News

Raysa Schumacher '24GS shares her journey from Palm Beach State College to Columbia—and the lessons she learned along the way that have helped her succeed. 

On Saturday, October 16, for the first time in two years, Columbia alumni and their families gathered together in person to celebrate Homecoming Weekend. 

CUNY Scholar Sacha Telfer '22GS reflects on her community college experience at BMCC and what it was like transferring to Columbia.

In honor of National Transfer Student Week, October 18 to October 22, the Columbia University School of General Studies (GS) highlight students and alumni who transferred to GS, as well as offer insight into the unique role that community colleges play in making higher education possible for nontraditional students. 

GS has long worked to bring community college students to Columbia. When the school began to recruit nationally roughly two decades ago, one of the areas in which the admissions office focused its outreach was community colleges. That emphasis has paid dividends: 40 percent of new GS students in recent years have transferred from a community college—and of this cohort, 43 percent were the first generation in their family to attend college, while 56 percent received a federal Pell Grant.

Before coming to Columbia, GS student Nico Long earned his associate’s degree in business management from Westchester Community College before transferring to GS to pursue economics.

The GS Mid-Semester Success Series (Mid-SSS) is a week-long program series designed to give students an opportunity to reflect on areas of personal growth, holistic wellness, and community building in preparation for the second half of the semester. With programming that is responsive to both GS undergraduates and Postbac Premed students, the series is both diverse and robust in responding to students at various stages in their academic and professional careers.

Students interested in leading a 60-minute session should submit the idea by Friday, October 22. Sessions can be…

Earlier this month, students, faculty, and alumni joined Dr. Chloe Carmichael '06GS (also known as “Dr. Chloe”) to learn strategies for reframing anxiety to facilitate a more productive and fulfilling life.

Last month, Desean Taber '23GS walked in New York Fashion Week for the first time. Disenchanted with the ballet world's slow moving efforts to promote diversity and inclusion, Taber enrolled at Columbia GS and is majoring in anthropology. He hopes to bring the feelings of empowerment and acceptance he experienced on the runway into everyday life.

The Poitiers campus, which focuses on the study of Euro-Latin American social sciences, joins the Sciences Po campuses in Le Havre, Menton, and Reims. Poitiers, currently home to 275 students from over 30 countries, will welcome incoming Dual BA students in Fall 2022.

The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) seeks undergraduate students to serve as consultants as part of the CTL’s Students as Pedagogical Partners (SAPP) initiative. These paid part-time positions offer students the opportunity to share their experiences and insights as learners in Columbia classrooms, and transform the culture of teaching and learning.

On Tuesday, September 28, Dean of Students Marlyn Delva sent the following message to the GS community. 

On Monday, August 30, family members joined over 900 new GS students as part of a week’s worth of robust New Student Orientation programming. Family Member Orientation introduced guests to the Columbia community and to the resources available to their students in support of their transition to Columbia University.

Undergraduate students interested in participating in student group leadership are invited to learn more about Columbia University Family Student Network (CUFSN) and Columbia Recovery Coalition (RC).

 

Columbia Health is seeking students to work as peer educators. Peer Educators are an integral part of the Columbia community and student population as they serve as ambassadors in creating a community of care through prevention, education, and outreach for Sexual Violence Response.