Waiver for Columbia's English req.?

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nontrad33

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Hi all, back with another question. I'm working to finalize my school list while waiting for my primary to be verified and have encountered one obstacle that I am not sure I can get around.

Columbia requires 1 year of English credit, which would not be a problem normally as I have 2+ years of credit from my undergrad work. However, I earned my undergraduate degree over 10 years ago and Columbia has a 10 year cut off for coursework. All my science coursework is recent, I have a Masters degree in a humanities field, (though without specific additional English coursework), an excellent CARS score, have worked in writing fields, and have zero doubt that I would meet any competency criteria they are hoping to cover with this requirement. I guess what I am asking you all is if anyone has had any luck getting a waiver for this (or any) requirement in the past, and if so was there anything specific you needed to do or prove? I'm planning to email the admissions office to ask this question, but wonder if I should include any or all of the above information when doing so, or if there is anything else I can offer them that may be helpful?

Ultimately, as interested as I am in their program I am not sure I am willing to undertake the cost and time of another year of Eng 101 courses on the long shot that I get an acceptance. It feels silly to have to cross them off my list for this though, so any n=1 stories would be welcome if they offer a potential approach to the issue!

Thanks so much as always!
 
I would call the admission's office, explain your situation, and see what they say. I suspect that a rational admissions officer would waive the requirement in your case. However, the admissions office may have decided against making any exceptions to avoid the deluge of waiver request that they might otherwise receive.
 
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