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<p>JHS, the “past” you refer to in your post does not go back more than 20 years. Before that there was plenty of good and cheap housing to be had around Columbia, much cheaper than campus housing. And campus housing at the time was pretty old and kind of run down. Though we adored it 
. But, yes, gentrification caught up to the neighborhood in the last twenty years and that’s pretty much it for affordable housing…</p>
<p>Oh, man, I missed the pizza in New Haven during Bulldog Days because I got sick and didn’t want to walk that far. But, have no fear, they definitely gave NH pizza to the prospective students.</p>
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Barack Obama lived off campus as an undergrad, on W. 109th St. (quite near to where my daughter & Mythmom’s daughter lived on 110th st., actually – though of course separated by roughly 25 years of time) His former apartment was renting for $1900/month in 2010 – see: [Obama’s</a> Apartment For Rent (PHOTOS): President’s Columbia Home On The Market](<a href=“HuffPost - Breaking News, U.S. and World News | HuffPost”>Obama's Apartment For Rent (PHOTOS): President's Columbia Home On The Market | HuffPost New York)</p>
<p>Barak Obama lived off-campus during his time at Columbia because he entered as a transfer. At that time, transfers were not offered housing, which made for many difficult situations. Since then, Columbia has acquired additional housing stock and transfers are housed in university properties.</p>
<p>His older sister thinks Yale, but she is being very good at being a listener and letting him have his own process. The older sister’s best friend from Yale is now at Columbia Law and advised him to go to Yale for undergrad. I appreciate your input about going back and forth between NH and NYC. DD didn’t go in too often but she was not as motivated. I also told him if he makes friends who live in NYC he might get to go home with them for a weekend which can be fun. We took the train both ways from the city. It’s definitely doable.</p>
<p>I am sure he will have a smashing time at Yale. Congratulations.</p>
<p>My DD in NYC thought her brother certifiable for choosing Williams.</p>
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<p>True. However, I wouldn’t consider living on 110 st…or even 96 street to really be far off campus/spread out personally. IME, the former is practically next door to Columbia and the latter is a nice 15-20 minute walk…even in inclement weather or the wee hours of the morning. </p>
<p>When I was saying Columbia students were spread out…am talking those who moved to midtown, the Village, Lower East Side, or the outer boroughs to get better/cheaper housing and to be closer to internships, businesses, and more hopping nightlife*. </p>
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<li>Yes, Morningside Heights and the UWS has a nightlife…but many Columbia/Barnard undergrads felt they’re stuck in the boonies compared with their counterparts at more centrally located Manhattan schools like NYU, New School, or Baruch.</li>
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<p>Many like it, and my D was thrilled at 110. But everyone is different.</p>
<p>I personally think there’s a significant difference between living in Manhattan and living in an outlying area, no matter how “easy” it is to come in by train. One is not better than the other; it depends on personal preferences - but in no way are they the same. </p>
<p>My daughter also loved living at 110, but I think Cobrat was simply pointing out that 110 is a pretty short walk to campus. I would agree; to a New Yorker, 6 blocks is nothing.</p>
<p>Putting aside the New York vs New Haven issue, there is really no contest between Columbia and Yale if only for one simple reason: Directed Studies.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the responses which DS read as well. DS spent some time writing out all his thoughts in a stream-of-consciousness fashion revisiting interviews, impressions, thoughts, feelings, etc. and had his Aha moment. He chose Yale and he feels very good about the decision.</p>
<p>Glad he made the decision! And congrats to him, he couldn’t go wrong either way!</p>
<p>mimk6 - I think he chose wisely. I found it hard even to go to business school at Columbia. It was hard to concentrate on classes with Manhattan calling through my open window. Tell him to take a class from David Quint, the head of Comparative Literature. Quint taught me at Princeton, many years ago, and it was one of the great experiences of my academic youth.</p>
<p>Thanks, Alumother, I will pass that along.</p>
<p>At the time I wasn’t sure it was the right choice for a lot of reasons but after the fact I have to say that Columbia was the making of my daughter. Even the frustrations of the crazy housing lottery and occasionally having to deal with seemingly unresponsive administrators taught her something. She came out a well educated, capable and truly independent person with a global point of view. I suspect that few other schools would have given her quite what Columbia did. </p>
<p>At the time I think that the appeal of Columbia to DD was that it did not feel as if it was going to brand her. No one social group dominates so any type of person could make Columbia their own. Being from the suburbs, I think there was also a “I have something to prove to myself” aspect to her choice.</p>
<p>Well, I think this is the kind of decision where each school would have had unique and wonderful things to contribute to this young man’s life.</p>
<p>Columbia may have the edge on “the real world”, but Yale may have the edge on “close knit community with deep connections.”</p>
<p>I don’t think either of these choices could be wrong, and since the OP’s son is now at peace with is decision, I am sure it is the right one for him.</p>
<p>FWIW: My D also grew amazingly from being in the Columbia community and NYC (she went to Barnard.) But my S grew amazingly in a completely different way from being at Williams and chose a profession I don’t he would have had he attended Columbia, which his sister wanted him to do, either to follow in her footsteps or she could keep an eye on him or because she thought it was the best school for him. I’m not sure. He prevailed in his decision and turned down U of Chicago also.</p>
<p>And ironically, he is pursuing Art History at the graduate level. Since the Met is such a presence in NY one might think that he would have discovered this passion there. But he got a job at the Clark, a small but prestigious museum in Williamstown. Since his is a kind of shy fellow, I think the small scale of everything suited him. However, yesterday he was at the Met looking at the Turners.</p>
<p>No path is completely predictable, but I can’t imagine a bad outcome from Yale.</p>
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<p>I think this is a YMMV depending on the individual student. </p>
<p>For instance, I found I had more issues with being distracted from being in the rural setting of my LAC because it was so novel to me considering I was a city kid. One classmate likened it to being in a sort of year-round “sleep away camp”.</p>
<p>Cobrat - Good point.</p>
<p>Coming from the same high school as cobrat, and also gone to the boonies, I know exactly what you mean! It took me an entire year to make friends with the grass and trees, and even the architecture looked like many other students’ fancy prep schools (actually, in some cases, they had the same architects!)</p>
<p>I have no dog in this hunt. It does seem, from my limited experience, that the Yale people seem to place a heavy emphasis on walling off the university from its surrounding city, and the Columbia people (very much unlike 40 years ago) go out of their way to embrace it. Neither is right or wrong: just different, but certainly something to put into the decision-making hopper.</p>
<p>A good decision was made!</p>
<p>Congrats to your son!</p>
<p>Kat</p>