Show Columbia Some Love?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
1

<p>Hello,
this is my first post on college confidential and just some background, I got accepted into Columbia College for 2016 ED. I hadn't even heard about this site until after I got in when a friend of mine showed it to me. </p>

<p>So, when applying to Columbia I fell in love with everything the school has to offer--an amazing campus in an even more amazing city, a great economics department, and a focus on the classics in the core that i really really liked. </p>

<p>Since I got on college confidential, I have been astounded by the amount of negativity concerning Columbia University in general. It seems like there are some people on this site that hate the school to their very core and LOVE ranting about the schools problems.</p>

<p>I am very VERY VERY happy to have gotten in Early and I wouldn't change anything even if I could, however all this negativity has really concerned me. </p>

<p>Can current Columbia students SHOW COLUMBIA SOME LOVE?</p>

<p>I want to hear talk on this site about HOW AMAZING Columbia is as a school. </p>

<p>In other words, can somebody give me a moral boost about my future school?</p>

2

<p>Best advice is to stay off CC. Enjoy the rest of your senior year and make up your own mind about Columbia once you’re there. Most school experiences are what YOU make of them. Reading others’ posts, whether positive or negative, shouldn’t shake or stroke your confidence. This site can become addictive if you let it and if the majority of the posts you’re reading are ruining your decision to choose Columbia, just stay away, you’ll be happier.</p>

3

<p>CC is a cesspool. Columbia University is awesome! Enjoy, and welcome!</p>

4

<p>Columbia is amazing! Ignore them—you know that Columbia is a great fit for you, and that’s what matters. I really can’t think of anything I hate, or even dislike, about Columbia… maybe I’m just a really positive person, but I love it here! I guess my one complaint would be that I don’t have more time to explore the city and attend the numerous events Columbia hosts each week! Of course, the city is amazing, and there are just countless opportunities. This sounds cliche, but your experience really will be what you make of it. Roar lion, roar! :)</p>

5

<p>There are always going to be people who dislike a school and that is simply how they feel. You need to realize that there isn’t any college that is loved by every single student in the country.</p>

6

<p>

</p>

<p>huh?</p>

<p>Amazing campus?</p>

7

<p>There are a lot of unhappy people here. You will probably become more cynical as well once you realize this school doesn’t give a crap about you. They want your money. Just read about things like the [War</a> on Fun](<a href=“http://www.wikicu.com/War_on_Fun]War”>War on Fun - WikiCU, the Columbia University wiki encyclopedia) on wikicu. </p>

<p>I think the thing that was most shocking to me was reading the comment threads on bwog last semester when a student committed suicide.</p>

8

<p>Like most Columbia students, you will most likely end up hating the bureaucracy. They’re incompetent, lazy, and obstructive - you feel as if they are trying to thwart the class, event, or anything else that you want to accomplish. That said, you can enjoy the Columbia experience, as with any college experience, as long as you lower your expectations (I’m also assuming that you are either in CC studying anything but mathematics or in SEAS but determined to major in OR:EMS). </p>

<p>First, there are a tremendous number of professional and academic opportunities to pursue whether it be finance, research, international relations, or economics. Just be aware that many of these opportunities require sleuthing, luck, and networking. There may be amazing professors at Columbia but most of them will not care about you unless you make the effort to speak to them.</p>

<p>Second, your peers will be smart and looking for fun freshman year. Don’t miss the opportunity to meet some great people during the first month of school, the only time that the students in your class will open up and welcome one another. It gets much harder to ingratiate yourself with others when cliques have formed. </p>

<p>Lastly, you will have Columbia on your resume. Regardless of what I say about my experience here, the general public still respects the prestige and reputation of this school. The Columbia brand carries quite a bit of weight, in Europe, in Asia, and in the US. I’m assuming that a major reason that you chose the school is because of its reputation.</p>

9

<p>Columbia, like NYC, is a cold and impersonal place. It’s maddening that over 1 million people live in Manhattan, yet so few people acknowledge each other. Likewise, the university itself contains over 7,000 undergraduates but it’s drowned out by the neighborhood and the graduate students. At Columbia, you’ll feel like a statistic, an inconsequential piece of a behemoth. </p>

<p>True, you grow up quickly and can succeed independently, unlike many of your peers at comparable institutions. Yes, many of these students have probably been coddled by their administrations who’ve helped them find jobs, select classes, choose majors, determine careers, and apply to graduate programs. At Columbia, you will learn to take care of these things for yourself, a skill that other students will need to learn in the “real world”. Though these skills are important, I’d argue that the costs of acquiring them far outweigh the benefits. </p>

<p>Most college graduates are forced to grow up when they graduate college, just like they are forced to grow up when they graduate high school and leave home. However, having an unhelpful and obstructive high school administration is somehow seen as a travesty when compared to an equally unhelpful and obstructive college administration. As I’ve said before, you can live in NYC anytime in your life but you can’t replicate the college experience. In the same vein, you can learn to “grow up” when you turn 22, but college is one of the last opportunities for an institution to profoundly shape your views, change your interests, and open up an expanse of opportunities once you graduate. Sadly, Columbia will forget about you once you step foot on campus.</p>

10

<p>I’m pretty sure the OP asked for people to show Columbia some love… This seems to be turning into the opposite, which is disappointing. Can we have a “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it” policy on at least this thread, or is that me being ridiculous?</p>

11

<p>@beardtax</p>

<p>Wow, everytime you post about Columbia I cringe. I’m hoping that your experience was a bit more fun than you can remember. I think my D can handle most everything you’ve mentioned as hardships except the “1 month window,” to make lasting friendships. Is it truly that small a period for the average student? Even if it is hyperbole and the actual window is the entire 1st semester, that still seems extreme and forboding.</p>

12

<p>I have repeatedly tried to reach out to BeardTax on this forum. I can’t figure out this poster. He has also received several offers from other Columbia stalwarts on this board - opportunities to connect with fellow students who LOVE IT HERE, chances to air grivances, and so on. Just do a close reading of past threads over 3 years to see these posts. </p>

<p>PLEASE DO NOT LET THIS ■■■■■ INFLUENCE YOUR DECISION REGARDING THE COLUMBIA I KNOW AND DEEPLY LOVE AND RESPECT.</p>

<p>Yes, there are challenges to all top institutions in the world, but Columbia is one of the inspiring institutions on this planet and there is so much good to share. There are no secrets Columbia people are hiding that are somehow only revealed on College Confidential (don’t give this site that much credit). The posters need to understand the haters on here are a pretty rare breed. Most Columbia students who want to see something changed about the administration or the culture go about it in constructive ways that make Columbia an even better place to be. Columbia would not have the second highest retention rate in the country (ahead of lots of Ivy peers) and the third highest graduation rate if things did not work pretty well on a daily basis. </p>

<p>I will also just add that Columbia attracts and molds true critical thinkers who become truly critical about everything - themselves, their community, the world. It is what makes so many go on to do such important things in the world and make positive contributions. It is also what makes our community self-critical. We look inward to make change as well as outward.</p>

13

<p>Manhattanites don’t interact because there are so many of them. They don’t expect to interact, but when you approach them they are very friendly and helpful. They will gladly speak with you. You just need to approach them.
Both daughters chose Barnard after visiting even they had what I thought were more attractive options.</p>

14

<p>Thank you DowneasterDad. I agree. I sincerely hope that high school kids looking at Columbia won’t get turned off by all the negativity that’s posted here. My daughter is so happy at Columbia. She has made so many friends and is involved in many clubs and activities. She can’t imagine any other place where she could possibly be happier. Every school has unhappy students. For those I say, why don’t you transfer?</p>

15

<p>Beard tax is quite correct in many measures. I refused to listen to him last year and I don’t really regret that because I made my own decisions. However, one would be mistaken to assume all his complaints come out of a well of Columbia hatred.
There is a one-month window for making friends. So make lots of friends in August/September and call them regularly.
Pros

  1. Columbia is full of the most amazing, brilliant, irresistibly charming people I have ever met. In our facebook group, we had discussions about the meaning of love. I’m not talking, stupid pseudo-intellectual nonsense–people here legitimately will think about everything, deeply and in great detail. I adore some of the students here. I have often found myself having to think before I spoke and contemplate what my answer ought to be.
    Con
  2. If you don’t make close friends in the 1st semester it will be pretty hard to make friends after that. I know, I moved out of my dorm first semester and I have had a hard time making friends after I left all my old buddies behind.</p>

<p>Pro
NYC</p>

<p>Con
You will be so busy, you’ll almost never get to see NYC. But when you do go out to NYC, it is amazing. The catholic churches are gorgeous. I recommend visiting St. John the Divine. In Riverside Park, there is General Grant’s tomb. Forget cliche places like the Empire state Building. Go walk through to the end of riverside Park and you get to the piers right near the Hudson River. It’s beautiful. Also, every morning you will see the NYC city skyline from your window.</p>

<p>Con
You will be in awful large lecture halls,with professors who don’t know you. You will be mostly taught by TA’s.</p>

<p>Pro
However, if you are a smart freshman You will go to CULPA and look up the best professors and then try to get into their classes. Some of the best professors are amazing teachers. Unfortunately, in math and science classes, the professors are pretty bad.</p>

<p>helpful hint: Live in a single your first year. John Jay is much better than Carman. Most of the parties in Carman get shut down.</p>

<p>Con:
The parties here are so bad there is nothing positive to be said about them. If you don’t like getting hammered all the time… yeah…</p>

<p>as for safety, don’t go walking through Harlem at midnight. I tried it and ended up running away in fear. Going past 120th street at night is not a good idea. If you are a girl, swallow your feminism and beg a jock to come with you.</p>

<p>all in all, as I write this, I realize Columbia isn’t too bad. It’s just that, if you are a science major, columbia is not a great idea.</p>

<p>Also, the campus architecture is amazing. Those who say it is not are probably blind.
Wow, I forgot how much I loved Columbia.</p>

16

<p>I’m sharing an opinion that I have of Columbia, and there’s no need to engage in ad hominem attacks. As for columbia2016, you can have an engaging and fun experience at Columbia. It depends on your attitude, career goals, and social ability. Congratulations on your acceptance and I truly do hope that you enjoy your experience over the next 4 years. Good luck!</p>

17

<p>@downeasterdad</p>

<p>For me, the window of meeting friends, not acquaintances, was only a month. My floor was full of athletes. In addition, cliques formed within the first 2-3 weeks and groups of students pledged for the same fraternity by October.</p>

<p>I reached out to other groups on other floors, but to no avail. My close friends now all kind of fell through the cracks, but we’ve been pretty close since the middle of junior year.</p>

18

<p>“Manhattanites don’t interact because there are so many of them. They don’t expect to interact, but when you approach them they are very friendly and helpful. They will gladly speak with you. You just need to approach them.”</p>

<p>Very true, and Columbians tend to be similar.</p>

19

<p>@Beard Tax</p>

<p>So you did find some close friends though . . . so connecting with a few choice people is possible. This is encouraging as my D is really only looking to form a small amount of tight-knit friendships of which she can share exploring the campus and NYC. She is not big on institutional ra-ra-ra-ness or being part of large cliques. If she chooses to enroll I’m afraid that she’ll probably be contributing to the decentralized social scene but at least she personally won’t feel like Columbia was not an ideal match for her.</p>

20

<p>Nicole!! I found you! I gave up on studying compsci. It’s inevitable I will fail the Midterm (to those of you not in the loop, a poster on this thread lives on my floor)</p>

<p>Columbia is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I’m not always puking sunshine and rainbows here, but all the sweat and tears and beyond worth it. Seriously. I have never been this proud of myself or happy with where my life is going. I’ve met AMAZING people here, whom I intend on being friends with for the rest of my life, and am really growing into myself.</p>

<p>I seriously cannot imagine going to school anywhere else. This place is home. It is incredible, and you will have a FANTASTIC time :):slight_smile: feel free to PM me with any questions!!</p>