Columbia University
Columbia University is a private institution that was founded in 1754 ask Kings College. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 6,245, its setting is urban, and the campus size is 36 acres.
Columbia University is located in the Morningside Heights neighbourhood of Manhattan in New York, New York at West 116th and Broadway. The university has three undergraduate colleges; Columbia College (CC), The Fu Foundation School of Engineering (SEAS), and the School of General Studies (GS) with an overall undergraduate population of about 8,500 students. According to the Wall Street Journal/ Times Higher Education 2019 Rankings, Columbia University is ranked #4 among U.S. Universities and 16th among global universities.
Columbia College (CC)
Columbia College is undeniably the most famous of the three undergraduate schools as it is the oldest of the undergraduate colleges at Columbia. The school currently has an acceptance rate of 5.8% and is known as a liberal arts college conferring B.A. degrees to their students. CC hosts mostly traditional college students who are no more than 1 year out of high school. The average age of a first-year student is therefore around 18.
The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS)
SEAS is the engineering and applied sciences undergraduate school at Columbia. SEAS maintain close research ties with other institutions including NASA, IBM, MIT, and The Earth Institute and is known for their applied mathematics, biomedical engineering, computer science, and financial engineering. The school maintains close ties to CC by sharing housing. In many ways, the two schools are known as combined even though they each have their own administration - including separate Dean of Students. The acceptance rate is currently around 7%. As with CC, the school is catered mostly to traditional students and has an average age of 18.
School of General Studies (GS)
The School of General Studies is a liberal arts college founded in 1947 and is known for their non-traditional student population. The school was originally founded as a response to the influx of WWII veterans and still to this day has a large population of MilVets (Military Veterans) as they are called at GS. However, the school hosts a variety of people including current and former actors/actresses, models, ballerinas, athletes, working professionals, and part-time students. The school is therefore rich in diversity with an average age of 27. Often confused with extension studies or “night schools” at other colleges, GS is a fully integrated undergraduate school with CC and SEAS. The complete academic integration was completed in 1991 when Columbia College and General Studies merged under the Faculty of Arts and Sciences which resulted in both colleges granting B.A. degrees while SEAS grants B.S. degrees.
HOUSING
Columbia College (CC) / The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS)
Housing is guaranteed for all CC/SEAS students. The rate for housing in residence halls is current $8,412 dollars for first-year students (housing costs can be covered by financial aid). Residence halls for CC/SEAS are very centrally located and affordable (especially in comparison to unsubsidized Manhattan rent costs).
School of General Studies (GS)
Housing for GS students is relatively limited and housing is not guaranteed. A certain allotment of university housing is set aside for GS students every semester but the demand for housing is almost always greater than the allotted amount. Students who do receive housing most often live in university apartments. Some of these apartments are the same as those given to graduate students such as studio rooms at Teacher’s College. These apartments are typically the most ideal in terms of location, size, and price. Other students are given housing in one of the buildings leased by the University specifically for GS students. This means that while the entire apartment building is leased for GS students, the accommodations are not owned by the university, which means security measures are different (no front desk security), and management is different, with non-university employed superintendents. These buildings are also not located as close to campus (most of them are at 108th and Central Park West, about a 10-15 minute walk from campus). Given the relative inferiority of options for GS housing and the likelihood of long waitlists, many students choose to find their own housing and are even often successful in finding housing more suitable both in location and price. Facebook groups can be a very helpful resource for housing.
ACADEMICS
Core Curriculum
All students in CC and GS are required to complete an extensive core curriculum that has historically been a characteristic of the university’s liberal arts education.
Students in CC are required to take Frontiers of Science, Music Humanities, Art Humanities, Literature Humanities, University Writing, and Contemporary Civilization. In addition, students are required to take two additional science requirements (for a total of three) and two global core courses.
Students in GS are likewise required to take University Writing, Art and Humic Humanities, two Global Core courses, and three science courses. GS students must also complete courses in social science and literature but are allowed to satisfy these requirements with other courses than Literature Humanities and Contemporary Civilization.
CC and SEAS students must take two physical education courses as well as pass a swim test before graduation.
SEAS students are only required to take half of the humanities Core and can elect to take either Literature Humanities, Contemporary Civilization, a Global Core and art or Music Humanities. The Technical Core required for SEAS students consists of calculus, chemistry, computer science, design fundamentals and physics.
Language
Students must satisfy a foreign language requirement through one of the following ways:
• Completion of four semesters of a foreign language.
• Demonstration of competence through a satisfactory SAT II score.
• Demonstrating competence through one of the university’s own placement tests.
• Students whose native language is not English are not required to take an additional foreign language or placement test if they completed secondary school in another language than English.
• 41 languages currently may be taken to fulfil the requirements including popular languages such as Spanish, French, Chinese, and Arabic.
Grading
One key point of distinction for the Columbia grading system is that the grade of A+ is still an option, making the grading scale out of 4.33. However, there is a debate as to whether the grade of A+ should be eliminated (as Harvard, Yale, Brown, and others have done) or if an A+ should be a 4.0 (which has been done at Penn and Princeton). Different professors have different opinions on giving an A+ and what that means, with some choosing not to grant them except in very rare, extraordinary circumstances.
Since the grading scale includes pluses and minuses the possible scores are the following; A= 4.0, A- = 3.67, B+ = 3.33, B = 3.0, B- = 2.67, C+ = 2.33, C = 2.0, C- = 1.67, D = 1.0, and F = 0.0
Majors
The most popular majors include Economics, Political Science and Computer Science however there are lots of other majors/minors offered at the university.
Columbia College
While a major is not required for CC students the school does require each student to declare a concentration. There is also a limit of the number of programs you can declare which is two i.e. two majors, two concentrations, a major and a concentration. Every student is encouraged to explore classes to find the major that suits them.
The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS)
There are 17 majors offered for SEAS students. Students can also choose from more than 30 minors, which are chosen in the student’s sophomore year.
The School of General Studies
Students at GS are required to declare a major and is under the same restrictions as CC when it comes to how many programs they can declare.
Popular Classes
Famous and popular classes at Columbia include the University President Lee Bollinger’s class Freedom of Speech and Press, Principles of Economics with Sunil Gulati, History of the City of New York with Kenneth Jackson, Java with Adam Cannon, anything with Joseph Stiglitz, History of the Modern Middle East with Rashid Khalidi and Science of Psychology with Patricia Lindemann.
How to Register for Classes
Students are provided with registration appointments every semester according to their class standing. The University utilizes both a directory of classes, departmental websites and Vergil (a scheduling tool) for information about the available classes. Some upper-class seminars require an application and professors have the discretion to admit students to their classes, however, most work with a waitlist system.
Honors/Thesis
It is not required at Columbia to write a thesis, however, most departments require a thesis in order to grant departmental honors.
CC/SEAS students are granted Latin honors and Phi Beta Kappa according to percentages of the current class and faculty recommendations. GS students are granted Latin honors and Phi Beta Kappa according to grade point cut-offs and faculty recommendations.
FINANCIAL AID AND COST OF ATTENDANCE
Columbia College (CC) / The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS)
Applications made to CC/SEAS are need-blind and therefore ability to pay tuition has no bearing on the admissions process.
Financial aid at CC/SEAS is entirely need-based, and there are no institutional scholarships offered on the basis of athletics, academic, or talent.
Applicants submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) online. In addition students complete the College Scholarship Service (CSS) Profile application through the College Board which has a fee of $25 for one school and $16 for each additional school. Fee waivers are available for students in circumstances of certain financial need. Columbia requires submission of tax forms for the student and each parent (this includes biological, and step-parents or adoptive parents when applicable) which are submitted through the College Board’s IDOC Institutional Documentation Service. Early decision applicants must submit these materials by November 15 and regular decision applicants must submit by February 15.
Students whose parents earn less $60,000 per year have an expected parental contribution of $0 towards the cost of attendance, meaning aid will cover the total cost.
Students whose parents earn more than $60,000 (up to $100,000), can have a reduced parental contribution. Students with above a $100,000 annual parental salary may still qualify for need-based financial aid.
Loans are not a part of the financial aid awards packages for CC/SEAS. Instead, packages include grants and student work only.
International students are also eligible for financial aid, and a number of international students receive substantial aid.
Applications for non-U.S. students are, however, need-aware, meaning that need must be demonstrated at the time of applying to the university, and the admissions committee takes into consideration the amount of financial aid an applicant will need when making their decision.
International applications must register their intention to apply for financial aid on their application, it is not possible to subsequently alter the registered status for applying for financial aid once the application is submitted.
The university does, however, meet 100% of financial need demonstrated by international students who are admitted after indicating the financial need on their application and submitting the required documentation and forms.
The current cost of attendance is $77,411, and the average award for international students receiving financial aid is $66,350.
School of General Studies
GS students receive aid in the form of institutional scholarships and grants, student loans (unlike CC/SEAS), and student employment through work study or jobs found through the Career Center.
Institutional scholarships for GS students are based mostly on academic-merit, though there is some consideration given to need. Scholarships range from $500- $25,000 per year. While scholarships for first-year students are typically $9,000- $12,000. Students whose scholarships are based on both need and academic merit can expect for their scholarship to increase every year. Scholarships based solely on academics typically do not increase. In both cases though, maintaining an excellent academic standing is highly beneficial.
Scholarships are offered to both part-time and full-time students.
First-year students must fill out the New Student Scholarship Application
Students fill out a Continuing Student Scholarship Application every year as well as a Planned Enrollment Form. Scholarships require enrollment in a minimum of 6 credits.
GS students also must submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to determine eligibility for Federal Grants, the Pell Grant and the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG). About 70% of GS students receive Pell Grants.
There are also outside scholarships and fellowships that can be applied to separately. The GS website offers an extensive list of fellowships and scholarship search engines. The College Board Scholarship Search is among the many resources to help students find scholarships.
International students are eligible for all GS scholarships, but not federal financial aid. International GS students are encouraged to explore outside forms of aid through websites such as internationalscholarships.com (also useful for American students studying abroad), and edupass.com
Military veterans have a number of additional resources unique to their circumstances, such as the Yellow Ribbon Program and the G.I. Bill, which often cover the entire cost of attendance.
STUDENT LIFE
Clubs
There are around 500 different student organizations to become involved with on campus. Some popular clubs include the Columbia Organization of Rising Entrepreneurs (C.O.R.E). C.O.R.E. hosts a startup competition every year at Columbia with prize winnings up to $25,000 for students to fund a startup. Other popular clubs include the Black Students Organization (BSO), Ferris Film Society, Columbia Women in Business Society (CWBS), and the Varsity Show, which is a musical performing arts presentation that stands as one of the university’s oldest tradition.
Sororities and Fraternities
There are 28 recognized fraternities and sororities at Columbia. About 1800 students from all four undergraduate colleges (including Barnard) make up the greek life community. Several fraternities and sororities are housed in brownstones right near the university. The greek life tradition has been a part of the university for over 175 years.
Sports
Columbia is a member of the Ivy League and has 31 NCAA Division I teams as well as over 40 club and intramural teams. Several Columbia students and alumni have been competitors in the Olympics in sports such as fencing and swimming.
Facilities on Campus
There is one main gym on campus, Dodge Fitness Center, in addition, many residence halls have small gyms, and some Columbia students also use the Barnard workout facilities. There are many rooms available for club meetings and for students to book for events, both in the residence halls and on-campus buildings.
APPLICATION PROCESS
CC and SEAS students can apply through the Common Application or the Coalition Application. Early decision applications are due Nov. 1 and decisions are released in mid-December. Regular decision applications are due Jan. 1 and decisions are released by April. The application fee is $85.
GS students apply on a rolling basis. Those applying to GS may not apply to other undergraduate schools (CC/ SEAS) at Columbia simultaneously. The school has a separate online application which requires the submission of a 1500-2000 word essay. In addition, applicants must submit scores from the ACT, SAT or the GS Admission Exam online (an on-demand exam that is based on the College Board’s Next Generation Accuplacer). Official high school transcripts must be sent to the admissions office, as well as any previous university transcripts. Two letters of recommendation from academic and/ or professional recommenders are submitted online. The application fee is $80.
OTHER
Study Abroad
Columbia has nine global centers around the world in Amman, Beijing, Istanbul, Mumbai, Nairobi, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Santiago, and Tunis. As part of the university’s global mission, the university offers some unique opportunities to study abroad. Some examples are the Earth Institute’s Science and Ecosystem Experiences for Undergraduates (SEE-U) at the global centers in Brazil and Jordan. Language requirements can also be completed at centers in Ammann or Paris. Other unique experiences include the opportunity to take core classes Art and Music Hum in Berlin or Paris over the summer, as well as Columbia in Venice summer programs through which art history and global core classes are offered.
For CC/ SEAS students, financial aid is transferrable to pay tuition for a term studying abroad. For GS students, scholarships do not transfer unless the study abroad program is Columbia administered.
There are nearly 200 study abroad programs available through Columbia’s Office of Global Programs. Special Columbia programs are offered through partnerships with global universities such as Oxford, Cambridge, and Sciences Po.
WORK
Credits for Internships
Columbia does not offer credit for internships. Therefore, students are encouraged to seek paid internships. By law, interns must receive either school credit or payment for internships. Unfortunately, there are many positions which fail to meet these requirements and so often students work as unpaid interns in order to gain relevant career experience. The Columbia Center for Career Education offers a work exemption program for students with financial need to apply for funding to cover living expenses after securing an unpaid internship with the submission of a recommendation letter, employer verification, personal statement, and resume.
Work Study/Working as a Student
The Federal Work Study Program is available to U.S. students with demonstrated financial need. There are positions available in university departments and a small number of non-profits in New York. Therefore, there is some possibility to align to the position with a student’s academic or career interests. Positions also vary in terms of demand, with some allowing for students to study while simultaneously being able to complete various administrative tasks for university offices, and others requiring the student’s full attention while they are logging in hours.
On-campus jobs are available mainly for those who are eligible for work study. However, certain on-campus jobs are also available through offices that hire students as “casuals”. Examples of on-campus offices that hire for part-time casual positions are Dodge Fitness Center, the Columbia University Libraries, as well as Tutoring Services (CC/SEAS) and the Academic Resource Center (GS).
Students can also find part-time jobs off-campus through CCE’s LionShare.
The Center for Career Education is an excellent resource for students and alumni. Students can make appointments for thirty-minute one-on-one counselling. Current students can also drop in for shorter 10-minute appointments. Other resources include practice interviews and CV/ Resume tips. Students also have access to the networking database Handshake where companies and non-profits with an interest in hiring Columbia students and graduates post open positions. This is also a useful resource for finding internships.
All information provided by Columbia University and its students.