Columbia University in the City of New York Top Questions

As I said before, the courseload is beyond ridiculous. The amount of reading is mindblowing and I am sure most of the professors could not even do it. Ya they could probably finish the readings for their individual class. But if they took an entire semester worth of classes and tried to keep up on the readings in every class simultaneously they would realize they are completely out of line with what they assign. No wonder Columbia used to have one of the highest suicide rates. And the core, is completely too big. It is more credits than most of the majors and the teachers expect more in Core classes than the major requirements. Not to mention since we have no choice in the classes it makes them that much crappier. The reading for these classes is beyond insane and there are way too many classes. The language requirement of 2 years is completely reidiculous and they manage to make the easiest subjects impossible.

Gooood - the core is hard but like makes you, I don't know, like you can say you've read a lot of stuff. Classes are good, but undergrads should not be able to talk.

Class size depends on what kind of class you take. Core classes are usually smaller (about 20 people) in order to stimulate discussion. Lecture classes are often much larger (ranging form 60 to 150ish). I personally enjoy the lectures better since I hate to speak in class. My favorite class right now is hands down 20th century art. Not only is the material intellectual stimulating and interesting, but the professor is a phenomenal speaker and effective lecturer.

Challenging. Professors do know my name. Good variety of classes.

Classes can be large or small and intimate. It can be hard to make connections with professors.

Academics at Columbia are great-professors do know your name, even if it is a large lecture they will learn your name if you go to their office hours once. Students do study a lot, it is often hard to find a spot in Butler Library at times of exams. Students are pretty competitive, but it depends on the class and on the year (freshman vs. senior). Columbia requirements are overall good.

The majority of my classes have been science lectures, so they haven't been small. However, all sections break down once a week with a TA and lectures are all done by professors. My core classes have been great; the teachers are from different departments and bring their own take on classic books. It's also great that all the other freshman and/or sophomores are reading the same things and going through the same class intensity.

There is a lot of work. Period. It is Columbia and the Ivy League, and some studying must be done in order to do well.

Can't really get much better than an Ivy school in the City. Sometimes the Core Curriculum can seem very Euro-centric.

ACADEMICS AT COLUMBIA= CORE CURRICULUM. If you don't like writing papers and speaking in class and reading then this is probably not the school for you. CC and Lit Hum can be amazing if you have a great teacher. Students aren't amazingly competitive, but they can be in certain majors (not to the point of stealing books or anything as i've heard of in other schools). Education is geared toward getting the best liberal arts education with the notion that there is a core of knowledge that every undergrad should amass; they believe that you can worry about getting a job later, just learn how to think now.