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:

Karly Curcio Irvine, CA Economics-Political Science I chose the School of General Studies because: I decided to come to Columbia over schools like Duke, Georgetown, and Yale because of its strength in international political economy and international relations. What do you like most about being a GS student? I had high expectations for GS, given that the school has a reputation that precedes itself. The school attracts a diverse and exemplary student body. Many GS students and alumni are making a difference in the world, and it inspires me to do more. Something I learned at Columbia that I will always remember: I have made incredible friends at Columbia. They are a fantastic group of people that will always be a part of my life. My favorite class: Professor Robert Thurman’s course in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism was amazing, inspirational, and eye-opening. He is a genius in the field and is an example of the academic scholarship at Columbia. What I am most proud of: I feel Columbia has helped me expand my knowledge set and given me a solid academic foundation. To me, being at Columbia is about more than earning a degree; it is about having the opportunity to find the motivation and passion within you to grow as a person. My favorite place on campus or in the neighborhood: I like being in the sun, so I enjoy being on South Lawn or on the Low Steps.