<p>Columbia VS. MIT: Which is better? You don't have to give a reason.</p>
<p>Overall: Columbia is loads better.</p>
<p>MIT sucks for ANYTHING outside of Business, Math, Science, and Engineering.</p>
<p>Columbia is very well rounded and has strong programs and placement of its own into business, math, science, etc.</p>
<p>MIT is very hyped mostly because of how hard it is to get in and how awesome it is in certain areas. However, Columbia provides you with a breadth of things, wonderful name recognition and alumni networks, etc.</p>
<p>If you want to do something math-y, then of course, MIT is the best, but yeah. Columbia. overall. better.</p>
<p>MIT is just as good as Columbia for architecture.</p>
<p>I don't see how Columbia is better than MIT in terms of name recognition and alumni networks. </p>
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MIT sucks for ANYTHING outside of Business, Math, Science, and Engineering.
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<p>You just named 2/3 of the majors at MIT. </p>
<p>I still don't see how Columbia is "loads better" than MIT. MIT is better in the more technical subjects while Columbia is better in the liberal arts. Overall, I don't see a significant difference.</p>
<p>I've never quite understood what the hype about MIT is all about. I'm a 2nd year (undergraduate) math major, and I've covered pretty much all of the content of their graduate courses on OCW. The only people I know at MIT are people who do well in math contests but can't do anything related to real (read: research) math. As far as I can tell, the only reason it's so popular is because it's so difficult to get into.</p>
<p>
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MIT sucks for ANYTHING outside of Business, Math, Science, and Engineering.
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</p>
<p>Not only does MIT outrank Columbia in the above fields it also does in economics, philosophy, linguistics and architecture. As a matter of fact, it outranks Columbia in virtually every department shared by the two schools. So, yes, in the departments that MIT does not have, Columbia is WAY better.</p>
<p>MIT has a higher level of student quality than Columbia. It's name recognition is also much higher. Geniuses in movies/on TV are often portrayed as having gone to MIT. This is not the case with Columbia.</p>
<p>However, Columbia's humanities departments are all better than MIT's. But so what? That's not why you'd go to MIT in the first place. Heck, even Emory's humanities departments are better than MIT's.</p>
<p>One significant advantage that MIT has over Columbia is that MIT allows you to freely switch to whatever major you want. If you come into MIT intending to be, say, a management major at the Sloan School and then decide that you actually want to major in something within the School of Engineering, you just do it. Nobody is going to hassle you. That's not quite true at Columbia - switching schools is far from automatic. If you come in as part of Columbia College and decide that you'd rather be at Fu SEAS, that might be a problem.</p>
<p>What about other factors: Location, student life, faculty, etc?</p>
<p>Location is highly dependent on the individual. I strongly prefer Columbia over MIT in this aspect, but I'm sure there are others who prefer Cambridge over NYC.</p>
<p>Columbia 10char</p>
<p>When it comes to location, I'd say MIT has it beat. I'd far rather be in NYC than Boston, however, Columbia is not anywhere near where I'd want to be in NYC and also has nowhere near the campus feel or beauty of MIT, which actually has a very impressive campus.</p>
<p>If there were more of a campus feel or Columbia was downtown I would perhaps change my mind, but really, I'd much rather have a very traditional feeling college campus on the water in the heart of a great area of Boston than a non-traditional feeling campus on the edge of a terrible area and a boring area in NYC.</p>
<p>MIT pwns noobs(just like this one cc username), in this case, it pwns columbia in my eyes ;)</p>
<p>and to restate what muerteapablo said, columbia does even have the widespread fame as much as MIT does. honestly, i've never knew columbia was a top school until this yr.
did u watch that movie 21? XD MIT kid...</p>
<p>The reason I started this thread was because I applied to Columbia but didnt apply to MIT. Last week I started to realize that I should have submitted to my gut feeling and applied. What does MIT have to offer that Columbia doesnt?</p>
<p>Don't regret your decisions. If you didn't apply to MIT, you must have had appropriate reasons. My son really didn't like MIT, although he adored Columbia College (and the core), even though his interests are in the physical sciences (and political science and other things...). He applied early to Columbia, got in, and is enjoying his senior year, free of questions like "should I have applied elsewhere?". Have fun, and do the same!</p>
<p>From The Princeton Review</p>
<p>Columbia University</p>
<p>Academics:
"Located on the upper west side of Manhattan, “Columbia University provides an exceptional education, fusing the chaos of New York City” with “the rigors of the Ivy League.” The course work here “can be tremendously grueling.” Expect to do a lot of studying and “thinking about the world in ways that are new and occasionally uncomfortable.” Columbia’s “inspiring” professors are “leaders in their fields” who are “brilliant (and don’t hide the fact that they, too, think so).” They are “obsessed with what they study” and their “Enthusiasm is contagious.” A few professors “have that certain scholarly air of arrogance” and can be tough graders. However, “The professors who are known to grade harshly and give hard tests are usually the ones who teach the best.” Central to the academic experience here is the “eye-opening, thought-provoking” core curriculum, a sequence that immerses students in Western philosophy, literature, and fine arts. “Columbia’s core prepares you to excel in any field,” explains one first-year student. Taking core classes also helps “when you’re first trying to make new friends” because “Everyone is dealing with the same classes.” Most students feel that the administration here “listens to students” and “generally gets the job done,” but can be “bureaucratic” at times. Be warned, however, that “advising is definitely not the strong point of Columbia.” It’s easy to feel “alone in the big city” on occasion. The resources are there, of course, but “People here don’t treat you like a baby.”</p>
<p>Student Body:
"“Columbia is a microcosm of New York,” sums up one student. The people here are a “mix of everything.” Columbia’s “very well-rounded” students “are very passionate about their interests.” As one student explains, “You can find conversations about everything from the relationship between gods and mortals in Virgil’s Aeneid to the latest hipster music group.” On campus, you’ll find “a great mix of ethnicities” as well as ample diversity of “religions, socioeconomic backgrounds, national heritage, sexual orientations, political beliefs, and geographic roots.” These “smart, motivated, independent, and intellectually curious” students describe themselves as “hardworking, continuously busy,” and “not very religious.” One student warns, however, that “many students are book smart but not very worldly” and can be “very full of” themselves. Politically, left-liberalism is “raging” on campus, though Columbia is “not as crazy liberal as it used to be.”</p>
<p>Campus Life:
"Students on this “beautiful” campus “in the middle of Manhattan” say that they “study really hard during the week and party really hard on weekends.” There’s always something to do in the “chic, cultured city of opportunity” that is their home. “It’s New York City,” boasts one student, “the greatest city in the universe,” where “Everything is only a subway ride away.” As another student explains, “There is no one activity that dominates the social scene. Instead, everything is at our disposal.” Options range from “a trip to the Met [and] shopping on Fifth Avenue” to “movies, clubs, theater, ice skating, and restaurants.” Students can go to “art museums, comedy clubs, [and] jazz clubs.” The bar scene is also popular. As one student explains, “[Lots of students get] a fake ID the first semester of their freshman year to give them access to New York City’s nightlife.” Students who plan on experiencing all the “glitzy things you hear about in NYC” should “make sure [they] have money to shell out,” advises one cost-conscious student. “Even student tickets can add up and dining out is expensive.” Students on a budget can do “plenty of other things around town that don’t cost more than the subway fare.” While Columbia students are “hardly bound by the campus gates,” the university offers “as much of a campus life,” including “frat parties or dorm parties,” “various activity groups,” and a popular “annual musical theater production” that “everyone goes to see.”"</p>
<p>Massachusetts Institute Of Technology:</p>
<p>Academics:
"Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the East Coast mecca of engineering, science, and mathematics, “is the ultimate place for information overload, endless possibilities, and expanding your horizons.” The “amazing collection of creative minds” includes enough Nobel laureates to fill a jury box as well as brilliant students who are given substantial control of their educations; one explains, “The administration’s attitude towards students is one of respect. As soon as you come on campus, you are bombarded with choices.” Students need to be able to manage a workload that “definitely push[es you] beyond your comfort level.” A chemical engineering major elaborates: “MIT is different from many schools in that its goal is not to teach you specific facts in each subject. MIT teaches you how to think. Not about opinions, but about problem solving. Facts and memorization are useless unless you know how to approach a tough problem.” Professors here range from “excellent teachers who make lectures fun and exciting” to “dull and soporific” ones, but most “make a serious effort to make the material they teach interesting by throwing in jokes and cool demonstrations.” “Access to an amazing number of resources, both academic and recreational,” “research opportunities for undergrads with some of the nation’s leading professors,” and a rock-solid alumni network complete the picture. If you ask “MIT alumni where they went to college, most will immediately stick out their hand and show you their ‘brass rat’ (the MIT ring, the second most recognized ring in the world).”"</p>
<p>Student Body:
"Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the East Coast mecca of engineering, science, and mathematics, “is the ultimate place for information overload, endless possibilities, and expanding your horizons.” The “amazing collection of creative minds” includes enough Nobel laureates to fill a jury box as well as brilliant students who are given substantial control of their educations; one explains, “The administration’s attitude towards students is one of respect. As soon as you come on campus, you are bombarded with choices.” Students need to be able to manage a workload that “definitely push[es you] beyond your comfort level.” A chemical engineering major elaborates: “MIT is different from many schools in that its goal is not to teach you specific facts in each subject. MIT teaches you how to think. Not about opinions, but about problem solving. Facts and memorization are useless unless you know how to approach a tough problem.” Professors here range from “excellent teachers who make lectures fun and exciting” to “dull and soporific” ones, but most “make a serious effort to make the material they teach interesting by throwing in jokes and cool demonstrations.” “Access to an amazing number of resources, both academic and recreational,” “research opportunities for undergrads with some of the nation’s leading professors,” and a rock-solid alumni network complete the picture. If you ask “MIT alumni where they went to college, most will immediately stick out their hand and show you their ‘brass rat’ (the MIT ring, the second most recognized ring in the world).”"</p>
<p>Campus Life:
"At MIT “It may seem . . . like there’s no life outside problem sets and studying for exams,” but “There’s always time for extracurricular activities or just relaxing” for those “with good time-management skills” or the “ability to survive on [a] lack of sleep.” Options range from “building rides” (recent projects have included a motorized couch and a human-sized hamster wheel) “to partying at fraternities to enjoying the largest collection of science fiction novels in the U.S. at the MIT Science Fiction Library.” Students occasionally find time to “pull a hack,” which is an ethical prank “like the life-size Wright brothers’ plane that appeared on top of the Great Dome for the one-hundredth anniversary of flight.” Undergrads tell us that “MIT has great parties—a lot of Wellesley, Harvard, and BU students come to them,” but also that “There are tons of things to do other than party” here. “Movies, shopping, museums, and plays are all possible with our location near Boston. There are great restaurants only [blocks] away from campus, too . . . From what I can tell, MIT students have way more fun on the weekends then their Cambridge counterpart[s at] Harvard.”</p>
<p>bump........</p>
<p>MIT pwns Columbia hands down. No school can rival MIT in what it does best besides Stanford and Caltech.</p>
<p>In what aspect? It's like comparing apples to oranges. In terms of overall prestige (for what it's worth), MIT > Columbia.</p>
<p>If you're comparing Fu to MIT, the former is second or even third rate relative to the latter.</p>
<p>"MIT has a higher level of student quality than Columbia. It's name recognition is also much higher. Geniuses in movies/on TV are often portrayed as having gone to MIT. This is not the case with Columbia."</p>
<p>Yeah, well let's all choose our schools based on how many times they show up in crappy Hollywood films. This was the weakest argument I heard in a while.</p>