<p>Undergraduate with about a day left to decide. Planned polisci major. Help?</p>
<p>For politics Columbia. Pluses at Columbia include a better department, a school of international affairs, and the CC part of the core which in part is political philosophy.</p>
<p>Columbia- the poli sci department is great from what I’ve heard. When I was there, my tour guide was a poli sci major and he said they got to take courses at the graduate level as undergraduates and the classes were great experiences.</p>
<p>Columbia seems like the obvious choice. I’m just a little worried about a few other factors. I’ve heard that Columbia lacks a sense of community on campus that is present at Penn, and tends to be more individualistic. Considering I’m moving across the country, this is a little intimidating.</p>
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<p>You can take graduate courses as a Penn undergrad, also (and many do). Although Columbia’s Poli Sci department is generally ranked higher than Penn’s at the graduate level, I’d strongly recommend picking your undergraduate school based on overall personal preference and fit. As an undergrad poli sci major (and keep in mind that many, if not most, people end up majoring in something other than what they had planned when applying to college), it really won’t matter which school has the higher ranked graduate program, and you’ll be MUCH better off in the long run at the school where you think you’ll best thrive, both academically and socially. Academically, you can’t go wrong at either of these schools, and either will get you where you want to go in terms of grad school or career.</p>
<p>And while Columbia certainly has its strengths, so does Penn. For example, as a Penn undergrad, you can also take courses in, e.g., Wharton and the Annenberg School for Communication (home of FactCheck.org and other programs of significance to a poli sci major), as well as in the Law School (Penn actively encourages undergrads to take courses in schools at Penn other than their own, including the law school). So the breadth of curriculum available to an undergrad poli sci major at Penn is quite extensive, and hard to match at most other schools.</p>
<p>But again, at this level, it’s really a matter of personal choice. You really can’t go wrong at either school in terms of academics and career.</p>
<p>So bottom line? Go with your gut! :)</p>
<p>The reports of Columbia lacking community probably don’t relate to Columbia College or SEAS. Columbia General Studies definitely lacks community, but the students are much older.</p>
<p>Any other opinions?</p>
<p>What area of politics are you interested in? That might determine which has a stronger department for your interests. </p>
<p>Personally, I would go with columbia</p>