<p>Haha, I’m glad. In CC, you get a LOT of work., Engineers get far less physical work. CC has so much reading it’s overwhelming. But if you do the reading and all the work given, you will do great on your exams. There are no gimmicks. It doesn’t really work that way for SEAS-- Ifound out the hard way lol.</p>
<p>@isabelwhatx, I’ve heard that the sense of community at Columbia is lacking (which I doubt), what is your opinion on the strength of the community? I’m not asking for Saturday afternoon football state school or anything, but compared to other top schools?</p>
<p>Well, I don’t attend other top schools, so it’s hard to tell. I do know that my friend from UPenn visited and said the atmosphere was really different-- but that was mostly because of the overwhelming fashion sense lol. She was also surprised by how many people smoked on campus.</p>
<p>But if I could give you an opinion on the strength of the community here without comparing to other schools, well, it would be difficult. There’s a lot of support throughout the community and a LOT of extra curriculars to join. Generally the people on your floor and the people in your ECs are your close friends. But there are not many unifying activities on campus other than sports games, which we suck at, but we do have a few. Just the other day there was a tree lighting ceremony and everyone showed up to it. It was adorable. </p>
<p>Overall, within tiny student groups (ECs, sports teams, etc) you can find a lot of lasting friendships and strengths. But no, I do not feel an overwhelming connection to everyone on campus. In fact, most people are strangers. For someone like me, that’s preferred. I choose who I want to hang out with and the school doesn’t impress upon me a thousand and one students. There is quite a lot of pride towards Columbia, but not necessarily towards everyone around you.</p>
<p>Does that answer the question?</p>
<p>Perfectly, thank you.</p>
<p>isabelwhatx, I have a question for you. My friend told me today that most people who go to Columbia either hate the Core curriculum or don’t like it (no one really likes or love it). </p>
<p>My question for you is: Do you like it? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the Core (in your opinion)? Does taking one course in each subject really help you become well rounded?</p>
<p>Why did you choose Columbia? Was it your first choice?</p>
<p>I am sorry if that’s too many questions, but your posts have been very informative and helpful.</p>
<p>Hii!! In your post above you mentioned how to do well in cc. but what do you have to do to do well in SEAS?</p>
<p>lol isabelwhatx That made my day 
Oh, And I second lolsaurus’ question.</p>
<p>Do you like it?: Hm… yes and no. I like it because it forces me to learn things I would not have learned before, and that’s good. I dislike it because it’s annoying. But anything that’s worthwhile takes a lot of effort. For instance, I hate chemistry. A lot. I have to take it this semester. Am I happy taking it? No. Am I happy that I have taken it? Yes. </p>
<p>What are the strengths and weaknesses of the Core (in your opinion)?: Some strengths would have to be that it really forces you to broaden your horizons. You may think you love History, but taking a course in LitHum could help you realize that you just LOVE comparative literature. It provides you a solid education rather than a skewed one. A weakness would be that it can take up a LOT of time and prevent you from really doing things you love. For instance, next semester I am taking 0 elective classes because I do not have time from all the requirements. It can be super frustrating. A lot of the core classes are taught by grad students and are graded more easily than normal classes, which can reduce its value. That could also be a good thing, in which it boosts your GPA.</p>
<p>Does taking one course in each subject really help you become well rounded?: Absolutely.It’s very easy to only take the classes in your major-- it’s almost a default setting. But in order to get a REAL education, to really understand what you are learning and how to apply it, you need comparisons. And learning about other subjects and the relationships between seemingly unrelated topics is fascinating. </p>
<p>Why did you choose Columbia? Was it your first choice?: Columbia was my first choice! I was an early decision-er last year. One of the best days of my life when I found out I got in Columbia is a really special place for me. My father went to the engineering school and my brother is currently a sophomore here. It feels very literally like a second home, because I’ve been brought up on it. </p>
<p>The people here are fantastic. I’m a very type-A personality, which is exactly what Columbia fosters. Columbia tells you what to do and expects you to do it. If you don’t, then that’s not their problem. You do not get babied. But while you lose a large sense of support, you gain a lot of independence and respect. You are an adult and you are expected to make choices like an adult. For me, that’s fantastic. I hate it when people tell me what to do. Most people here are like that as well. They’ve got incredibly passionate views and are generally passionate people. The political debates I have on my floor are frequent and powerful. </p>
<p>As I mentioned before, it really is a second home. I live in Westchester, NY, about 40 minutes upstate from Columbia’s campus. Both of my parents work in midtown and my brother attends the same school I do. It’s like I never left, really. I get very homesick very easily, and it was nice to have the close proximity. I would always raid my brothers upper classmen dorm for his air conditioning. So awesome. </p>
<p>I also love NYC. Specifically NYC. All other cities pale in comparison. When I visit home, I feel empty and tired. When I come back onto campus, I spring to life. There are always lights, always noises, always people awake and being active. It’s incredibly motivating and just a fantastic atmosphere. I’m a bit disappointed it’s so hard for me go off campus because of the workload, but when I do, it’s so great. I can’t imagine going to a rural school. Yuck. </p>
<p>There’s also a lot of opportunity not only at Columbia, but in the Big Apple. There are tons of internships and jobs, and Columbia offers a TON of research opportunities. Aside from that, the alumni network here is fantastic. We have something called “LionShare” in which Columbia alumni post job offerings specifically looking for current Columbia students. They want to hire you. You never really leave Columbia. You’ve got support all over the world from other Columbians.</p>
<p>So yeah Lol</p>
<p>Hii!! In your post above you mentioned how to do well in cc. but what do you have to do to do well in SEAS?: You have to work. SO HARD. And it’s difficult, because you don’t exactly know what to work on. You just know you have to do work. I can’t completely answer your question, because I’m still trying to figure it out myself. But if you’re doing the homework, and you’re not ridiculously overwhelmed by how simple the question is, you need to study more. You need to understand everything inside and out, truly. Because you will be tested on your understanding and applying that to non conventional problems. Do every problem in the book and then ask the TA for more. It goes way beyond what you do for homework and what you learn in class. Basically, you need a deep understanding of whatever it is that you’re learning, and that deep understanding comes from your own independent work.</p>
<p>hey isabelwhatx that was really helpful! thanks so much!! :-D!!</p>
<p>No problem I’m glad to help you guys out. It keeps me from having to study for Chem… mwahahaha.</p>
<p>We might as well help you back with some chem review: Would you consider your bond with your teachers more like a covalent bond or a hydrogen bond?</p>
<p>Lol hahahahahhahahahaha</p>
<p>LOL. It depends on the teacher and the subject and the size of the class. For Chemistry, for instance, me and my teacher are both noble gasses: we want nothing to do with each other. In fact, I haven’t attended class since, like, the second week of school. He posts his lectures online and reads directly off his powerpoint, so there is no real reason for me to attend class. I am doing well in the class (considering my distaste for chemistry).</p>
<p>For University Writing, because it is a much smaller class (compare over 100 kids to less than 20), I feel much closer to my classmates and to my teacher. You could say me and my professor have an ionic bond I feel very comfortable emailling her, talking to her after class, and setting up appointments to meet with her about my writing. </p>
<p>For most intro classes, your classes will have over 100 kids, especially in the engineering school. For CC and the core classes, though, you will surprisingly have much smaller classes, like my UWriting course. But as freshman year passes and you start taking more specific courses, like my Astronomy course that I’m taking, the class numbers will dwindle down and you will have a much closer bond to your teachers. </p>
<p>But it really just depends on the class. A lot of teachers are highly accessible, even in larger classes. A lot of teachers are not because they are researchers at the university and have other things to do with their time. But the trend is pretty linear that as the difficulty arises and the years go on, you will get smaller classes and feel a more intimate bond with your teachers.</p>
<p>wow this thread has been really helpful. more informative than the columbia info session, bunch of stuff on the web, and the extended conversation I had with the Columbia interviewer. If this doesnt disturb you so much from your chem studying, i would like to ask what it’s like to take language courses as electives. you’ve mentioned that the core+engineering requirements have left you with no room for electives. I’m a ED-er to the SEAS this year, but I highly desire to take at least one language throughout college, and if available, two. Would that be possible AT ALL? and from what I heard through info sessions and stuff, columbia rlly encourages students to study abroad. is that false for engineering students? i read somewhere along your posts that it’s harder for SEAS students to do that. hmmmm… maybe i could worry about these after i actually get in hahaha but i think the gist of the whole college app process is worrying about things even before they happen:)</p>
<p>For languages it can be quite difficult in terms of SEAS students. SEAS students are not really encouraged to study abroad. It really has very little to do with their learning experience, and most students who choose to study abroad in the engineering school end up doing so over a summer of theirs rather than during a term. </p>
<p>I’m 95% sure that languages count as nontechnical requirements. So you may be able to fill your nontech annoyingness doing something like that. In fact, you could possibly minor in linguistics. I was debating taking Russian, but I realize now I have too little time. Since I am planning on minoring in Music, my first few years will be dedicated to that. Maybe senior year. Not sure. But it’s completely possible to take a language or two if you’re in the engineering school. But keep in mind languages are DEMANDING. For instance, my physics course meets twice a week for an hour and twenty five minutes and is worth three credits. Russian meets five times a week for forty minutes and is worth five credits. How many credits a course is worth is a direct reflection upon its difficulty level. Physics is hard. </p>
<p>But if language is something you are passionate about, by all means go for it. And just know that it is possible if you are willing to dedicate the time and effort into doing it-- that also applies to studying abroad.</p>
<p>If this hasn’t been asked before, how are the dorms specifically physically (ie large, small, cramped, what’s in each dorm?)?
Food?
And normally what would you (Columbia students in general and you) do on a Friday night? Saturday night? Sunday night?</p>
<p>Thank you</p>
<p>Hi, as a current freshman in the College, I must commend isabelwhatx for making such a great thread. Her third point is absolutely correct: I can say from personal experience that these chance threads will ultimately be useless, b/c admissions counselors are fickle people that can surprise you. FWIW, my counselor, whose usually dead-on in her predictions, said I had little chance of getting in. Well, here I am now!</p>
<p>Like Isabel, I’m also a comp sci/science/math guy in the College, but most of my friends appear to be in SEAS. I will affirm that SEAS and the College are very different. For one, I only have to take 12 courses for a comp sci major (which means I have room for a second), SEAS kids have to take 20 (and thus they can’t double major)!</p>
<p>Feel free to ask some questions, I need something meaningful to do when I’m distracted from my work. I’ll start of with the questions directly above me:</p>
<p>If this hasn’t been asked before, how are the dorms specifically physically (ie large, small, cramped, what’s in each dorm?)?
Quoted from my 1500-word manifesto on Columbia for applicants from my local HS: </p>
<p>“There are 5 freshmen dorms: John Jay, Carman, Furnald, Hartley, Wallach. All of the dorms except Carman are predominantly single (Carman consists of suites with two doubles and a private bathroom).
John Jay has about 30-40 people each floor (people live from Floors 5-15), so you’ll have a reasonably great social time. It is old and doesn’t have AC, though (plus, it has only two elevators, one of which doesn’t even go past floor 13; the other day, one of them broke down, which just sucked for everybody).
Carman is the social dorm and where you’re most likely to find a party on the weekends. You might be bothered by drunk people, but as the newest dorm, it does have some really nice rooms.
Furnald, where I live, has some sophomores, but mostly freshmen (the sophomore population is endangered because Housing keeps allocating rooms to freshmen because each year the class size increases due to hig number of applications). It’s been “recently renovated,” so the bathrooms are far nicer. Plus, I get AC! There’s a stigma that Furnald is antisocial (which means we don’t keep our doors open like in JJ or Carman), but I like the privacy myself. Plus, my floor has some amazing people.
Hartley and Wallach form the LLC, which pretty much no freshman wants to live in (esp. the doubles). It’s basically a suite with about 10 rooms occupied by people of all grades (CC12, CC13, CC14, CC15). It’s quite telling that in the room swap document on the FB group that everybody wants to get out of their LLC double and/or find a Furnald single. I don’t think it’s that bad, as long as you get a single. A lot of my engineer friends live in the LLC, and I just might end up living here next year b/c it and Furnald are the only places with singles for sophomores from what I know.”</p>
<p>Food? Lerner’s food is mediocre to above average but consistent. I almost always eat there. John Jay’s food is more diverse, but I find it mediocre to below average. JJ’s place is consistent, but most of the options are somewhat unhealthy. My schedule dictates I eat there at least twice a week though, and you can get breakfast there! I can’t wait to get off the meal plan, there’s some great dining locations on Broadway I’m going to take advantage of next year.</p>
<p>And normally what would you (Columbia students in general and you) do on a Friday night? Saturday night? Sunday night? On a Friday night, if I’m not doing a CS lab, I’m on my weekly 24-hour study break (Friday 7 PM to Sat 7 PM). I go do fun clubs, see performances, explore the city, etc. As they say, work hard, play hard. Saturday night I reserve for bonding with my two hardest classes, though I’m guessing people are out partying. Sunday night, everyone is probably working hard.</p>
<p>Hey isabelwhatx, I have a question! Is it true that everyone there is liberal?</p>
<p>Yay for compsci! ****, I didn’t know that you guys had so many less requirements for that major. Wahhh. Oh well… gonna get ready for hell.</p>
<p>Just gonna answer the questions, too, so you guys get some diversity on the answers And I figure the more the merrier. </p>
<p>If this hasn’t been asked before, how are the dorms specifically physically (ie large, small, cramped, what’s in each dorm?)?
John Jay: REPRESENT. WOOT WOOT. In case you hadn’t noticed, I live in John Jay. This dorm is known for its, lack of a better word, ghetto materialistic qualities but fantastic social qualities. Yes, your carpet will probably have a stain on it that makes you suspicious a cat gave birth in your room. No, your bathroom showers will probably not work most of the time and there will be strange moments when the drains mysteriously refuse to, well, drain. But your floor will be lively, social, and very, very close. You pick John Jay for the relationships with others on the floor and the family vibe you get rather than the physical accommodations. The rooms are moderately sized with a handful of doubles on each floor. Depending on which floor you live, you can have an amazing view. I live on JJ5, so I have a view of another dorm’s view, but you get used to it. There is a microwave and sink on each floor, labeled a “kitchenette” and a lounge with a few objects that varies from floor to floor.</p>
<p>Furnald: Furnald has singles that are slightly larger than JJ but doubles that are smaller than Carman’s. I’m sorry to say that he stereotype is true: it is an anti-social dorm. That does not mean the people are not of great quality-- absolutely not. But the physical layout of Furnald makes it very hard to socialize. It is a very clean, renovated dorm with a full kitchen on each floor and humongous TVs <em>grumbles</em>. The bathrooms are also noticeably gorgeous. Furnald also has direct access to Broadway, which is nice. It also has AC, and a handful of sophomores living there. </p>
<p>Carman: Carman also follows its stereotype: it is the party dorm. I have met quite a few people in Carman who simply wanted to live there for the roommate, but most inhabitants are athletes (I think the entire football team occupies one floor) for the hygienic advantages. And by hygienic advantages I mean that Carman is suite style, where you get two very, very large doubles connected by a hallway with an attached bathroom. Carman has, again, really large rooms. These rooms, along with the suite style leaving, make it prime for party spaces. It also has AC (something JJ lacks 
)</p>
<p>LLC (Hartley/Wallach): There’s a really negative stigma attached to these dorms, but that stigma is, excuse my language, total ********. Multiple years live in these dorms and therefore get you excellent connections. You make friends with a lot of the upperclassmen and the RAs are less likely to care what you do. You also get larger singles than John Jay and about three bathrooms for 12 ish people, I believe. You get a full kitchen as well. It’s a real gem that most people overlook. Don’t listen to anyone who tells you it’s antisocial or the “worst choice”. Those statements will mostly be coming from people who heard them from other people who heard them from other people who heard them from other people who were in a state of psychosis at the time. I am personally thinking of living in the LLC next year. </p>
<p>Food? Lol. Columbia’s food kind of sucks. We have one main dining hall, which is John Jay. It is buffet style, and there is so much food you are BOUND to find something that you can tolerate. But the cooking is pretty low quality, but while it lacks in that area it excels in quantity. There is also a fro-yo machine. Yum John Jay has sucky hours, which is so freaking annoying. But when it is open it’s probably your best bet. It’s where I prefer to eat.</p>
<p>Ferris Booth is in Lerner, and is a smaller dining hall than John Jay. If John Jay is closed, Ferris Booth is probably open. It is (mostly) not buffet style and has a much smaller selection. I tend to find that it looks better, but actually is not better. It’s also more popular among upper classmen, which can be annoying when the lines get long. The lines, btw, can get obscenely long. </p>
<p>JJs place is in the basement of John Jay and it is open from 8 PM to 1 AM on weeknights. It is amazing. It will also make you gain fifteen pounds. But it will be fifteen pounds of bliss. It serves up fried food, delicious fro-yo, smoothies, and a plethora of other strange things that alternates daily. It’s also a great place to go to get coffee when you have to pull an all nighter (like I’m doing tonight! Woohoo!)</p>
<p>And normally what would you (Columbia students in general and you) do on a Friday night? Saturday night? Sunday night?</p>
<p>It honestly really depends on the student. I spend some of my Friday mornings teaching at underprivileged public highschools, and then either go out into the city that night or the next day/night. I really love to go to see the NYPhil (seeing Joshua Bell (again) this Saturday!!) and take advantage of the student opportunities with the arts. I then spend the rest of my weekend re cooperating from the week, working a bit so I am not absolutely swamped during the school week, and catching up on sleep. My weekends are quieter than most. I did the whole party thing for the first month and my grades got out of control. It’s not worth the extra stress and physical toll, IMO.</p>
<p>But a lot of people will pick one or two nights on the weekend to “go out” to a frat, to carman, to a friend’s dorm, and get smashed. There are also a lot of clubs and bars people frequent. There are usually events held on campus, which can be really fun, like First Friday (the first friday of every month the gay community holds a party in Lerner). Most people spend Sunday as their relaxation day or work day. Sunday is srs bsns. </p>
<p>But it’s important to remember that every person is so vastly different in how they spend their weekends. Because it is NYC, any interest you have can be explored.</p>