Columbia University in the City of New York Top Questions

It offered a strong engineering and science-related curriculum surrounded by an academically diverse university. It is in an urban environment, offering a broad array of off-campus resources.

culture

Columbia University offers a wide diversity of thoughts, ideas, and beliefs, far surpassing any other college. Located in New York City, the history and culture pouring out from the city and it's people allows all students to gain a truly unique experience.

New York City

The Core Curriculum-- our liberal arts-focused education. We have to take our major courses as well, but there is something to be said about a school that wants its students to be well-versed about history, music, philosophy, the sciences, etc. It's not always something we enjoy (especially when it comes time to choose classes and fulfilling requirements), but looking back, I am extremely glad and proud that I survived Columbia's core.

The diversity, the urban location, the prestigious reputation, the access to internships in the city, the rigorous academic level.

Columbia will challenge you, but you'll probably be better off for the experience. Make friends, work hard, keep your head up and enjoy the experience of living in what feels like the center of the world.

At Columbia, you feel a big push to make a lot of money some day and go into business, law, or medicine. If you're more interested in the arts or know that you don't want to do those things, Columbia may not be the best place for you, though it has great programs in everything. I love Columbia, and I wouldn't want to attend any other school.

What else can I say? I love Columbia and cannot imagine myself anywhere else. It's the greatest.

Advising here is mediocre. Professors are very helpful in making up for this (just go to office hours), but it helps if you're motivated and a self-starter. Columbia offers amazing resources and places them at your finger tips--but it's still up to you to make us of them. Bottom line: Columbia is uniquely wonderful, but you can't try to make it something it's not. The academics are superb (but make sure you're interested in taking the Core); the campus is beautiful and buzzing with activity (but make sure you don't want rural solitude); the other students are some of the best people you'll ever meet (but make sure you don't want to go to a spirited jock school--and be prepared to deal with a few blowhards and people of questionable intelligence who somehow got in--unfortunately, you'll find some of these types at any top school); and the location is second to none. Personally, Columbia is the perfect school for me, and I love that I'm getting a rigorous Ivy League education in the most exciting city in the world.