<p>I am new here, and I am having a hard time relating to students at columbia. I am completely frustrated. I feel like an alien, i don't know why i am here. I don't want to compete with anyone, or prove my intelligence -- and that seems like all anyone is interested in here. Is there any love and acceptance at this school???</p>
<p>I think you need to cast a wider net. There's a group of friends for everyone at Columbia, and you probably happened to be around people that aren't to your liking.</p>
<p>I agree that Columbia -- and probably most top colleges -- will have its share of wanna-be intellectuals. There are a good number of intellectuals, but a greater number of pseudointellectuals.</p>
<p>You can be smart, but not feel the need to prove your intelligence. I'm sure you can find some smart friends who happen to act normally and enjoy talking about sports, movies, drinking, the opposite sex, etc. etc.</p>
<p>Welllllll... Columbia is an Ivy, so I hope you weren't coming here expecting to find a party school. (I suppose there are a couple of Ivies that might conceivably be called party schools, but good ol' Alma Mater is definitely not one of them. ;) ) Most people who go to Columbia attend with the hopes of getting a good education, and I think that might actually be more true here than at many of the nationally-ranked schools because of the Core - new admits know that they'll be required to take all these rigorous courses in a wide variety of disciplines. Furthermore, Columbia is in New York, which means there's almost no fraternity scene to speak of. When you live in a city this vibrant, there's no need to rely on on-campus drinking societies for social activity; there's a world of things to do right down Broadway!</p>
<p>There are plenty of state colleges where people drink heavily and don't attempt to be, well, "smarts". I'm honestly not trying to be mean here, but if you value social environment more than quality of education, you might feel more comfortable at a school like that. And you certainly will save a lot of money - I don't think there's any reason to fork over all that cash to Columbia if it's not the place for you.</p>
<p>I went to Columbia and thought the students were elitist, competitive, intense, you name it. Transferred to Dartmouth and found ten times more fun and twenty times friendlier students. Just as smart but with nothing to prove - my kind of people.</p>
<p>Yeah... I was trying not to say it, but Dartmouth is one of the Ivies that I think does qualify as a party school. ;) </p>
<p>I would have to disagree about Columbia students being elitist, though. Although Columbians certainly are intellectually intense, I really don't see elitism or cutthroat behavior outside of a few specific majors where it's probably to be expected. Premeds are competitive and can sometimes be seen wandering around Butler library at 3 AM while cracked out and regurgitating orgo. That's not the case for the majority of students, though. </p>
<p>I think Columbia students (like most New Yorkers :p ) are urbane and sophisticated - and also nicer than one might imagine from surface appearances once one gets to know them.</p>
<p>one of the greatest mysteries i wonder about is how in the world can they endure the city traffic...</p>
<p>Anti-Intellect, with any accredited school, there is inevitably going to be a group of individuals who are pompous and overly-obsessed with proving themselves. And that's ok. We should expect that. But if that's not your thing (I've maintained a 4.0 gpa and it's not my thing either), there are plenty of other cool people who are intelligent, kind, and not looking to prove a point. Don't forget, you're going to be in the city! There are all types of personalities!</p>
<p>It is not about drinking, it is about relaxing the high strung vibe Columbia has got going. I appreciate the seriousness of students to learn, but not their need to jerk off each others ego with intellectual boasting</p>
<p>How do you define intellectual "boasting", though? Can you give some examples of what you're talking about? Is it boasting to want to spend free time having bull sessions about philosophy in a friend's dorm room, for example? </p>
<p>It could well be that I'm misunderstanding you, but I got the sense from your first post that your complaint was about intellectualism.</p>
<p>I think I get what you mean. while its not the exact same thing you are going though, when I first transfered from my old school to IB, I felt totally out of place. things that people talked about in class and out of class made me feel totally dumb. of course there are times when you can tell that someone if just plain throwing big words/names around w/o actually knowing the details and sometimes people say things with the sole purpose of impressing others with their knowledge ( I think this is what you mean by intellectual boasting?)</p>
<p>I think what got me out of that feeling was just by getting to know everyone in some not-so-academic situations, such as club activities (excluding physics club).</p>
<p>This is a tricky situation given the university setting. I am bummed out about the smart people who define themselves by their intelligence; the constant quoters, the snobs who make elitist remarks, the philosophers who speak philosophy better than they live it (if they live it at all, im not sure)-- my hands go up in praise to the people that are so confident in their intelligence that they don't have to use big words. to the people that do not measure intelligence only by the ability to articulate knowledge. to the people who love life so much that they love unintelligence as much as intelligence, and see the importnace of both, and are in awe. I am bummed out that I do not see these open minded intellectuals here at Columbia. so far as I can see, this University has an anal academic intelligence not connected to real life or to creativity. I see a lot of book smarts here, many theories, and articulation up the wazoo, but what I don't see is spunky fun accesible intelligence. ivy people take themselves too damn seriously.</p>
<p>^ why I love Penn.</p>
<p>a good friend of mine transferred after her first semester at Columbia. Her sentiments echoed the original thread poster. If the school does not make you happy then I suggest a transfer. There is no need to give the thread starter advice like "look harder." Go where you will be happy.</p>
<p>Its not Ivy people anti-intellect, its a Columbia thing. People say the same thing about Chicago, a bunch of kids out to prove whose the most analytical. Kids at many of the other Ivies are pretty down the earth.</p>
<p>"The people who love life so much that they love unintelligence as much as intelligence"</p>
<p>I agree completely.........</p>
<p>Even at Columbia grad school I felt people were out to show off who was the biggest tool, which has nothing to do with intelligence. It was hard to deal with this after going to a college where brilliant people downplayed themselves. That was awesome.</p>
<p>where did you get your undergrad, just for the sake of torturing myself with curiousity? I will not let myself transfer again, this is my third school, but, I still like to know these things. also, if anyone has a shout out of hope, serious, down to earth pro columbia words, please, bring them on.</p>
<p>i'm surprised this thread didnt catch my eye sooner....</p>
<p>anti-intellect, i understand where your coming from with your comment and I sympathize with you. With regards to the intellectual masterbation if u will....i viewed it differently when i first came to columbia in my freshman year. I am in the engineering school and during HS i really didnt read beyond what was assigned in school...i knew nothing about literature or philosophy when i came.....all i knew was math and bio and hanging around ppl in my dorm made me at first feel the way you did, since i couldnt quote kant or freud or pride and prejudice in my daily conversations.....but then u realize that everyone is unique AND that the people who do this are actually quite sincere and dont just do this to show you up. If you just dont jump to judgements and sit back and absorb the intellect that some people radiate then you'll realize that they are just being themselves and that you can learn something from them and they can in turn learn something from you even when you arent in class. I think that because you were a transfer student you really missed out on the kind of community that develops during freshman year. that doesnt mean that you'll always be an outsider, but you'll have to work harder and approach people with a more open mind.</p>
<p>Anyway, feel free to facebook me (Ashraf) or PM/IM me if you wanna talk...i'm always up for meeting new ppl.</p>
<p>that's the hardest part about being a transfer student....</p>
<p>"work harder".</p>
<p>What surprised me most about students here is that they don't seem to understand that: 1)their moms don't live with them anymore, and 2)there isn't maid service in the dorms. The living skills of many students are immature to the extreme. They want to use other people's kitchen ware but don't want to wash them afterwards. So many times have people used my pot/pan and not bothered to wash it, and I have to wash it for them when I need to use it myself. The common area is so littered with garbage because people don't clean up after they eat or just leave various small rubbishes lying around. The bathroom sanition is even worse. Then there are things like people forgetting to turn off their alarms and have it sound for hours...starting at times such as 7 AM. These things happen to everybody, and I expect them to occur every once in a while. But when they happen ALL the time it is clear that people just don't have the notion of washing dishes and cleaning up after themselves. I guess they are too used to being pampered at home and never had to deal with such responsiblities. Or maybe they feel like they are too good to do things such as washing dishes. Whatever the reason, the fact that these same people can talk a great game of philosophy and lead a thousand student clubs and organizations...just leaves you shaking your head.</p>
<p>It is just ironic that such a group of intellectuals can't grasp the most basic of living skills.</p>