4-Year-Plan

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Just as first-years and sophomores were preparing to move to campus last summer, Columbia abruptly announced the cancellation of all semester-long housing contracts. Students and their families were forced to cancel plane tickets and hotel reservations and reconsider their plans for the semester ahead.

Thousands of Columbia and Barnard students are returning to New York after Columbia partially reopened on-campus housing this semester. For the majority of these students, it has been almost a year since they’ve lived at Columbia, and for some, it will be their first time stepping foot on campus. While students are eager to return to a “normal” college experience, some Morningside Heights and West Harlem residents worry that Columbia’s reopening plan may put Morningside Heights residents at higher risk for COVID-19.

As Joe Biden secures the 2020 election, the shift in power to the Democratic Party signals forthcoming change to higher education policy. Among other initiatives, Biden’s current higher education platform promises to reinstate broader Title IX protections and support lower-income students’ attendance of public four-year programs and community colleges.

My suitcase has seen better days. Its wheels are stiff and coarse; the handle pulls out only with considerable effort. There’s a large dent on its bottom, from the time when a Transportation Security Administration officer tossed it ungraciously off an airport conveyor belt. Stickers in varying states of disrepair adorn it: there’s a cat I found at a Bangkok night market; a torn orange doodle I bought from a thrift store in Rome; and a logo sticker from my old school that reads, a little too patriotically for my taste, “GO CHOATE!”

With over 1500 spring courses across the University to pick from, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. With registration week underway, it’s not a bad idea to browse the CU Directory of Classes and make a list of courses you want to take. Barnard and Columbia academic department websites are also good places to look for classes for majors, minors, or concentrations you’re interested in.

While some students may apply for jobs and move on from academia after they graduate, others may be considering graduate school. If you’re looking to expedite that process and stay in New York after completing your undergraduate degree, consider applying to one of the following special programs offered by Columbia and Barnard. These programs allow you to start your Master of Arts or Master of Science requirements during your senior year, so that you can graduate with a B.A. or B.S. and an M.A. or M.S. in 5 years.

My first Rosh Hashanah away from home and family was supposed to be unremarkable. I planned to be with friends, make some semblance of a holiday dinner, braid my first challah, and FaceTime my parents and brother to wish them a sweet and happy new year. Yet, it was only minutes after hearing the blast of the shofar—the signal that a new year has begun—that I heard the sounds of incoming texts, tweets, and Apple News alerts that would signal the end of an era. All these electronic blasts brought the same news: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Supreme Court justice whose shoulders bore the weight of our country’s democracy, had died.

I was sitting in my bedroom in Recife, Brazil, when the video of Columbia’s campus announcing I had gotten in opened on my computer screen. As I jumped up and down and stared incredulously at the image of Alma Mater, I still couldn’t believe it. In just a few months, I would be in New York, meeting people from all over the world and living the college experience I had dreamed of for years.  

As August quickly approaches, I share the dread that the other 2,000-something Columbia incoming first-years must feel: Course registration is almost here. The magic of post-graduation summer dissolves. Do I go pre-med, or do I major in political science? How do I leave the option to do music open? What about 4+1 programs?