<p>For Columbia students whose homes are close to NYC (or in it) do you think being in the City adds marginally less to your experience than for those from faraway/have never been in the City. In other words, do you think you could get the same City experience either back in high school, during the summers, or after college (working/living in NYC) that you could've gotten at Columbia, and instead done the traditional college experience at school like Penn (Penn gives off a far more rural vibe than Columbia), Duke or Brown?</p>
<p>This is one of the better questions I’ve seen in a while on here.</p>
<p>As an initial matter, I don’t think kids from the tristate suburbs have much NYC experience. And among kids who actually grew up in NYC, most wouldn’t come close to having experienced NYC in an “adult” way (and by adult, I just don’t mean being able to drink) unless they were very independent at a young age. Also, spending a 10 week. summer in NYC during college isn’t going to give you anything close to a NYC experience.</p>
<p>As for the suggestion “why do I need the NYC experience for college when I can get it post-college,” there’s some validity to that. I do think there’s value to having the traditional college experience, and I feel like I missed out on some things even though Columbia was wonderful and I have no regrets about going there. But you never know where you’re going to end up working post-college and you may never make it to NYC, or you could have a long-hours job in NYC that won’t give you time to properly enjoy the city. Also, you shouldn’t have to spend 4 years in a hellh0le town because you’re going to see NYC later.</p>
<p>There’s a big difference between living somewhere and even commuting. And of course there’s a big difference between experiencing the city as a young adult, a college student, or a high schooler. So I don’t think New Yorkers are just retracing what they did in high school when they go to Columbia. I also have to question your romanticization of the “traditional college experience.” I assume that anyone who chooses to attend Columbia wants to have an urban university experience. They don’t want to be stuck in a small city or rural hamlet upstate or in the midwest. They want to engage with New York City. Most high school students in New York don’t want to stay in the city; they want the traditional college experience. Those that want to stay in New York obviously want to appreciate and engage the city at a deeper level than they could in high school. The suburban kids have always wanted to be New Yorkers, so they’re happy to experience the city. All in all, I don’t think you’ll find anyone upset that they’re going to school in New York, even if they’ve lived close to the city all their life.</p>