<p>Where's your favorite place within, or surrounding, the Columbia campus? Whether it's Butler, the low steps, or the roof of your dorm, I'm interested in the results.</p>
<p>P.S. I'm visiting again soon (before ED results come in) and am looking for some places to scope out</p>
<p>To study: Nothing beats the Law library. Wi-fi, great AC (that doesn't burst into Sahara-mode in the winter...at least it hasn't so far), really quiet (mostly grad students studying) and the chairs are really comfy, with lounge ones for reading.</p>
<p>To hang out: Schapiro probably. The few friends I have here (not self-deprecating just aware) are there and the common rooms are actually...common rooms unlike here in Nussbaum where it's just a narrow hallway. Cable + HD TV, and kitchen. Had a great "The Office Night-turned into impromtu dinner party turned into latenight sleepover and drinking" there. </p>
<p>The EC common room is really nice too though surprisingly empty most of the time. Except on....<em>shudders</em> Gossip Girl nights.</p>
<p>Nothing beats Alma Mater at 5am though. It's just amazing to seat there and oversee the campus before it's crowded. It's pretty amazing.</p>
<p>lerner is alright I suppose.</p>
<p>WORST (Subjective of course)
Butler. Yes it is the heart of the campus and is nice if you want to procrastinate for a few hours while attempting-pretending to do some work but ****te lads. It's always, ALWAYS so crowded. After 6pm you know you're gonna spend 1 hour just looking for a (good) seat. And end up in a room where the temperature isn't properly regulated or on the higher floors where there's no WI-FI. Mostly you just end-up people watching.</p>
<p>I think everyone sort of finds their own favorite place that's "theirs," and a lot of times a person's place will change from year to year. For me, freshmen year my favorite place was JJ's (a late-night fried food place in the bottom of John Jay), sophomore year it was Famous Famiglia pizzaria on I think 111th and Broadway, and this year it's Dodge Gym. You might also want to try checking out the gigantic (but not as good as at some other pizza places) pizza slices at Koronett's, walk by Tom's Diner (maybe 112th and Broadway), the exterior of which they used for the diner on Seinfeld. A lot also depends on your personal interests, what type of stuff are you looking to see?</p>
<p>I'm actually sleeping over and I wanted to know basically a few of the things to expect/ask to see while I am there. I was looking for the best places to study (quiet but not overcrowded), where students tend to hang out (aside from the quad), and basically get more of a student's perspective of Columbia. I've been itching to get into Butler ever since I had a campus tour and our group was too big for the guide to let through. I've done my fair share of research on the Columbia website, housing, etc, but I really wanted to see it from a Columbia student's perspective. I also am interested in checking out the dorms. I hear Carman is a bit too social but John Jay is older and maybe too isolated. I've always assumed on getting a double in college, but I guess once I check out the dorms I'll get to see the social life from a first hand perspective. I also heard that Columbia's not a big party school, and I was wondering of opinions on that issue too. I'm not a really a partier at all, but I also don't want to spend every weekend studying 24/7 in my dorm. </p>
<p>So tips on what to see (or ask to see) when I sleep over?</p>
<p>I usually study either in my room (a single) or @ butler. the ground floor @ butler is the 2nd floor, and undergrads generally study on butler 2, 3, and 4. also there's study space on butler 6 which is generally more grad students, but a lot quieter. or if it's super-crowded (usually just gets that way around finals and occasionally midterms time), you can study at the desks in the stacks.</p>
<p>in terms of where people hang out, usually just in someone's dorm, usually in the doubles or suites (hartley-wallach has suites as do many upperclass dorms), or whenever i want to have a catch w/ friends rather than just hang out in someone's dorm we usually do go to the quad, altho some ppl have catches and stuff in riverside park.</p>
<p>Columbia's basically what you make of it. to see it from a student's perspective, do you know if the person you're staying with here will let you basically shadow them for a day?</p>
<p>Freshmen dorms......
Carmen's pretty social, yea, but a lot of people like that, and most floors there become away-from-home families. John Jay isn't really isolated, but it's definitely not as social as carmen. the best dorm if you're more of a study than party person is probably furnald, it's definitely the nicest of the freshmen dorms, mostly singles w/ some doubles, and although some people say it's anti-social, it really isn't, you don't have parties in your neighbors rooms, but it's definitely not very difficult to become friends w/ your neighbors living in furnald.</p>
<p>True, Columbia isn't a big party school, but people still have mini-parties in carmen/upperclass dorms on thurs-sat nights, which usually consist of a bunch of friends hanging out and often drinking. The frat parties......some are ok most.....are pretty lame. Also there are about 4 main bars (1020, heights, o'connel's, campos although it's a restaurant during the day) people go to around campus, all of which card. Columbia also has about 3 or 4 class council-organized parties every semester, which......could be worse. It's not a party school, but people who're looking for a party usually will find one.</p>
<p>any other questions?</p>
<p>I agree that John Jay is definitely not as social as I "thought" Columbia could be. </p>
<p>-- I don't go to Columbia, my sister does. Dormed in John Jay as a freshman.</p>
<p>It's from the Columbia overnight program, so I have no clue who I'm sleeping over with (I only know they'll share the same field of study I'm interested in). Thank you all for being so descriptive; I feel like I've gained more perspective just from reading these posts. How are the class sizes, and moreso the content of the classes (I know this is ambiguous)? Do you find them really interesting? Are the professors really interactive? Are they discussion based, and do you study primary texts? What's your opinion on the core? How competitive are the students grade-wise (my school doesn't rank specifically because the students would emotionally break down if they weren't in the top 1%)</p>
<p>The Chemistry library is a totally underrated place to study at.</p>
<p>Study: B-school's Watson library, but they excommunicated undergrads.
Roof of SIPA
PILLOW ROOM IN EC!!! (between the 18th and 20th floors: it's a room full of pillows!!)
Hungarian Pastry Shop
Pinkberry
1020
Brunch at Community Food & Juice
Low steps in the Sunshine
Frisbee on Math Lawn or Morningside Park
EC suites
There's this great wine restaurant on 99th that opened a few months ago: I've forgotten what it's called--anyone?
Westside Market
...</p>
<p>ask your host these things! I went to Columbia for an overnight program, and we stayed over for 2 nights and 3 days, and although I barely saw my host, she was extremely nice, and so helpful whenever I did see her! Maybe it's just that I was lucky, but everyone that I met at Columbia was SO nice- that really played a big part in getting to how in love I am with Columbia today.
Sleeping in the dorms will also give you an entirely new perspective! I stayed at John Jay, and it really does kind of show it's age. The bathrooms are not the greatest thing ever either, but I think that for a school like Columbia, where I absolutely loved everything else, this is probably a reasonable trade-off. I'm picky, and when I realized that I wasn't bothered by the dorms I definitely knew that Columbia was it! </p>
<p>Oh man, I went in the Westside Market, and it is the cutest thing ever! I also bought a green apple that was fantaaaastic :] and that Koronett's pizza slice really is huge!</p>
<p>how bad are the notorious bathrooms at john jay?</p>
<p>are they yellow and grimy looking? are the shower stalls small, and do they reek of filth?</p>
<p><a href="http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v348/6/66/524445067/n524445067_4497195_5592.jpg%5B/url%5D">http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v348/6/66/524445067/n524445067_4497195_5592.jpg</a>
<a href="http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v348/6/66/524445067/n524445067_4497197_6280.jpg%5B/url%5D">http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v348/6/66/524445067/n524445067_4497197_6280.jpg</a>
:]
but I mean...
<a href="http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v360/6/66/524445067/n524445067_4496845_2200.jpg%5B/url%5D">http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-sf2p/v360/6/66/524445067/n524445067_4496845_2200.jpg</a>
WHO CARES!</p>
<p>oh baby,</p>
<p>what a nice cozy shower stall</p>
<p>touche. A grimy bathroom is an equal tradeoff for an ivy league institution</p>
<p>there's always a party somewhere, so you're bound to find one if you go looking.</p>
<p>my favorite place to study is probably avery, even if the hours aren't always great. the law school has been spruced up a lot since i was a freshman, so that's now an appealing option. </p>
<p>dorm-wise, i'd say that you should check out furnald. i lived in john jay during my first year (its social scene really varies according to the group of people on each floor), but furnald is much nicer in terms of its amenities (i lived there sophomore year)--to such an extent that i think it's a preferable option overall. check out the lounge on the first floor; it was always one of my favorite study spaces when i lived there. of course, if you're looking for access to parties, you probably can't do better than carman. </p>
<p>other places to check out: book culture (provided that you like to browse), hungarian, COMMUNITY, 1020, sip, and the parks if it's not too cold outside. </p>
<p>you mentioned that you wanted some impressions of classes and the core. i've taken mostly seminars since sophomore year, and i've rarely (if ever) been disappointed with the quality of instruction in those. of course, it pays to scope out recommendations on CULPA (CULPA</a> - Columbia Underground Listing of Professor Ability) and shop around, but columbia has no shortage of great teachers. and as for working with primary texts... well, that's the basis of lit hum and CC, so you should enjoy those. i can really only speak to my experiences in the english and history departments, but students aren't competitive about grades. the subject hardly ever comes up in conversation.</p>
<p>My favorite place at Columbia is the roof of East Campus. Towering over the rest of campus and leering over the edge of morningside park, the entire city sweeps out before you and below you, showing you all of central park, and beyond, midtown and the shining lights of times square. To the east lies harlem and the east river bridges, and long island sound, from which the sun will rise if you're out at that hour. To the north you can see all the way up Amsterdam towards the Medical campus and the GW Bridge; to the west is all of campus sprawled out before you, and the Hudson and Jersey. Up there on your own, nothing reminds you how much you like this town than staring down upon it from a place of peace.</p>
<p>That said, if gossipgirl is looking for (A) the best places to study, i'd say chemistry library, butler's main reading room, or the physics library, (B) places to hang out, I'd say Hungarian Pastry Shop, the lounges or ramps in Lerner, or a dorm party in Ruggles or EC. </p>
<p>Furthermore:
- There's no such thing as a "too social" dorm, unless you're in a frat house. If you don't want to interact with people, shut your door. It's better to always have the option available though.
- There was a recent thread a month or two ago about parties at columbia. search for it and read it.
- When you visit, if you're the enterprising type, stop some member of the opposite sex on one of the campus walks and ask them if they have a minute to tell you about the school, since you're a prospective. Nearly everyone will answer questions for you on the spot. Get a few opinions about the academics and stuff.</p>
