Columbia Undergraduate Scholars Program
| Scholars Program | |
| Director/Head | {{{Head}}} |
| Location | 101 Carman Hall |
| Phone | 212-854-5895 |
| Hours | M-F 9-5 |
| Website | Click Here |
The Columbia Undergraduate Scholars Program (CUSP) oversees the John W. Kluge Scholars, John Jay Scholars, C. Prescott Davis Scholars, and Global Scholars programs. The Rabi Scholars program is not part of CUSP, having been founded in the 1980s.
Approximately 400 undergraduates are members of one of these groups at any given time. No one can apply to become a Scholar; rather, it is a designation conferred upon accepted students in order to encourage matriculation (i.e. improve Columbia's yield rate). No word on whether this is successful. The program is also tied to financial aid. The "Myths about Financial Aid" page suggests that selection to the program is based at least partly upon financial need.[1]
Types of Scholars
Every year, about 100 incoming freshmen are part of one of the following groups of "scholars". The particular designation is not well-defined, and seems to depend on a student's ethnic status as much as anything else. All awards are based on outstanding achievement in high school, whatever that means. C. Prescott Davis Scholars are limited to SEAS students, and John Jay Scholars are CC students.
- John W. Kluge Scholars: Awarded to minority students
- C. Prescott Davis Scholars: Awarded to engineers
- Global Scholars: Awarded to international students
- John Jay Scholars: Awarded to "scholars" who didn't fit in one of the other three categories
Benefits
The Scholars website says, "While participating in the Program may help you with your financial aid needs, all Scholars' aid packages are determined on a case-by-case basis" [2]. For John Jay Scholars, at least, this means that loans may be replaced with grants. C. P. Davis Scholars have also reported [3] some of their loans being replaced with grants. Otherwise, the programs' perks include a series of events focusing primarily on guest speakers, occasional opportunities for free or discounted tickets to events in the City, and a separate academic advising office that does the same thing as the other advising office.
For zealous scholars, there is also a "governing board" that holds meetings, forms committees, and sometimes plans events. It is called the CUSP Alliance.
