I was recently (and somewhat unexpectedly) accepted to Columbia College, and am thrilled about the possibility of going to such an incredible school in the NYC. However, my other top choice is Swarthmore College, which obviously has a very different atmosphere. Perhaps my biggest concern is that Columbia will lack the sense of community and support for which Swat is well known.
How would you describe the atmosphere/ culture/ student life at Columbia? Any insight or advice would be much appreciated!
It’s not that big of a thing here. I encourage you to visit and check it out for your own assessment, but IMO there aren’t that many big community events and I wouldn’t call it tight knit, although people are friendly with people they know. NYC just has so much that people tend to explore (with friends) and don’t stay on campus unless they are studying.
Don’t get me wrong- there are traditions, Bacchanal is big, certain clubs and social groups are super tight, but as a whole, I wouldn’t say all the groups of people come together for events besides Bacchanal or maybe senior spring. If you’re ok with having a group of friends and not necessarily being tight with everyone, and going solo sometimes, you should be fine with the social atmosphere here.