Financial Aid here is absolutely amazing. Can’t complain one bit!!
Don’t have any science classes but another guy in my class, from India (ISB, if I’m correct) incidentally, is a prospective Physics major, and chose Columbia over Cornell, Duke, and several other top schools. Will ask him more about the faculty, etc. and get back to you.</p>
<p>@Tizil7:
Pretty much every Ivy kid I’ve met, I’ve noticed loves to complain. JJ food is FINE. Is it amazing? Hell no. But, look at what you’re paying for it. And it’s a dormitory, not a 5-star hotel. Personally, I really like the salad bar, the vegetarian options, the personalized omelettes, the always-juicy hamburgers… Trust me, it’s good enough!
Morningside Heights might not have the best dining options… the spinach in the pizza I ordered last night was a bit funky to say the least. But honestly, the dining options here compared to even other big cities, are just on a different level. If you’re a foodie, there is no better place to be in the world than New York. Just don’t be one of those types who leaves Morningside once a year and then complains about lack of variety of good restaurants.
Also, as a Columbia student, you can get a bit spoiled by the options, and just the fantastic NYC environment, leading you to become complacent. Take one trip to lonely, depressing Ithaca or crime-infested and downright frightening West Philadelphia, and you begin to realize just how lucky you are to be a student at Columbia.
Thinking about the swimming test as a prospie? Lol, no it’s not mandatory. If you’re scared of the water or something, you can always take a Phys. Ed. class and cover the requirement that way. Columbia is extremely student-centric, and you have so many options for every single thing, it makes your mind boggle (in a good way :)). Right now, I’d advise you to worry more about the application, as the why Columbia essay is considered very important. Also, decide now whether you’re a better fit for CE/SEAS (note: haven’t seen SEAS used here in a while, so just check whether you should refer to it as CE instead in the app) or CC. Personally, I recommend CC [amazing, intellectual community, the shared history, the vast variety of course options, the connections to NYC (classes, trips), extremely enthusiastic alumni etc etc.]</p>
<ul>
<li>No. May/June is not too late at all. I actually responded a week earlier than the response deadline they gave me after notification. :)</li>
</ul>
<p>P.S: That emoticon reminds me of PP. Haha, I remember her using it in every single post lol.</p>
<p>@Veethi- thanks a lot and all the best to you fr the Dec tests! @Tizil- same here lol, it’s going fine, but i found these Lit tests online which seem really difficult What about you?</p>
<p>@PDreams- Congratulations on getting into Columbia! You seem fantastically happy there I’m starting to consider applying there too now. Do you know whether, if i’m a Lib Arts applicant w/ a strong arts background (though i am a science student), i will still be considered with low SAT 1 math scores/no sub SAT in math? (im taking the chem and lit sub SAT). My high school grades in math are pretty okay. (99/100 in class X, ~75-80% in class XI, ~85% in class XII so far).
Thanks a lot And all the best :D</p>
<p>@PrincetonDreams : Thanks man. Columbia seems awesome. @Veethiv : Browsed through the essays,some are really very good. Hope we produce something similar in quality. @Tizil : A vacation is an ‘experience’. You’d probably find something nice to write when you are out and about.
And best of luck everyone</p>
<p>^ You updated your location to Pasadena
On a side note, SSJ4 >> Mystic, so WHY DID YOU BECOME MYSTIC? :eek:</p>
<p>But on a more serious note, what’s the best thing you like about being in Pasadena or studying at CalTech? I’m asking because I am applying there and would like to know more about that place and it can’t hurt to ask you :)</p>
<p>Discussions of religion violate the Terms of Service of this site and will not be allowed. Additionally, these threads are devoted to issues regarding COLLEGE. Topics such as what you’re reading, specific experiments, etc. belong in the College Confidential Cafe. Those posts will also be deleted. If the thread goes too far afield, it will be CLOSED.</p>
<p>I am reusing my common app essay for the UCs second prompt (of significant experience) and intend to talk about my “love” of science and engineering in the first essay of where I come from and how coming from where I come, my “love” for science and engineering has bolstered even more.</p>
<p>Are you guys reusing any essays? Are you for it? Against it? Do you think you will have time to come up with unique essays for each prompt? Or is it more convenient and practical to re-use?</p>
<p>And Tizil firstly its Caltech. Dont capitalize the T. It garners a lot of chagrin when you do Well Pasadena is a fantastic place. There are fewer places that are safer, cleaner and quieter, unless you study in some big corn field <em>cough</em> Cornell. That being said its not as lively as say studying within LA but we’re not that far from LA. About 30 mins or so its cool. The academics here are hard and I cannot describe the ridiculous level of giftedness I see in many of my peers here. Seeing how small we are, I dont think you’ll see a more concentrated bunch of science and math driven kids anywhere else. So if you dont love math or science or engineering you should definitely not put yourself through Caltech.</p>
<p>In the weeks ive been here, Caltech has been real hard. At times even ridiculously so. But I imagine that to those who really want to stretch their intellect to see the level of understanding they can reach in STEM it will be worth it. So if you love STEM consider here. Otherwise their’s always Caltech’s East Campus for humanities and Arts. The weather there sucks though, you’re better off living in the Pasadena campus for kewl kids ;)</p>
<p>So many things about that post makes me laugh :D</p>
<p>Now now, don’t hate on the Cornell kids, they might actually make something out of studying in corn fields :eek:</p>
<p>When you say you are surprised at your peers’ intellect do you mean you feel intimidated or do you mean it in a oh-yeah-I-can-do-that-too way? I am sure it’s the latter, and also that it depends from person to person.</p>
<p>What do you think about Caltech’s (deliberate de-capitalization ) supplement, from your own admissions hindsight? Is it important for one to definitely have some research in the sciences prior to applying? Did you fill out all three Math/Science activity sections?</p>
<p>I think I am asking all these questions because I am somewhat paranoid (scared) of writing the “Why Engineering” essays. I like the sciences and math over any other subject and I feel an … innate … sense of wholesomeness in terms of doing something worthwhile when I am solving Physics or Math questions or just understanding concepts in Chemistry (especially Organic <3) but none of these seem reason enough to be wanting to apply to a particular school for engineering. Confusion. :eek:</p>
<p>Tizil, it has been a while since I applied to graduate school here. What I looked for was in order of importance 1) school that will give me financial aid 2) school that has a good program in my intended field of study 3) school with a good international student base, indian clubs are always good 4) school close to my US relatives (that way I can have some family I can depend on). When the campus closes for breaks (thanksgiving/christmas) it is nice to have family I can go home to :). Caltech obviously has a lot of smart kids who have excelled in math/science. Not uncommon to see kids who have qualified in national/international level olympiads. If you like math/science but on the fence, perhaps other colleges might be better suited. Just explore all the colleges website and see the list of majors/minors. By the way, you should have narrowed down your list by now?</p>
<p>Yeah I agree with 2016parent. Unless you’re on the fence about what exactly you wanna do in math and science. If you know for sure its math or science or engineering then you cant go wrong here. And if you’re one of those people who want to do engineering but cant let go of physics or math well again I think Caltech ticks many of the right boxes. For instance, we have to do 5 courses of Math, Physics and 2 courses of Chem, 1 course of Bio, 12 courses of Humanities and 2 labs compulsory. Regardless of your major. So I think our history majors know more quantum mechanics than a lot of physics majors If you love math well you have these 5 courses that will take you till sophomore year third term and then whoohoo one more year of this course on applied and computational mathematics if you’re gonna be an engineer. ACM95 is compulsory for all engineers and I think most people at Caltech do it. It is a graduate level class. In fact your peers are graduates. Their class is called ACM100 and they sit with you in your lecture, write your exams and do the same homework you do. </p>
<p>And of course there are other graduate level courses in sci/math you can do as an undergrad. As for why engineering, Caltech does not require an engineering specific essay. I doubt you’ve looked at the prompt for Caltech. Its totally open-ended about why you love math/sci which you dont seem to have a problem writing about? </p>
<p>Oh and I mean I do get super intimidated. Its hard not to. But it is also the very thing that spurs you on to stretch yourself to levels you never imagined you could reach Having said that, it is def not for everyone. It is extremely difficult and its rigour is so demanding at times even the most motivated question their decision to come here. However, its probably worth it if you’re gonna be pushed to learn so much.</p>
<p>Fall2016parent, thank you for your advice!
I am looking at few of the factors you mentioned like a school having a good international base and with a strong program in the field of my interest. Since I am not applying for Financial Aid, it doesn’t factor into my criteria for finding colleges.</p>
<p>It’s not that I like math and science on the borderline. I like them very much. In fact, if given the chance, I would rather not be doing anything else except Engineering. The problem I am having is in articulating this is words in the essay. Partly, because my common app essay is rather unique in it’s structure and tone (my counselor said she had never seen one written like it before but also that it was the best she has come across this year. I give her opinion some weight considering she was a member of the ADcom of an Ivy) and so I am unable to bring the same ‘uniqueness’ to this answer.</p>
<p>I mean… the prompt is so… generic. “Why do you love Engg?” And I just have 1500 characters to answer that so I can’t even describe any particular story/instance that inspired me study math and sciences more. Or perhaps I am just mistaken about how this essay should be written in the first place.</p>
<p>My initial impression was (and still is) that such essays go along the lines of:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Would anyone please tell me if I am on the right track? Because it seems to me that the above essay can be written by anyone - it is not personalized. Or are these types of essays not supposed to be personalized and are just there to prove that the applicant has done their research w.r.t the college?</p>
<p>EDIT: Yep Mysticgohan, it doesn’t require an engg essay. It requires a math/science essay. I am actually interested in both since engg is more hands-on and there’s math/science to back it up in terms of theory. I like them equally :D</p>
<p>Also, just to add, a good way to decide whether you’re a better fit for CC or CE is to look at their list of majors and then decide which school you’d much rather be in. I can understand the confusion you might be going through with regards to the engineering vs non-engineering choice. I too had to make a similar decision this summer, and it wasn’t easy (EEM at Oxford vs CC at Columbia). But, ultimately, I just couldn’t see myself studying engineering when what interested me most were subjects like Economics, Business, Finance, Math, Computer Science, History, Sustainable Development, East Asian Languages, etc. (majors/concentrations in CC, and not CE). You can still take plenty of classes in CE btw. I plan to register for an Applied Math class in CE next semester for instance. So, that’s why I personally prefer CC. </p>
<p>Also, I was looking forward to procrastinating by joining that religion argument as well lol :p</p>
<p>That essay answer is kind of cliche…(i broke a circuit and saw the green wires …) I sent you a pm with a sample. Think deep about what you loved to do as a child, did you like playing with legos, building stuff…?? Be genuine…</p>
<p>Other than Caltech, Stanford (not as cut throat, but harder to get in), UC Berkeley (but the EECS is as hard as Caltech), Georgia tech, Carnegie Mellon, Northwestern, USC, Cornell are all good. Purdue/Virginia tech can be safety schools as well. Of course Princeton/Columbia are great as well though surprisingly their engineering programs aren’t rated as high as some of the others I mentioned before. All of these have good international students. As for the quality of life for Indian students, I tend to lean to the ones that are closer to the big cosmopolitan cities. There is more diversity in those places.</p>
<p>@Tizil- your EMOTICON! All the best for the test! I’m sure you’ll do awesome
About the essays…i guess even if you DO take that point of view and write, there’s a way to make it different and more meaningful than the rest. It should be unique enough to be on the same lines and still make a BANG. Of course, writing something off the beaten track would be awesome too. Just make sure it doesnt come across as superficial! (Not that you need that advice, i’m sure :))</p>
<p>Does anyone know about Cooper Union. How good is its school of engineering. And I read on their website that they offer full tuition scholarships to all admitted students. So what is our expense going to be?
Also how hard is it to get into?</p>
<p>Hmm, I wrapped up with the theory. Just gonna look some up at night. Solved ~10 tests each in chem and lit. I wont be touching anything today! Will watch A Beautiful Mind in the evening
Wbt you?
Are these prac tests insanely tough, or what? And the answer explanations dont seem to make much sense Is it just me? :(</p>
lol, it’s going fine, but i found these Lit tests online which seem really difficult 
Well Pasadena is a fantastic place. There are fewer places that are safer, cleaner and quieter, unless you study in some big corn field <em>cough</em> Cornell. That being said its not as lively as say studying within LA but we’re not that far from LA. About 30 mins or so its cool. The academics here are hard and I cannot describe the ridiculous level of giftedness I see in many of my peers here. Seeing how small we are, I dont think you’ll see a more concentrated bunch of science and math driven kids anywhere else. So if you dont love math or science or engineering you should definitely not put yourself through Caltech.</p>
) supplement, from your own admissions hindsight? Is it important for one to definitely have some research in the sciences prior to applying? Did you fill out all three Math/Science activity sections?</p>