<p>bluebayou - a friend has suggested to me that if I don’t get into Columbia (and she thinks Gtown is better for undergrad as well), she told me to study two years in Gtown and then transfer 
If Obama did it, then so can I! LOL</p>
<p>paperbagmonster:
i think it all comes down to fit.
Columbia and Georgetown are both great schools, and even though it might look like their ranks are far apart (#8 vs #24(?)), there is truly no big difference in quality between an education at Georgetown and at Columbia.
The question should be, what type of environment and setting you want to be in. Columbia is a very beautiful place, but it is small. It is blocks away from Harlem, for good or for bad, and it is not exactly in a place like the Village (NYU), but it is still in NYC, which is arguably the best city to explore in the USA, what with Wall Street, Broadway, United Nations, Statue of Liberty, Chinatown, Little Italy, Ethnic Diversity, Central Park, Metropolitan, Carnegie Hall, Rockefeller Center, Madison Square Garden, Time Square, etc etc. Also, you will be learning from some of the best professors AND best students in the country and world. The experiences there are simply unparalleled by even places like Harvard, Stanford, Yale, etc, simply because of the environment and setting.
Georgetown, on the other hand, is in a beautiful upscale neighborhood that is within a twenty minute walk of the national hub of politics and foreign affairs. The campus is also small, but not as small as Columbia’s. The professors there range from scholars to distinguished diplomats and politicians. The education in such an environment is top-notch as well, and you will be studying with future senators, CEOs, etc. </p>
<p>However, there are disparities in student body and opportunities at each school of course. I suggest you take one to two days at each school and see which one feels like home to you 
IN terms of prestige, Georgetown doesn’t lag too far behind Columbia. It all comes down to fit and where you think you’ll fit in. Also remember that Columbia has a tough and proudly championed core-curriculum, that may or may not inhibit any plans of yours to double major, etc.
Good luck!</p>
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<p>It does on the international stage (where prestige can make/break you), and the OP is an international…</p>
<p>^ Columbia isn’t exactly Harvard though.
Georgetown does have a pretty solid international name. Both of them lag Harvard at relatively even distances lol.</p>
<p>^ True that Gtown’s name doesn’t ring as nicely as Columbia over here, but people at least know it…well, most people…and I do think the employers know what schools are good and what aren’t. I’ll most probably end up working in a multinational anyway, so basically a European or American firm with a branch in Hong Kong…IF the music thing doesn’t work out. But I’m really hoping it does obviously :)))) but thanks for all the info Hope2getrice!</p>
<p>Georgetown SFS has a great reputation in the East. Bill Clinton was a great alumni for them.</p>
<p>^^Bill Clinton is sooooo '90’s. The new guy on the block is a Columbia grad. :D</p>
<p>paperbag, did you appy to NYU Tisch? That school is, obviously, in the city, and has produced a lot of famous alums in all aspects of show business ranging from Ang Lee to Clive Davis, to Alicia Keys, to the new Lady Gaga. lol. That could be a cool alternative for what you want to do :D</p>
<p>Also, if you don’t get into Columbia but Northwestern, then check this out: [Northwestern</a> University Entertainment Alliance | Northwestern Alumni Association](<a href=“http://www.alumni.northwestern.edu/nuea/]Northwestern”>http://www.alumni.northwestern.edu/nuea/) While GT is better for your intented major, Northwestern has better connection in the music/entertainment industry. NU has a pretty good name in Hong Kong since HKUST-Kellogg has a #1 EMBA program in the world.</p>
<p>Columbia is definitely more prestigious and most cross admits would matriculate to there given the choice. </p>
<p>Gtown SFS is great, but Columbia is considered to have one of the best poli sci/IR programs in the country and you can take classes in there renowned public policy grad school. If you wanted to simply study and do IR, I would still say Columbia’s education and opportunities as a grad will be greater. Since you want music, or are unsure, Columbia is definitely the way to go.</p>
<p>As a graduate of Georgetown SFS and Columbia Business School where I took courses in the Columbia School of Intenational Affairs as an Intenational Fellow, I think that I can state with some knowledge of the matter that there is no difference between the caliber of the intellectual life between both schools. You will find equal talent among your peers and professors, so I think your choice comes down to how you feel about New York versus Washington.
If you study international affairs, Georgetown is closer to the international affairs action in Washington where you can intern in Congress or the major governmental agencies and international organizations. If you are interested in music, Columbia is closer to media companies and the Wall Street firms that finance them. New York has Broadway, the Yankees and the Met so the cultutral ops are better, but with the Capitals and the Kennedy center, the difference is not what it was years ago.</p>
<p>If you have this choice, you will be one very lucky guy. I cherish my days at both places. The opportunities at both are tremendous. If you think about it, if you follow the SFS-Columbia track , you could go from having class with a former cabinet officer or Head of State to having class with a Nobel Prize winner. Good Luck!</p>
<p>vienna man - No. YOU sound like the real lucky guy here!! :))) Actually just wondering, now that you’ve done your SFS undergrad and MBA, are you in business or are you working at the politics kind of area?</p>
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<p>NOT for internationals who don’t have security clearance. Many internship opportunites for Congress or fed agencies aren’t even available to Green Card holders (permanent residents), let alone foreigners. As a foreigner AND Asian, there’s VERY little chance for you to get into American politics. Back in Hong Kong, you know the politicians there are mostly businessmen, engineers, or doctors by trainining. Almost no one holding higher posts in Hong Kong studied poli sci.</p>
<p>It’s fine to have genunie interest for international studies and come to SFS. But don’t expect to have internships at the White House or fed agencies; they are only available to US citizens as far as I know. Most policy jobs are also like that. Even Peace Corps are for US citizens only. I don’t know what the situation is for music industry. Hi-tech, engineering, and to a lesser extent, finance/investment companies are more lenient and willing to hire foreign workers.</p>
<p>I’m not expecting to get internships in govt-related agencies; I’m studying political science but I have no intention of working in politics. If I really do end up in Georgetown I’ll probably get internships in business companies or think tanks.</p>
<p>Well, I forgot to mention many business/consulting firms in DC area also only hire US citizens/permanent residents. The NYC/Chicago offices of the same firms would have no problem hiring foreign workers. Why? Because the Fed is BY FAR the largest source of contracts in the WashDC area. The workers in the firms that work for those contracts are subject to the same security clearance requirements. DC has lots of opportunities for Americans. But for people on student visa, being in DC may actually hurt them. I think you’ll find a lot more opportunities in NYC or Chicago.</p>
<p>AH no 
Well…best of luck to me getting into Columbia then!</p>
<p>Can you get internship at the UN as an international student?
I’m most likely going to pursue polsci as a major. I’m not sure about politics as a profession, but i’m not ruling it out.</p>
<p>I think you can. It’s UN after all. I’d be very annoyed and surprised if this got anything to do with citizenship. UN headquaters is in NYC. Like I said, you’ll see a lot less “US citizens only” in NYC or anywhere else than in WashDC.</p>
<p>Check this out:
<a href=“https://jobs.un.org/Galaxy/Release3/vacancy/Display_Vac.aspx?lang=1200&VACID=ef8d6fad-5403-490a-94c5-a38cda5780cb[/url]”>https://jobs.un.org/Galaxy/Release3/vacancy/Display_Vac.aspx?lang=1200&VACID=ef8d6fad-5403-490a-94c5-a38cda5780cb</a></p>
<p>Which of the two schools is harder in terms of course work if lets say im taking the Core classes at columbia and majoring in Economics and at Georgetown im at Mcdonough which would you say is harder in terms of maintaining a good GPA and also not having too hard a courseload</p>
<p>Also would you say at Georgetown the Mcdonough BUsiness school is harder than Georgetown college itself (majoring in international business)?</p>