<p>anecdotal evidence is just that anecdotal. it is the same as using hearsay as evidence in court. it is supportive, but not conclusive.</p>
<p>i know you understand the difference between the two.</p>
<p>when i make a claim that is ephemeral and meant to sound good by using an anecdote, i’m well aware of the flaws in my own use of evidence. that is why everything i say is couched explicitly (or implicitly by reading my other points) as being an opinion. or as i often say “one possible of many possible outcomes.” but i also back it up by explaining - a) what i did to achieve those experiences, b) some philosophical viewpoints on how i perceive life/college, etc., all of which gives the reader to some degree a measure to believe or not believe.</p>
<p>most things relating to processes or policies at columbia i do claim authority. with a significant amount of experience as an undergrad, and now as an alum, with friends both past and present at various levels of the administration and student governance, i am more aware of what is official policy, what is ‘perceived’ policy but actually is not policy, and also i am aware of who has control/jurisdiction over what issue. for instance, if you rub your CSA advisor poorly, or demand at the last minute for a form for something, they probably are not going to help you over other students in their caseload. how you treat your advisor (and most students don’t even realize when they are being rude) can significantly change your collegiete experience. its a connected place - that CSA advisor’s real opinion of you as a student matters when you want to do something like internal transfer.</p>
<p>a lot of the arguments here that are made on flimsy evidence my only goal is to create reasonable doubt as to their veracity (by offering a counterfactual or a counterexample) especially when they are stated as truth claims. or when i am especially aware that someone is claiming a policy/process truth that i know is false, i will state it to be false (though obviously i wont reveal too much for obvious reasons).</p>
<p>the second set of arguments are entirely subjective, but are meant to ‘reframe’ thinking about a question in order to a) demonstrate there is more ways to think about something, b) demonstrate that there is indeed a positive take on something (and almost always it is the stance i believe), c) affirm to readers that a lot of times it is how someone perceives a situation that changes, therefore opening up the reader to conclude there is a spectrum of opinions.</p>
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<p>and by all metrics - princetonreview and usnews are poor measures of teaching. in fact there is no good measure of teaching evaluations by universities let alone comparing across universities. (read about the recent debate sparked by texas a&m if you want a hint at this problem.) for instance the anecdote i will offer is that i enjoyed all but 5 classes i took at columbia, 3 of which just were just classes i took, and 2 that were awful (but in a department that has since cleaned house). the remaining classes taken over a large range of departments, in the core and just electives, ranged from great to fantastic and eye opening experiences that make me feel more prepared for further study than peers of mine that attended princeton, yale, stanford and harvard. i had a very rigorous intellectual experience that i treasure. and i know folks in and out of engineering that say similar things. in the end the reader on here has to decide what he/she believes. and if they trust me more, i can’t help but think it is because i am more open about who i am, why i post, and am exceedingly helpful with all i can offer.</p>