<p>IM so sick and tired of ppl asking me , right after i tell them i got into Columbia,</p>
<p>"what about HARvard PRINEton YAOUle STAMFORT ?"</p>
<p>So somebody wanna help me protect OUR BELOVED SCHOOL?
Help me protect Columbia in my mind JEEZ...</p>
<p>and also WHY THE F is the rankings in US TODAY SO ... ****** -UP</p>
<p>?</p>
<p>I posted this before:</p>
<p>Columbia University Faculty have won many Nobel prizes in the last 10 years, e. g. Horst Stormer (Physics) Richard Axel (Medicine), Edmund Phelps (Economics), Joseph Stiglitz (economics-although he just came to Columbia), Orhan Pamuk (literature-new Faculty addition in SIPA), Eric Kandel (Medicine), William Vickrey (Economics-awarded 1996 now deceased), RObert Merton (SEAS grade-Economics 1997/I know this is not fair, but it's a recent one), RObert Mundell (Economics-1999), Richard Hamilton (foundation for Poincare Proof-over 40, but would have received Fields Medal otherwise with Pearlman), wow....Columbia University is def slipping...lol. What is wrong with playing of the fact that Columbia is located in NYC (the greatest city by an objective measure in the US and maybe, just maybe the world)? Part of the college experience is gaining real-world (read internship) knowledge while in college to apply to various fields. While it is true any IVY will allow one to be competitive for a Wall-Street position, most other industries require work experience prior to the entry level job, e.g. Journalism, TV, Marketing, Fashion, etc. Perhaps all students want to go to Wall Street? Also, the Columbia area has improved (due to gentrification) by leaps and bounds. The endowment investment returns have finally started growing competitive to Columbia's peer schools, e.g. 18% last year. Renovations to labs and facilities throughout campus etc...I am tired of writing, but I await your response ;)</p>
<p>You've posted this like 10 times now, :D</p>
<p>Lol...you are right, but I have been reading these boards for some time now and I really want people to know how amazing a run Columbia has been on :)</p>
<p>seriously, though, you make us sound like a bunch of robots. If anyone wants to read your nearly-unreadable blurb, they can do it in one of the 8000 threads you already put it in.</p>
<p>Stop. Just stop.</p>
<p>Take it easy Dezera...btw congrats on your scholarship ;)</p>
<p>Denzera...sorry.</p>
<p>Hm... why is your nick Hausdorff, are you German? Yea, I figured that you wanted it to stick out, :D... I think that it's pretty funny, ^^</p>
<p>Hausdorff Spaces.....</p>
<p>Congrats Pearfire on your Columbia acceptance!</p>
<p>Haha, thanks! What year are you in?</p>
<p>I am just concerned alum, who reads these boards from time-to-time and sees some misinformation about Columbia's truly stellar academics. Nobel prize winners seem to be the easiest way to define academic excellence for the general populace, specifically high school students. There are many other metrics, of course, that can be used for the same purpose. I suppose....I am just lazy, hence the repeated posts ;)</p>
<p>Yes, some ppl on this forum really post some BS. Luckily there are some current students and good alumni on this board, too. At least CollegeConfidential is better than it's British counterpart. So as an alumnus, have you really profited from CU's network?</p>
<p>Yes, being Columbia alum has allowed a network of mostly respected professionals in various fields to be at my finger tips (although not all want to hear from fellow alums or students). I have profited most from my excellent education at Columbia and its location in NYC, but more importantly the college gave me the confidence to realize that outside of true genius like Terry Tao etc, most people are playing-up their intelligence or willing to mentor/teach about many subjects, so don't ever feel like everyone else gets it and you don't ;) </p>
<p>I hope that came across as I intended.</p>
<p>Hehe, that's a good point. So many ppl just inflate their own intelligence... I do this too, btw :D... So some alums don't really want to hear from fellow alums or students? Why's that so?</p>
<p>That is with any college Ivy League or otherwise.... If you were an alum would you want EVERYONE calling you all the time? I say this to contrast reality vs. what is trumped up on these boards concerning elite colleges and the opening of the pearly gates upon graduation. Alums for the most part are very happy to participate in an informational interview/mentorship, but you will not automatically be given a job over someone not from Columbia...besides you will have to compete against fellow Columbians as well :) The important part is that Columbia accentuates an already strong sense of self and drive in most admits and as a result many are successful. Please understand that going to Columbia will help you network not just at Columbia, but within the Ivy league as a whole, i.e. through after work mixers (read bars-when your old enough) etc. NYC is unparallel to any other US city for internship opportunities during the school year; when most other college kids (read Ivies) are unable to commute into the city every Friday for internships that WILL, coupled with your Columbia degree, give you a leg up on the competition for jobs at graduation time Columbians will be fetching that coffee :)</p>
<p>Hehe, very nice post. And yes, in more than four years when I'll be a CC alum, I wouldn't want every Tom and Dick to call me either, ^^... I'm not too worried about getting a job after graduation, so right now I'm just looking forward to meeting interesting ppl and seeing the world, ^^... of course parties are always a plus too, haha...</p>
<p>Part of the reason there isn't an HYPC is that far too many people at Columbia wind up in high income but low visibility professions such as private practice medicine or corporate law rather than entering the upper echelons of fame or notability. Harvard and Yale aren't famous throughout the land because they pump out lots of future i-bankers with good networking opportunities at their fingertips (which they do - but that's beside the point). It's got more to do with the fact that their 20 or so most distinguished alumni keep appearing in the public sphere, and these bios keep these names alive as myths. </p>
<p>In other words- Columbia, Harvard, and the rest are all good enough for advancing the fortunes of the middle class should they choose to strike it rich. You'd have to almost screw up severely not to be relatively well off if that's all you want to be coming out of any Ivy League school. But will you be famous? Will you advance the name brand of the school? That almost always requires pushing the envelope beyond your own personal comfort and well-being. It's far easier to be a practicing corporate lawyer than someone in the upper echelons of national or international politics, for example. H and Y keep just enough alumni in these high name-recognition brackets to remain relevant.</p>
<p>I should mention that poor undergrad experiences don't help. People remember that bureaucratic hurdle they had to jump through (or fail to remember, due to lack of school spirit). When Obama was here, there wasn't even guaranteed campus housing, and he had to deal with absentee landlords...it's probably one of many reasons he doesn't sing Columbia's praises. If just a few people like him wove Columbia deeper into their life stories, it would make a big difference.</p>
<p>What are his other reasons for not being a big Columbia supporter? I've heard from several ppl now that he didn't really enjoy his time at Columbia.</p>