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.
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.
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.
The Harris Matrix, invented by alumnus Dr. Edward Cecil Harris ’71GS, continues to play an important role in archaeology, and has recently been translated into Arabic by Baraa Seraj Eddin and Tareq Awwad, a visiting fellow at the Columbia Global Center in Amman.
In March 2020, Columbia University shifted to a remote format in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. During that time, new students were welcomed virtually and the Columbia community remained connected through virtual courses, programming, and support services. Eighteen months later, the School of General Studies was able to welcome the entire community back to campus for a robust week of programming at Fall 2021 New Student Orientation.