<p>What did you decide?</p>
<p>@sacchi: I committed to Northwestern, but just yesterday I was accepted off of Columbia’s waitlist and I’m still waiting to hear back from MIT (I have been courting them even more than Columbia). NOW what should I do?!! After my preliminary college visits (junior year) Columbia was second only to MIT, but since then I have come to appreciate the strength of NU’s engineering program and I have gotten used to the idea of going there… On the other hand, I prefer Columbia’s actual campus/social atmosphere, and I think that the quality of the students will be higher. I also prefer the housing. On the other other hand, I’m not CRAZY about NYC. As an engineer, it will afford me lots of opportunities, but it’s dirty and not particularly appealing (I’ve spent my entire life in a pleasant suburb of San Diego), I also don’t know how I’ll transport drums around!</p>
<p>…bleh. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>Thanks again btw!</p>
<p>Wow, that is a tough one. Congrats on having such a hard decision to make.</p>
<p>I have interacted with a lot of Columbia engineering professors and graduate alumni, and have been really impressed by them. However, I live and work in NJ, so it may just be a regional effect.</p>
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<p>Whether or not you believe that should be untrue does not change the fact that the high cost of attending a university means that job and career implications of one’s education (including choice of school and major) are important for most students (other than those who come from super-wealthy families or who get very generous non-loan need or merit aid).</p>
<p>That said, the liberal arts subjects that are heavy in math tend to have decent job and career prospects. Applied math and statistics majors often get hired into finance; math-heavy economics majors can have similar opportunities. Physics majors do decently well, although actual physics jobs are scarce – many get recruited into engineering (areas not requiring a PE license) or finance. Computer science majors have job and career prospects in obvious areas.</p>
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<p>For larger items, ship them using the usual shipping companies? (USPS, FedEx, UPS, etc.)</p>
<p>For smaller items, perhaps in your carry-on or checked baggage when you fly, although if they are expensive, beware of the lack of insurance or liability from the airlines in case of loss or theft.</p>
<p>The academic quality of the student body at Columbia and Northwestern is indistinguishable. Northwestern’s overall stats are borderline lower than Columbia’s mostly a consequence of the school’s performing arts programs (esp. music and theater). These are top notch and incredibly competitive, but obviously students admitted who were principal violinists for their state orchestras or have acted in 5 commercials, 3 movies and 2 off-broadway productions are credited with the same SAT scores when US News does the math at the end of the year.</p>
<p>If you’re serious about pursuing engineering or the applied sciences, I’d head to Northwestern. If you think you want your B.S. to serve as an entry to Wall Street, the local connections in NY may serve you better at Columbia.</p>
<p>When I see you talk about being “not crazy about NYC” I’d tell you with reasonable certainty Northwestern would be a better fit undergrad.</p>
<p>I chose Brown over Columbia precisely for the same reasons you mention - I thought I would just do much better on a prettier, more playful campus. I also don’t really love NYC - agree that its dirty, hard to get around, and not that fun for college. I think on an academic level Northwestern and Columbia are pretty equal in engineering, but I think you’ll like Northwestern more. Worst case transfer to Brown :)</p>
<p>Congratulations, imalildrummaboi, there really are no bad choices here. In fact, choosing Columbia (or, Northwestern) will help things a bit at Wesleyan since admissions evidently over-admitted this year: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/12602215-post7.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/12602215-post7.html</a></p>
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<p>Socially, Columbia=NYC…it you do not pine for living in the Big City, you might choose elsewhere.</p>