<p>I have to decide between Columbia and Brown so here are the questions I have:</p>
<p>What's the workload like? What about social life and the general atmosphere? How easy is it for international students to get internships? Do you ever have time to breathe? Do people like to go to clubs in different parts of NYC or are campus parties preferred?</p>
<p>If any of you could answer one or more of these questions, it would be extremely helpful.</p>
<p>Hey dancetilldawn,</p>
<p>Certainly it’s a good problem to have to choose between those two great institutions, so as a current Columbia student let me give you my perspective on my experiences here. To a certain degree you choose how intense your workload will be. We require about 124 credits to graduate, so that works out to about 4-5 classes a semester minimum, but I think the average is closer to 5-6. Definitely because we have the Core, we allot some time to those classes outside of our majors or concentrations. I also think (perhaps because of the Core, the city, or some other factor) that Columbia tends to attract students with a level of ambition; most of us aren’t content to sit on our heels, and I really enjoy being surrounded by such pasisonate people. That being said, you have to acknowledge that there will always be the over-achievers among you, which can both push you to try even more new things and keep you grounded.</p>
<p>I also think those features of the student body really contribute to our social life and atmosphere. I would describe Columbia as a “work hard, play hard” school. It’s obviously an academically rigorous environment, but in addition to the tests and homework, you also have amazing opportunities to be involved in student clubs and events in the city, which certainly aren’t mutually exclusive. We definitely like to incorporate the city in our social lives; for example I go downtown to a salsa club with the CU Ballroom team on occassion.</p>
<p>I can’t speak from personal experience as an international student, but I can tell you that in working with the Center for Career Education, you’ll have a much easier time in your job and internship search than if you try to do it on your own. At their career fairs, for example, you’ll find a section specifically for opportunities that will accept students with visas.</p>
<p>Again, the time to breathe question entirely depends on you! I definitely take on a lot sometimes, but I didn’t start off by getting involved in everything. As a first year student you have the opportunity to decide how much you want to throw yourself into, and from there you can choose whether or not to expand into new clubs, classes, etc. There’s also some great resources on campus for when you do realize you’ve bitten off more than you can chew: RAs, CSA advisors, and my favorite: Stressbusters. These are a student group on campus who do events like massages, student wellness giveaways, and generally make our lives better!</p>
<p>As for parties, personally, I enjoy both. The subway provides access to all kinds of environments in the city, but there’s plenty on campus as well. One thing I’m particularly fond of is the fact that we have a party space in the basement of our student center, so student groups can actually have a place to throw parties with on campus DJs without paying out the nose to rent out a place off campus. There are also a number of parties and performances people will want to take advantage of on campus hosted by student groups, Greek life organizations, and generally friendly individuals!</p>
<p>I hope that helps, and good luck with your decision!</p>
<p>I do not know much about Brown, though I can say that most classes at Brown can be taken pass/fail and it is a much more laid back atmosphere than Columbia.</p>
<p>I am a first year student in the college and can share with you my experiences thus far.
The workload is manageable for a first year. Granted, I am a CC student and my friends from the engineering school tend to be a bit more busy, but they do find time to go out and take a break from their work. If you’re in the college, you’ll most likely take 2 humanities classes per semester (required core curriculum) and then 2-3 electives of your choice. You will have a lot of reading and a few papers to write per semester, but nothing too unreasonable. As long as you keep up with your assignments and go to class you should have time to relax and go out. The main difference between college and high school is that your entire grade in college is based on a couple exams or papers. Therefore, it is possible to cram you’re entire semester of work/reading/problem sets in a couple weeks during midterms and finals and still do well (although I wouldn’t recommend it). </p>
<p>The social life is centered around clubs and organizations you join and going downtown to New York City with your friends. There are frat parties but they are normally super crowded and there’s only one or two good ones per weekend. It is not your typical college Greek scene, as people rarely attend sporting events and the frats are not frequented often. Instead, joining a club or organization is a great way to meet people who plan small social gatherings. I am currently part of the Model UN team and we have social events nearly every weekend. I feel that this is the same for most people at this school, whether it be a dance team, Acappella, competitive club (debate, mock trial) or team sport. If you don’t know someone in a club it may be a harder for you to find things on campus other than frat row, but most clubs are inclusive and more than willing to help you become comfortable. </p>
<p>Obviously the big social draw is New York City. There is always something going on, whether it be a music festival, free concert, play, sports game, or poetry slam. Of course, if you’re 21 plus (or have an ID) clubs and bars downtown are the place to be. Like most students here, I make an attempt to go down to the city every weekend, even it is just to eat at a restaurant (you’ll find the best food here; you just have to leave campus). There are two on campus bars, but they are pretty weak and your time (and money) are better spent downtown. There are a lot of opportunities to have social fun over here, as long as you manage your time effectively and make an attempt to explore the city.</p>
<p>Internships are readily available, but it is a competitive process so it will depend upon your coursework, grades, and previous work experience. </p>
<p>I’ve had a great first year here and would not trade my experience for anything else. The students here are motivated, intelligent, and socially aware about the world around them. I’ve made great friends here and cannot comprehend how much intellectual growth I incurred over the past year. There is something enriching about a Columbia education that I’m sure almost all of my peers would agree with. It is not your typical college experience, mainly due to the lack of a dominant Greek scene and sporting events. But if you’re an independent person who is career driven and would like to take advantage of the opportunities presented in New York, then I think you would enjoy Columbia over Brown.</p>
<p>I’ll touch upon some of the basic curricular differences between the schools. This does not address the OP’s questions but may be generally helpful to those choosing between these schools. </p>
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<p>All courses at Brown can be taken pass/fail (known more formally as “satisfactory/no credit”), with the meaningful caveats that, wisely for employment and graduate school prospects, very few students take many classes pass/fail and almost no one takes classes in his or her concentration pass/fail. The most typical path at Brown is to take one class per semester pass/fail.</p>
<p>All of Brown’s courses of study are called concentrations, whereas at Columbia a concentration is generally a leaner version of the relevant major. Neither school has nominal minors. I’ve found that Brown’s concentrations tend to have more requirements than Columbia’s concentrations but slightly fewer than Columbia’s majors, though in the sciences Brown’s concentration requirements match closely in number with Columbia’s major requirements. (A student may graduate from Columbia with only a concentration. Such is naturally also the case at Brown.)</p>
<p>Because of the relatively large Core at Columbia, pursing multiple fields of study is easier at Brown. The prescriptive nature of the Core, in contrast to Brown’s lack of general education requirements (except for taking any class that has a significant writing component), means that there is more academic freedom at Brown. Depending on your interests and how they align with the Core, this may or may not matter to you. </p>
<p>Brown’s grading system is a bit simpler than Columbia’s: At Brown, all non-failing grades are one of A, B, or C (there is no grade of D, and failures do not appear on the external transcript); Columbia grades on a standard A+ to F scale, with pluses and minuses along most of the way. These differences appear to manifest in more perfect GPA’s at Brown (a slew of would-be A-'s yields a 4.0) but a similar average GPA, as B+'s – a grade to which many courses outside of the sciences these days are informally curved – turn into a B at Brown, worth 3.0.</p>
<p>I think it’s fair to generalize Brown as being more laid-back and less competitive than Columbia, though I do not find the extension that Brown’s academic rigor therefore suffers to be accurate to any meaningful extent. The lack of differentiation among A grades at Brown does mean that strong students have less concrete incentive to do the best that they can in their classes, but outside of the sciences, the difference between an A-, A, and A+ at most top institutions is often rather subjective and/or requisite of effort incommensurate with the marginal learning. As a net observation, though, Brown students do seem to be less stressed than Columbia’s, but mention of the difference alone fails to emphasize the similarity on the whole.</p>
<p>Obviously, the social scenes are different. It’s commonly reported that Columbia’s weekend socialization comes mainly in the form of exodus to the city, with few on-campus social events left residually. Brown’s social environment is more typical, with most parties on or nearby campus.</p>