<p>So many people buy into the “Columbia is in NYC” hype. Personally I think NYC isn’t the best place to go to school, I’d much rather have a real campus based college experience with on-campus parties and house parties rather than so-so bars like 1020 and being scattered with 35 year olds in the city.</p>
<p>Fine. Columbia is obviously not the right school for everyone, since not every can (or wants to) handle the city. If you want a more traditional college experience, then don’t come to Columbia. That does not mean, however, that the urban-hybrid college experience is necessarily inferior to the so-called “traditional” one. We certainly don’t think so. As for conncoll’s point about criticism, you have to understand the difference between being critical of something and hating something. Columbians (and, I’d argue, New Yorkers) tend to be very critical of everything, particularly the things they most appreciate. It’s just part of that urban ethos. I’d argue it’s a good thing, since I love criticism and discussion, but some people may be uncomfortable with it. I’m sure Dartmouth and Duke have more unanimity of school spirit.</p>
<p>slipper - you can parse differences of course, we can parse them to our hearts content. but dart and duke are certainly far more similar in nature than they are to columbia.</p>
<p>frankly columbia is a wild card in the bunch, it means that it will be exciting to some, scary to others, and unnecessary to a few. i don’t mean to value it absolutely above any other school, but it certainly makes it stand out as unique.</p>
<p>[the subjective part] if you agree with me and this older alumnus you’d call it better (but we are biased). and in the end i think going to school with 35 yo at 1020, 18 yo that comes to campus just to look around, a 70 yo that is a life time learner provides a unique and vibrant community that makes you realize that college is part and parcel of the real world, full of its quirks and most of all unpredictability.</p>
<p>for you, that may sound unexciting, for me - it is as i have said very often on here - the ideal of what college in the modern world can and should be. i of course say that to impress, but i also believe it wholeheartedly.</p>
<p>i want to reiterate though: i appreciate your perspective, it is important to note that columbia is not without faults - it has many. and that it is not ideal for everyone. but to someone who sinks his/her teeth into the experience: columbia can be truly eye opening. and i believe that is what makes it so special.</p>
<p>I’ve always said that for college your priority should be academics. Your primary reason for going there is learning not the other criteria like “fit” or “weather” etc. As such I think you should make your choice based on academic rating. In this case Columbia is the best. If you’re still not a big fan of Columbia after learning there for a year, transfer.</p>
<p>hi all, sorry for dragging up this old thread - I’m currently facing the same dilemma. I concur from what has been spoken so far that it essentially boils down to a city vs country comparison?</p>
<p>I’m leaning towards dartmouth because of it’s strong focus on undergrads - could anyone provide me with a perspective on Columbia? Are the profs as accessible/helpful? or are the courses largely taught by TAs? Personal/anecdoctal experiences will be nice :)</p>
<p>Depends on what you’re studying. But in the humanities, profs are very approachable and there’s a lot of academic attention paid to undergrads. Institutionally, Columbia is less committed to an undergraduate college experience—which means there’s a lot of bureaucracy, the advising isn’t great, the student life activities aren’t great, etc.</p>
<p>But academically, it’s easy for undergrads to connect with professors, especially in small humanities seminars.</p>
<p>Pwoods, thanks so much for your reply - when you mention that Columbia is ’ less committed to an undergraduate college experience’, does this mean that undergrads lose out in terms of opportunities as compared to grad students? </p>
<p>Would you say that the City more than makes up for this?</p>
<p>bump…</p>
<p>bump</p>
<p>10charrr</p>
<p>“I concur from what has been spoken so far that it essentially boils down to a city vs country comparison?”</p>
<p>No. Really it’s a big LAC vs. a big private university with more grads than undergrads.</p>
<p>There’s more snobbery and social stratification at Columbia - Barnard vs. Columbia, CC vs GS, SEAS vs CC etc. At Dartmouth everyone is in the same boat.</p>
<p>laymen: No, definitely not. Undergrads are treated better than grad students. </p>
<p>But undergrads at Columbia need to understand how to navigate the bureaucracy in a way that wouldn’t be true at, say, Amherst. LACs hold students’ hands and walk them through everything. At Columbia, dealing with academic advising, financial aid, housing, and the registrar is more like going to the DMV.</p>
<p>Columbia doesn’t go out of its way to make their undergraduate students feel like they’re in a college removed from the real world.</p>
<p>dartmouth frat culture is not overwhelming but welcoming</p>