<p>Is anyone else really worried that Columbia might be too hard? I come from a school that practices a lot of <em>ahem</em> grade inflation, and is not very competitive at all. I'm kind of concerned that going to Columbia next year might bring a bit of a shock. Is anyone else nervous that it is just going to be too hard?</p>
<p>Columbia has a ton of grade inflation too, unless you're majoring in one of the sciences or engineering. C's are rare at Columbia. Many get scared into thinking that they'll be the dumbest dunce at Columbia, so you're not alone. You'll be fine.</p>
<p>Hey Columbia 2002. How would you describe the difficulty of the engineering program at Columbia? I graduated from Virginia Tech and I plan to go to grad school this fall at Columbia.</p>
<p>This is actually quite common. Many successful people actually constantly worry that they are frauds. At this stage you wonder whether you will keep up with everyone at Columbia. Right now some grad student is fretting - did he really do enough to deserve being 3rd author on that paper? </p>
<p>Do yourself a favor and get over it now. You just have to learn that you aren't a fraud, and that other people around you, whatever their outward appearances, have the same feelings as you do.</p>
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How would you describe the difficulty of the engineering program at Columbia? I graduated from Virginia Tech and I plan to go to grad school this fall at Columbia.
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<p>If you have an undergrad engineering degree, you're used to taking engineering classes. I took several graduate classes and found that they were more complicated than my undergrad class but were graded much more generously. That's because you need a B average to stay in the grad program at Columbia and most places. So, basically anything below a B is failing and the grades are inflated. If you're in a PhD program, the thesis aspect is obviously the thing that matters... the coursework will be no problem to most.</p>