<p>How are the students (generally speaking) at Columbia? I've also been hearing that you go to Columbia to make it on your own, instead of utilizing teamwork like in other universities. Is this another over-OVER-generalized misconception, or is it the harsh reality of going to this prestigious institution?</p>
<p>Do a search and/or read the threads in the Helpful Threads post</p>
<p>1) rarely is a blanket statement not an over-generalization. you will find your share of everything.
2) with skraylor, this has really been addressed a lot. but you do bring up something i haven’t heard before about cu being anti-teamwork.</p>
<p>here is the reason behind the generalization. columbia+nyc offer you A LOT. far more than comparable universities in terms of experience. this means that from the get go, you have the ability to craft your own experience that can be very different from the person living in the room next to yours. if you lie in let’s say hanover, nh, where often the greatest separator is where you came from and what you study, of course cu+nyc appear to be less uniform (i think that’s a good thing though). it also means that you have more competing parties - groups doing very different things simultaneously, rubbing up against each other. the visibility of competing interests (the guy in the corner store, the wall street banker, the family of four eating at deluxe, and the student) makes you believe that columbia or nyc is less realistic. which is an absurd concept because in reality wherever you go you will not be dealing with people exactly like you; cu+nyc is a place where the micro-differences that exist in any community are magnified. nobody at duke loves the blue devils the exact same way or for the same purpose, but for some reason we are to believe that it is to be true.</p>
<p>now how does being able to craft your own experience=no teamwork. i don’t know how you picked that one up, but alas. at cu you will find your pocket of friends perhaps doing exactly what you are doing, you will also be in situations where working with other folks is integral to doing well. and indeed in the urban jungle the subtleties of teamwork are far more realized - going out with groups of friends into the city instead of alone, splitting up a massive bill without having someone try to say i just had a salad. so don’t listen to the hype. in fact i’d say cu is a more realistic vision of how life will be after college, though you should never confuse it for the real thing - the real world is just as complicated as anyone has ever insinuated and all unis to an extent are bubbles.</p>
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<p>this isn’t always a bad thing.</p>
<p>i agree - i don’t think it is a bad thing at all, i think it is real - i like it more. there is no school like cu, no place like nyc in the country. it is truly unique. but especially as the world/country become further urbanized, a school setting that harnesses the energy of a city and puts students in direct connection to the issues of urban life will better prepare students for the realities of an emerging future.</p>
<p>if you can make it in New York, then you can make it anywhere</p>