Columbia University in the City of New York Top Questions

Columbia is the perfect mix of a city school and a more typical college environment. Not only is NY right at your fingertips, but there is a beautiful campus, a city neighborhood and the steps, where you run into every other student in the nice weather. In addition, there's a really diverse mix of people, interests and social options.

The thing that is tricky about Columbia is that it consists of a few undergraduate colleges: Columbia University, SEAS (the Engineering School), and Barnard College (an independent affiliate). Stereotypes often perpetuate friction between these schools that doesn't actually exist.

The student body and professors are great. Many of the administration offices are very bureaucratic and not very helpful, which is very disappointing.

Columbia doesn't hold your hand; you send in your money and they expect you to graduate in 4 years. The advising isn't that amazing, but we are big kids now in a big city. You can choose between Columbia as a college town where you don't go below 110th street to party or eat or Columbia as a city school where you go downtown or to museums every day. Columbians aren't as active as we used to be about politics-- the crazy hunger strikers being the exception. we work hard for the most part but also party (not like a state school, but a decent amount). So many options living in NYC-- from internships to amazing food places to museums to broadway show at a discount!

I love the reaction I get when I tell people I go to Columbia, but my favorite part is walking past Low Library every morning. Actually its sitting on the quad. Actually its the lights that are lit up at Christmas time. Actually I don't even know...just everything is amazing about Columbia. The people though are etremely amazing. I grew up in New York City so I thought I knew about diversity, but the kids here- they are from all over the world and thats amazing. You go here for the education, but you get just as much if not more of it when you talk to people in the dorms rather than in class.

I personally love the Columbia campus. Because we are located in New York City, it's very hard to find a patch of grass save for the Great Lawn in Central Park, but who wants to venture that far away from home when you need to study and merely want sunshine? The great thing about the Columbia campus is that we have our own grassy areas right in the middle of NYC! Whenever it is a nice day out, I spend as much time as I can sitting on our lawn in the middle of campus either studying or hanging out with friends. It's a perk that Columbia has over NYU and other schools in the city.

The best thing at Columbia is how everyone is unique, everyone has a story. We have one of if not the most diverse and international communities on a college campus. The one thign i'd change would be to better integrate all the students and get everyone to know about all the diferent schools there are on campus, since ignorance on this level keeps students apart. The school is rather big but not at all as anonymous as NYU. When I answer "Columbia" to people who ask me where I go, I usually get a response like "Oh wow, nice", or "Oh that's a great school", "So what did you think of that whole Ahmedinejad on campus thing?". I feel like the name suiddenly splashes a very worldly, cultured, intelligent image which I am very proud of and which I know I live up to. When I'm on campus, I generally spend time mostly in Butler Library, in Lerner hall, or on the steps with my laptop if the weather is good. New york city is my hometown, so no surprises anywhere except for "wait, you don't knwo how to use the subway?" In terms of COlumbia administration, like any and all college administrations, there are ways to improve, but I'm not in student government so I can't say anything for lack of precise knowledge. The biggest recent controversy on campus which still rings in everyone's ear is Ahmedinejad, the Iranian President who came to speak at the WOrld Leader's forum hosted by the School of INternational and Public Affairs. There is an enormous amount of school pride and everyone is extremely proud to be proud. The day you walk on campus and don't see at least half the people walking around with "Columbia" written on one of their clothing items, something will be wrong... The most I hear students complaining about is how damn hard LitHum is and how much work you put into it. I'm dreading it.

The best thing about Columbia is that it is in New York City! New York City is def not a college town, which is kind of sad, but everything else the city has to offer makes up for it. Columbia lacks a little school spirit because we are not all that great in sports, but we still are close as a school community:)

Columbia is a city school with a private campus that allows you to explore New York while still having a main community to return to. Morningside Heights caters to the students and a subway stop is right outside the main gates. I spend most of my time on campus either with the squash team in the squash courts, or studying with sorority sisters in the student center. I'm incredibly impressed with the kinds of events the Columbia administration has managed to bring to our campus. Last week the State of the Planet conference was held here, and I got the chance to see Kofi Annan speak on sustainable development. The biggest recent controversy on campus came as a result of one such event. The presence of President Ahmadinejad on campus drew criticism and some negative press. Sitting on the South lawn with a thousand other students, watching a projected of the President's speech, with several levels of security and helicopters flying overhead is an experience I will never forget. There is not enough school pride, unless you count the Greek community. With Baker Field athletics being so far uptown, few students travel to see the games. The Greek community has a lot of pride for their organizations, however, which is the main reason I joined Alpha Chi Omega.

The best thing about Columbia is New York. And the prestige of the name. And New York. We're more college than NYU but it's no Princeton; there's stuff to do on the weekends for EVERYONE. Walking through the beautiful campus, you hear five different languages, you see a frisbee thrown over the head of a guitar-player smoking a cigarette. People are weird, and they're different, but that's the beauty of the school.