<p>Sounds like you want to go to Columbia, so go to Columbia.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Actually, I agree with you about the “strange interlude” part. In our society, this is where young people between the ages of 18 and 21 are parked until they can live like independent adults. It’s a safe place for that transition. The fact that everyone takes it for granted, that it’s generally conceded to be the only acceptable way, doesn’t necessarily make it the right choice for an independent thinker who may want to try a different road towards realizing their goals. BUT. That alternative road takes a lot of guts, motivation, and creativity. Do you have what it takes? </p>
<p>It’s not an either/or proposition. Yes, you are either enrolled in college or you’re not. But you could take it one year at a time and see where it takes you. You sound like a questioning, searching person. Having the next 4 years mapped out for you may not be appropriate. So, just take a step, choose one of these colleges and see where it takes you. Or, put college on the back burner and see if you can figure out how to put one foot in front of the other on your own-- see if you CAN live the life you want, as you put it. If you were my son, that’s what I would suggest.</p>
<p>the tone of your post sounded as if you thought of a college education as only a means to an end—graduate school. If you think of it like that, then of course it feels like a game! If we work hard in high school mostly for college, and work hard in college mostly for grad school, and work hard in grad school to be at the top of our fields, what do we work for afterward?<br>
Anyways, remember that Columbia has a Core, which is not too conducive to someone who wants to take classes in only in his/her major.</p>
<p>It doesn’t matter what your reason is, it seems to me – if you think you’d be more happy at Columbia, which you seem determined to be, then go to Columbia. The end.</p>
<p>I don’t think anyone would be unhappy at Yale unless they told themselves that they were better suited to another school, as you seem to have. So go to the place that will make you happy, and then be happy about that decision.</p>
<p>New Haven is no more of a mess than some parts of Harlem about 3/4 of a mile from Columbia, give or take. Get off campus a little farther, and go northeast instead of south in Manhattan. Check out why the Harlem Chidren’s Zone NEEDS to exist. That “mess” is precisely what faces all of you college-going next generation. New Haven is a fascinating place to have the challenges of the future of our country–continuing racial diversity, widening rich-poor gap–right there next to the Ivy walls and courtyards, in a small enough city that students can actually have a transformational impact on them.</p>
<p>There’s no reason to not go to Columbia if that’s where you want to be, but your perception of undergraduate time is so hilariously immature and cynical… especially for someone who lives around it.</p>
<p>What, pray tell, do you think you’re going to graduate school for? If you don’t value a liberal arts education (and furthermore, can’t even perceive its benefits), why did you apply to those three Ivies, all of which value a liberal arts education?</p>
<p>Relax, modestmelody. </p>
<p>He’s right about the tangible and appreciable benefits that one derives from a liberal arts education. You can’t measure thinking ability, communication skills, and humanity, so his assertion is rather accurate.</p>
<p>You act like Columbia is some sort of community college… are you honestly that naive?</p>
<p>Aww… you could have been my roomie at New Haven… </p>
<p>Oh wait… you hate roommates. </p>
<p>Have fun at Columbia! :)</p>
<p>You are getting half tuition at Yale or Princeton. That is a pretty huge discount. The incremental cost to your parents will be $18K/year if you choose those colleges over Columbia. Talk to your parents and find out exactly how much of a financial burden that will be to them.</p>
<p>If your parents tell you they won’t mind paying the extra for Yale or Princeton, you should consider the other factors that make these colleges different from each other- How do you feel about the core curriculum at Columbia? The senior thesis at Princeton? The residential colleges at Yale? </p>
<p>I really do not think there is ANY difference in prestige, at least not until you know what you are going to major in.</p>
<p>You were accepted in to 3 universities that I believe are of the highest in the country. Columbia is not an amateur school. It is an ivy! That means it is one of the eight most renowned schools in the country!!! Congratulations!!! How can anyone be angry towards you? I’m sure you really did deserve it and are just being humble. If you clear your mind and think positively, I think you will realize that Columbia does not pale in comparison to Yale and Princeton.</p>
<p>Neither my wife nor I are professors at Columbia. (We live 3,000 miles away.) My younger son seriously considered Yale and Princeton. After visiting both, and Columbia, he had no doubt that Columbia was his first choice. He applied to and was accepted by Columbia, ED, and will be attending in the fall. As parents, we are happy to pay full freight for his first choice (even though I may have chosen Yale). Just an anecdotal story to support your decision, if by chance it be Columbia!</p>
<p>P.S. My son thinks that my Yale preference is due to the “cute” tour guide we had. He may be right.</p>
<p>UCR over Johns Hopkins for premed.
I am mad.</p>
<p>Haha, pbr, I like your attitude. =)</p>
<p>whatshouldido, what happened? --It’s Johns Hopkins, after all…</p>
<p>Bigstan2000, first of all Congratulations… you ARE in a position that many are envious for!</p>
<p>It seems to me that you only consider the non-academic aspects of these schools, which is really wrong. Academics is a huge part of college, and should be a huge factor in making your choices. Your satisfaction over the academics will definitely affect your overall experience in college.</p>
<p>I also need to remind you of the Core at Columbia, which is quite “broad”, something you mentioned that you don’t like. You MUST complete the Core in order to graduate, so you better go to Columbia’s website to see what they require, and then decide.</p>
<p>Pardon me if I’m wrong, but I feel that you’ve been living a relatively “easy” life, and are overly confident about a prestigious degree… And please don’t think that four years of undergraduate school is not valuable. A liberal arts education not only prepares you for higher levels of work but also sharpens you way of thinking. If you plan to just fool around for four years, then it doesn’t make much of a difference wherever you go; you’ll only get into a graduate school of a lower caliber. </p>
<p>Yale is way more focused on undergraduate education and has better graduate school placement, so my suggestion is to attend Yale, and go to Columbia for graduate school (they have a really good graduate department). Since your parent is a professor there, it’ll not be that difficult to get into Columbia given that you performed well at Yale. Why not get out of the city in which you’ve been living your whole life and experience something new?</p>