<p>What would you guys say are the pros and cons of Columbia and Princeton?
Princeton is more prestigious (I think), I mean it's consistently ranked higher than Columbia.
Columbia is in NYC, while Princeton is located in a less exciting environment...</p>
<p>Other than the fact they are Ivies, they don't have much in common.</p>
<p>Visit them both and see which appeals to you most. If it's Columbia, then other colleges you might consider would be Chicago (core curriculum, urban), Harvard (urban), Yale (urban). If it's Princeton, you might also look at Stanford (suburban), Dartmouth (undergrad focus), Williams (undergrad focus).</p>
<p>That's true. Who would you say has better professors in the sciences dept?</p>
<p>In guess it all depends in what kind of sciences are you more interested at.</p>
<p>I was deciding between Columbia and Princeton for early decision and decided on Columbia for many reasons, such as music, campus, location. Academics won't decide anything for you, and you won't find better or worse professors at either place or other places like this. The important thing is to decide which school you like more while ignoring academics (since academics won't make the difference). I thought the Princeton campus was dusty, and the buildings didn't match, and the arrangment of buildings was disorganized. I just didn't like the campus. Then I thought about music. If I wanted to go see a lot of concerts, or see a lot of other things like museums or plays or musicals etc. Columbia is a better place. There are generally more things to do and more things to see. You're more connected with everything. And I just started to like Columbia more all the time for other reasons, too, like the core. I would have gone to a school without a core. That wasn't an important part of the decision for me. So if the person above says you should look at UChicago just because it also has a core, well that might not matter to you if you can go either way like I can. So I applied early to Columbia. If I was going to do it over again, I wouldn't include Princeton. I would probably be deciding between Columbia, Yale, Northwestern, and Harvard, because I like all the campuses (Northwestern is on the lake), they're all in or near cities (Northwestern is more connected to Chicago than UChicago, it seems to me), and they all have good music and good music schools attached to them.</p>
<p>Life at Princeton is boring. More importantly, princeton doesn't have a medical school while Columbia's medical school is world-class.</p>
<p>To say life at Princeton is boring is plain silly. Did you ask this question on the Princeton board?</p>
<p>I've been to the Princeton campus twice. I really couldn't possibly find anything fun going on. That's just my impression though.</p>
<p>
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Life at Princeton is boring.
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While it might not have NYC, it is far from boring</p>
<p>
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More importantly, princeton doesn't have a medical school while Columbia's medical school is world-class.
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You wouldn't be in the medical school in either case. Columbia's med school is also blocks away from the central campus, so you probably wouldn't even see it as an undergrad.</p>
<p>I guess it all depends on your own personality. If you like the college-town way of life, then Princeton would be more suitable for you, and if you prefer the city, well, Columbia then. I'm sure you can have fun at both though, but different kinds of fun</p>
<p>What about the academics? Would you say, even though Princeton isn't as exciting, that it has better academics?</p>
<p>It's impossible to compare academics. Seriously, don't even worry about it. But one difference is Columbia has a core, which could make it better or worse or make no difference at all depending on who you are. Another part of Columbia academics is the classes can use the city, which is cool. But don't worry about grades or grad school preparation or test preparation or anything else like that, because it's so impossible to compare and so unnecessary.</p>
<p>Both schools will provide you with amazing academics. Choose the structure that best suits you (is Columbia's core appealing?). Also, consider the environments (urban vs. suburban). Make your decision based on which school seems more fitting after considering those factors.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. They were really helpful!</p>
<p>let us know your choice</p>
<p>Princeton and Columbia have some fundemental differences... the main one being Princeton has way more undergraduate focus than Columbia.. at Princeton, all the undergrads have to do senior theses. If research is important to you, choose Princeton.. Princeton is obviously more prestigious.. Unless you're dying to live in NYC, I'd choose Princeton over Columbia.</p>
<p>Princeton has a grade inflation policy which might be a turn-off to some.. and Princeton is very white-bread, whereas Columbia is more liberal...</p>
<p>I just read on the Princeton forum that NYC is a 1 hr train ride away. Even though I'd like to live there, one hr isn't bad at all, so I think princeton is kind of like the best of both worlds. However, I think it's harder to get into than Columbia, so I think I'll try Princeton ED and then Columbia RD if I don't get in.</p>
<p>...1 hour?
Sorry, no.</p>
<p>I live in northern NJ, about a 2-hour drive from Princeton. From my town, it's a 60-80 minute train ride into the city.
I wouldn't count on visiting NYC too often if you're going to Princeton.</p>
<p>I looked it up and the distance between Princeton and NYC is 44 miles, so it definitely could be 1 hr</p>
<p>Eh, but if you count in all the time for stops and such...
Well whatever.</p>