<p>Hey I am from NorCal and am thinking of applying to Boston University and Colombia. Have any of you had the exeprience of both places and could let me know if it will be a total culture shock? Will I like going there or should I save my money and reconsider? </p>
<p>THANKS!</p>
<p>z2thay, I'm in the same predicament except I'm from so.cal and I'm applying to Columbia, Duke, Amherst, and Dartmouth, look at it as a learning experience, yeah it may be different at first but just like any else you'll adapt, and in the end it will make a better person. However, if you ae totally feel like you cant be away from your element for more than a week than you should definitely reconsider and consider colleges that are closer, like in Cali, Wash., or Oregon, or something</p>
<p>What... and exchange beach, blue sky and sunshine for non-stop raining? That's what I'll call culture shock...</p>
<p>i don't know how much of a difference it would be for someone else...but i moved to DC after living in NorCal for 14 years (started high school out here) and the culture shock was HUGE (also worst year of my life. but that's besides the point). granted i had never been further east than illinois before i moved out here (relatives) so i didn't know what to expect at all. (that and the weather kind of sucks. :p) but for the longest time i thought i would only want to go to college in calilfornia...and now some of my top choices are in the northeast. </p>
<p>but it does depend on the person too, and on previous experiences. but i wouldn't not apply just because of fear of culture shock (although it's not just the climate that's different, but the culture is just different from california.). take risks, try something new. go ahead and apply to columbia and bu (i love boston. it's like an east coast SF that's flat), don't worry about culture shock, just do it. :)</p>