<p>I'm looking into Columbia Fu (for Engineering...Duh!) and the comments I've heard are far from positive.</p>
<p>The Core Curriculum looks fun (I don't mind humanities one bit), but does it hinder one from learning more about their respective Engineering fields?</p>
<p>Like would an Engineer at a different school learn more about Engineering vs a Columbia student?</p>
<p>I'm planning on having a balanced curriculum when I'm at college anyway but I don't want to do it at the cost of Research Opportunities or Higher Level Specialised courses!</p>
<p>I'm looking into Chemical Engineering (Biopharma hopefully). I also have corporate aspirations (as in owning my own company, not Ibanking) so I'm sure Columbia would help me greatly here.</p>
<p><em>sigh</em> c2002 or someone else will probably rip into you because all of these questions can be answered by using the "helpful threads" post or with a few simple questions...</p>
<p>since i am in a good mood tho and want to waste more time instead of working, i'll quickly go thru them:</p>
<p>1) the core for engineers is not the same as CC. no one will stop you from taking the same thing but its not required and honestly, taking it with chem.e. is going to be really hard. the only humanities you will be taking are 3 nontechnical electives, u.writing, art or music hum., and lit.hum./cc/or 2 major cultures classes.</p>
<p>2) technically yes but practically no. since all the eng programs are abet certified, it means you will be well prepared for anything the real world or higher academia can throw at you. at the same time tho, a school without distributional requirements like the core will let/make you take more detailed eng classes. but this is really just fluff when you get right down to it. these classes really only teach you new applications of tools you will get anywhere and if you are smart, you could figure this out on your own</p>
<p>3) working with a prof researching is easy to get but it's not handed to you, you need to be active in asking the profs if they have a use for you</p>
<p>4) the point about going to an ivy institution is the networking which, lets be honest, will only help land a job. you will be no better prepared to start your own business at columbia than at harvard, virginia tech, or nowhere state.</p>
<p>1) More dedicated, smarter people who will tend to find good jobs and move up quickly and be in a position to help people they knew from college</p>
<p>2) More entrepreneurial types who tend to start their own businesses</p>
<p>3) An alumni network that is vast and well-connected and can help advise you or even point you to jobs.</p>
<p>In most of those senses, any top school will convey similar advantages. but "nowhere state" isn't going to introduce you to the same kinds of people, sorry. it's not elitist, it's just a fact. I'd be nitpicking if I said that Columbia's alumni are in a better position to succeed than (say) Penn's alumni, but the difference in post-graduation opportunities between a top-tier school and a state or community college is pretty significant.</p>
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2) More entrepreneurial types who tend to start their own businesses
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<p>Any evidence/data on this, even anecdotally? I have no idea one way or the other. Obviously someone from a top school is far more likely to rise to the top of an established organization as compare to a nowhere state grad. But I'm not sure as for point #2. Seems that Ivy types are more likely to stick with rising to the top of existing structures (partially because they can) and don't need the risk of starting something on their own.</p>
<p>go attend a meeting of CORE. you'll see dozens of guys who don't feel like going into ibanking and would much rather chase this dream they've had.</p>
<p>Babson obviously has a reputation as a top school for entrepreneurship, and perhaps that's true for the instruction, but I think the quality of people you meet makes a big difference and at top schools </p>
<p>It's true that top-school graduates have an easier time with established companies and careers. But many people in top schools can also afford much more easily to take the risk associated with starting their own business, or joining a startup. It's not just that they're in a time in their lives where they have a minimum of responsibilities; they also tend to have more financial flexibility and have more people who can advise them on these things and more students who are good potential partners who can help them through their issues.</p>
<p>Take me, for example. I spent a year after graduation working in a consulting firm. Thanks to low expenses, I saved $2k each month after taxes. I left and worked in private equity for a few months after that, and then left to join a startup that's now doing really well. I could coast on savings until the cashflow started up. not everyone can do that.</p>
<p>Two of my friends who did CS both had to decide between Google and their own companies (and one of whom actually started a company that was Facebook before Facebook - anyone remember CUCommunity? He just wasn't as much of a marketing genius as Zuckerberg). The one who opted for google is now looking for a startup to work for on the side.</p>
<p>These situations are fairly common. Sure, there's a large % of students who graduate and work for Teach For America or wall street or go to law school or med school or PhD programs, or go into publishing or journalism or media, or tech firms, etc. Based on the CORE mailing list, I'd say at most 5% are entrepreneurial types who've given it more than just list service. But that's a lot compared to most schools, from what I can tell.</p>
<p>It's not that they don't need the risk of starting something on their own. It's that they can afford that risk, in exchange for the spectacular returns for the 20% who are lucky enough to have their startups succeed.</p>
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1) the core for engineers is not the same as CC. no one will stop you from taking the same thing but its not required and honestly, taking it with chem.e. is going to be really hard. the only humanities you will be taking are 3 nontechnical electives, u.writing, art or music hum., and lit.hum./cc/or 2 major cultures classes.
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<p>Thanks for that CORE too, sounds really interesting</p>