<p>I'm looking at the web site right now and I'm pretty clueless. It says 9-11 in a whole slew of stuff. I'm trying to find out if I have to take a foreign language if I do SEAS. I think I do if I attend the College. I'm worried about that because I don't really know much German despite having a 99 in the class at my grade-inflation-ridden-public-high-school. I like Mathematics but also Operations Research, so which one should I apply to?</p>
<p>1570/2260
3/759
Student Council President
Theater Company
800 mathII /760 USH/740 Physics
Dad got an MBA</p>
<p>You do not have a foreign language requirement in SEAS. You do have, i think, 2 semesters required of it in CC.</p>
<p>I entered SEAS kinda being interested in both math and OR, and ended up realizing that the slackers who just wanted a cushy finance job did OR, whereas the really smart people (with some exceptions) did Applied Math or Physics. I waffled between those and CS before settling on AM. OR is still pretty cool.</p>
<p>From what I hear, a lot of OR grads go on to do consulting. And personally I do think that the curriculum is good training for consulting, although any major can technically get into it.</p>
<p>Sorry I think that might have been kind of random...</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Do you want an "engineering curriculum" where you have to take lots of highly technical core classes (chem, physics, laboratory classes, computer classes)?</p></li>
<li><p>Do you want a "great books" liberal arts education where you take a great deal of required courses, or do you want to take only half of these required classes?</p></li>
<li><p>Do you have any idea what you want to do with your life?</p></li>
<li><p>What else are you interested in, in the event that you change your mind about Math or OR? Would you rather be in an engineering school where you could also major in electrical engineering if you choose, or would you rather have the option of majoring in poetry?</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Not sure what the fact that your dad has an MBA has to do w/ anything ;)</p>
<p>Damn, well you hit the nail on the head, I'm not sure what I want to do with my life. I could see myself doing econ or hard science (chem maybe), but maybe I'll like hardcore engineering (I haven't had much experiece to it), I have no idea. There are some things I think I could do without on the core cirruculum like 2 semsters of a foreign language, but it probably would be sweet to kick ass on jeopardy, with all those humanitees courses. I think money would motivate me more, and although I happen to really enjoy poetry (its weird you should mention that), I think a technical degree would be very beneficial. Although, I do like economics. </p>
<p>One of the reasons OR appeals to me is that its a mix of the economics, math, history, and statistics all of which I find are my strenghts. </p>
<p>The MBA (from Columbia) thingy was just a faux-legacy as part of the chances post. The engineering school makes a bit more sense, because you still have to take a lot of courses from the Core I guess. </p>
<p>I'm glad I didn't make a hasty decsion and apply early. Anyone else have any thought on what I should do?</p>
<p>FYI, you can major in applied math or in econ-math, econ-statistics, or econ-operations research in CC. You can also just take some operations research classes. </p>
<p>The real difference, then, is between the two core requirements. I'd really take a hard look at those. Do you want technical core classes or humanities based ones? </p>
<p>In general, I think CC offers more flexibility. It's not impossible, but more difficult to transfer from SEAS to CC than the other way around. In terms of the degree, unless you are going into a real engineering major, I don't think it matters much whether you graduated from SEAS as an operations research major with an econ minor, or from CC in economics-operations research. What matters are the specific courses and the skills you pick up.</p>
<p>The Applied Math department is, as you point out, in SEAS. But if you look under the Mathematics department at the requirements for Columbia College majors, you can find the possibility of an applied math major in the fine print. Fewer proof-based classes. And, you get a BA, rather than a BS.</p>
<p>The Applied Math department is, as you point out, in SEAS. But if you look under the Mathematics department at the requirements for Columbia College majors, you can find the possibility of an applied math major in the fine print. Fewer proof-based classes. And, you get a BA, rather than a BS.</p>
<p>Sorry for the double post. This is from the CC site:
[quote]
Undergraduate Requirements</p>
<p>For a Major in Mathematics or Applied Mathematics </p>
<p>Courses for a major in applied mathematics: 40 points: 12 points in calculus or Honors mathematics IIIIV; 3 points in MATH V2010 ; 3 points in MATH W4061 ; 4 points in APMA E4901 (junior year), E4903 (senior year); 18 points in electives from the following courses: MATH V2500 , V3007 , V3027 , V3028 , W4032 , SIEO W3658 , APMA E4300 , and others (with the approval of the Applied Mathematics Committee). The electives should include V3027 , V3028 , or SIEO W3658 . MATH W4061 can be replaced by MATH V2500 or W4032 .
<p>ok, well, i know everyone in the applied math department - there's only like 20 of us per class - and all were SEAS. Maybe it's theoretically possible, i'm not sure.</p>
<p>I just want to add that the CC language requirement is two years (or equivalent) not two semesters. I know because after my S's bad HS latin experience, he slogged through two years of Spanish in CC, complaining all the way.</p>
<p>Columbia Addmissions rep said "Engineering Student don't have to take a foreign language. They learn Java."</p>
<p>I am 100% sure I want to apply to SEAS. I think it would be a great fit for me, balancing the analytical part of me, with the Humanitees based Core. </p>
<p>I didn't get to talk about OR to anyone specifically, but I think the Financial Engineering is something I could strive towards, I just have to learn comp sci.</p>
<p>i heard columbia engineering is not that highly ranked compared to the likes of princeton, UC berkley, stanford or even penn state! (actually penn state ranks 15th in engineering whereas columbia ranks 27th, according to USnews.com)</p>
<p>that's if you want a career in engineering straight out of undergrad. if you want to work for boeing, this is not as good a place as, say, Drexel. if you want to do research, go to grad school, go into business or finance, make connections, or have a more balanced education that works in some elements of liberal arts, SEAS is an excellent choice.</p>
<p>Denzera--I transferred from Drexel to Columbia SEAS, and you're totally right. Columbia isn't really the place to go for engineering if you are looking to work right after undergrad. Drexel was almost a vocational school with its co-op program, so that's the kind of place to go if you want to get hired fast. A Columbia degree means you've been taught in a much, much more theoretical way than 'practical', so it's better for grad school.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I just want to add that the CC language requirement is two years (or equivalent) not two semesters. I know because after my S's bad HS latin experience, he slogged through two years of Spanish in CC, complaining all the way.
[/quote]
basically, the fourth semester of language is required. typically, most students will bypass the first two semesters with the placement exam..leaving them with only the last two left.</p>