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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]These are both awesome college options. As a Columbia alum, the downside is that the Columbia side is in the School of General Studies, not Columbia College. GS is Columbia's undergraduate division for returning and nontraditional students. Some of Columbia's best undergraduates are GS students, so there is no academic or reputation disadvantage. But, GS does not guarantee housing, which can be an issue in NYC. It also means financial aid is much more limited. So if you can pay sticker price+, great. But, if cost is an issue and financial aid is a possibility, Brown is likely to be far cheaper. [/quote]

OP --

I'm a PP (21:23) and a Columbia GS alum from decades ago, and this PP is correct.  GS isn't an alternative program - it's a regular-program, regularly-titled BA (not a funny-name Bachelors in Liberal Something), and GS imposes essentially the same distribution and major requirements as Columbia College.  GS is not terribly large, it is selective-admission, it's well-regarded generally within the University, it fully shares in the overall Faculty of Arts & Sciences, and GS also offers the same placement support as Columbia College.  I won one of Columbia's few undergrad named-prizes while a GS student, and I was active on campus.  I was one of the lucky ones who was housed the whole time at GS but for the first few weeks (and I had a place to stay in NYC), and I perceive zero down-side to being a GS student.  There is nearly no academic separation between GS and Columbia College (there once was).  GS itself isn't an issue.

$$-aid [b]can[/b] be an issue, although it's certainly available and is much more generous than what you might see at a non-Ivy.  There is an implied merit-qualifier to aid at GS, such that essentially your academic performance is factored in.  The GS student with a 3.6 who is active on campus is embraced, and will get more aid than the less-active 2.95 student with identical finances.  That's simply how it works.

BUT - a big one - [b]housing can be a [/b][b]very real issue[/b], and can even be a crisis if DC is stuck without it.  Columbia treats GS students as grad students for the purposes of housing.  Dorm space is simply not assured at all.  And university apartments involve a waiting list, apartment sharing, and rents that aren't really [i]that[/i] far below market.  NYC is expensive, and Columbia is not an easy commute from the cheapest NYC areas.  A really long commute means lower personal engagement and can be an unappealing challenge.

GS is wonderful and served me very well.  I am a very pleased and loyal alum.  But in NYC, real estate means a great deal.  Don't encourage DC to pursue Columbia if there's an open question about housing.  Do you have close friends or family in NYC where DC could, if needed, crash for multiple weeks while looking?  Would DC do well in an apt with a totally unrelated person?  Is DC going to be very very good at self-managing time and logistics, if living multiple subway stops away from campus?  Consider all these questions, and have DC contact GS admissions and make inquiries.  It's such a common issue that the inquiry will not be taken badly.  
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