On Monday, January 11, 2016, the School of General Studies welcomed 226 new undergraduates, including Postbac Premed students, at New Student Orientation held in the Roone Arledge Auditorium in Lerner Hall. Executive Vice President of Columbia University David Madigan was invited to the podium by Dean of the School of General Studies Peter Awn to give the opening address.
Following the vice president's speech, GS Dean Peter J. Awn welcomed GS students and 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. He also 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 Spring 2016 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.
- 35% of the incoming students are international students
- 37% of the incoming students are first-generation college students
- 26% of the incoming students are Pell Grant eligible
- 18% of the incoming students are U.S. military veterans
Enrollment
- 226 total new undergraduate students
Demographics
- Age range: 16 to 68 years old
- Women: 40%
- Men: 60%
- Marital status: 22% of new students are married
- Dependents: 3% of new students have children
- U.S. residents hail from 19 states
Citizenship
- 35% of incoming students are international students
- 20 foreign countries are represented
- New international students come from as close as Canada and as far away as Japan, Ghana, Syria, Taiwan and Ukraine
Educational Path
- Enrolling at GS to earn a second B.A. degree: 7%
- First-generation college students: 37%
- Educational break: At least one students has a 43-year break in his educational path
- Entering Columbia with transfer credits: 86%
Occupations
This year’s class includes: veterans, professional actors, dancers, musicians, chefs, small business owners, fashion models, filmmakers, published authors, human rights activists, nannies, EMTs, pilots, bankers, computer scientists, consultants, baristas, and crypto-linguists.
We are also pleased to welcome 38 new students who have served in the armed forces in either the U.S. or their home countries.
- U.S. Military: 26 (10—Marine Corps; 13—Army; 1—Navy; 2—Air Force), and 24 new students are expected to be supported by the Yellow Ribbon Program
- Foreign Armed Forces: 12 (5—Israeli Defense Forces; 7—Republic of Korea Armed Forces)
