<p>Are the kids friendly/snooty?
Is the neighborhood safe?
How is Teachers College, undergrad and grad - is it enormous amounts of work?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Are the kids friendly/snooty? Some of each, depending.</p>
<p>Is the neighborhood safe? Yes. But compared to what? Middlebury or Princeton? Then it’s unsafe. It’s in the largest city in the country, in a well-to-do neighborhood that is not so far from less well-to-do neighborhoods. If you don’t live in university housing (which is a relative bargain), and you aren’t independently wealthy, chances are you are going to be living in a less well-to-do neighborhood. If you have never lived in the middle of a big city before, you may very well feel unsafe until you get used to it.</p>
<p>How is Teachers College, undergrad? Nonexistent.</p>
<p>grad? One of a handful of elite education schools (which is generally kind of an oxymoron). Faculty are primarily researchers at the pinnacle of their profession, not teacher trainers. Great if you want a career as an education policy wonk / school reformer. Probably overkill if all you want is to get certified to teach middle school social studies.</p>
<p>Simply, the greatest undergraduate liberal arts education in America. Sciences are excellent, too.</p>
<p>What about graduate schools? Teachers College - does anyone know?</p>
<p>^^
JHS answered your question already:</p>
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</p>
<p>What kind of degree are you looking at? What do you want to do with the degree? How much money can you afford to pay for the degree?</p>
<p>If you just want to teach in NYS, there are much cheaper alternatives that will prepare you quite nicely for the day-to-day job of a K-12 teacher. If you want a policy position or to conduct your own research, then Columbia’s Teachers College is tough to beat—if you can afford it!</p>