<p>I'm a senior in high school trying to decide whether I want to apply to Columbia. I love the sciences and that's definitely what I want to do in college, but I'm not sure whether I'd rather go into applied science or pure science. If I apply to Columbia I'll have to make that choice pretty much in the next month or two because I can only apply either to CC or to SEAS. I know there's a couple of combined plans (3+2 or 1+4 in CC and SEAS), but again I still have to choose which one to apply to. So does anyone have any advice on what I could do? Also, is it possible to transfer between the two schools if I get accepted to either one? I'm gonna guess it's easier to transfer out of SEAS into CC rather than into SEAS, but I can't say I know that for a fact. </p>
<p>Suggestions? Advice?</p>
<p>Woops, ignore what I said about the combined programs- I think misunderstood when I read about them on the website. These are combined programs between whatever you institution you go to and Columbia, not combined SEAS-CC programs. Is that correct?</p>
<p>Internal transfers are definitely possible, and not very hard at all (from what I gather). But by now you should have an idea what area you want to study. Go to both school’s bulletins, take a look at some majors (from both schools) that interest you, see what courses are required, and–if you’re still undecided/interested–read the course descriptions and course websites (if you can find them). Your choice of schools (and ultimately, your major) will largely determine what kinds of courses you’ll take for four years, so it doesn’t hurt to do some advance research now.</p>
<p>EDIT: before I forget, take a gander also at the Core requirements of each school. see what they’re like, evaluate the courseload, etc. They’ll count for a lot once you get here (assuming of course that you get in).</p>
<p>3-2 and 4-1 are also programs within columbia to do two degrees, one from CC and one from SEAS</p>
<p>It’s really about whether you want the full-blown Core Curriculum or not. My advice is to apply to CC, because if you get in and go to Columbia, you’ll get a “complete” education. Personally, I know too many engineers who graduated from top engineering schools who never learned how to write effectively or even describe to me what a (non-science) book was about.</p>
<p>Should you decide later that you would like to try engineering, then you have a choice of either applying to one of the combined B.A./B.S. degree programs or even attending graduate school. There were plenty of grad students at Berkeley Engineering (where I went) who did their undergraduate work in fields like Physics, Math, Chemistry and even Econ.</p>
<p>Best wishes to you in your college search.</p>