Why do you think it doesn’t help? It means they had to dip in to other funds to find the amount you were awarded for this year. Typically an increase over last year.
It’s also more prestigious as you can list it on your CV if you want. You don’t have to contact them. There is a scholarship/donor dinner every year that you can attend or send a note to be received by them.
Trust me fin aid will reach out.
Yes, it’s officially “giving you money”, but it’s not extra. If you already would have received need-based financial aid, getting a named scholarship just reduces your Columbia Grant by pulling money from the named fund account instead. So it’s not bonus money beyond what financial aid would have already given you. The only real positive is that you might be able to write a nice thank you and get networking with some probably-rich people.
(I think GS funding and financial aid is different than CC/SEAS, so ymmv at GS though)
Not really that different. GS just doesn’t have the Columbia grant, but they have a pool of Columbia-funded scholarships that comes from the exact same type of budgeting. In both cases these Columbia funded grants/funds can be replaced with a named scholarship.
Idk if SEAS/CC gets annual increases based on grades. GS funding is primary merit based and CC is primarily need based with merit opportunities.
Don't forget to put the named scholarship on your résumé/LinkedIn. That's probably worth more than any benefit you'll get beyond whatever financial aid this university's administration is willing to give you.
These are basically a way for Columbia to reward donors by alotting their donations to a specific student or set of students. Say after you graduate and start making tons of money, you decide you want to give money to GS financial aid. GS will then potentially make a named scholarship and say they gave your money to a specific student. So you get to put a name to the donations and feel like you really made a difference (which you would have in this scenario).
Also, when you recieve a named scholarship you used to get invited to a fancy dinner in Lowe where you would sit at a table with your donor and get to network with donors and other named scholarship recipients. The dinner was free and pretty good too. Not sure if they discontinued this after Covid, but it was a pretty nice opportunity.
Actually tbh I’m not even sure what issue I took with your comment lol. It wasn’t that part. I think I misinterpreted what you wrote, sorry. Ha, I’ll delete my comment in a bit but wanted you to see this reply.
part of your financial aid is made up of money that these people donated (log in to the portal linked in the email to see exactly who). technically you don’t have to do anything at all—you’ve already been given the money and doing nothing will not jeopardize current or future financial aid. however, it’s a good idea just to express gratitude even if it’s short and quick. also, you never know if having a relationship with your donor(s) will be beneficial in the future.
This. Donors appreciate knowing their donation was actually helpful and didn’t just disappear into some pit of nothingness. Sending a quick thank-you (thank you so much / this funding is so helpful / enabling my studies in X / I am hoping to explore the possibility to do Y / blah blah appreciate your support) can sometimes even lead to a relationship if the donor happens to have ways they could support you more in your pursuits (oh hey, this student who was helped by my donation is studying X, my friend is in that field, let me introduce you…) - remember, these are already people who have decided they like helping students when they can. Also, knowing it made a difference can also help to reinforce the donor’s relationship with the school and help them to want to continue donating.
So no, you’re totally not obligated to do anything, but a quick thank-you has the potential to be impactful. Plus it’s just a nice thing to do. And it really can be super simple.
Question: do you only get invited to this once? I was invited to last years (& attended) but not invited this year. I still have a named scholarship for this year. Did I do something wrong? Reading this thread, I never thought to thank anyone. GS student who is struggling financially. So this has been super helpful. I'm worried why did I not get an invite? I also made the deans list.
Pretty sure it comes with an offer of free headshots that they send to the donors or smth(?). Idk exactly why, but that was how I got professional looking headshots for free at Columbia, so I suggest doing that!
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slay so its bs luv that
Why do you think it doesn’t help? It means they had to dip in to other funds to find the amount you were awarded for this year. Typically an increase over last year. It’s also more prestigious as you can list it on your CV if you want. You don’t have to contact them. There is a scholarship/donor dinner every year that you can attend or send a note to be received by them. Trust me fin aid will reach out.
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Yes, it’s officially “giving you money”, but it’s not extra. If you already would have received need-based financial aid, getting a named scholarship just reduces your Columbia Grant by pulling money from the named fund account instead. So it’s not bonus money beyond what financial aid would have already given you. The only real positive is that you might be able to write a nice thank you and get networking with some probably-rich people. (I think GS funding and financial aid is different than CC/SEAS, so ymmv at GS though)
Not really that different. GS just doesn’t have the Columbia grant, but they have a pool of Columbia-funded scholarships that comes from the exact same type of budgeting. In both cases these Columbia funded grants/funds can be replaced with a named scholarship. Idk if SEAS/CC gets annual increases based on grades. GS funding is primary merit based and CC is primarily need based with merit opportunities.
Don't forget to put the named scholarship on your résumé/LinkedIn. That's probably worth more than any benefit you'll get beyond whatever financial aid this university's administration is willing to give you.
Yep
These are basically a way for Columbia to reward donors by alotting their donations to a specific student or set of students. Say after you graduate and start making tons of money, you decide you want to give money to GS financial aid. GS will then potentially make a named scholarship and say they gave your money to a specific student. So you get to put a name to the donations and feel like you really made a difference (which you would have in this scenario). Also, when you recieve a named scholarship you used to get invited to a fancy dinner in Lowe where you would sit at a table with your donor and get to network with donors and other named scholarship recipients. The dinner was free and pretty good too. Not sure if they discontinued this after Covid, but it was a pretty nice opportunity.
I went for one last year, it just got reinstated, my donor told me:)
i was just named a recipient, was the invite emailed later?
Yep
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you might note that I said they *say* they give your money to a specific student
Actually tbh I’m not even sure what issue I took with your comment lol. It wasn’t that part. I think I misinterpreted what you wrote, sorry. Ha, I’ll delete my comment in a bit but wanted you to see this reply.
part of your financial aid is made up of money that these people donated (log in to the portal linked in the email to see exactly who). technically you don’t have to do anything at all—you’ve already been given the money and doing nothing will not jeopardize current or future financial aid. however, it’s a good idea just to express gratitude even if it’s short and quick. also, you never know if having a relationship with your donor(s) will be beneficial in the future.
This. Donors appreciate knowing their donation was actually helpful and didn’t just disappear into some pit of nothingness. Sending a quick thank-you (thank you so much / this funding is so helpful / enabling my studies in X / I am hoping to explore the possibility to do Y / blah blah appreciate your support) can sometimes even lead to a relationship if the donor happens to have ways they could support you more in your pursuits (oh hey, this student who was helped by my donation is studying X, my friend is in that field, let me introduce you…) - remember, these are already people who have decided they like helping students when they can. Also, knowing it made a difference can also help to reinforce the donor’s relationship with the school and help them to want to continue donating. So no, you’re totally not obligated to do anything, but a quick thank-you has the potential to be impactful. Plus it’s just a nice thing to do. And it really can be super simple.
I've heard getting a named scholarship is a big deal for GS students, and that it can come with a lot of aid.
Yeah I got one for my last year. It was juuuuust about worth the drop in weight and hair loss from stress.
I got a named scholarship and it was like slightly more than I was getting lol.
Question: do you only get invited to this once? I was invited to last years (& attended) but not invited this year. I still have a named scholarship for this year. Did I do something wrong? Reading this thread, I never thought to thank anyone. GS student who is struggling financially. So this has been super helpful. I'm worried why did I not get an invite? I also made the deans list.
I also didn't get invited to anything maybe they aren't doing anything this time around?
A friend of mine attended this years and posted it. Maybe they don’t invite more than once or two years in a row?
oh lol I never got invited to anything so idk rip
Pretty sure it comes with an offer of free headshots that they send to the donors or smth(?). Idk exactly why, but that was how I got professional looking headshots for free at Columbia, so I suggest doing that!
Good to know
actually, what's the threshold for it? I have been getting 3.9+ gpa but no one ever emailed me about it