<p>1) Why are some schools integrated and others not -
It has to do with how they developed as universities. What seems as if there was a method to the madness, but not necessarily so. Harvard for instance only became the School of Engineering and Applied Science in 2006, and it is still under the auspices of the Faculty of Arts and Science, it used to just be called a Division beforehand. </p>
<p>In Columbia’s case, admissions for the two schools was the same up until the 50s, and then President Kirk, as far as i can tell, did a funny thing and encouraged balkanization, this came about the time the Business School got rid of its undergraduate majors. SEAS has since then developed on its own, found its own donors and it was not until 1992 that the two schools began to interact more with each other - begin with housing being the same, then Division of Student Affairs, and now most things are similar. But over the course of 40+ years, SEAS began to rely on undergraduate tuition going directly into its coffers, and also the question of developing its own identity. So now you have financial reasons there is no integration, but also cultural/social ones that make it a harder bridge to break. SEAS wants to maintain a number of students under its auspices to pay its own professors, its space, and to pursue its own trajectory. Any kind of open enrollment plan would necessarily challenge that.</p>
<p>2) I think Beard is spot on in some parts here - it is important for students to know what engineering is before they apply. Just applying because it is ‘easier’ to get into, or ‘i could do that’ or ‘i like math and science,’ is downright stupid. But I know tons of students who do that, get admitted and wonder why they can’t stand engineering. </p>
<p>Not to say this is beard’s experience, I just know students for whom that was the case. When you apply - apply knowing you will be an engineering student for 4 years. Does this mean you can’t be whatever you want in life? No. And Columbia’s brand of engineering certainly is more openminded than most other engineering programs; it will also link you up with career services and alums that are doing nothing remotely close to engineering. </p>
<p>The biggest impact though is in what you study in the classroom and some of those limitations it puts on you. It means you should really like doing problem sets. That your weekly schedule will be less predictable mostly because you could spend anywhere from 3 hrs to 20 hrs on a problem set, and on the other hand your academic schedule will be more structured as you complete requirements that are already prescribed. This can seem a bit mindnumbing, and does allow less academic freedom. Beard’s comments are very real here.</p>
<p>So why do it? You are more employable. As C02 notes, you have actual skills that companies want. I have difficulty getting jobs because I didn’t spend my entire undergraduate time programming or using excel. Beard once said he thought economics might be better for him, but not even econ kids program all that much; and in the end if you don’t have the computer literacy you are at a disadvantage in the job market.</p>
<p>Why do it at Columbia? Because despite the wonderful picture that we have given you here of all the work, it is still better at Columbia than it is at other places, at lot more free, and working with professors and within a culture at SEAS that is highly innovative. I have said this before - I’d take the mindless problem set world for all the advantages it has, and the fact that SEAS is far more open to curricular changes and innovations than arts and science.</p>
<p>3) If you apply and know what you’re getting yourself into, then you’ll be fine. It still doesn’t mean that your experience wont turn out bad - you might have a come to jesus moment where you decide you really can’t deal with engineering and just want freedom. You have some options then - though limited of course. You could transfer to CC (which is hard unless you are transferring into a humanities major), you could transfer out of Columbia, you could take on one of the less intense SEAS majors. Lastly, you could decide to screw it and just enjoy yourself and do poorly in your classes - Beard isn’t fond of this option, but I will just put it out there with friends from SEAS: you’ll still be highly employable coming with a Columbia degree. Does that mean you wont work for a BB bank? Probably not, but there are many folks in finance, business, engineering, IT, etc. that would take you. If you attend Columbia, likelihood is that you have grand plans for yourself and that may not involve working for a regional company in the south or southwest. But let’s be frank here you can get a job coming out of Columbia, it just might involve deciding what you want, how bad you want it, and what you’re willing to do in the short term to fulfill your long term dreams, or what you’re willing to sacrifice.</p>