<p>I'm trying to decide between Columbia, Penn, and Northwestern. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>Well you have the order right 1) Columbia 2) Penn and 3) NU. What are the financial considerations?</p>
<p>Academically, they are peers, but their academic strengths vary greatly and their settings are different. What is your intended major and career track? All three schools are relatively urban, but NU is slightly more suburban and has a nicer campus. Finally, as UCLA asks, are there any financial issues we should be aware of? </p>
<p>I am familiar with those three schools. My mother is a Columbia alum, my uncle is a Wharton alum and I have friends who attended all three universities and have visited them often. I even considered all three of those schools very seriously for my undergraduate studies, so I did my homework on those schools at one point or another.</p>
<p>no certainly no financial issues. but i am concerned with the core curriculum at columbia and am unsure whether this will constrict me academically. i havent figured out what i want to do with the rest of my life and was looking forward to exploring different fields. So far, I do know I like more math/science. Isn't columbia best for those who a) know what they want to study and b) are studying the humanities?</p>
<p>I think concern about being restricted by the core curriculum is a very legitimate one. There are advantages to a core curriculum, but in many ways it's like being in high school again. Wanting to follow your own interests is a legitimate reason to pick one college over another. Certainly I wouldn't hesitate to pick Penn over Columbia if you prefer Penn.</p>
<p>Unless you go to Brown you are going to have a "Core" (GE) curriculum. Plus there are sooo many course options at Columbia (and Chicago for example) that the "core" isn't really that constricting. But I agree with Kenf1234. Penn is a fine choice and ranked higher in some polls. (I am biased towards Columbia's locale) Northwestern is not on the same level as either of these. I love NU but it's not on the same level.</p>
<p>Thanks for the help! It's much appreciated.</p>