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I'm surprised they offer such a service. The Columbia U. library is notorious for being stingy with access. As a prospective grad student visiting the campus, t

I'm surprised they offer such a service. The Columbia U. library is notorious for being stingy with access. As a prospective grad student visiting the campus, they told me that I could have a once-time free pass and that if I ever wanted to get in again at some point during the rest of my life, I would have to become a student. They even refused admittance to a friend of mine who was philosophy PhD student at U Penn. She was surprised because it is pretty normal to go to other campus libraries to do research for dissertations.

lukeschlather 16y ago
>The Columbia U. library is notorious for being stingy with access. $500/year is generous? It would probably be cheaper to formally enroll and take no classes.
- gwern 16y ago
  I suspect you need at least one class to be formally enrolled, and that would apparently be a minimum cost of $950: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/sfs/docs/University_Tuition_And_Fees/tuition-fees-10-11.html http://www.columbia.edu/cu/sfs/docs/University_Tuition_And_F...
  - icefox 16y ago
    So your saying as a bonus to the library your first class is only $450! :D
  - lukeschlather 16y ago
    I've been formally enrolled in the continuing education program at Wittenberg university for something like a year, with no cost. I'm sure Columbia is a little more strict (Wittenberg after all lets anyone into their library) but I'd imagine if you were determined you could gain access to the library for less than $500/year, though that still doesn't make any price generous so much as a price that Columbia has chosen. Generous would be giving free access.