My top two choices are Columbia and Brown. They’re very different schools–core vs open curriculums, NYC vs Providence, more laid-back vs more competitive… but they both really appeal to me.
I’ve lived in Manhattan my whole life, 20-30 minutes away from Columbia. This is both a pro and a con. I love my city, and I like the idea of being able to stay close to my roots. Of course, the opportunities and the cultural life are also huge draws. Coming from New York, I’m not sure how well I’d be able to adapt to Providence, which is much smaller. But, I’d also feel a little weird going to college in the same place I’ve grown up in. I’d be losing out on some of the college experience if I did, especially since Columbia is such an unconventional place to study. I worry that too much of its social life will take place off campus, for example.
I’m also conflicted about the atmospheres of both schools. Columbia is notoriously stressful and competitive. While I don’t think I’d feel stressed there, coming from a high school with an intense workload, I worry that the students around me will be cutthroat rather than friendly, and that they’ll be overly career-minded and focused on academics. Even though my high school may have been stressful, it never felt like I was competing with the people in my grade–we were all in it together, helping each other stay afloat rather than trying to drag each other down. I’m also troubled by the preprofessional aura surrounding Columbia–pressure to find internships, to go into lucrative fields like finance, etc. Cliché as it might be, I’m more of a “learning for the sake of learning” person.
Brown is said to have the opposite vibe as Columbia (though I’m sure the truth lies somewhere in between for both schools). After years of work, I’d love to have a more laid-back time in college. It seems to me that its less preprofessional focus would attract more intellectually curious students rather than more career-minded ones, which is a big plus for me. A quieter, more relaxing environment might be a good place to spend my time in college, after eighteen years in the fast pace of the city. But, at the same time, I can also see myself missing the pace and the stress of the city after one or two years.
Socially, I like partying, and while I’m sure it can be found in both schools, it seems like Brown has more of a reputation for it.
Academically, as a humanities/social sciences person, I’m sure I’d get a fantastic education in both places, so I’m not going to worry about comparing departments or classes or professors.
I’m a big fan of the core, in theory–if I went to Brown, I’d probably end up taking classes very similar to it. But, I’m worried that the core at Columbia might not be a great experience because of how divisive it is. Since it’s made up of such small, discussion-based classes, if many of the students aren’t into it, I can see it feeling more like high school, where a few kids are interested but many others are just there because they have to be–not reading, not participating, etc. At Brown, I get the feeling that since everyone is free to pick their own courses, classes are made up only of people who are there because they’re interested in them. As an indecisive person, though, I’m sure I’d get lost in all the freedom.
Career-wise, although I’m very uncertain, I know I’d like to work in a job with an international scope (I’m from New York, but have a very international background). I’ve found (and correct me if I’m wrong!) that while Columbia and Brown are equally as prestigious in the US, the Columbia name carries much more weight overseas than the Brown one does. Many of the people I know in other countries were incredibly impressed when I told them I got into Columbia, and didn’t react at all to the news that I was accepted to Brown. I’d also for sure have more internship/job opportunities in international fields in NYC.
tl;dr: could people weigh in on: going to columbia as a new yorker, is columbia’s social atmosphere bad, is columbia too preprofessional, what is the core really like, what’s columbia’s reputation domestically/internationally. how much is there to do in providence, is brown too laid-back, are people more invested in classes? what are columbia students like? what are brown students like? etc…