU, Montclair State, or anywhere else. I don’t think it takes a Psychologist to suggest you’re probably highly critical / hard to please, and to you the grass is always greener somewhere else.</p>
<p>That said, do a quick and impartial comparison of the costs/benefits to each place. I can’t speak to this Elliot School, but at GS, you will live off-campus (i.e. not in the dorms), have much less financial aid than CC/SEAS undergraduates, and usually have a commuting-to-college lifestyle. That can be a major bummer, especially if you have to work to pay for a market-rate apartment while trying to go to school full time. On the other hand, some younger GS students I know just live near campus, pay a little more than everyone else, accept some debt, and end up blending into the community more nicely. That’s not the only way that Columbia makes GS students feel like second-class citizens… witness “bred.to.please”'s thread of a week or two ago, where a few latent biases came out. You’re more equal than you would be at Harvard’s extension school or at comparable programs at peer schools, but you’re still not fully equal. If you’re treated the exact same as a normal GWU undergrad while at the Elliott school, then that’s a cause to weigh.</p>
<p>Before you put the stamp of approval on coming to Columbia in the fall, I’d do a thorough evaluation of the pros and cons of each situation, and post it here just to make sure it’s rational. There will be valid emotional components too, of course, but “I don’t like the food in the dining hall” may get a more rational weighting when it sees the light of day.</p>
<p>Best of luck.</p>
<p>Im in real estate and plan on attending GS in the fall. Im not really sure why people care about living “on campus” - a ****ty walk-in closet sized dorm you share with someone you dont know when you can be resourceful like myself and rent an awesome 3bed pad on CPW overlooking the reservoir and pay no more than 1400 each. To me its a no-brainer. If walking 14 freakin blocks is considered “commuting”, then I’ll gladly commute. Not many students actually live on campus in the traditional sense- the frat parties Ive frequented are in brownstones with non-student neighbors. As far as less fin aid- I dont know how much of a diff there truly is. If youre over 24, you can get much more in “independent” staffords/perkins/pell grants than an 18 yr old would anyday + NY Tap (extra 3G) and a scholarship of about 7G that most GSers receive. The people at GS that balk at their packages are baffling- do they expect an ivy education to be free?</p>
<p>I spoke to them and apparently I have the option of continuing this semester at GWU and as long as my grades are strong, going onto CU in fall, OR dropping GWU this semester and doing something else. Basically, I am granted fall admission regardless, excluding the case of staying at GWU and doing badly. Which I certainly wouldn’t expect or plan to. I’ve written to clarify about the credits, etc. re: GWU</p>
<p>So, it makes sense to stay at GWU this semester, common sense would dictate anyhow. There were things I was considering doing if not, but it probably is wiser to stay.</p>
<p>I’m so thrilled and relieved. Denzera, the comment you made about the CC-GS bias was (however absurdly) a tiny part of what I think brought me to choose Elliott. I should not have let my ego factor into it that much, and as I’ve heard and read on here, it sounds like while some GS bias exists, it is by and large a meritocracy and you’re respected if you do well. Financially, well, cost of living is high in both places but overall CU is a little less costly. I don’t have problems with funding but I do take this into consideration.</p>
<p>I heard there were sometimes housing options for GS, perhaps depending on age cut-off and with low priority, but I may have heard wrong and will of course look further into that.</p>
<p>I have a safe, specialized, virtually prepackaged major for me at Elliott that’s hugely relevant these days and comes with an enormous wealth of practical knowledge. Was I completely sold on it? No. But it’s good, and feels …secure.</p>
<p>Columbia was really what I wanted, but I’d have to go back to undeclared (that’s how I applied) and take a little time to choose a major. Given I’m 23 and feel like I should be past that wandering stage it feels intimidating, but A. like I said, I want Columbia. and B. I wouldn’t - and couldn’t - take forever to choose, and my undergrad major certainly doesn’t prescribe my life for me.</p>
<p>So, that’s my update/thought process at the moment. Anyone still following and offering helpful advice, I appreciate the patience and all the considerations you’ve brought up.</p>
<p>Cerberus - I don’t even have the option of enrolling earlier than fall, so it’s not a choice. But I think you’re right that it’s usually a better time to enroll.</p>
<p>Oh and re: being highly critical or hard to please - my previous school had low standards, across the board. I don’t want to sound …horrible, but it honestly did not offer much challenge, elevation, quality discussion, anything. Plus it was in my hometown. I KNEW I didn’t want to attend there, but had to before I could qualify for acceptance somewhere of my choice.
With GWU it is not a matter of being unhappy (I’m not 110% thrilled, but I would not say I’m unhappy thus far), it’s a matter of realizing I was totally deadset on Columbia and let some bad guidance and weird reasoning (along with maybe my choose-the-unexpected-one-just-because thing.) bring me here over my long-standing first choice. Along with some other things that influenced the choice and shouldn’t have. And I think I sometimes sell myself short.</p>
<p>So your point is fair enough, and I don’t deny I might have a touch of chronic restlessness, but in this case…well, I hope the explanation makes it make a bit more sense.</p>
<p>good lord this is starting to remind me of lucy’s “psychiatric help booth” from the peanuts cartoon. the doctor is in, 5 cents please.</p>
<p>I know. I was invited to think outloud here, so…that’s what I’m doing. I’m not asking for comments on the personal points. But they were touched on by another poster so I responded. Not trying to turn this into a therapy session, lol, I’ll give it a rest now. I’ll probably delete that last one soon out of embarrassment to tell the truth.</p>
<p>oh, except I can’t. <em>notes editing policy.</em></p>
<p>On a lighter note, campus locations are both great. Actual campus, however, I marginally favor CU.</p>
<p>
So you live in the housing project between 96th and 100th? Not everyone can pull the strings to get in there, it has nothing to do with being resourceful.</p>
<p>And “pay no more than 1400 each” is a bit of manhattan snobbery. Many incoming college students, especially those who are more “on their own” in GS, can’t afford anything close to that. Remember that dorms are essentially a pro-rated $700/month. Real sorry they don’t conform to your idea of what “real living” is like, but some people like being around their peers, treat their room just as a place to sleep, and don’t need a Pimpin Bachelor Pad to enjoy life.</p>
<p>Plus I pay less than that for a bigger apartment in a bigger location, so you just keep on braggin’.</p>
<p>denz u should refrain from drinking your columbia cottage boxed wine before u post- u make no sense whatsoever. of course it has to do with being resourceful- why are there so many nyc “brokers” willing to find you a great place for one months fee?? as for the housing project b/w 96th and 100th? there is no <strong><em>ing projects on CPW. try 333 CPW and if youd like to place a wager that your locale, your space, and your value is better than mine, then lets go… as for manhattan snobbery, the </em></strong>ing point of GS is to attract those like myself who came right out of high school and ended up earning more in the real world rather than performing the "ivy degree/Goldman’s B** position at 65K/yr after doing 4/5 yrs of rigorous study" route. If you can make 6 figures right away then you should go for it. at this point with the economy at a standstill, you might as well get the degree/grad degree which is what I plan on doing. my point is that GS students are nontraditional and are more likely to afford a $1400 month pad- they are older, more independent and (gasp) working full time jobs where they are already maintaining similar rents in the city. if theyre not, then Im quite sure theyll adapt to bunking with immature pussies who think $1400 is a fortune. However, most GSers dont depend on daddys wallet for the monthly rent and the ConEd bill that powers the neverending Wii action</p>
<p>To hell with Columbia Cottage. Every time I’ve ventured in there, I’ve come out with food poisoning.</p>
<p>Housing project to which I refer:
[Frederick</a> Douglass Houses - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fredrick_Douglass_Houses]Frederick”>Frederick Douglass Houses - Wikipedia)</p>
<p>Sorry, it borders Manhattan ave, a half-block from CPW. My mistake. I’m sure it’s a lovely area - too bad it’s a fact that delivery guys won’t deliver there on account of their safety.</p>
<p>Your manhattan snobbery, by request… my apartment is as follows:
- 81st and Amsterdam, right in the middle of the UWS bar / restaurant district and 2 blocks from the #1
- Floor-through apartment in a brownstone, covering perhaps 1500sf. We had a NYE party here that had as many as 40 people in the apt.
- The living room itself is 16’ x 21’, 336sf, which is enormous.
- It’s a 4-bedroom, and each of our bedrooms is around 150-160sf
- Large three-counter kitchen with new appliances, incl dining room area that seats 6
- Back porch connected to the fire escape
- Washer/dryer inside the unit
- For all this, we pay $1250 each.</p>
<p>Mind you, that was the result of painstakingly researching the 4BR market, both at its peak in june-july (during a failed attempt to move as a group), and then post-peak in September (with a slightly different group). We had about 7 different brokers working for us, and were the first ones in the door to see this place - at which point we could look for 30 seconds and then say “we’ll take it!” and hand them our paperwork and certified checks. In short, to get this, we had to be total pros.</p>
<p>My point, of course, is that your average GS student in the OP’s situation would be better served to live on campus, since they couldn’t easily afford market rents. Experienced professionals of course have the money saved up for apartments, but that’s poor advice for prospective 19-to-23-year-old GSers. So to say this:</p>
<p>
not only reeks of the worst kind of arrogance and condescension (seriously, anyone who thinks $1400 is too rich for a student’s blood is an immature ■■■■■? is that really what you just said?), but is flat-out useless to the folks like the OP, who make up a sizable portion of GS’s student body. There may be some successful professionals among them too - and you are no doubt so damn successful that mere words don’t do it justice - but a large chunk fall into the following:</p>
<ul>
<li>19 to 23 years old</li>
<li>Took a nontraditional path to college and are more than one year removed from HS graduation</li>
<li>Still roughly of the mentality and life-phase of other college students; have the same lifestyle goals, community needs, and woeful budget as ‘normal’ college students</li>
</ul>
<p>Much like my friend WindowShopping, a recent GS grad who now has a job he likes but lives in Brooklyn paying far less in rent than we do. Or my friend Matt Stauffer, a GS senior who lived in 362 RSD for a year and upon losing his spot there, got a small place in manhattan valley for just under a grand.</p>
<p>Seriously, not everyone can afford to live where we do. Normally I don’t try to lord that over other people, but you really drove me to it.</p>
<p>@aCT:
most GSers haven’t left high school to rake in the big bucks (they join army, do social work etc.) most have significantly more debt than undergrads and usually come in with less family support, you do the math.</p>
<p>interesting… the program says the average age of a GS student is 28 meaning they most likey arent still making soy lattes at Starbucks…</p>
<p>denz youre place sounds unbelievable except this must be your view-
<a href=“http://farm4.static.■■■■■■■■■■/3095/2801645309_810703a541.jpg?v=0[/url]”>http://farm4.static.■■■■■■■■■■/3095/2801645309_810703a541.jpg?v=0</a></p>
![http://farm4.static.■■■■■■■■■■/3095/2801645309_810703a541.jpg?v=0[/url]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3095/2801645309_810703a541.jpg?v=0%5B/url%5D){kind=link}
<p>whereas this is mine:
<a href=“http://www.corcoran.com/images/media/UnitPhotos/134925.1.jpg[/url]”>http://www.corcoran.com/images/media/UnitPhotos/134925.1.jpg</a></p>
![http://www.corcoran.com/images/media/UnitPhotos/134925.1.jpg[/url]](http://www.corcoran.com/images/media/UnitPhotos/134925.1.jpg%5B/url%5D){kind=link}
<p>also my whole point of being resourceful is that you DONT need to hire a broker to find an apartment in this city unless youre just sheer lazy</p>