Your Contributions Enhance GS Financial Aid

We want to thank alumni and friends of the School of General Studies for your generosity towards the GS Annual Fund and The Columbia Campaign for Undergraduate Education. Your contributions have made it possible for us to announce an enhancement to our ongoing aggressive efforts designed to better assist the nontraditional undergraduates of Columbia University meet the significant costs of financing a Columbia education.

The initiative we have announced enables the School to take a number of important steps for the 2008-2009 academic year, including:

• Adding approximately $1 million to the financial aid budget, affecting approximately 50% of GS undergraduate degree students who currently receive institutional financial aid
• Focusing enhancement on continuing students who have the highest demonstrated economic need and substantial loan debt
• Increasing the financial aid program by 17%

For a full explanation of how your gifts to the annual fund and to the endowment will support GS students in the next academic year, please read the full financial aid enhancement announcement.

The success of General Studies students is vital to our future, and their success requires your help.

Every Gift Has An Impact

Exposure to a wealth of academic possibilities, in the tradition of Ivy League education, and an intellectually stimulating environment, shared with a group of committed peers...

Your gift to the School of General Studies Annual Fund fosters extraordinary opportunities for talented individuals.

Meet some of the students your gift helps support:

Connelly M. Stokes-Buckles Woodstock, Vermont Psychology I chose the School of General Studies because: My work as an LPN helped to clarify my desire to return to school and pursue a degree in psychology. I was primarily interested in attending Columbia University or New York University. After much research, I decided GS was the best fit for me, and 2 years of nursing school credits transferred. What do you like most about being a student at GS? I find the diversity of GS amazing. Entering GS with me in 2006 were military veterans, writers, cab drivers, and an Olympic figure skater, to name a few. GSers bring a wide range of invaluable life experiences into the classroom. Something I learned at Columbia that I will always remember: I’ll never forget what a luxury it is to be a full-time student! My best class: Josh Davis’s psych course on social cognition stands out for me, and I’ve had a great time in every French class I’ve taken here. What I am most proud of: Going back to school is a challenge. My first semester back was nerve-wracking but I did very well—it was satisfying to know that I could still succeed academically after a long hiatus from school! My favorite place on campus or in the neighborhood: I enjoy hanging out on the steps at Low, at the Psychology Library, and at the Student Calling Center, where I work to raise money for GS and Columbia.