<p>Hi. I posted on Columbia's forum and wanted to see what you guys think. As a rising senior, I have done a lot of research on colleges and was confident in applying ED to Columbia. I am planning on going on to med school, and just began considering international health ( doctors without borders, Red Cross etc) when I heard about Georgetown's amazing International Health program, full of internships and working in a developing country for a semester. I don't know anything about Columbia's international health major. Now I'm not sure if I want to apply ED to Columbia, but I know that I have a better chance at getting in ED, at least I think that I would. Columbia and Georgetown are both in big cities where opportunities are endless, and both are top-notch universities. Any advice? Does it have to be a personal thing or do all of you think that Georgetown and DC beat Columbia and NYC hands down?</p>
<p>I m applying for International Health major too!!
I don't know if I want to apply ED somewhere else. I really liked georgetown a lot and i think i might just go ahead and apply EA there considering there aren't any other programs (that I have found) that can rival Georgetown's.</p>
<p>G-Town and DC do not come close to Columbia and NYC. Sorry, but that's the fact. The school is ranked better, its an ivy league institution, and in the biggest city with the most to do. Without a doubt it is the better place to be and the better school. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean you should choose it over G-Town. That comes down to personal preference. But in terms of what school is better and what city is better? Columbia and NYC have a corner on that market...but again that doesn't mean you should choose Columbia over G-Town.</p>
<p>Just curious...how can you say that NYC is SOO much better than DC. The OP was interested in international health. DC is the country's freaking capitol. For anything international I think that DC is an amazing palce to be. Not to say that NYC isnt great too and that NYC doesn't have crazy amounts of stuff going on. But DC has all of the embassies and most of that sort of stuff.<br>
I think they are a lot more evenly matched than you are making them out to be.
Yes Columbia might be ranked higher than DC...but does a great education hinge upon a ranking? also...all the Ivie league is, is a sports conference. I don't exactly know why everyone states the "oh its an ivy" so therefore it is better at anything and everything. People should look at programs not that they are going to apply to the #10 school in the country instead of the #21 or whatever. Think about how many universities there are....and thousands....like being rated a couple places higher really means that much in terms of what is actually better.<br>
thousands The International Health Program at Georgetown is very unique and I believe is the best of its kinda...not to mention one of the only ones of its kinda for undergrads
Just to add on one more thing....I think that Georgetown's international reputation is very very strong and that for international related majors/careers it is definitely on par with Harvard or Berkeley's</p>
<p>I was trying to find international health at columbia...and I am pretty sure that it is only a graduate program run by the medical school. They also have Public Health but only master degrees.
Which program were you talking about?></p>
<p>Personally, I'd pick Georgetown, but I'm biased towards it. :]</p>
<p>I know what the ivy league is...and no a great education does not hinge on a ranking. If we want to debate Columbia vs. Georgetown I would be more than pleased to debate that with you. It wont go well for Georgetown though. Columbia has more highly placed graduates, has more and better graduate schools, and has better job placements than Georgetown...if those aren't important then fine. </p>
<p>And about everything being in DC? What a load. The UN is in NYC and has great internships. PAHO is in DC which is good, but everything does NOT ride on what is available to do. I have lived in DC and I would never choose it over NYC. There is a ton more to do for fun and without a doubt there is more to supplement one's education. </p>
<p>And its just my opinion, if you dont agree that's fine...but without a doubt Columbia is the better school and NYC is the better city. If you think DC is better for his intended course of study that's fine, but I think college is about more than that. If you disagree its fine.</p>
<p>If you don't care about your school sucking in every sport, then Columbia's for you.</p>
<p>Im just biased because I really like Georgetown. Columbia is a fine institution. I just think that international fields of study are Georgetown's thing.</p>
<p>And I dont disagree zfox...just giving my overall opinion of the school and the city.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info guys. Actually I'm not aware of any international programs in Columbia, so if there is one I know nothing about it, although by now I'm pretty sure it's just a graduate thing. zfox, what are you planning to do after college? just curious, because I'm planning on being pre-med, and so far it seems any international work doctors do is mostly volunteering, so I'm not sure how beneficial international health would be for my career, just interesting to take. Jman, I agree that college is more than just studies, that's why I really want to be in a city atmosphere with fun people and plenty to do on the weekends. Which do you think is better in that aspect?</p>
<p>I think it is funny you posted this because I have the same aspirations as you. I want to be pre-med as well. I ultimately would love to be a surgeon. My friend's dad is a neurosurgeon and he has a clinic in Chile as well as one here in the US. He also does a lot of non-profit (free surgery) I think that would be an amazing fulfilling career.
However, I am also very interested in working for WHO, PAHO, or Red Cross.<br>
Even though my ultimate goal isn't exactly international health I feel that the program is an interesting course of study and all of the classes sound interesting. Plus I really enjoy traveling. The built in fieldwork is a huge plus for me</p>
<p>Wow, we ARE really alike zfox! I want to do exactly the same things as you, and would love to travel, so the study abroad part of the program is really interesting to me. I thought the classes looked very interesting too. I was just thinking though that maybe at Columbia I could also find similar internships and study abroad programs - after all, it is NYC- so I wouldn't have to give up on my dream school. Hmm...im so confused.</p>
<p>My only hesitation is that if I decided I wanted to change my major iit seems a bit harder at georgetown than other places. And in retrospect....there is always grdaute school to get a masters in Public health or something. Most medical schools have combined MD/MPH programs. I love the program a lot...but I flip flop on whether or not I want to apply early. I don't want to give up the ED at another possible school especially because it seems to help you get in.
The problem is I wasn't clear on what I would study at another school. Maybe double major bio and polysci or something. What would you want to study at columbia?</p>
<p>Yeah, that's the thing about International Health is that you don't really need to major in it to become a doctor who works for WHO, MSF, etc., its rather just something interesting. And I agree that I might decide that I don't want to study IH after all. At Columbia, I plan to just major in Chem or Bio because Columbia is famous for the Core, which takes up a lot of space in your schedule, so doing the core, pre-med requirements, AND a major with completely different classes would seem like such a hassle and hard to do.</p>
<p>iluvcolumbia: The better city? Without a doubt is NYC. If you want things that might match up with your profession DC isn't bad, but NYC has everything, and everything that DC doesnt have. The clear answer is NYC!</p>
<p>And just for your guys info...Im getting ready to apply to medical school. So im in the medical realm as well.</p>
<p>If you are going to medical school? Go to Columbia. Im being serious. If you can get into both, go to Columbia.</p>
<p>Jman, how was ur time at Columbia being pre-med? did u get a lot of internships?</p>
<p>I didn't go to Columbia...I have a friend who attended there and I know an astrophysics prof (debated I believe with his son). Columbia is one of my medical schools though. If you want more info about me/my education send me a PM and I will be more than willing to help/give info.</p>
<p>I chose between Barnard (which is an all-girls college within Columbia) and Georgetown. I chose Gtown for the following reasons:
- much better Italian program - actual classes in Italian, as opposed to Italian Lit in Eng.
- Much more structured and more expansive study abroad program (Int'l health sounds like a study abroad major). Columbia has only about four or five SA programs; three of which are in London (School of Economics), France, and Tokyo. The rest of the programs require you to go through other universities and are a bit of a hassle. However, a little googling finds they have a premed SA page (<a href="http://www.ogp.columbia.edu/pages/columbia_students/columbia_college/programs/premeds/index.html)%5B/url%5D">http://www.ogp.columbia.edu/pages/columbia_students/columbia_college/programs/premeds/index.html)</a>.
- The classes I sat in on at Barnard and Columbia (one each, anthro and Italian) seemed boring and a lot of the lower level classes are taught by TAs or largely guided by them.</p>
<p>Other than that, NYC is so much better it's true (but I will come back. New Yorkers always do.) The clubs, the museums, the history, all are amazing. The thing with DC that I don't like is that everybody sleeps. You go looking around late at night and places close pretty early- nearly everything in NYC stays open and the city mentality is much more pervasive. DC is much more of a pretend-to-be city, a sprawled out suburb, but of great historical import.</p>
<p>If you care more about the social atmosphere, I'd say Columbia, but if you care more about academics then Gtown - NHS is really underrated and you get lots of special attention (supposedly it's easier to get internships and stuff less competition with it) and whoever said that Gtown just does international better is right.</p>
<p>iluvcolumbia - I chose between GU and COL when I went to undergrad and ended up going to GU. Some of my best friends did IHealth, and I'm currently in medical school (MS2) so I can give you a heads up on the premed experience and how it works out. PM me if you have any questions.</p>
<p>Incidentally, NYC is not OBVIOUSLY the better city. You should visit both and see which one is better for YOU. They have vastly different feels, and different offerings. </p>
<p>Also, for the record, NYC doesn't have "everything DC has and more". . . try the National Institutes of Health.</p>