<p>Columbia is in a decent neighborhood but it ain't pretty once you get a few blocks outside. NYU is in the ideal Manhattan location; Columbia isn't. If you want to really experience NYC life and all that it has to offer (which is limitless) while you're at Columbia, you'll have to trek downtown quite a lot.</p>
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Since I live in New York I guess I should point this out. The district you are thinking of is not Queens, but Harlem, which is next to Columbia's campus. Queens is a separate borough from Manhattan. In fact, there are series of articles in Columbia's newspapers about an ambitious plan to expand Columbia's campus into Harlem.
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<p>You're right, sorry. I visited once and I forgot, but it is Harlem. It's just that there are a lot of negative connotations that come with Harlem, and I didn't get any bad vibes while I was there.</p>
<p>That's because the immediate Columbia area is pretty decent. A couple of blocks east and you're definitely in some disconcerting territory.</p>
<p>What used to be considered "disconcerting territory", is now being renovated. Harlem is getting a lot better and more desirable than it was in past years.</p>
<p>It's not "cliched" to notice that one can feel very different in one environment than another. Personal comfort in location is the aspect of fit that cannot be universalized or ranked. Comfort level can result in appreciable differences in performance, not to mention social ease.</p>
<p>If I found two schools to be about equal in quality & value for my program/major interests (equal academic "fits"), I would choose the more exciting location, as I'm a city girl. On the other hand, my D thrives in the "peaceful, tranquil," more cohesive campus of Princeton. Nothing cliched about the choice.</p>
<p>Candlize, in 3 months my D has actually been to NYC at least 3 times with classmates.</p>
<p>Also, some students consciously seek a different experience than what they're accustomed to. My own knows that she regularly comes home to diversity & stimulation.</p>
<p>A friend of my mother's, who is black, went to Princeton for undergrad and really liked it there--she said that Princeton had the largest black community she had ever encountered (must have been from a <em>very</em> white town).</p>
<p>OK so basically what I've seen on this thread is that you guys (well most of you) would choose harvard over pton for location and pton over harvard for undergrad attention???</p>
<p>An overwhelming majority of common admits has, for some years, picked Harvard over Princeton.</p>
<p>errr YAH but why?</p>
<p>Probably for as many reasons as there are applicants.</p>
<p>Byerly, do you still have the data of the common admit rates of Harvard with such schools as MIT, Yale, Princeton, et al.?</p>
<p>"OK so basically what I've seen on this thread is that you guys (well most of you) would choose harvard over pton for location and pton over harvard for undergrad attention???" (thefootscrubber)</p>
<p>Yeah, that's pretty much it. Harvard's reputation stems a lot from its graduate schools. That's not to say that a Harvard undergraduate education isn't desirable, but I personally find a Princeton undergraduate education to be that much more so. Princeton doesn't have professional graduate schools, so all of its resources are focused on undergrads. Most of the "big name" professors are required to teach freshmen classes, and Princeton has what's called the preceptorial system, where a small group of 7-8 students meets with a faculty member to have an in-depth discussion over what was covered in the recent lecture and to have any unanswered questions addressed. Harvard as far as I know doesn't have this system instated.</p>
<p>Harvard, on the other hand, has a larger library, is situtated smack dab in a busy city centre with Boston just across the river, and is close to MIT and BU so you can cross-register with those two universities if you feel the need to. Education-wise, if you're going into the humanities, you'll encounter many classes run mostly by TAs and a professor who is there really only to oversee the class. Humanities majors considering Harvard might want to read "Privilege: Harvard and the Education of the Ruling Class" by Ross Gregory Douthat, as Douthat talks extensively about his experiences at Harvard as a humanities major.</p>
<p>I've lived in big cities all my life, and I personally find that the "city scene" is overrated. I don't go shopping, eat out, see movies, go to museums, etc. every day, so I'm fine with the more tranquil atmosphere of Princeton, New Jersey. Besides, that town is not deserted. I'm sure there will be shops and movie theatres and whatnot there, just not as numerous.</p>
<p>On a side note, Princeton's campus edges out Harvard's in terms of aesthetics. If you're a Harry Potter fan, Princeton's campus is practically the real life equivalent of Hogwarts. The collegiate Gothic architectural style is stunning.</p>
<p>Ooh, I wish I could choose between H and Pton...probably Pton. I mean, they have horrible ugly football colors, but I guess I can live with that. I'm going for engineering, and aside from that, Pton physics is amazing. Not to say Harvard doesn't have outstanding physics, but I find Princeton more attractive as an academic option...and though my first choice MIT is in Cambridge, all things considered, living in a small town...isn't really a problem. </p>
<p>Then again, at Harvard you can cross register one course/semester at MIT, but that would be kinda hectic.</p>
<p>Ginny- you mentioned the undergrad humanities at Harvard but how are the sciences? Are they also taught by TA's with very little attention?</p>
<p>I would actually say the complete opposite--Harvard, then Yale, then Princeton--in terms of prestige and name recognition, but does that really factor into your college decision? Because if so then you need to seriously rethink things, I think :p</p>
<p>Giny's post above is essentially horse manure. All that "undergrad focus" stuff is absurd; the ratio of grad students to undergrads for those sharing the faculty of A & S is essentially identical at Harvard, Yale and Princeton.</p>
<p>The majority of the professional school students at Harvard are actually in Boston, not Cambridge, and almost none share faculty with undergrads.</p>
<p>And I never heard (until now) that one of the advantages of enrolling at Harvard was being able to cross-register at Boston University!!</p>
<p>Finsally, I guess I'm confused, because I thought it was Annenberg Hall at Harvard that reminded you of Hogwarts and made you love it so much! <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showpost.php?p=1569171&postcount=7%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showpost.php?p=1569171&postcount=7</a></p>
<p>"Ginny- you mentioned the undergrad humanities at Harvard but how are the sciences? Are they also taught by TA's with very little attention?"</p>
<p>To tell you the truth, I don't know about the sciences at Harvard. I'm going into the humanities, so I've only researched that area. Douthat does mention briefly that the sciences are run more strictly than the humanities at Harvard, so that's a bonus for you. To be fair, though, I wouldn't want you to think that all the humanities classes are run with "very little attention." Douthat does recount several classes where he praises the professors in glowing terms.</p>
<p>So byerly are you saying that undergrads at Harvard receive as much attention as undergrads at P-ton? And another question tou guys, what is SO wrong about having a T.A take your course are they mean/stupid/have no clue about what they are teachiong/don't really care?? I was just wondering.</p>
<p>So byerly are you saying that undergrads at Harvard receive as much attention as undergrads at P-ton? And another question to guys, what is SO wrong about having a T.A take your course are they mean/stupid/have no clue about what they are teaching/don't really care or what . How are they so different from the profs?? I was just wondering.</p>
<p>woops didn't mean to post twice</p>