<p>Hello,</p>
<p>I am an incoming freshman at Columbia University (in CC), and I applied ED last year (Columbia was my dream school, as you can see by my name). I promised a good friend who helped me with my application that I would help others with theirs. So, if anyone who's top choice is Columbia would like some one on one help, I'd be more than happy to. Good luck during application season!</p>
<p>Columbia rising junior. I’ll also answer any questions.</p>
<p>I’ll help out as well. Like Mal, I’m a rising junior in the College.</p>
<p>This question is off-topic from admissions but:</p>
<p>Does anyone know the extent of the renovations that Hartley and Wallach are receiving? I’ve heard that of particular focus was the traffic noise coming from Amesterdam Ave. Are the renovations significant(i.e. entirely different floor layouts) or are they just superficial tweaking. I ask because my D has one of the smallest doubles on the Amesterdam side of Hartley and if Columbia is trying to dampen noise on that side does that mean smaller rooms(to accomodate thicker walls), because, my gosh, her room can’t afford to be any smaller . . .</p>
<p>Columbia generally does a lot of renovations in the summer, especially to the dorms. I think the Hartley/Wallach renovations are mostly cosmetic to the rooms, but they are doing more major/construction/renovation to the lobbies and lounges on the first and tenth floors. The rooms are air conditioned with large common areas in the suites, so I don’t know why they would be noisy.</p>
<p>Hey! I toured around columbia and nyu last week and i fell in LOVE with both of them, but of course i can’t apply ed to both. A sternie at nyu answered a BUNCH of my questions on the nyu forum here, so i’m just gonna copy/paste those questions here so i have a good comparison of both schools. Thanks for answering if you do!</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Could you tell us your own statistics?</p></li>
<li><p>Why did you pick Columbia?</p></li>
<li><p>As a current applicant to Columbia, i’d like to know more about the classes, fellowships/internships, and overall feel of the uni</p></li>
<li><p>As joke-ish as this may sound, its not. How is the alcohol/drug/party culture at nyu. of course you might not want to answer this, so i won’t be offended if you dont.</p></li>
<li><p>What’s the worst thing about Columbia?</p></li>
<li><p>Tips about being at columbia?</p></li>
<li><p>Can you go over Greek life at columbia?</p></li>
<li><p>Can you talk about the core and how it’s handled</p></li>
<li><p>Can you talk about freshman housing? </p></li>
<li><p>sorry about the multitude of questions, but this is the last one, can you talk about spending semesters abroad and how that affects your education?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks a LOT</p>
<p>@ricck1 As far as I knew, Hartley and Wallach are not air-conditioned. Also, the rooms on the Amesterdam Ave. side of those buildings do suffer from noise issues as Amesterdam can be pretty busy during peak hours.</p>
<p>As far as the “cosmetic,” changes go, let’s hope they’re doing away with that awful faux-wood paneling and archaic flourecent lighting fixtures in the halls. I mean really, doesn’t the workload and bureaucracy suck away enough of those kids’ souls without the lighting schemes and dorm decor contributing as well?</p>
<p>What is a space heater [Housing</a> : Air Conditioning and Space Heaters](<a href=“Columbia Housing”>Columbia Housing)</p>
<p>Do the dorms not have heaters already for all during winter?</p>
<p>Thank you</p>
<p>Hey all. Rising sophomore in CC so I’ll answer up. </p>
<p>As far as Hartley/Wallach goes, some of the floors are getting a major do over. The floorplans have changed completely from last year and is now more similar to Furnald with a large floor suite and kitchen versus individual kitchen/living rooms for each suite (my old floor changed 
). I don’t think they will be making rooms smaller though.</p>
<p>@sidwasnotthere I’m not sure what kind of statistics you want but the first few that come to mine is that we are the 4th ranked school in the nation (and Yale and Princeton are tied for second so we’re kinda third). The admit rate gets lower as more applicants come but for my year it was 6%. We have a 99% freshman-retention rate. We’re a very diverse campus and there are over 100 areas of study. If you can give more specifics, I’m sure someone can get you better stats.</p>
<p>As far as why I picked Columbia, I was looking to move away from my home and NYC is an adventure in itself. Academically, I wanted to be challenged as much as possible and I wanted a school with a strong sociology department which CU has. In addition, there are many clubs and opportunities to do really awesome things with the best people in the world (I do mean the world!). Basically, it’s just a well-rounded awesome school.</p>
<p>I’m gonna assume you’re applying for CC. The overall feel of the uni is like a normal college campus I think. It can be stressful during finals/midterms but it’s a pretty casual place. If you make friends and settle into being in college, it’s no big deal. If you’re lucky it starts to feel like home. Classes range from small like LitHum to large auditorium. Teachers can range from very hands-on to Wizard of Oz like invisibility. This depends on your major how your classes will “feel”. Regardless though, expect to work HARD.</p>
<p>Alcohol/drug/party culture is all on you. It’s definitely not forced on you or in your face like at a party school but depending on who you befriend or what your aspirations are you can find it. </p>
<p>Worst thing about Columbia I think is midterms/finals, and not even because they are horrible but because Columbia becomes the “Struggle Olympics” where people go on moaning and complaining about how stressed they are and how much work they have to do…while they continue to watch TV or surf the web. Really if you stay on top of your stuff and work like you know how to do (and seek help efficiently) you won’t have to pull an all-nighter…at least not your first year.</p>
<p>Tips: DO YOUR WORK! Seriously! Don’t slack off. Make friends you wouldn’t have expected and try something you wouldn’t have done. College in general is a time to reinvent and do unexpected things and Columbia provides every culture, passion, and hobby a safe haven. Dive right in. Explore New York. Awesome things happen here every day. Take advantage. And smile! Look out on the campus on a sunny day. Look at all the corner stones and read their ages. Read the plaques around campus. Enjoy the beauty and history and be proud.</p>
<p>There is Greek life at Columbia, though it is very small. There are 4 Panhellenic sororities, 12 IFC frats, 2 historically Latino frats, 2 historically Latina sororities, 2 historically Asian frats, 1 historically Asian sorority, 3 historically Black frats, 1 historically Black sorority, 1 multi-cultural frat and 1 multicultural sorority. Note the “historically” as all the sororities and frats are open to whoever rushes/intakes.</p>
<p>The Core is the list of requirements you must take and pass to receive a degree from Columbia. Your first year you are automatically enrolled in LitHum, UWriting, and Frontiers of Science. From there, you sign up for classes that fulfill the requirements on your own. You will get an academic adviser upon enrollment who will help guide but the requirements are listed on the website (it’s a lot, I don’t remember offhand). As everyone has to complete the Core, it’s handled well and there are ways to monitor your completion.</p>
<p>Freshman housing is the best you will get. It’s on the lawns and close to everything. John Jay and Carman are all first years, LLC is mixed and Furnald has a few sophomores each year. They all have a different feel, but I feel it’s the people that make it. (Wallach has the rep or being lame but my suite had plenty of parties and fun).</p>
<p>All I can say for study abroad is that you must complete all your language requirement before you can go and CU has approved programs basically everywhere.</p>
<p>Whew! Hope that helped. Though it’s kinda confusing, I’d check out the CU website for more detailed info about any questions you have.</p>
<p>@ColumbiaDiva The changes to Hartley/Wallach sound encouraging. Where did you get your info on the renovations? I’d love to see the new floorplans or any artisit renderings or dimensions of what they’ll end up looking like. Either way, thanks for your input!</p>
<p>Update: apparently only Wallach is being worked on, Hartley will remain untouched Is this really true?</p>
<p>@DowneasterDad: Incoming Wallach-er here, I haven’t heard anything about Hartley renovations, but our top floors (6 and up) are being redone to make newer lounges that look out on Amsterdam, but also effectively making it a big suite with bathrooms at both ends instead of three suites. The floorplans here are up to date: [Housing</a> : Wallach](<a href=“Columbia Housing”>Columbia Housing) You can also see the size in square feet of each room for all the dorms. Based on that, Hartley does not seem to be getting the massive makeover but may be receiving smaller renovations.</p>
<p>@Abscalc: The dorms are all heated but not all air conditioned, as far as I know. ColumbiaDiva would probably be able to tell you more.</p>
<p>Hey all,</p>
<p>Thanks for your willingness to help! Would you (the current Columbia students) be willing to look at my Columbia supplement for me and provide critique? That would be greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>Any suggestions on a reading list to get a jump on Freshman core lit/humanities classes? Thanks!</p>
<p>Did you finish the Iliad? You can always get started on the other LitHum books: <a href=“http://www.college.columbia.edu/core/sites/core/files/pages/LH_2012-13_syllabus_0.pdf[/url]”>http://www.college.columbia.edu/core/sites/core/files/pages/LH_2012-13_syllabus_0.pdf</a></p>
<p>@isabella you’ll never go wrong with the classics:</p>
<p>Iliad
Odyssey
Aeneid
Medea
Oedipus
Oresteia
Metamorphoses</p>
<p>also Inferno from the Divine Comedy and Don Quixote.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.college.columbia.edu/core/sites/core/files/pages/LH_2012-13_syllabus_0.pdf[/url]”>http://www.college.columbia.edu/core/sites/core/files/pages/LH_2012-13_syllabus_0.pdf</a></p>
<p>pwoods & columbiafan – thanks for the reading lists!</p>
<p>Hi I have a question about the supplement. For the part about “Please tell us what you found meaningful about one of the above-mentioned books, publications or cultural events” would it be okay if I wrote about a TV show or would they not take me seriously?</p>
<p>Would anyone please look over my app essays for me please? Thanks :)</p>
<p>Would it be okay to PM you some essay ideas and/or stat questions?</p>