Harvard or Columbia - Where would you go?

[Anonymous]

“ Are the students at the College as good as at HYPSM, if tat is what you are asking ? Yes, probably to definitely.”

This is where I disagree with you. If 1/3 of the undergraduates are matriculating after the age of 25, it should be safe to assume that most of these students are not of the same caliber as those matriculating at HYPSM as 18 year olds. Those schools, all of them, do not have 1/3 of their enrollment wrapped up with untraditional students.

[Anonymous]

“ Sorry, not a partisan.”

“It provides a brilliant academic and cultural experience which still lasts me for over forty years. That is all I care about.”

So you went to Columbia but you’re not a partisan. You must be a lawyer! lol

[Anonymous]

I am a lawyer. Facts, facts, facts and evidence are what matters, and how these are used to get at the truth of a matter.


You are desperately skewering this 1/3 adult student body from General Studies which is separate in admisssions, age, even geography in the area of the campus. You think an 18 year old and a 26-28 year old as freshman students are integrated together ? Absolute nonsense. The College likes to keep its own identity ad sees that as an important part of the college undergraduate experience. Separate staff, separate classes, with some integration later in classes in many divisions of the university. Harvard, Yale, Cornell, Brown and Penn have similar mixing in classes across the university.

I am talking about the admissions for 18 year olds to the Columbia College. That band is comparable to HYPS in terms of quality of statistics among 18 year old high school graduates entering university. I never saw any difference among the students and I knew/know many from these Ivy League colleges.

Don't try too hard in skewering other information and trying to argue tham as facts, otherwise by analogy a head can be made to look like a behind.

[Anonymous]

“ Columbia GS, along with Brown RUE and Yale Eli Whitney, offer identical classes alongside the normal aged student body at the same tuition and grant the same degree. This, one can actually say they graduated from these schools with all the meaning that implies and with no qualification. HES, unfortunately, does not offer that status and so an extension graduate is left to either hoodwink the public or admit that they did not graduate from “real Harvard.”


“Columbia GS, along with Brown RUE and Yale Eli Whitney, offer identical classes alongside the normal aged student body at the same tuition and grant the same degree”


The above is not true.

WRONG about granting the same degree. The degrees definitely are not the same. The diploma from Columbia College is written entirely in Latin and says signed by the 'Faculty of Columbia College'. The diploma from General Studies is written in English and says signed by the 'Faculty of General Studies'. THESE ARE DIFFERENT DEGREES.

GS is an outstanding school for post 21 year old adults. It is not the College, for 18-22 year olds coming from high school..

[Anonymous]

I think this PP might be a Standford dude that was shocked that to discover S is generally recognized after Harvard and Columbia. Instead of saying these ranking games are usually meaningless, he was livid. Ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Sadly, these rankings are not meaningless and take on substantive lives of their own which involve mega millions of dollars pertaining to all stakeholders: the universities and colleges, parents and students' prospective tuition and living costs, donations and fundraising among alumni and other contributors, recruitment of students and staff - and not to be underestimated - national and global academic egos.

Such lists have become a national and international pastime, akin to ranking racing horses at sweepstakes no less than the Kentucky Derby. 'Who can beat Sea Biscuit' this season ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sadly, these rankings are not meaningless and take on substantive lives of their own which involve mega millions of dollars pertaining to all stakeholders: the universities and colleges, parents and students' prospective tuition and living costs, donations and fundraising among alumni and other contributors, recruitment of students and staff - and not to be underestimated - national and global academic egos.

Such lists have become a national and international pastime, akin to ranking racing horses at sweepstakes no less than the Kentucky Derby. 'Who can beat Sea Biscuit' this season ?

True. But it also makes the Standford dude look small to be so personally invested in these ranking games.

[Anonymous]

I guess that means Harvard is 'Sea Biscuit' ?

Personally, I'd settle for Mr. Ed. - then at least one can study appreciate the relations between a ventriloquist and a domesticated pet.

[Anonymous]

“ You think an 18 year old and a 26-28 year old as freshman students are integrated together ? Absolute nonsense.”

Perhaps 40 years ago when you attending Columbia they weren’t. They are now.

[Anonymous]

Once again, taken directly from Columbia’s website:

“The School of General Studies is Columbia’s college for nontraditional students who want to earn a degree while attending full- or part-time. Nontraditional students have had a break of one year or more in their educational paths or have compelling personal or professional reasons for completing their bachelor’s degrees part time. Students in the School of General Studies take the same courses with the same faculty and undertake the same majors as all other undergraduates at Columbia”

So whom am I to believe, you or Columbia?

[Anonymous]

“WRONG about granting the same degree. The degrees definitely are not the same. The diploma from Columbia College is written entirely in Latin and says signed by the 'Faculty of Columbia College'. The diploma from General Studies is written in English and says signed by the 'Faculty of General Studies'. THESE ARE DIFFERENT DEGREES.”

Really? So a degree from Columbia SEAS is different than a degree from Colombia College as well. So what? They all are a part of Columbia University and all matriculate up to 1/3 of their students from an age group 25 and up. Columbia is overwhelmingly older in its “in classroom” student population that the vast majority of its peers. These students, as wonderful as they may be, were not held up to the same high standards of admittance as those in Columbia College and SEAS. That’s fine, but Columbia shouldn’t pretend they don’t exist when they brag about their low admittance rate and high test scores.

[Anonymous]

http://www.college.columbia.edu/


https://gs.columbia.edu/


Here are their websites. The College and the School of General Studies are quite different, even with the arguments you make.

I never ever heard of a student at the College complain about GS students in a classroom.

There is no 'flooding' as you claim. Are you an antediluvian/diluvian specialist on the Great Flood and Noah or on shallow bathtub design, applied to classroom practice to describe the college overflowing with GS students ??

Where did you study which causes you to expel your inner feelings and denigrate academic numbers ?
What are you trying to say, the College has less than stellar students ? Rubbish. The ones I knew before and know now were tops in the high school class in rank, test scores, ECs

[Anonymous]

http://www.college.columbia.edu/news/columbia-sees-record-high-applications-class-2025. Read the recent article, also on the internet with articles by different publications for March 2021 for the Class of 2025.

'Wednesday, March 10, 2021
More than 60,500 students have applied to the Class of 2025 at Columbia College and The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, an extraordinary increase of 51 percent over last year and an all-time high for the two schools.'

These applications for admissions by 17-18 year olds from high school to the College and SEAS has nothing to do with the School of General Studies.

[Anonymous]

Here is the full article, dated March 10, 2021 https://www.college.columbia.edu/news/columbia-sees-record-high-applications-class-2025


Columbia Sees Record-High Applications for Class of 2025
Wednesday, March 10, 2021
More than 60,500 students have applied to the Class of 2025 at Columbia College and The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, an extraordinary increase of 51 percent over last year and an all-time high for the two schools.

Columbia Undergraduate Admissions announced final applicant numbers this week, which reflect a combination of applications received during the Early Decision and Regular Decision cycles. The schools received a total of 60,548 applications as compared with 40,084 last year.


A variety of factors likely contributed to the dramatic increase, said Dean of Undergraduate Admissions & Financial Aid Jessica Marinaccio. Against the backdrop of the economic crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic, Marinaccio noted both the appeal of Columbia’s generous financial aid program and the unexpected benefit of moving to all-virtual admissions outreach, which allowed Undergraduate Admissions to connect with prospective students in more regions. Another likely influence was Columbia’s test-optional policy, announced last year due to disruptions to testing access associated with the pandemic; the policy was recently extended for 2021–22.

“We’re amazed by the resilience that students have shown throughout this college search cycle and feel honored that so many have chosen to include Columbia among their preferred colleges,” Marinaccio said.

The joint notification date for the Ivy League was moved to April 6, 2021, allowing Columbia to most effectively and carefully consider each applicant through its comprehensive holistic review process. “One of the most important aspects of our work is upholding the quality and deliberateness of the review process, especially during this tumultuous year,” Marinaccio noted. “Students should feel confident that their applications will be evaluated with utmost care.” Students in turn will have an extended period — until May 3, 2021 — to respond to their offer of admission.

Posted in: College

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:http://www.college.columbia.edu/news/columbia-sees-record-high-applications-class-2025. Read the recent article, also on the internet with articles by different publications for March 2021 for the Class of 2025.

'Wednesday, March 10, 2021
More than 60,500 students have applied to the Class of 2025 at Columbia College and The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, an extraordinary increase of 51 percent over last year and an all-time high for the two schools.'

These applications for admissions by 17-18 year olds from high school to the College and SEAS has nothing to do with the School of General Studies.

....and yet they share the same classrooms, take the same exams, take up the same amount of the professors time, etc. with SGS students. Once again, 1/3 of the undergraduate class at Columbia is made up of non traditional students. Why does Columbia have such a huge percentage of its students, most of whom would never get in as 18 year old freshman, in its classrooms? I know why. It’s called a money grab. Promising graduates they have a prestigious degree from Columbia and charging full freight. Why do I say this? Because the supposedly students/graduates of Columbia here discount the SGS degree. I certainly would as well if I were a Columbia College or SEAS student/graduate. After all, my degree was written in Latin and yours is only in English.