GS Welcomes the Fall 2014 Entering Class

Columbia University President Lee C. Bollinger and GS Dean Peter J. Awn addressed the assembly of nontraditional students—students who not only have had a break of one year or more in their undergraduate educational careers, but also those who are enrolled in the Dual BA Program Between Columbia University and Sciences Po, the Joint Bachelors Degree Program between City University of Hong Kong and Columbia University, and the Joint Program with List College of the Jewish Theological Seminary; these are students who are more traditionally-aged undergraduates, but by nature of their seeking two degrees concurrently in four years, are following a nontraditional path.

Incoming students attended New Student Orientation, which included mandatory programming on Monday, August 25 and Tuesday, August 26 to learn about the information and access to resources that will ensure success at Columbia University. Students also participated in Extended Orientation sessions that were both GS-sponsored and University-wide events, including the popular speed-meeting event, educational financing and academic support services sessions, city-wide neighborhood walks, and a dance party on the Intrepid.

An Overview of the Fall 2014 Entering Class

Summary

The School of General Studies continues to be one of the most diverse undergraduate colleges in the Ivy League. The presence of GS students in the Columbia classroom enables the University, already one of the most ethnically and economically diverse undergraduate communities in the Ivy League, to define diversity on much broader terms—a truly global diversity of socio-economic background, age, life and career experience, and perspective.

• 31% of incoming students are international students
• 25% of incoming students are first-generation college students
• 31% of incoming students are eligible for a Pell Grant
• 26% of incoming students are US military veterans

Enrollment

• 486 total new undergraduate students
• 33 GS-JTS Joint Program students
• 45 new students are enrolling in their third year of the Dual BA Program Between Columbia University and Sciences Po
• 9 students are entering as part of the Dual Degree Pilot Program between City University of Hong Kong and Columbia University

Demographics

• Age range: 16 to 52 years old
• Women: 38%
• Men: 62%
• Marital status: 10% of new students are married
• Dependents: 5% of new students have children
• US residents hail from 29 states

Citizenship

• 31% of the incoming students are international students
• 38 foreign countries are represented
• New international students come from as close as Canada and as far away as Japan, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, and Togo

Educational Paths

• Enrolling at GS to earn a second B.A. degree: 7%
• First-generation college students: 28%
• At least one person has a 27-year break in their educational path.
• 89% of incoming students are enrolling with transfer credit

Occupations

This year’s class includes: veterans, professional actors, dancers, and musicians, small-business owners, fashion models, a massage therapist, a nanny, magazine writers and editors, an EMT, a film festival organizer, tutors and library workers, a teacher of Islamic studies and Arabic, the co-founder of an investment firm, the co-founder of a Silicon Valley tech startup, a radio producer, a butcher, a professional body piercer, a former priest, and an international music entertainer, to name a few.

We are also pleased to welcome 104 new students who have served in the armed forces in either the U.S. or their own countries.

• U.S. Military: 73 (29–Marine Corps, 26–Army,  8–Navy, 8–Air Force, 2–Coast Guard); 60 new students are expected to be supported by the Yellow Ribbon Program
• Foreign Armed Forces: 31 (11–Israeli Defense Forces, 10–Republic of Korea Armed Forces, 7–Singapore Armed Forces; 1–Germany; 1–Cyprus, 1–Turkmenistan)