<p>Although I am thrilled on my acceptance to Columbia, I am a bit apprehensive in regards to fitting in with students from very strong prep schools. I attended an all-girls catholic school that has a wonderful humanities program, but not a very rigorous math and science curriculum. Can anyone speak about the adjustment from a relatively non-competitive high school, to an Ivy League University? I am confident in the admission committee, and I doubt that anyone would be accepted that could not handle the workload in fact, I am looking forward to the challenges that I will have to confront. Still, it would be nice to hear about others experiences.</p>
<p>I went to a crappy public school. With that being said, you can take classes based on how good you are. We have science classes especially for non-scientists. Don't worry about this, you'll be fine!</p>
<p>I am not clear whether you will be taking lots of math and science or whether you will be sticking with humanities. My daughter graduated from a rural public school that offers about 4 AP classes. Only about 10 kids of a class of over 300 went to school more than 90 miles from home, much less out of state. She felt just like you describe feeling when she entered Columbia. In fact, she has done wonderfully. She is only taking science as required and concentrating on the things she is interested in (and better at), like history and political science. We have joked that she had to cram 4 years of high school into her first semester at Columbia, but after that adjustment, she really has had no problems at all. Don't worry. You should be fine.</p>
<p>I have the same question for my D, who is graduating from a small Christian school with 89 seniors, 4 AP classes (with bad AP scores), and plans to attend Duke to study Biology. Is anyone suggesting NOT starting out with Math or science in this situation?</p>
<p>I plan to go into political science and perhaps, economics...so there isn't really any hard core math or science there...but I do know that there are some requirements in these fields. It's a relief to know that I am not the only one with these concerns! I am sure Columbia is aware of how the incoming class will have disparate experience, and will offer courses accordingly. Thank you so much for your responses!</p>
<p>i went to ****ty public school, the prep school kids were a little more prepared, but worked less hard in general than us public school kids. it all evens out in the end, no big deal. </p>
<p>And if you aren't really science focused, no big deal, cause you only have to take 3 science courses, and they can be joke classes, i.e. physics for poets.</p>
<p>Well, econ isn't hard-core mathy, but it isn't exactly a class on T.S. Eliot either, if you catch my drift...</p>
<p>I'm not in college yet, but I personally know a few people who went to truly despicable inner-city schools and then graduated Summa from schools like Amherst, HYPSM, etc. It'll be harder for you than it is for the Andover kids, but their high school experience was more rigorous, so in the end, it all balances out...</p>
<p>My take -- Where the footing is most unequal is in the intro courses because the kids who went to better high schools already learned a lot of the intro course material in high school. So, they're simply set up to do better in general chemistry, for example, because their AP Chem class went way beyond the basics of what the AP requires and was at the level of a good college class. It's not necessarily that they're smarter or better prepared for college; it's that they've learned the material before.</p>
<p>And once you get past the intro classes, the material is new to everyone and the advantage of having taken advanced high school classes is no longer present.</p>
<p>people coming from low-income-area high schools i think have access to certain programs that help them adjust to an ivy-league-level curriculum and community. i forget the exact name of the program - i know Double Discovery Center is the one for high schoolers - but HEOP might be it:</p>
<p>My son came from a small rural high school--------only 1 AP course (calculus). He felt like he was playing catchup the entire Freshman year. He entered as a physics major and did ok his Freshman year, but there is no denying it was tough.</p>
<p>My attitude was (and is), you don't attend a place like Columbia unless you want a challenge - unless you relish a challenge. Need a challenge, really. It's more challenging for some than others, and it's got a different type of challenge depending on your background... but there is nobody who coasts through.</p>
<p>If you're coming from a high school that, in your opinion, would not adequately prepare you to hit the ground running at Columbia, there are a number of solutions:</p>
<p>1) Call the admissions office and ask their advice
2) Enroll in some distance-learning classes like Stanford's DLP or Harvard. Maybe try to prearrange getting some credits (even nontech-elective credits) so it's worth something to you. It will suck to do coursework over the summer but it'll be at the level you need to be at.
3) Find out about the various economically-disadvantaged assistance programs they have to help students just in your situation. HEOP may or may not be one (I don't know enough about it), but they do exist.
4) Prearrange for some tutoring (provided on-campus for free, I believe), and try to become really tightly scheduled. I survived freshman and sophomore years mostly because I depended religiously on my scheduler to tell me what to do and when. Frankly, that is good advice for anyone in any situation. That weekly planner was my lifeline and key to my success, if you can get it ingrained into your habits and use it daily.</p>
<p>I generally agree with C2K2 and Den. I'll also add that you shouldn't be ashamed to take advantage of the varying levels of instruction. You don't have to take the most advanced science class, you should probably start at a level of math you're comfortable with (like Calc 1 instead of 2 or 3).</p>
<p>Seek out, find, and build a support network. Friends, instructors, advisors, whoever you're comfortable with. When you hit the absolute lowest of the low, they'll be the ones to lift you up. I say this from experience.</p>
<p>Lastly, don't freak out or be intimidated by all those kids wearing there private and prep school t-shirts, shorts, and hoodies, because from the day you both send in your enrollment deposit, you're both Columbia students, and that says a lot about not just what you've done, but what the adcoms think you're capable of. Good luck!</p>