<p>So I was accepted to Princeton as well as Columbia...I want to study politics and go to law school, maybe do some diplomacy or human rights law one day. Which should I choose? I'm leaning heavily towards Princeton because of prestige but Columbia has NYC, so...I'm Hispanic, so there's that, NYC is much more diverse, but apparently almost 45% of Princeton is composed of students of color...all in all, what do you guys think? I can't visit either so the decision is hard. Where will I fit in and what place will give me more opportunities?</p>
<p>Do ugrad at Princeton, go to Law School at Columbia, make tons of money, then come back for Ph.d. in IR at Princeton' WWS :)</p>
<p>princeton is stronger in the sciences, but for social sciences they're on par, especially political science, which is one of columbia's strongest department, especially international politics. Princeton is more 'prestigeous' but i'm not sure you'll have an advantage for law school by going there. </p>
<p>Princeton is supposed to suffer from a lack of diversity compared to it's peers, and usually has a greater proportion of asian and white students. Columbia is as diverse as it gets, over 50% identify as being of color, and nyc could also give you the chance to work part time at a law firm during the year to see what it's like. </p>
<p>Because the surroundings are diverse and populated, columbia has many political community service clubs and organizations devoted to fighting for community rights, like groups against columbia's expansion into Harlem. there are also protests on campus about politics, community issues and international human rights all the time in the fall and spring. It's too cold in the winter.</p>
<p>Two old threads that may be very useful to you are:</p>
<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/columbia-university/237231-columbia-vs-princeton-ed.html%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/columbia-university/237231-columbia-vs-princeton-ed.html</a> <-- my post #5 on this thread is probably the best thing i've written on this board</p>
<p>Hope that helps!</p>
<p>i don't know why you'd say princeton is stronger in sciences - i'd say they're even.</p>
<p>that said, research is much easier to get @ columbia than at pton, in biological/chemistry at least. i'm not too sure about how easy it is to get physics research at pton, but here it's quite easy. since you're going for law, this may be a moot point anyways.</p>
<p>as a side point, i find that princeton is unbearably boring as a town. i couldn't wait to escape; going through high school in the area made sure that i would not choose pton over any other comparable school. again, this is my own opinion - if you're looking to escape an urban atmosphere, this might actually be a draw for you.</p>
<p>lastly, many more internship opportunities during the year in NYC. there's hardly any opportunities outside of the university in the princeton area.</p>
<p>
[quote]
i couldn't wait to escape; going through high school in the area made sure that i would not choose pton over any other comparable school.
[/quote]
I know how you feel - I felt the same way about Harvard, after growing up in the suburbs of boston and coming to Cambridge all the time. They couldn't have paid me enough to spend another 4 years there. Dead serious.</p>
<p>What this should tell you is that those who don't grow up around a school will find it a lot less odious than you do. Something about moving away out of your parents' house, starting college, and making a new life for yourself, making the campus your own, is tremendously personal. You couldn't have done that at Pton any more than I could have at (say) Brandeis after growing up in the next town over. But anyone else without roots in the area could do so easily. So that's not really a strong argument for or against any place; you're inevitably going to be biased if you grew up next door.</p>
<p>You're right. Sorry, I didn't make my point very clear - the area of princeton is dead quiet. almost every other school has some sort of surrounding area which is interesting - even cornell has ithaca, a town which revolves around the university's students. h/penn/col all have cities near by, but princeton has NOTHING. it's considered "suburban", but there's really nothing of interest within an hour's of the town, apart from some restaurants. "downtown princeton" itself is something like ten blocks long, directly across from the university. </p>
<p>apart from eating clubs, there seems to be nothing to do on weekends compared to the options given to students at other schools. and those eating clubs will grow old pretty quickly.</p>
<p>Princeton certainly is quiet, but it is only about an hour away from NYC and Philly. I personally enjoy having this choice of peace and quiet when I need it.</p>
<p>Also on opportunities, there are unbelievably many Princeton students who pursue internships and various opportunities in NYC all the time. There is absolutely no difference between Princeton and Columbia on that count.</p>
<p>yes, there is, because it's much more difficult to do this during the school year when it's a ~two hour commute each way. you also have classes on fridays, which we generally don't. with these barriers in place, i find it hard to believe that anyone from princeton would be commuting for an internship to the city.</p>
<p>and come on, it's not like we don't have peace and quiet either :)</p>
<p>Okay, indeed I am referring only to opportunities during summer or when classes are not in session. ("all the time" meaning regularly :))</p>
<p>But I believe the OP's reference to "opportunities" does not refer primarily to jobs or such during the school year. (correct me if necessary!)</p>
<p>I'd argue that school-year work is a large part of it. It also helps to have guaranteed summer housing in manhattan if you take a summer internship here, at rather low cost compared to the market.</p>
<p>You can argue that peace and quiet and relative boredom are a good thing for an academic atmosphere - diff'rent strokes and all that. But that is a definite thing on which columbia and princeton fundamentally differ.</p>
<p>anyone else? i'm not convinced either way. :/</p>
<p>then visit :)</p>
<p>Well, this is indicative of Princeton having the highest endowment per student of any university, and it will also be reflected in other aspects of life at Princeton: free printing, free laundry, etc. :)</p>
<p>it's not like columbia doesn't give you a big free printing quota and swipe access to laundry machines on your ID card.</p>
<p>can't argue the stats though, princeton does have more money. and i'm sure they spend it on their students in ways both subtle and obvious. more free booze, from what i understand.</p>
<p>Princeton printing is free without quota, and laundry machines are also free without quota.</p>
<p>The University also gives a lot of financial support to student organizations, so free food is very abundant.</p>
<p>The eating clubs are wealthy, so booze is abundant as well (if you want it)...</p>