Should I still go to Columbia?!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
1

<p>I’m having trouble deciding where to go to school!! I’ve narrowed it down to Penn and Columbia. </p>

<p>I LOVE Columbia! When I visited, I felt so comfortable and I really felt like I could fit in, etc., etc. My heart is telling me to go to Columbia. However, I wrote a pros and cons list for both schools and realized Penn had virtually no cons but Columbia had several! My cons include: no public health major/minor (what I want to study, but that could change), lack of community/school spirt/people don’t go to sports games, and the bureaucracy that everyone always talks about.</p>

<p>My heart is telling me to go to Columbia. Should I ignore all these cons? To current students, family and friends of students, and alumni: are there still some opportunities to go to sports games? Even without sports, are people really proud to go to Columbia? and is the bureaucracy really that bad? I know no one else can make my decision for me, but any info you could give me would really help. Thanks!</p>

2

<p>Honestly, as the brother of a current student at Columbia, I would say there’s certainly a lack of sports culture. Unfortunately, the future doesn’t look too bright in this regard with the field being located a hundred blocks uptown. That said, students tend to show some pride for basketball. As well, in terms of pride, that may be hampered by the whole graduate student population (around 17,000) and the stronger emphasis on being an “individual” than on “being an individual with other at Columbia.” For better or for worse that is the case. Plain and simple. As much as I love the school (and wish I got in - I got rejected from both Penn and Columbia), I can see why others wouldn’t and, again, perhaps I’m just biased in its favor because my brother goes there and is a Classics major and loves it. Lastly, on a different note, you said that you were interested in public health and medicine. In that regard, Penn would have to trump Columbia both in its undergraduate offerings and the proximity of its medical facilities to the Penn campus (w/in a couple blocks from most dorms versus fifty blocks away in the not-so-safe-to-be-in Washington Heights). Anyhow, hope this bit of insight helps.</p>

3

<p>Hi, I would say go on the Columbia - Class of 2015 Group on Facebook and check out how many admits chose Columbia over Penn. You can count at least a few dozen within a small sample set. It looks like only one the other way around who is going to Wharton over Stanford and a bunch of other places.</p>

4

<p>Also, if you want spirit, check out the spirit of your peers directly in the Facebook Group. They are your future classmates. They will be attending the games with you. They will sing the fight song with you on Low Steps at 4:00am. Roar!</p>

5

<p>smiley, I had exactly the same qualms when I was accepted 5 years ago, I had read that Columbia had no school spirit and lacked some community and I was deciding between a peer school with a lot of school spirit (which I care about). So I called my alumni interviewer and asked him and he said that we weren’t Duke in terms of spirit and athletics, but that kids were proud to go to Columbia and that there was attendance at sports games.</p>

<p>My 4 years confirmed this 100%, there are a lot of people on campus who just don’t care about sports, but go to any basketball or football conference game and the stands will be either at capacity or nearly there. There were 10,000+ students, alumni and affiliates in the Columbia section of the stands at homecoming, and it was exhilarating being there. At the basketball games our gym was packed. The average student might not care about Columbia athletics, and some might not even know what is going on, but there is a sizable and strong following. The Columbia fans are always rowdy, loud, clever and enthusiastic. You see some huge school spirit at the games, it gives me an adrenaline rush (wasn’t part of or connected to athletics at all) which is why I go back to games. Penn will have a bigger following because their teams (esp football) are better, but you will find a lot of company and spirit as an audience member in the games. This is not Swarthmore, we are a D1 school with recruited athletes who train their a$$es off for games.</p>

<p>Community I felt was lacking when I joined as a freshman, but with some social initiative, I began to make new friends and keep old ones. People realized I was friendly and genuine and so stayed my friends. By my junior year I was being invited to more parties than I could physically attend, I had several close friends who I could confide in, venture downtown with, go to sports games with or demand to meet for a cup of coffee when I was down. I felt a strong sense of community at Columbia, even though I didn’t know people. Others on this board have had different experiences, but it is what you make of it. If you are social and attempt to make and keep friends, you will make and keep friends, get involved with extra-curricular activities and throw yourself into the experience - the benefits will come right back.</p>

<p>People who are unhappy tend to be very academically focused or tend to spread themselves out into too many social groups / clubs and then try to run for board positions come election time (they usually get relegated to a position like secretary or not get elected altogether). </p>

<p>Finally the administration is not as smooth as Dartmouth’s or Princeton’s, but it isn’t nearly as bad as a state school administration, and it is improving. Dealing with them is also a good learning experience and I took it as part of my education. You can usually get anything you want done with the right attitude and finding the right people - as in columbia, as in life.</p>

<p>You sound like you are an enthusiastic person and that you found a great atmosphere at Columbia, so I would go with it. If you put in the effort you will be successful and happy with your experience, like I was. If you come in with a sense of arrogance and entitlement, you will probably be disappointed and unhappy - as in columbia, as in life.</p>

6

<p>Come to Columbia! (:</p>

<p>This place is about as amazing as it gets. And to be honest, while every place has its cons, Columbia has the best pros. :D</p>

<p>Hope to have you as a class-mate this fall. (:</p>

7

<p>so where did you end up submitting your deposit? im curious…</p>

8

<p>Penn Penn Penn</p>

9

<p>I still haven’t decided :confused: I’m leaning towards Penn now though</p>

10

<p>The area around the medical center is very safe and the subway stop is right there on campus. There isn’t really any reason to go away from the medical center as an undergrad so I wouldn’t sweat it. Take it from someone who followed his heart for college and med school: go with your gut.</p>

11

<p>As someone who’s going to Penn, I gotta say that I’m biased towards Penn, BUT…</p>

<p>If your heart is telling you to go to Columbia, then go to Columbia. Columbia is a great school, after all, and if you feel like you can really fit in there, if your heart is telling you to go, then, well, you should go. While I’ll be sad to miss out on a potential Penn classmate, it’ll be sadder for you if you give up a school you really like and that your heart is telling you to go to, right?</p>

12

<p>Hi smiley! You might find post 25 helpful on the following thread helpful:</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-pennsylvania/1139116-why-duke-columbia-penn-underrated-these-forums-2.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-pennsylvania/1139116-why-duke-columbia-penn-underrated-these-forums-2.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>

</p>

13

<p>^ The counter to that post</p>

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14

<p>What’s the deal with iamanapp? You can have your own cult and worship Columbia as much as you want but you don’t need to bash others, dude. </p>

<p>And “Hi smiley! You might find post 25 helpful on the following thread helpful”
–> You were so excited at the opportunity to bash that you yourself repeated the word “helpful” twice in the same sentence! Jeez! I respect Columbia & other Ivies as much as Penn and I don’t know why you keep trying this. It’s like “I am a Nobel Laureate, that guy is a Nobel Laureate as well but I am far smarter and he is way too stupid” Nonsense!</p>

15

<p>You talk about the cons list, but what about the pros? What is most important to you, and what can you compensate for? If all else fails, flip a coin, and decide based on how you feel about the result.</p>

16

<p>Penn, Penn, Penn. My sister has too many Columbia horror stories.</p>

17

<p>^ Horror stories such as what?</p>

18

<ul>
<li>millions of hidden costs</li>
<li>unsupportive advising and professors </li>
<li>extreme, intense, competitive kids</li>
<li>poor networking for my sister’s major (film)</li>
<li>the notorious bureaucracy</li>
</ul>

19

<p>^ What notorious bureaucracy? And what are the hidden costs?</p>

<p>I’ve heard of both of these things and have always been curious.</p>

20

<p>Hidden costs as in mandatory theater trips, opera visits, field trips, fees for every extra curricular, a totally unsupportive administration. Columbia tries to trick you into buying their health insurance every single semester. They automatically bill you every single semester and you have to submit waivers each time or you are put on their insurance plan and it cannot be removed. </p>

<p>It’s stuff like that. Columbia is always trying to squeeze every ounce of money out of everyone.</p>