<p>contemporary civ seems incredible. the global core, lit hum, UW, and frontiers of science sound interesting/tolerable. art hum...eh. music hum...classical music puts me to sleep, literally. i can't imagine how i'd pass.</p>
<p>i want to major in neuroscience (and fulfill pre-med reqs along the way), but i also want to have time to take philosophy, econ, polisci, and anthropology courses. would i better off at somewhere else?</p>
<p>Art and Music are each one semester (whereas CC, LH, Global are 2 each). You're not going to love every part of it.</p>
<p>Can't you find another school out of all of the schools out there that have requirements you like better? I know that my sons felt strongly that they did not want to do things that they hated in high school unless absolutely necessary, and they found a lot of options out there in terms of colleges.</p>
<p>You should apply....but it doesn't mean that you should go. Honestly I was in the Columbia-Columbia-Columbia state of mind for quite a whle, I didn't even care about the Core as long as I got to do it at Columbia. It was a mistake. It is quite a heavy courseload and will take a third or so of your time here if you're CC.</p>
<p>A lot of classes frustrate me and feel irrelevant (I don't care about classical music, I read and analyzed Homer in High School, Frontiers of Science is just...weird, and I have my own physical fitness interests that aren't on the curriculum). I would much rather focus on my majors and experience courses I at least had a slight interest in.</p>
<p>i really feel like columbia is the perfect school, except for the core. but that's a gigantic except. </p>
<p>undisclosed, i looked at your post history and it looks like you're hoping to transfer. is it just the core you're unhappy with or is it the overall experience? are there students who dislike the core but think the overall experience makes up for it?</p>
<p>Add me to the list of the people who were like "Columbia. I don't care about the core." Then I thought about it, and it moved from my #1 spot to off of the list completely. Lol. Michigan it is... or NYU, or Penn.</p>
<p>Does anyone actually LIKE the core? My top two schools right now are Columbia and Bowdoin and I don't think I'll be able to decide if I get into both... but they both have a core curriculum (Bowdoin is a little bit more lenient as it has required areas but multiple classes you can take in those areas, which I think might be better) which I love because I don't want to just study geology/science in general and forget everything else. Of course, I could take any classes I want at any college, but I don't think I would be able to convince myself to once I'm there.</p>
<p>whats with all the hating on the core...</p>
<p>ok frontiers is idiotic but you can't prejudge these other classes like that. I thought i'd hate music hum before i took it and i chose it (i'm in SEAS we had to take either music or art not both) only because it was the lesser of two evils and I absolutely loved it....and going to the opera was one of the best experiences i've ever had at columbia.</p>
<p>It's not always a simple matter of enjoyment. The Core includes classes that force you to deal with some of the most complex texts ever written (e.g., The Wealth of Nations, which my section had to read in its entirety), and that can be a fatiguing experience. But, by and large, I can say that the Core has made me much more intelligent. In my case, anyway, I felt like I started to pick up on allusions everywhere to material from Lit Hum/CC, and it's very rewarding to see those connections and think about their implications. The Core honed my critical faculties, and I wouldn't trade that for anything. Sounds trite to say it, but it changed my life.</p>
<p>That being said, it's to be expected that you'll enjoy some components of the Core more than others. CC and Lit Hum can be revelatory; Art Hum and Music Hum are usually solid (and best taken after CC and Lit Hum, in my opinion); Global Core (n</p>
<p>@columbia2009: i'm not put off by the idea of having a core at all. in fact, that was one of the reasons i was originally attracted to the school. but...</p>
<p>8 semesters x 5 classes a semester = 40 classes
major reqs+pre-med reqs = 20 classes
the core = 14 classes
electives = 6 classes</p>
<p>no way can i fit in philosophy, anthropology, econ, sociology, and all the extra high-level psych+bio classes i wanted to take. columbia has too many great classes =(</p>
<p>i guess a better question might be, ** is it possible to handle six classes a semester, if one of them is pass/fail, even if you are taking a science lab every semester? **</p>
<p>^To answer your new question, probably not. That's a super-heavy courseload--just try planning out your days with that many classes and labs. I think you like the idea of Columbia but not its reality. In fact, I think you need to look at a school with a fairly lenient (even nonexistant) set of educational requirements. That way, you won't get stuck trying to follow your own varied interests and the school's.</p>
<p>on a slightly different note what is the rule about pass/fail for columbia classes. I love the core, but I assume that I will not be that great in art and music hum and was wondering if I could take both as pass/fail so I can enjoy the class without the pressure of a grade. My other question was how does the PE requirement work, do you do it after classes or is it in the middle of the day (which would suck obviously). Finally I love the idea of CC and Lit Hum, but did people find art and music hum as enlightening and was Frontiers of Science that painful for non-science people? Thanks for any help</p>
<p>insubvert: It would be helpful to know what you like about Columbia and what other schools you are considering. Based solely on the info. provided in this thread, you should not apply to Columbia.</p>
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I love the core, but I assume that I will not be that great in art and music hum and was wondering if I could take both as pass/fail so I can enjoy the class without the pressure of a grade.
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<p>core classes cannot be taken pass/fail...you must take them all for a grade</p>
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My other question was how does the PE requirement work, do you do it after classes or is it in the middle of the day (which would suck obviously).
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<p>there are many PE sections for each sport/activity...not sure how late they go but they do start from early in the morning and run through the afternoon. Its a 50 minute class.</p>
<p>Most PE's are 50 minutes, but there are some really badass ones like skiing and snowboarding, or horseriding that you only do on the weekends. I recommend those.</p>
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there are many PE sections for each sport/activity...not sure how late they go but they do start from early in the morning and run through the afternoon. Its a 50 minute class.
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<p>I think it's 8am to 5pm for PE classes. Note that most allow you to have up to 6 absences so you only actually have to go something like 9 or 10 weeks of the semester. </p>
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Most PE's are 50 minutes, but there are some really badass ones like skiing and snowboarding, or horseriding that you only do on the weekends. I recommend those.
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<p>Ditto. There's also one that's just free running that meets only on fridays that most runners I know liked.</p>
<p>holy crap, do they seriously have skiing and snowboarding classes?!</p>
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skiing and snowboarding, or horseriding that you only do on the weekends.
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holy crap, do they seriously have skiing and snowboarding classes?!
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<p>it looks like none of those exist:</p>
<p>Yeah, skiing and snowboarding are only offered in the spring. I may have made up horseriding, sorry :( I may have confused it with the equestrian club</p>