Posts Tagged ‘admissions’
Reasons to choose Columbia
So, most of you have heard back from all of your colleges by now.
You guys have been accepted into many great schools (including Columbia) and now comes the hard part (except for you EDers): choosing where you want to spend the next four years of your life.
For some of you this decision was a no-brainer—you got into your dream school and the deposit’s in the mail.
Others of you are meticulously weighing the pros and cons of each college, and I’m sure that Columbia’s reputation as one of the most stressful colleges is weighing heavily on the con scale. So, in response to that, here are some reasons why you should come to Columbia:
- Yeah, the academics might be a bit tough, but you will learn so much and start thinking about and learning about things that you never even considered thinking about.
- New York City, one of the best cities in the world, will be your new playground.
- Plus, our little Morningside Heights neighborhood isn’t the busy, hectic place you imagine when your picture New York. You can head downtown and experience everything the city has to offer, then head back uptown to your (relatively) quiet home.
- The people here are awesome. I have never seen such driven, hard-working, inspirational people that can still manage to be laid back and a bit goofy. Conversations can easily switch from discussing huge philosophical/moral ideas to arguing which is the best Pokémon, without a hitch.
- Overall, we’re an attractive bunch. More »
Congratulations Class of 2017!
You honest-to-God did it. You’ve slaved over essays, spent hours studying for tests, and probably skipped out on a few social events, but it’s paid off: you’ve been accepted to Columbia.
Even though you’ve already updated your Facebook status, your mind is probably frantic, trying to process the fact that you actually got in. I’m finishing up my freshman year and I still can’t really believe I go here.
I remember when I found out. I was doing statistics homework, and just happened to check my email. Once I saw I got in, I was filled with the same uncontainable joy I know that each of you are overflowing with right now. I ceased all homework for the rest of the day and called my parents, friends from home (I went to boarding school), and when I went to dinner, I told all my favorite teachers.
I could barely eat. The goal that I had been working towards for three years had been actualized. I was on top of the world.
But then someone told me jokingly that my race probably played a decent factor in my admittance.
Wait, what? More »
Deans, diversity, and data science
On Friday, Spectator’s News Desk sat down with Provost John Coatsworth, the University’s chief academic officer, to talk about topics ranging from the search for a new SEAS dean to funding for faculty diversity. Some highlights from the interview:
- Administrators are in the process of hiring a search firm to work with the recently announced search committee for a permanent dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science. Coatsworth, who will chair the committee, described the ideal candidate for the job:
“We need somebody who can provide a vision and leadership for the school. We need someone who has managerial or administrative experience that can help the school realize that vision, expand, and do it in an orderly step-by-step way that will bring along the faculty and the students. And we need someone whose academic and other credentials are impeccable—who has made a contribution to some field of engineering that everybody recognizes as important.”
- The committee will consider both internal and external candidates, even though one of professors’ main concerns with former dean Feniosky Peña-Mora—who resigned in July after a faculty revolt—was that he was an outsider to Columbia before being hired as dean in 2009. Coatsworth acknowledged that concern, but said that the committee would consider external candidates because “there are lots of folks with a sharp learning curve that might be able to do it.” More »
Checking in with Jessica Marinaccio
On Friday, Spectator sat down with Jessica Marinaccio, who was appointed to the newly created position of Dean of Undergraduate Admissions and Financial Aid this summer. Marinaccio, who was previously dean of admissions, discussed the operational changes to the two offices now that they have been unified, as well as the results of last semester’s internal review of the financial aid office.
Some highlights from the interview:
- Marinaccio described the recent combining of the financial aid and admissions offices as no more than a structural arrangement, under which the staff of both offices will report to her, instead of to Dean of Student Affairs Kevin Shollenberger. Marinaccio, in turn, will report to both Columbia College Dean James Valentini and School of Engineering and Applied Science Interim Dean Donald Goldfarb. “It’s just a different reporting structure, more direct in terms of reporting directly to the deans,” Marinaccio said. “There was a desire by the deans to have more direct access to admissions and financial aid.” The office’s services will not change for students, she added.
- Marinaccio dismissed concerns that bringing the financial aid and admissions offices closer together could jeopardize need-blind admissions. “As the president [Lee Bollinger] has stated, the need-blind policy for U.S. citizens and permanent residents is not something in question,” she said, adding that there have always been and will continue be “firewalls” between the two offices.
Shollenberger on renovations, student debt, and peer advisers
Last week, Spectator sat down with Dean of Student Affairs Kevin Shollenberger and Dean of Community Development and Multicultural Affairs Terry Martinez for an end-of-semester interview. Some highlights:
- In with the new: The lounge in Carman Hall will be renovated over the summer, following several rounds of student input on architectural plans. Additionally, construction is getting underway on the three 113th Street brownstones that are being converted to undergraduate housing, following student feedback on furniture and other finishes for the dorms.
- Helping hand: The Center for Student Advising has hired eight peer advisers—six from Columbia College and two from the School and Engineering and Applied Sciences, rather than four from each school as originally planned. The peer advisers are Jennifer Bai, CC ’13, Elias Boujaoude, CC ’13, Phillip Fletcher, CC ’13, Benjamin Frieling, SEAS ’14, Will Hughes, CC ’13, Steele Sternberg, CC ’13, Amanda Suarez, CC ’14, and Min Yeoh, SEAS ’13.
What’s on Lee Bollinger’s mind?
On Friday, Spectator sat down with University President Lee Bollinger. You’ve heard what he had to say about GS Class Day; here are some more highlights from the interview:
- Faculty members at the School of Engineering and Applied Science have expressed extreme dissatisfaction with SEAS Dean Feniosky Peña-Mora, continuing to call for his resignation despite the development of structural changes intended to alleviate their concerns. Bollinger acknowledged the problems, saying, “I know there are controversies, and we’ve been talking to Feni, and we’ve been talking to chairs and faculty and alumni.”
- Bollinger told Spectator last semester that it was possible Columbia would reverse its no-loan financial aid policy, as was suggested in McKinsey and Company’s report on the Arts and Sciences last summer. But now, Bollinger said, a reversal of this policy is “not being actively considered.” More »
Why you shouldn’t come to Columbia
After many voiced their Columbia concerns in response to my post a few weeks ago on why you should come to Columbia, I decided to present some cons to Columbia that I think are really worth considering.
1. Some people are annoying: People will ask questions that will make you roll your eyes until someone says heteronormative and you have to start rolling your eyes in the opposite direction. But if you got into Columbia, I’m sure the other schools you’re considering have people who are also pretentious at times—after having grown up with your back being patted by parents, teachers, and peers, I find it hard to believe that it wouldn’t get to some people’s heads.
2. The facilities suck: Usually one of the two printers in a room are broken, and the elevator in John Jay has broken down at least three times this year.
3. The food isn’t great: They only have real bacon every other day at Ferris Booth.
4. Sometimes you feel stuck: It’s hard to get the courage or time to leave Columbia at times, but at least it’s an option. I doubt the kids in Ithaca or Hanover get out more often than we do. More »
Why you should come to Columbia
In just a little over three weeks, some of you will be deciding whether or not Columbia is the place for you. My advice? Think of who you’d want at your dinner party.
I can’t say I was in your exact position a year ago being that I applied Early Decision, but as someone at the end of her freshman year, I think I understand what you’re going through.
You’re probably looking through photos of all of your friends at college, trying to imagine yourself going to those dinners and parties, with those people as your friends.
You’re reading through posts on the Class of 2016 group page, thinking whether or not these people think the same way you do (“Do I really like Doctor Who as much as these people?” “I haven’t even heard of half of these bands, am I not ‘hipster’ enough?”). More »
Welcome, Columbia and Barnard classes of 2016!
At 5 p.m., early decision applicants to Barnard will learn whether they’ve been accepted to the Class of 2016. Columbia ED applicants found out last Thursday. If you’re making your way here from a high school somewhere around the globe and you’re part of the Class of 2016, welcome! We’re so thrilled you’re coming to Morningside Heights next year. Stay in touch with 116th Street and Broadway before you arrive on campus by checking Spectrum—what you’re reading right now—and Spectator, which won’t publish regularly again until Jan. 17 but, during the school year, is the daily student newspaper of the campus and the surrounding neighborhood.
Sara Garner, SEAS ’15 and an incoming staff developer in Spectator’s Online section, and Rebeka Cohan, BC ’14 and one of Spectator’s incoming sports editors, welcome you after the jump, with two letters: one to Columbia, and one to Barnard. More »
Diversity University
In today’s paper, the Editorial Board looks at the question of diversity and asks if Columbia is as inclusive as we think.
Officials at Columbia—especially our admissions officers—affirm that we are a diverse institution. Our students hail from different countries and states, belong to various ethnic and racial groups, and bring personal experiences to Columbia that make our university unique.
While we may excel in measuring up to certain definitions of diversity, we fall seriously short in others. Though you may have a world-class pianist, a published author, and a nationally ranked tennis player in your Music Humanities class, you are less likely to find an equally dazzling array of socioeconomic diversity among your peers. (more)