Stanford

March 7 was the last time the Columbia men’s basketball team took the floor. That night, now over eight months ago, rival University of Pennsylvania thrashed the Lions in Philadelphia 85-65, wrapping up a devastating 6-24 campaign that saw Columbia finish at the very bottom of the Ancient Eight.

Outdoor track and field will send its top long-distance runners to the Stanford Invitational this weekend while other athletes will compete at the Florida Relays and Raleigh Relays.

Wonder what the class of 2019 admit rates are like for Columbia's peer institutions? Here's a handy bar graph for comparison. Be on the lookout tomorrow for a full post (with more great graphics) about college acceptance rates!

According to the Wall Street Journal, today Cornell won Mayor Bloomberg's competition to build a new engineering campus in New York City. On Friday morning, Stanford unexpectedly withdrew from the competition. Soon after, Cornell announced a $350 million gift from an anonymous donor, making Columbia's chance of winning seem scarce. Four proposals, from Cornell University, Columbia University, Carnegie Mellon University, and New York University, were left in the running. From the Wall Street Journal article:

Earlier this week, Columbia opened registration for two classes through Coursera, an online education startup. Like LeBron's championship season, the occasion was nothing short of miraculous. I'd always thought of Columbia as rigid and traditional in its approach to education. I was, gladly, mistaken. So, while there's still a dialogue about Columbia's approach to education, here's another bold idea for Columbia, borrowed from U.C. Berkeley (go Bears!). Let students teach elective courses.more About two years ago, when I was a news reporter, I covered a push from some students to launch a pilot program for student-initiated courses. The initiative, started by the handsome Isaac Lara, CC '11, was modeled off of Berkeley's DeCal program where students---with the approval of a faculty member---could teach one-point elective classes offered Pass/Fail ranging from 20th century dictators to Rubik's cube solving to the chemistry of cooking. The program had tremendous interest from faculty members, and 85 percent of respondents to a poll CCSC sent out expressed interest, yet the pilot program never launched. What happened? I came to Columbia with the expectation that I would receive an education I would be unable to receive for free. My expectation has been somewhat fulfilled with lively seminars like Humanoid Robotics, yet somewhat unmet with classes like Intro to Physics, which quite frankly, are a waste of my tuition. Student-initiated classes would help achieve that expectation. You get that experience of interacting in a small class setting. You get more course variety. You get to learn and interact with some of the smartest students in the country. If you're brave, you get the unique opportunity of actually teaching a class and with working with faculty. You get, in short, every advantage a private school, ironically, is supposed to have over a public school. Coursera makes the world-class education accessible to the 93 percent that don't get into Columbia (which is great!). Student-initiated classes would add another facet of what defines a world-class education. Mikey Zhong is a Spectrum opinion blogger and former Spectrum Editor. Full disclosure: he's absolutely obsessed with Cal, the center of the universe.

An unconfirmed rumor around the blogosphere is that Stanford junior quarterback Brett Nottingham will be making his way to Morningside Heights. ESPN reported last Saturday Nottingham plans to transfer, and the Stanford athletic department today confirmed to Spectator that Nottingham is no longer a part of its football program. If the rumor proves to be true, Nottingham would certainly be a major addition to the Light Blue. Coming out of Monte Vista High School in Danville, Calif. in 2010, the quarterback was a four-star recruit, and ranked as the fourth-best pro-style quarterback prospect in the nation by rivals.com. more With a receiving corps led by sophomore Connor Nelligan along with freshmen Chris Connors and Isaiah Gross all moving up a year, Nottingham would have plenty of talented targets to throw to. And when you factor in the ground game led by first-team All-Ivy running back Marcorus Garrett, if Nottingham does in fact join the Lions, the offense could make a significant jump. The Lions finished 2012 eighth in the league in total offense and points per game, and seventh in passing yard. While head coach Pete Mangurian has already said he expects the team to substantially improve in 2013, adding Nottingham could potentially advance that process even further. Though he didn't see any game time his freshman year, as a sophomore Nottingham served as the backup quarterback to the eventual No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft, Andrew Luck. Nottingham completed five of his eight passes for 78 yards and one touchdown in 2011, mostly coming in late in blowout games for mop-up work. Nottingham was expected to slide into the starting role this season, but fellow junior Josh Nunes won the job in training camp, which meant Nottingham returned to his role as backup. He appeared at the end of two blowouts this season, and again completed five of eight passes, but this time for only 22 yards. Again, Nottingham's transfer to Columbia is unconfirmed, but it would be huge news for the Light Blue if the former Pac-12 quarterback decided to make his way to Manhattan. We're working to confirm the rumor, and we'll let you know if and when we find out that it's true. 

Remember that rumor we told you about Brett Nottingham last week? Well, according to this article from The Bootleg—Scout.com's Stanford athletics blog—it turns out that rumor is true. Though Athletics cannot comment on potential recruits until they are admitted and a deposit is in due to Ivy League rules, Nottingham's word is confirmation that he plans on taking his talents to the Big Apple. "I am excited to say I am in the process of applying to Columbia University," Nottingham said to The Bootleg. "Pending admissions, I plan on playing football for head coach Pete Mangurian and the Columbia Lions." Per the same article, Nottingham was scheduled to major in Science, Technology, and Society at Stanford. It is currently unclear to which Columbia school Nottingham is applying, but he'd be eligible to play in 2013 irrespective of where he'd land, as he's transferring from a FBS to an FCS football program. Nottingham has finished all essays and applications, and will get a job and train while he's waiting to hear back from CU. If admitted, he would join Columbia football in the summer.more As for the famous "Why Columbia?" question, the quarterback gave The Bootleg this explanation. "Once I decided to transfer, I did my research," Nottingham said. "Columbia is one of the world's premiere universities in one of the greatest cities in the world. Once I took a closer look at the Columbia football program, their offense, and once I spoke with coach Mangurian and [offensive coordinator Jamie] Elizondo, I knew Columbia was the perfect and natural fit for me." If admitted, Nottingham should make an immediate impact throwing to wide receivers like Connor Nelligan, Chris Connors, and Isaiah Gross, which in turn should open up rushing lanes for running back Marcorus Garrett.

Oh, students admitted to Columbia for the upcoming academic year. You few! You happy few! You 9 percent of the 26,178 who applied! Although, according to the New York Times' 2010 Admissions Tally, only 58 percent of you enrolled. The data ran on "The Choice Blog," under the subheading "Demystifying College Admissions and Aid." Further demystification after the jump.more Sure, Columbia and its 9 percent admit rate were tough, but tougher still were Harvard, Stanford, and Yale (all 7 percent), as well as Princeton, Cooper Union, and Juilliard (all of which accepted only 8 percent). The schools weren't the only ones playing hard to get. The highest yield (admissions-speak for the percentage of accepted students who in turn accept the school) belonged to Cooper Union and (surprise!) Harvard, each with 76 percent, followed by FIT—yes, the Fashion Institute of Technology—with 75 percent. Stanford brought in 72 percent of its admits, and Juilliard passed its audition for 70 percent of the students it admitted. So basically, the best way for a college to secure a high yield is to be highly specialized and/or pre-professional. Or Harvard or Stanford. Wait list statistics are somewhat harder to demystify, since the tally shares the raw number—not the percentage—admitted off the wait list. Not surprisingly, more students were taken off of wait lists at larger schools. There is, however, one Big Red exception. Cornell, which had a wait list of 1,492, accepted exactly zero students from its patient purgatory. Regardless! Congratulations to the incoming first-years, who won this numbers game. Welcome to four years of being mystified.

In an exclusive interview, junior quarterback Brett Nottingham reflects on his decision to transfer from Stanford and his new role on the Light Blue squad. Watch to see highlights of Nottingham from his time at Stanford and Monte Vista High School, and read the rest of our 2013 Football Season Preview here.