i’m pretty late to the game and should have probably posted this a few days ago but i’ve been on the fence about this choice for about a week now whoops. so i was accepted into columbia as a transfer (off the waitlist) and my response is due by 11:59 pm on wednesday. i currently attend amherst college, my gpa is ~3.75, and i’ll probably major in either neuroscience or psychology + studio art. possibly premed but i’m pretty on the fence about that too, especially since orgo is next year lol. the difference in cost of attendance at each school is pretty marginal imo (columbia is 5k more expensive per year), so financial aid isn’t really a factor, although i kind of worry about how expensive nyc would be to live in. anyway, i honestly have NO idea where i’m leaning on this decision; at first i was most definitely leaning toward staying at amherst, but the more i think about it, the more i’d like to be in nyc.
i initially applied to columbia because i was very, very unhappy with my situation at amherst. the town is incredibly rural (think 40k population comprised mostly of college students + basically one street downtown), and growing up in a city surrounded by cornfields and cows, i kind of wanted to broaden my horizons, cliched as that sounds. moreover, i was pretty displeased with the huge athletic presence on campus and i wasn’t very happy with my circle of friends. second semester, however, went much better overall, and i found myself with some friends who are absolutely lovely. i’m not sure that the social impetus for transferring is still there, although the athletic presence/tiny town are still factors. however, nyc hasn’t lost its allure–the thought of being in a place where i can see concerts/museums/what have you is very captivating. getting an internship in the city would also be pretty cool. and the thought of being around more people interested in art rather than athletics is also nice.
academically, i’m a little worried about transferring. although my gpa at amherst is okay, it’s not the best, and i’m not sure if classes at columbia will be harder to get good grades in. i’ve also heard rumors that it’s a pretty stressful environment/it’s not as collaborative (although both of these concerns are very minor at best). all of my classes seem to be transferring at least, but i’m not sure what that means in terms of the core. the credit breakdown goes like this, if it matters: visual arts - 4, chemistry - 8, humanities - 4, math - 4, music - 8, anthropology - 4, psychology - 4. i’m not sure if there are core classes that most transfers get out of or if there are any i can attempt to get out of with my credits. basically, how many core classes would i have to take a semester vs. classes that i can pick? the thought of the core scares me a bit, especially since amherst’s open curriculum means i can take literally any class i want to take. the core is also a bit problematic because i’m unsure as of now what i want to major in, so i’m not sure that i’ll have a lot of room for experimentation. an additional part of the academic thing is the quintessential liberal arts college vs. research university debate–teachers here are very helpful/accessible and care a lot, whereas i remember once how one of my friends at columbia couldn’t get help with a physics question because there were too many other people in the room. i’m not sure if the difference here is really big enough to mean anything though. moreover, if i decide to pursue neuroscience, the laboratories at columbia are definitely much, much better than amherst’s.
finally, i’m pretty worried about leaving my friends behind/making new friends at columbia, especially as an incoming sophomore. amherst is ~4 hours away from nyc, so i could visit my friends (and will do so if i transfer), but it’s not going to be the same. i do have a couple friends at columbia, so i won’t be going in completely friendless, but i’m also scared that i won’t manage to carve out my own friend niche. idk i guess i’m hesitant for a repeat of my first semester of college where i was pretty miserable with my social prospects. this is probably the biggest thing holding me back from transferring, but i also feel like it’s kind of a stupid reason? one of my friends actually told me the other day that if it was the only thing holding me here, that i should definitely go to columbia. like i’m sure i’ll be able to make friends at columbia. AHHH i dunno i’m so indecisive. and my friends here are such great people.
ultimately, i guess the three most important factors for me are a) location (nyc > amherst), b) core curriculum vs. open curriculum (open > core), and c) friends (eh…). lately it’s been boiling down to a nyc vs. friends here debate with the curriculum thing being tangential, so i guess i came largely to get some of my academics concerns cleared up. any advice about any of this would be greatly appreciated, however, /especially/ from any columbia transfer students that came from small liberal arts colleges in the middle of nowhere.