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Your two statements are contradictory.</p>
<p>the first one was sarcastic :'(</p>
<p>Thought you were being facetious. My apologies :'(</p>
<p>I was kidding. Other than in a sports bar, you can roam free endorsing whatever sports team you wish in NYC.</p>
<p>i’ve worn my red sox Pedro Martinez jersey to many a game at yankee stadium, without so much as a beer thrown at me.</p>
<p>also, CoffeeAddict has shown that he’ll say anything bad about Columbia when given the chance, and has no idea what he’s talking about. For example, usually the first thing you’ll see when walking into the central campus, in nice weather, is Columbia students tossing a frisbee on South Lawn. He really has this image in his head of Columbia that is nowhere near reality, and I’d suggest talking to the actual columbia students here.</p>
<p>Of course, our advice will center around “it’s all a matter of personal, cultural fit - so go visit and go to admitted students weekend programs at all places you’re considering”. But we are also happy to answer specific questions as best we can.</p>
<p>I didn’t mean that Columbia was this cold horrible place-I love it. I just meant that in comparison to other schools, it may seem more impersonal, as someone pointed out above. If the OP is concerned about being in an overwhelming, impersonal place as he already, he may not like Columbia despite its many merits. That’s all I meant by it. You’ve gotta love the city to love Columbia and not be intimidated by impersonal atmoshpere that comes with it–though you’re sure to have close friendships with people–it just might be harder to initiate them when people explore the city and you aren’t running into them as much…once you get over that barrier, Columbia can be a warm, welcoming place…but again, nobody is going to hold your hand and help you make friends…you have to seek others out, and you’ll have a great 4 years, same with at Harvard, Brown, and Stanford…</p>
<p>At the risk of beating a dead horse, I heartily underscore the suggestion that you actually visit the campuses, even at the tremendous expense involved. My younger son visited all of these schools in the spring of his junior year, and he spent the summer ruminating about how much he liked Columbia. Is Columbia “better” than the others? No. They’re all great schools. He wisely put himself in the shoes of a day-to-day student (to the extent he was able) and determined that four years at Columbia was a more attractive prospect than four years at each of the others. He applied ED, and will be attending in the fall.</p>
<p>“about me as a person - I love to know. As much as I can. So I study 5 nights a week and then I party the remaining 2. I’m very outgoing if the situation is secure - i.e. if I’m with my friends in a normal environment. I’m not into sports, much more of an arts person - drama, dance, literature. The problem is I get intimidated by huge unkown places so I need a place where I’ll feel welcome.”</p>
<p>You sound like a Columbia student. Columbia is great for drama, dance and literature. And New York for those three is unbeatable. NYC has a reputation for being large and intimidating, but it isn’t really–it’s very easy to find your way around, because the streets are numbered and it’s set up like a grid. Take it from someone who has difficulty navigating the city she’s lived in for 20 years :). Also, you won’t be alone in being new to the city. There’s a lot of kids who attend from outside NYC and other countries, and Columbia does a pretty good job of setting you up and getting you acquainted with city life.</p>
<p>In regards to international reputaiton: I’m surprised you say that no one cares about Stanford in Europe. that’s a pity. If that’s the case, and based on what I’ve seen in India, the best recognised names from your list are Harvard, Columbia and Stanford. Brown isnt’ a big deal in India. Stanford is, probs because of the engineering school :D</p>
<p>You sound to me like you’re already leaning towards Harvard. I’d bet tt u’ll end up there come August. I won’t be surprised if most or all of international cross-admits do. After all, on the global stage, the Harvard name turns head, while even “Yale” generates a lot of dumbfounded “what’s that? how do you pronounce its name?” responses. Around here (Asia), Stanford and Princeton generate some buzz, but NOTHING compares to the H-bomb. Columbia is confused with Colombia (i’m angry!). Nobody pronounces “Dartmouth” right (or anything else that ends with “mouth” but isn’t pronounced “mouth”). I’d know. </p>
<p>The “socially dull” thing can be fixed by Boston.</p>
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unless, you know, you’ve lived in boston and realize it’s not all that exciting as a young adult. bars close at 2, it’s hard to get around (the T goes basically nowhere and does so rather slowly), most good concerts are in the far-flung suburbs like the Tweeter Center, the newspapers stink, many neighborhoods are sleepy, and you’re surrounded by meatheads when you find a bar you actually want to go to. Etc.</p>
<p>…and I LIKE Boston. Great place to grow up. Great place to raise a family. Poor place to be a young adult.</p>
<p>Same goes for Palo Alto, which is a suburb. If you want an exciting place to be, the sort of place where all your friends will want to visit you, you can’t do better than New York.</p>
<p>Being a high schooler in NYC, it is not that great being in the city. </p>
<p>Personally I would choose a more suburban campus-like place… that’s why I would easily choose stanford</p>
<p>^being a high-schooler in nyc is very different from living on your own in the city and doing ‘older’ things. As a high schooler you are obsessed with drinking parties, clubbing, etc. As a college student you go to the famous chicken and rice cart, you go to broadway shows, art galleries, ice skating, weird restaurants, afternoons and shows in central park, cross the Brooklyn bridge,less and less clubbing, cycle in the city; basically more sober, stable headed, mature forms of entertainment. If you want massive wild parties reminiscent of spring break in Florida, Columbia isn’t for you at all. The prime age to live in new york is 20-early 30s. it isn’t as much of a teenage city. nor is it a great city in which to age.</p>