Columbia "bad" for undergrad?

<p>@abscalc</p>

<p>unfortunately, your criteria for housing is too specific for freshman year. as pwoods mentioned, there is an all female floor designed mainly for people whose religion requires segregation of sexes in Carman, but that’s all doubles. your best best considering all your requirements is hartley, a suite set-up with singles that’s right in the thick of campus and next to one of the dining halls, or john jay, which contains singles in a hallway set-up that’s right above the john jay dining hall. </p>

<p>you shouldn’t have too much trouble with the humanities courses in the core, generally professors won’t hand out grades lower than a B if you put the work in and you’ll likely end up with an A- if you spend lots of time with the professor during office hours and show a commitment to self improvement and participating in class</p>

<p>the swim test is a joke if you have any swimming skills, its the length of the pool then back. if you’re really having difficulties, they’ll work with you. pe classes are actually kind of cool, as pwoods said they’re pass/fail and only take up an hour of your time twice a week (depending on the class). they have some really cool options, although the best–yoga, sailing, etc.–generally go to upperclassmen. or you could just get your requirement out the way with weight training or cardio like I did, which essentially just gave me a consistent time to work out every week</p>

<p>Very useful opinions! Feels good to know the reality from the current students.</p>

<p>pwood- are you from the CC or SEAS? Heard the core varies between the two.</p>

<p>tymanx - What do people normally do during the summer/christmas holidays? do they go home or do some courses there? What is the academic calendar like - how long is the summer vacation? saw the website but still not sure when would be the last day of classes prior to the summer vacation.</p>

<p>Are there many internationals - meaning do they visit their folks only twice a year typically.</p>

<p>once again thanks for your time</p>