<p>I just got accepted as a sophomore transfer and am really on the fence about going. I'm a Carnegie Mellon Design major right now and would only really consider going if Columbia had some type of design or applied arts major or course. Does anyone know if this stuff is even taught at Columbia??? I'm so lost as to what to do....</p>
<p>Well there are art history and visual arts majors. The visual arts major has drawing, painting, printmaking, and photography classes. There's also <em>one</em> digital arts class, but that won't be available until 2010.</p>
<p>So for design, I think CMU is probably the best bet.</p>
<p>Congrats on your acceptance! Though I agree with wmmk that CMU is better for design..
What were your stats, if you don't mind? (I'd also like to apply as a transfer next year.)</p>
<p>umm...let's see
for Carnegie Mellon I had a 4.0 GPA and for my high school (Phillips Exeter) I had a 9.-something out of eleven, which was like a B+ average. </p>
<p>I don't know what to do, am I crazy for not wanting to go to Columbia?</p>
<p>Not at all. If the school won't have a good program for the major you want, what's the point of going there?</p>
<p>the only argument for craziness might be that someone with the intelligence to make it through Exeter and get into Columbia will probably (statistically speaking) not be happy with a career in design, and so as a result should instead seize the opportunity to take on additional challenges and see how they respond to them.</p>
<p>If you're positive that design is the only thing that will ever make you happy and you can do it for 50 years without getting bored, then you're not crazy at all. but if there's doubts in the truth of that statement, maybe there should be doubts in your transfer decision.</p>
<p>...and something tells me you wouldn't have applied to columbia if there weren't at least a few nagging doubts. About Pittsburgh if nothing else :)</p>
<p>^absurd, to say that an intelligent person wouldn't be happy in design.</p>
<p>That's not what I said at all. Try again.</p>
<p>"someone with the intelligence to make it through Exeter and get into Columbia will probably (statistically speaking) not be happy with a career in design, and so as a result should instead seize the opportunity to take on additional challenges"
That's exactly what you said, and it is absurd. You imply that design does not require enough intelligence to challenge a smart person.</p>
<p>Reading comprehension, people. Flip to the "nuance" chapter of your textbook.</p>
<p>
[quote]
the only argument for craziness might (1) be that someone with the intelligence to make it through Exeter and get into Columbia will probably (2) (statistically speaking) not be happy with a career (3) in design, and so as a result should instead seize the opportunity to take on additional challenges (4) and see how they respond to them.</p>
<p>If you're positive (5) that design is the only thing that will ever make you happy and you can do it for 50 years without getting bored, then you're not crazy at all. but if there's doubts in the truth of that statement, maybe there should be doubts (6) in your transfer decision.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>(1) "might be" - This is a possible objection to consider, not some sort of universal truth.
(2) "probably" - i.e., I don't know this girl and I'm not an expert on design, I just know generally the inclinations of the kind of people who go to Columbia.
(3) "career" - anyone can be happy doing something for a little while, or even a year or two. I know from experience that what is interesting to you as an occupation for a year or two may certainly bore you thereafter. Many 18-year-olds don't know that, and certainly don't take it into account.
(4) "additional challenges" - having the option to try new things, at a very low cost, is one of the best parts of college. If she's at Carnegie Mellon there's plenty of opportunities to try new things, but probably not quite as much variety as at columbia, and their specialties are definitely more focused towards the technical end.
(5) and (6) - She might well be sure that nothing besides doing design as a career will make her happy. But if she's not, if (and only if) she has doubts, a transfer might make sense for her.</p>
<p>The underlying point is that very intelligent people achieve mastery in things faster and have more diverse interests, so specialization from a young age may not be an optimal way to spend their undergraduate education.</p>
<p>But feel free to keep oversimplifying what I say.</p>
<p>You're still implying that life is different for "intelligent" people, which it is not. Some intelligent people have varied interests and bore easily, other intelligent people are content to do the same thing for years, just like "unintelligent" people- how one defines "intelligence", i don't know.</p>
<p>And btw, since we seem to be defining intelligence as the ability to get good grades and gain admissions to good schools, my 800 in CR vs. your 690 in writing means that (statistically speaking) it's more likely that you are not making your point clear than that I'm misreading. (Not that SAT scores are everything- but at least I have numbers to back up my "statistics".)</p>
<p>woah....I didn't want an argument to break out. </p>
<p>I see that person's point in that Exeter is a school that caters towards the humanities, sciences and fine arts, which is also the same at Columbia. No one ever came to Exeter to become a great designer which is why I might be taking a big risk. I'm definitily expected to take the transfer to Columbia, but at the same time I wasn't completely happy with my education at Exeter.
I think design is a really great major for me since it requires a different type of intelligence than what you use to analyize a book or critique history.</p>
<p>Columbia's location is a really great place for new opportunities but at the same time I've already crossed out a lot of potential majors from my list, and the majority of the majors are emphasized at Columbia. I just don't see the real-world application of reading the Iliad or studying philosophy (which I already did back at exeter). Other than the weight of Columbia's name, I don't really see the practicality in studying there. </p>
<p>Hence, my confusion.
So if anyone would like to convince me otherwise, please do.</p>
<p>As much as I value a Columbia liberal arts education, I'd say that choosing CMU over Columbia for design is absolutely a reasonable decision, especially if your interests include digital design. I'd suggest you take a look at both course catalogs and compare their offerings as well as the depth and breadth of the faculty teaching them. It may be that Columbia just doesn't have enough of what you're looking for. As for internship opportunities, while NYC offers plenty, Columbia's reputation in this area (compared to art and design schools in the city) may turn out to open fewer doors than CMU's. I don't know this for a fact, but it is worth checking out if you feel convinced you want a career in something design related.</p>
<p>i think the design program at cmu will serve you better than a more general visual arts major you'd have to get at columbia, since it will cater to your specific needs and is very well-regarded in the field. chances are you'll be heading to new york after college anyway.</p>
<p>given the evidence presented, stargirl, i'm pretty inclined to think you'd be making the right decision (or at least a very good decision) to stay where you are.</p>
<p>plus there's all the switching costs - making a new set of friends, adjusting to a new world you live in, the administrative hassles of transferring, possible financial aid differences, etc.</p>
<p>I can see you justifying both staying at CMU and transferring to columbia depending on how strongly you feel on a couple key points. But definitely don't just cave in to pressure. A place like Exeter is supposed to give you an ability to make subtle decisions about what will make you happy. If you've made those decisions, don't let anyone else second-guess them for you.</p>