On Monday, August 31, 2015, the School of General Studies welcomed 471 new undergraduates at New Student Orientation held on Low Plaza. Columbia University President Lee C. Bollinger was invited to the podium by Dean of Students Tom Harford to give the opening address. “GS is a unique institution within a great university,” President Bollinger said, and then added, “We are all with you. We all want to be GS students."
He went on to highlight GS’s larger context of Columbia University, and pointed out that the university is one of the most international schools in the Ivy League, a status that GS students greatly contribute to.
Following the president's speech, GS Dean Peter J. Awn spoke about the value nontraditional students add to Columbia's classrooms. “Time and again it’s been proven that age and experience are not contagious diseases,” he joked. Instead, the nontraditional characteristics of GS students keep Columbia classrooms unique among similar colleges.
Dean Awn welcomed not only GS students who have had a break in their education, but also those who are enrolled in the Joint Program between List College of the Jewish Theological Seminary, the Dual BA Program Between Columbia University and Sciences Po, the Joint Bachelor’s Degree Program between City University of Hong Kong and Columbia University.
“The core value of a great university is that it should be a marketplace of great ideas, bringing different backgrounds in conversation.” One way to do this is to engage with the greater university. “Open yourself to ideas and worldviews different from your own as that will help you better articulate your position.” He encouraged the incoming students to use the resources at their disposal, including Columbia’s faculty, GS staff, and fellow students.
Dean Harford spoke about how the identity of GS is one of diversity. He then asked students to stand up according to categories such as parents, internationally born, veterans, and native New Yorkers.
The welcome ceremony ended with an introduction to the GS staff that will be supporting the new students.
After the welcome ceremony, the new students attended orientation week events both on and off campus, including sessions about educational financing and academic support services led by faculty and staff. They also participated in student and alumni meet and greets, several city-wide tours, and a speed-meeting party.
An Overview of the Fall 2015 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.
- 22% of the incoming students are international students
- 24% of the incoming students are first-generation college students
- 33% of the incoming students are Pell Grant eligible
- 27% of the incoming students are U.S. military veterans
Enrollment
- 471 total new undergraduate students
- 32 GS-JTS Joint Program students
- 58 new students are enrolling at GS for their third year of the Dual BA Program Between Columbia University and Sciences Po
- 7 students are entering as part of the Joint Bachelor’s Degree Program between City University of Hong Kong and Columbia University
Demographics
- Age range: 15 to 63 years old
- Women: 41%
- Men: 59%
- Marital status: 9% of new students are married
- Dependents: 3% of new students have children
- U.S. residents hail from 27 states
Citizenship
- 22% of incoming students are international students
- 30 foreign countries are represented
- New international students come from as close as Canada and as far away as Japan, New Zealand, Peru, Turkmenistan, and Nigeria
Educational Path
- Enrolling at GS to earn a second B.A. degree: 5%
- First-generation college students: 24%
- Educational break: At least one students has a 37-year break in his educational path
- Entering Columbia with transfer credits: 89%
Occupations
This year’s class includes: veterans, professional actors, dancers, musicians, small business owners, fashion models, filmmakers, a fundraiser, a nanny, an EMT, a film festival organizer, tutors, library workers, a chef, a professional tattoo artist, a priest, a barista, and crypto-linguists.
We are also pleased to welcome 102 new students who have served in the armed forces in either the U.S. or their home countries.
- U.S. Military: 71 (30—Marine Corps; 17—Army; 11—Navy; 11—Air Force; 2—Coast Guard), and 68 new students are expected to be supported by the Yellow Ribbon Program
- Foreign Armed Forces: 31 (14—Israeli Defense Forces; 10—Republic of Korea Armed Forces; 7—Singapore Armed Forces)
