Columbia vs. Yale

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
21

<p>

No chance of that :slight_smile:
Im an international.That is why Im trying to get an idea from back here.Personally,everything I hear about the Columbia crowd really makes me appreciate it-the fun,quirky,intellectual,streetsmart people that make up the campus sound great to me!</p>

22

<p>Hiya again!
I was wondering if for an Undecided applicant,the Core curriculum would be of any disadvantage.Would a more ‘free’ curriculum like that of LAC’s not suit better?
Or do you think,the Core wouldn’t ‘restrict’ the students in any way?</p>

23

<p>

Although,Im an Undecided applicant,Im more inclined towards the sciences(physics/chem),mathematics and philosophy.I might double major.(math/phil) or choose to focus on a sci/math combi.
Thanks a lot for your help everybody!</p>

24

<p>Bump please?</p>

25

<p>pixie, it’s impossible to say whether the Core is an advantage or disadvantage for you personally. It restricts you insofar as it prevents you from taking as many electives as a Brown student, but it frees you insofar as it exposes you to interdisciplinary ideas outside of the academic path you’ve prescribed for yourself. Tons of students come in thinking they want to do the natural sciences and end up pursuing social sciences or humanities because they discover a deep connection to the ideas and arguments they’re exposed to in Core classes. I think at least a few students who come in determined to be comp lit majors end up taking linguistics or psych after sitting through a couple of Frontiers lectures. And for the majority of students who are undecided, the Core provides a good way to gain a foundation in critical thinking and understanding without immersing yourself in advanced classes in narrow disciplines. And of course, the fact that everyone undergoes the Core makes it a defining and unifying part of campus culture.</p>

<p>Whether you’d prefer to take the Core (which centers around critically engaging with philosophical and literary texts, but also includes science and foreign language components) and some electives or prefer to take solely electives is really up to you.</p>

26

<p>Thanks for taking the time to explain that to me pwoods :)</p>

<p>Talking about about academic rigor,is C more rigorous than Brown?(I know this is going slightly off the thread topic,but I don’t want to create a new thread on this).</p>

27

<p>Honestly, I don’t think so. Brown is about as selective as Columbia, and their students are about as academically prepared and intellectually curious as Columbia’s. The major difference between Columbia and Brown is not the academic rigor, but the academic structure. Anecdotally, Columbia students tend to be more driven and stressed than Brown students, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the former’s academic rigor is higher. You really can’t say that either is a better school for undergraduate (though you can definitely say that Columbia’s graduate programs blow Brown out of the water); you have to figure out which environment you’d rather be in.</p>

28

<p>Thanks a lot for telling me that pwoods!
What I heard was that B’s a lot more laid back and C’s where all the academics are and B’s where all the students who just want an easier curriculum are.Plus,Brown has a no gpa system?</p>

<p>PS-How’s the math deptt at Columbia?And do you know what C’s acceptance rate for internationals asking for aid is?I tried searching for it,but no go.</p>

29

<p>Yale’s campus is sooo gorgeous</p>