Columbia 2012 - admitted students

I know about the connect event on the 10th, but what's the Challenge? I'll be in town that weekend...

I never turn down a challenge.

According to Princeton Review, 55% get financial aid of some kind. Merit scholarships are just a component of that, but I don't think many people qualify for need based aid so I think it's a major component. That's worse than other elite programs, but bear in mind that J-termers (about 30% of the class) are not eligible and people who apply before the priority deadline have better odds of getting something. I'm thinking it's fair to say 50/50 as a baseline for merit scholarships for August starters who applied before Jan, which you can adjust based on your GMAT/GPA, leadership experiences and whether or not you meet the criteria for any of the named awards. But admittedly that's just a guess.

I read an article (Forbes I think) that said the average merit award at Columbia is $10,000. According to the Columbia website, they start announcing awards in mid February and will continue through mid April.

As far as criteria, each award has a different list. The basic ones are based on academic achievement and "leadership potential". Many awards are endowed specifically for a certain type of student based on ethnicity, nationality, career focus, etc. All the awards are detailed on their financial aid webpage.

That's very helpful. Thanks pearljam!

Does mailing the original university transcript appear in the To-Do list? I didn't find it there and was wondering if CBS requires it...

Yea, it should be there if you paid the deposit. Initially I only had 14 things on my to-do list, trasncripts not being one of them. Once I paid the 6k deposit though, my list shot up to 30+ items which then included transcripts. This was the case for a few other members on this thread as well.

How long did it take everyone to receive their admissions packet in the mail? I was admitted on 1/23 and still have not received anything.

1/23?! Give it some time, lol. I was admitted last Wednesday 1/18 and still haven't received anything in the mail.

Sorry, that was a typo. I was admitted on 1/13. I only live across town, though, so I thought I might have received it by now. NYU had theirs to me the day after I received my acceptance.

I got mine in about 2 weeks, but I was ED, so they only sent me an acceptance letter in the mail (the same one you can download from the application site). Not sure if RD applicants get a different packet though.

I just got the call! I'm in! And I'm going to attend the 2/10 Columbia Connect and the 2/11 Columbia Challenge. Excited to meet all of you!

Is the challenge something that everyone is invited too? And does anyone know the amount of that fellowship specifically? Thanks!

Has any of you completed the Kroll verification process? I'm having issues logging into the site just now but was wondering what this is all about. Thanks in advance...

any news on $$? i thought it's supposed to come out mid-feb

Three people have reported receiving scholarships already on the applicant tracker in the other forum.

At the Columbia Connect event, they explained that scholarships are awarded on a rolling basis, and they will begin making announcements in mid-Feb but they will continue through April.

They also gave an additional piece of info- average merit award amounts are between $24 and $25k. They didn't give any information about dispersion, or about the percentage of students who are awarded merit scholarships. They said the scholarship budget is based on endowment performance, which is good news because their endowment did outstanding last year- up 23.6%.

Has anyone heard today if they have been awarded a fellowship or scholarship? I was told that some people will be notified today and others down the road.

I haven't heard anything yet either...and this will be a deciding factor for which school I'll be sending my deposit to next week. Very down-to-the-wire...

I wouldn't sweat it. The admissions office is probably closed for the holiday today.

I'm in the exact same situation.

I'm waiting very anxiously as well. At the Columbia Challenge, which was on 11 February, they told us 1 to 2 weeks (meaning, likely, this week). We'll definitely hear before the first deposit deadline, but with other schools' deadlines coming due (Booth's is Friday), hopefully we'll here before 27 February.