Core Curriculum

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
1

<p>Hi CCers,</p>

<p>As senior year looms ahead, I'm attempting to minimize the amount of colleges I intend to apply to this fall. One of my biggest concerns with Columbia is the core curriculum. I attend a prep school in Indiana, and after reviewing the syllabi for core humanities and history classes, I realized that I've already taken classes just like these at my high school. The syllabi matched up almost exactly. </p>

<p>While I understand the importance of being well-rounded as a student, and how a core curriculum can help one achieve this, I really am looking forward to starting work in my major (biology). Prep school has made me realize how much I want to get other classes out of the way so that I can actually start to specialize in something. I crossed UChicago off my list because of the core curriculum which takes approximately 1/3 of your time there. </p>

<p>So for those of you who know more about the core at Columbia, what are your opinions of it? Would you recommend I apply to Columbia when I want to focus on my science major and intend to do undergrad research my junior and senior year? </p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>bump /10chars</p>

3

<p>I’m also planning to do hard science research throughout undergrad at Columbia, but you do need to understand that the core at Columbia takes up a lot of time. You shouldn’t apply here if you “want to get other classes out of the way”. You’ll be extremely disgruntled because the core at Columbia takes 1/3 of your total credit hours as well. </p>

<p>You can still focus on the science, but you’ll have to go through with the core. If you crossed UChicago off because of the core requirement, Columbia should be crossed off as well.</p>

4

<p>Thanks for the answer. I only had Columbia on my list because of the prestige of the school and because it’s located in NYC, but I don’t think the core curriculum is for me. </p>

<p>I actually feel a lot more relieved to know that I won’t have acceptance anxiety for Columbia next year!</p>