is the columbia university school of general studies prestigious? i see their ads in the paper and i wonder?
925067
The previous answer, made by the poster (Columbia College '60, Grad Fac '64) is incorrect. He/she may be under the impression, due to his/her time spent at Columbia back in the late 50's and early 60's, that the School of General Studies is still in its infancy.\n\nSince those days, the School of General Studies has become fully integrated into the Columbia University undergraduate program. It is not closed to students younger than 21 years old. This inaccuracy in the answer alone reveals that the poster doesn't know what he/she is talking about. A simple look at their admissions requirement shows that the criterion is not a specific age but a "break" of 1 year or more from education or an excellent reason for applying as a nontraditional student.\n\nBecause GS has a student body of under than 2,000 and it is very specifically geared towards 'nontraditional' students, the kinds of people applying to GS are from all sorts of backgrounds. Therefore the acceptance rate has been much higher (40%+). One should, however, take into account the people applying to General Studies are most very self-motivated and don't tend to be people who are not utterly dedicated to getting an Ivy League (or equivalent, like Amherst, Stanford, MIT, et cetera) degree. So applying with a 1000 SAT and 2.6 GPA is going to have to be accompanied by a hell of a lifestory (like starting one's on company, or doing extremely unique things outside of academics, or writing a bestselling novel). People going to GS have an average SAT score of 1340 and high GPA's from their times at high school, plus professional careers (like being a chef to government officials and presidents, or dancing in the NY Ballet Company, or being a CEO of a Wall Street company). \n\nWhile most of the students in GS are 'adults' (29 is the average age), many come in as 17 year-old ballerinas who didn't have time for full-time study, or war veterans who never finished their degrees, et cetera et cetera.\n\nThe B.A. and B.S. that the School of General Studies awards its students is no different from the Columbia College degree in that both are Columbia University degrees. Indeed, all courses and majors/minors are the same for CC and GS students; they take same courses with the same faculty and get graded in the same groups. The only difference is that GS students have different advisors and have more room to work their schedules around their work or outside obligations, or to choose to mimic the exact full-time schedule of a regular College student. GS students have the obligation to take ONE GS-specific course, which is a one-semester University Writing course which has analogues for Columbia College students.\n\nDon't count on its being a backdoor into Columbia. A lot of GS students have ended up with 3.5 to 4.0 GPA performances taking the SAME classes and getting the SAME majors and minors as regular Columbia College courses. \n\nWhether one graduates from CC or GS, the prestige of Columbia University is the same. GS students have gone on to Yale Law School (easily one of the most difficult programs of study to gain admittance to in the world; 3.79 GPA and 175 LSAT scorers are regularly turned down), become doctors, won Nobel Prizes, been involved integrally in Hollywood big budget and critically-acclaimed films, become nationally-recognized journalists, or simply gone on to lead great lives with a Columbia University degree.\n\nLet's put it this way... when you graduate from G.S., and you fill out your resume, honestly, and go to interview at top five financial firm or position at a major academic institute, or whatever, and the interviewer asks you about your undergraduate degree, you, like the Columbia College student, will say: "I graduated with a B.A./B.S. from Columbia University."
447669
They are a proprietary school, which means they are for profit.  They don't have a very good reputation with employers to be honest, so please investigate thoroughly before enrolling and getting a degree that will be worthless to you in the work world.
681214
See what you think of this...\n\nDear Sir/Madam:\n\n\nI recently was awarded one of two scholarships from your organization at my high school, Atlantic Community, at the Senior Awards Ceremony on May 17, 2006.  I cannot express in words how proud being the recipient of this scholarship makes me.\n\nI would like to thank you for finding me deserving of this honor.  With my family’s recent financial difficulties, being the recipient of your scholarship has removed a significant financial burden from my shoulders, which should allow me to focus all of my attention to my studies and achieving my goals as a college student.  For this I am eternally grateful.\n\nIt is my intention to work hard throughout college to prove that I am deserving of this honor and look forward to the day that I can invite you to my College Graduation as an expression of my gratitude.\n\nRespectfully,\n\n\nXXX
998177
Yeah, some of them are really very good.  The trick to understanding which ones are versus which ones are not, is to research to see if their accreditation credentials are legitimate insofar as the Federal Board of Education (or whatever the name of that Board is called?) is concerned.  Capella University is one of them that is supposed to be good, Walden University is another.  These are two I have research myself, and am satisfied with not only their credentials but their philosophy of education online.  There are others like that, and they are all expensive.  I am researching them now for a Phd. in Education to become a teacher educator.  I already have 100000 dollars in loans for my Master's degrees so I will need more grant or scholarship money to do this.  \n\nRemember, too, that many campus colleges and universities are coming online for higher education beyond the more standard Masters programs.  And, these, you would be familiar with.  However, you must ask them about their philosophy of online education, and dig deep into those attitudes.  If their representatives want to be brief, then you know this is not a good one.  They should have developed an understandable, concrete set of concepts that found their thinking about the nature of both classroom learning and online learning, and they should be able to distinguish between the two.  I have both taught and taken both types of classes in English (no small feat either way), and I have found there are definite advantages to online teaching that can produce deep learning, life learning where that might not have happened to the same person in a classroom because of the particular type of learner that student is.  (did that make sense?)  \n\nAnd, let me add here, that I would never recommend University of Phoenix even though they have the right pieces of paper.  They definitely do not have the right educational philosophies that produce substantive learning.  For them, it boils down to their belief that students don't want to learn anything beyond what is required for a piece of paper that gets them a raise and/or a promotion.  There is nothing wrong with a student's focusing on that while getting a degree in whatever subject, but it is definitely wrong for a professional educator to have this attitude because it will put limits on the nature of the curriculum in such a way that a key goes missing in the educational process that opens the door to having passion for your subject matter which, in turn, is the dynamic that compels deep learning, life learning.  And, we all know that life learning is what makes a good employee because it makes a good human being.  Textbook learning will not do this for and with a student.  I tell my students at the start of each semester that I can teach them nothing, but they can learn from me.  And, when I am saying this, I am pointing to my passion about teaching what I am teaching them.  At the end of each semester one and even two come to me on the last day of class and refer to my statement, saying they did not understand what I meant when I said that, but after a few weeks, when they had connected with the broader principles that my daily teaching was pointing at, they suddenly had "gotten it".  Of course, I already have usually been aware of those two students because I have already seen the light bulbs going off in their heads during classroom.  Just the other day, a really young student suddenly laughed out loud, saying "That's really cool!"  That was a light bulb exploding in front of his intellectual and spiritual eyes about what I had just spent an hour and a half building to conclusion.  And, that is what I mean when I say that leaving out of the educational formula the passion for what I teach will ruin teaching through standardization.  With your question I am pointing to what is referred to as the diploma mills, and there are too many of them out there.  So, be careful.
704681
Yes, it's a top school. One of the best in the country, especially for engineering (ironically, it's also highly regarded for its drama program).\n\nWhat prompts you to ask that?
914264
Is it a good school?  Let's put it this way -- US News & World Reports doesn't even bothering ranking it.\n\nIt is not selective.  And it awards lots of online degrees, which employers will not take seriously.
294095
My brother goes to Western Governors University. www.wgu.edu  it is accredited and accepts financial aid. He really likes it. The IVY League colleges are stuck up and they want the world to think that their level of education is better than other colleges. That way they can charge an outrageous amount of money.
507470
I don't study at Harvard, but I do attend Columbia University which is in the Ivy League (along with Harvard.)  If you have any questions that you think I may be able to answer feel free to ask.
380708
Morristown is a nice place, but I would check with some people who have direct contact or expereince with the University,  I generally like the feel of smaller liberal arts schools myself, and find that some of the best and healthiest student-teacher-school relationships are found there.  Not saying anything bad about big-box schools, it is all about what is best for you. Oh, and please for the sake of your future don't for a second take anything in US News and World Report's "college rankings".  Those rankings are compiled with one thing in mind only, making USN&WR money, not trying to help you find the right place for you.
5424
I have never heard of them . but try fastweb.com they offfer scholarships based on the questionair you fill out
66864
Try US-Reports.com. Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Penn, Duke, Stanford, and so on. Just one opinion, but at least they have their reasons. \nhttp://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/natudoc/tier1/t1natudoc_brief.php
378581
yea i know a couple good ones it depends your grades though. There is Columbia, NY, and others around in New York ill do more research for u if ur interested :) !
514631
I daresay you will not get many responses in this forum.  My best advice to you is to check out the website below, search for Columbia, and check out their discussion boards.  There, prospective students, current students, and alumnae/i post questions and answers, and sometimes even chat in "real time."\n\nI did one of my Master's degrees at Columbia, and so did my brother (religion for me, poli sci for him).  It's the nicest campus in NYC.
69049
WHy not? Its a good school, relatively nice place.  To study what? What other options are there?
770481
I am also doing research because i would like to go. All of my friends that have gone have said that it is an AMAZING experience and EXTREMELY worth it. I highly suggest going. I believe they offer a few scholarships...you may want to look into it.
917900
Fantastic.  I have a close friend who went there, then continued at NYU grad school for a PhD in Economics, and is now an Economist at the IMF (International Monetary Fund) in Washington DC.  The CAS is a great school.  The dean of students is fantastic.  My son is there majoring in English.  A million fascinating things happen at NYU and it is getting harder and harder to get in and it keeps going up in national rankings.  A huge part of the NYU undergrad experience has to do with living in the absolute coolest spot on Earth.  The housing department leaves much to be desired though....  But the kids don't seem to mind.
497855
I graduated from there. It is a BIG school with an amazing selection of excellent degree programs. I suggest you live in the dorms to start off -- you have to find a community there or you'll go a little nuts.