<p>I know that many colleges require students to take classes in certain areas, and that Columbia's core is particularly well known. Is this because columbia makes its students take more courses in its core than other places, or because it requires specific ones? The reason I ask is that I want to focus as much as possible on math/physics... I wouldn't mind if columbia is just picking what i have to take, but other places might be more appealing if they required much less.</p>
<p>It's more of the picking what you have to take. Everyone takes the exact same courses, whereas at other schools they tell you to pick one out of this category and one out of that category.</p>