<p>Help guys what is better stanford or columbia. Im humanitites ( not quite sure excatly what yet.. but considering political economy, latin american studies, pre law...) also whats better for internationals?</p>
<p>SO different in terms of lifestyle, and so similar in academic quality, that academics are secondary. The core is also a unique factor.</p>
<p>You can't beat California weather, Stanford is a better school academically with a much better reputation, and it has a reputation for being kind and welcoming to ppl, rather than the "coldness" towards strangers known to permeate NYC</p>
<p>Hi,
I'm also deciding between these two and would appreciate any other input. Can you guys compare the sciences at Columbia and Stanford? Thanks!</p>
<p>I'd give the Academic edge to Stanford in almost every area except flm, music, and a couple other areas.</p>
<p>I'd give the quality of life edge to Stanford.</p>
<p>I'd give the "campus life" edge to Stanford.</p>
<p>I'd give the "urban" edge to Columbia. </p>
<p>Basically if NYC is worth it to give up some of your "college experience" and a (VERY little) bit of academic prestige go to Columbia. IF its not go to Stanford.</p>
<p>Personally, I'd go to stanford in a nanosecond.</p>
<p>Do you mean Columbia has more prestige than Stanford or you mean Columbia ony has a bit of prestige?</p>
<p>I mean Columbia has only a little bit less prestige than Stanford.</p>
<p>Just to clarify, slipper1234 would go to a lot of places in a nanosecond before Columbia. He transferred out after his freshman year.</p>
<p>Slipper1234 - What you don't like Columbia about? Please share!</p>
<p>(PS- Revised Post that I posted elsewhere)</p>
<p>I transferred to Dartmouth for both social and academic reasons. Columbia was great for the core, but in most of the bigger classes I felt like a number. I hated taking a "ticket" to see the registrar, or having to go out of my way to meet some of my professors. It seemed corporate to me. On the other hand, it had some great departments - film, arabic, music, etc. I just felt that for undergrad I wanted more attention BEFORE my senior year.</p>
<p>The social life is probably why I left. Columbia felt deserted and dark on the weekends, people slip into cliques and went into the city. You just never really feel like a part of anything special, just someone doing his/ her thing and Columbia happens to be where you live and go to class. First year is fun (all first year dorms, cafeteria, etc), but after that the community is not nearly as strong. Alsom you miss out on the "laid back" fun that happens at other schools. Sure people are out on the Green, but I guess I preferred knowing most of the people instead of having random grad students everywhere. Also, in regards to nightlife, every once in a while people are out in Morningside Heights, but its totally hit or miss. there are Fri/ Sat nights when the campus feels dead. It also feels institutional (swiping cards into the dorms, etc) the same way the classes do.</p>
<p>So, if you are a person who wants a very specific major, could care less about campus life and community, and are more 'independent" - i.e. perhaps on the intense side and more focused on hanging out with one clique - Columbia is for you.</p>
<p>If not, I think there are better choices. Personally I think columbia is great for grad school, but you miss out on "normal" college when you choose it for undergrad. Some are ready for this and hate "normal" college life, other's are the opposite. I guess I was one of the people who wanted a more intimate "warm and fuzzy" college experience.</p>
<p>Slipper1234 - What is your major? </p>
<p>When you say "college life", do you mean buddies hanging out after class? Faculty and students are like a family?</p>
<p>I do feel the faculty is not that "intimate" and "warm".. I feel it different from Uppen and Brown.</p>
<p>Do you not like their academic environment? Sorry for these questions. I am trying to evaluate for my son. He is choosing between Caltech and Columbia..</p>
<p>Have you ever spent any time at Stanford, Slipper? </p>
<p>My son made this choice and is in his second year at Columbia. He loves it. They are so close in terms of academic reputation, I would not even factor it into the equation -- unless you are someone totally dedicated to a specific department and know that field will be your life, and the field is computer science or certain types of engineering. Then, Stanford would have the obvious edge. </p>
<p>For the humanities, although Stanford has good humanities departments, the university is very much driven by science and engineering departments. You will find many more humanities majors at Columbia and a more intense intellectual atmosphere in the classroom and out. If you can visit both places and sit in on classes, I'd recommend it. Call it loving to discuss ideas or call it loving to argue, I would just say that Columbia is more intellectually (and politically) alive.
On the other hand, Stanford is friendlier in the way California tends to be friendlier -- you'll find more people there smiling as you pass by. </p>
<p>The core curriculum at Columbia contributes to the intellectual atmosphere, because everyone is reading the same books at the same time. You can do something at Stanford that is similar -- SLE -- but those students tend to be socially isolated from the rest of the first years, according to other students my son talked to. Anyone considering Columbia should take a hard look at the core (especially if you come from a country with a high school curriculum that might make it repetitive), as it is a major part of the Columbia experience. It was a definite attraction for my kid, though he is a math/science type. The core classes are small, around 20 students, and discussion based. </p>
<p>Stanford has the outdoors (most people ride bikes to get around the spread out campus), great weather, a suburban and safe feel. The university itself is not any cozier ( it is a research university and closer to Columbia than Dartmouth in terms of class size and the need for students to take the initiative to make contact with professors.) The bureaucracy at Stanford, however, is easier to work with and friendlier. </p>
<p>Because there is not much to do in the area immediately around Stanford, more people participate in on-campus social life. Comparing a calendar of events at the two campuses, I think you'd find that Columbia actually has much more happening on campus, it's just that when you put together the number of events, plus NYC, you don't get the critical mass attending any one event at Columbia. So, more choice of things to do is a trade-off for not all heading to the same party together on Saturday night.</p>
<p>If you don't like New York City, then Columbia is obviously not the place to go to school. My son doesn't always like dealing with the city, and likes the fact that Columbia has a real campus and that he can escape into it when he feels like it. On the other hand, when he does want to go out, there are tremendous opportunities to be had -- music, eating, art, theater, clubs, internships -- all of which he is taking advantage of.</p>
<p>Both universities get a lot of international students. New York City, of course, is a much more international place than Palo Alto.</p>
<p>Congratulations on having such great choices! You will get a fine education at either place, it really is a matter of what you're seeking in the way of campus culture.</p>
<p>sac- well said</p>
<p>Cadad- When I say college life, I mean frisbee on the green, random snowball fights (not possible at stanford lol!), people hanging out at house parties, going on road trips, having big weekends (like homecoming with bonfires). NYC is just not as "laid back" as some other places. Also, as Sac mentioned, there is little "critical mass at the parties." I loved slip and slide on the green and spontaneous sledding. Columbia kids have a more serious, adult experience, in my opinion. </p>
<p>Columbia inflates some play balloons on the main steps and holds a concert and calls it a big weekend. As I mentioned, Columbia is a great school for a certain type but its not for everyone.</p>
<p>There's no reason you can't do virtually all those things at Columbia (well, not the bonfire, but there are pre-game events) and, in fact, some people do. They slide down trays on the Steps when it snows, build snowmen, throw snowballs. They throw footballs on that small patch of grass on South Lawn, they go to parties, they go on road trips with friends. They go to dances. The difference is that not all or even most of them do it at any one time. </p>
<p>As for holding concerts and calling it a big weekend, that's a little like bringing coals to Newcastle. There are so many concerts available in the city on any given weekend.</p>
<p>If you are someone who loves watching and cheering sports events, and all the spirit that comes with that, obviously Stanford wins handsdown. If you want to play intramural sports, Stanford also offers more options and better facilities. If it's more important to you to be in a place where art and music and theater are happening all the time, Columbia stands out.</p>
<p>To paraphrase: Stanford is a great school for a certain type but it's not for everyone.:) Which is a statement that can be made about every college and the whole point of finding the one that fits best for any individual student.</p>
<p>Who is viewed more favorably Columbia or Stanford? Is there grade inflation? Who has better internships?</p>
<p>sigh.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Who is viewed more favorably Columbia or Stanford?
[/quote]
By whom? Medical schools? PhD programs in English? Morgan and Stanley? USNews and World Report? Taxi drivers in Taiwan?
[quote]
Is there grade inflation?
[/quote]
Yes
[quote]
Who has better internships?
[/quote]
Internships in what? Better how?</p>
<p>Honestly, these are not the right kind of questions for deciding where to get your undergraduate education. You can't lose between these two institutions. Go with the school that you're leaning towards.</p>
<p>I agree that those are not the right questions. You don't choose between a BMW and Mercedes because one has one extra horsepower. they are profoundly different places - that's the difference.</p>
<p>Sac, as for campus events, I attended Columbia for a year so I know the social life well. My Dartmouth experience had little to do with sports - in fact I attended more columbia sporting events (2) at Columbia than at Dartmouth (1). The bonfires, "big weekends", etc are part of the "spirit" of the place and have nothing to do with sports. I have NO idea why people confuse sports with "campus spirit." This might be true at Ohio State, but not at the top schools except maybe Duke. Campus Spirit is seeing all your friends in the main quad of a campus and having your friends running around all day throwing frisbees, running around with squirt guns, and maybe even drinking a little during the day during big weekends. This is part of the experience people at Brown, Penn, Dartmouth, Stanford, Duke, Princeton, etc all have but Columbia students don't. Some at Columbia might not miss this at all, but those who do are not going to get it at Columbia bottom line. Columbia is much more cliquey and fragmented for this to ever happen. The parties are mostly "closed" at Columbia while at other campuses everyone is welcome. </p>
<p>Columbia is more "different" than any other top school period. For those who like this its perfect, but I wouldn't jump in without knowing what you are getting into.</p>
<p>hey, I had to make this exact decision last year. here is my reflection and opinion.... if you are a humanities major, I would definitely give thye edge to columbia. the faculty is absolutely renowned and brilliant (and I have found extremely accessible), and the atmosphere is very intelectualy with seemingly constant philosophical and academic debate. I visited stanford and was very impressed with their science facilities (which as a humanities major meant nothing to me). also, the campuses are very different. Personally I love living in nyc, yet in a secluded community. if you want to be in the city you can just step outside the campus gates, but if you want to be on a college campus columbia is very isolated. both campuses are respectively striking. columbia is absolutely beautiful, the greek architecture and quad layout is amazing, and the stanford campus is huge, and provides for a very 'chill' atmosphere. academically, for me there is not a superior college in the u.s.. the nyc environment at times is a bit tense and austere, but overall I like it. stanford is a much more relaxed environment and would be enjoyable, but not the intense intelectual or cultural experience I am having at columbia.</p>
<p>How is the Columbia science program compared to Stanford science program?</p>