URGENT:Neuroscience/Psychology better at Columbia, Yale or UPenn?

<p>I'm really interested in studying neuroscience and psychology. Is Columbia a good school for this? What opportunities do they give for their undergrads? Can you take classes at their grad schools? I know you can do that at Yale and UPenn.</p>

<p>Which is another question I have...which school is better for what I'm hoping to study?
Ranking Columiba, UPenn and Yale in the order that you guys think would be best for neuro/psych, with explanations to your rankings, would be greatly appreciated. Any details would, actually.</p>

<p>I have to rank these 3 school for Questbridge, and once I get into one of these schools, based on how I rank them, it's binding - I HAVE to go there. Which is why these rankings are very important. Please help!</p>

<p>In a glance: Ranking of U.S. Undergraduate Psychology Programs according to the Princeton Review’s “Gourman Report of Undergraduate Programs” (10th edition). </p>

<p>Yale: 2
UPenn: 3
Columbia: 10</p>

<p>[Ranking</a> of U.S. Undergraduate Psychology Programs](<a href=“http://www.socialpsychology.org/gunder.htm]Ranking”>Ranking of U.S. Undergraduate Psychology Programs)</p>

<p>I know everyone else is going to complain about rankings, but I’m just the messenger.</p>

<p>Thanks StarsAligned</p>

<p>So right now its Yale, UPenn, and then Columbia. Interesting…</p>

<p>anyone else?
bumpp</p>

<p>Do you have a chance to visit these schools? At this extremely high level, all are great opportunities. I would not recommend choosing a “first choice” based on Gourman (or any other) rankings. It’s four years of daily life you are prioritizing. If you can’t visit, and must choose based on what you read, then do a lot of reading. About student life, the surrounding community, the campus pros and cons, etc. Whether the particular program you pursue is #1 or #15 won’t make any real difference in your life. How you spend the next four years might.</p>

<p>columbia is stronger in neuroscience than it is in psychology, something that doesn’t appear through the gourman ranking and to the OPs.</p>

<p>lastly pick it based on as pbr notes other factors in the end as they are all top 10 programs your chance of getting into a grad program are essentially the same; so then do you want to be in which school, with which campus culture.</p>

<p>i’d choose columbia first :)</p>

<p>defs columbia. if you were studying anything else i wouldn’t be so sure, but neuroscience at columbia has a definite edge.</p>

<p>I can’t visit =[
I researched and found that Columbia is the strongest in neuroscience, while Yale and UPenn are strongest in psychology.</p>

<p>But about the HYPS thing…
I mean ranking Columbia over Yale, I wouldnt mind at first. But if I did that, and actually got into both schools but had to go to Columbia because I ranked it first…
I don’t know. I guess for alot of people it’s hard NOT to go to HYP once you get admission there.</p>

<p>My QB essays are all based on me going past setbacks and pursuing research in neuroscience, and how I plan to look for these opportunities in college. So obviously…the school that would like me the most would be the one who feels I match with what they have to offer.</p>

<p>I have yet to figure out which one that is though. I’m doing research on these colleges aready, but anyone else have anything I should know?</p>

<p>And also…</p>

<p>I think when it comes to neuroscience I’d choose columbia over yale.
But…I also like Columbia because of the city opportunities and all…</p>

<p>I heard that it’s in the ugly part of the city though. I mean, can you SEE the nice part? Does looking around make you feel like you’re always in Harlem? ._.</p>

<p>Morningside Heights looked pretty nice to me. Now New Haven on the other hand…</p>

<p>If you get a high floor John Jay room facing away from campus, I’m pretty sure you can see a greater part of downtown Manhattan, which is the nice part. I believe some other dorms give you views of the Hudson as well.</p>

<p>As for my own visit, I felt better about being in Morningside Heights than in New Haven.</p>

<p>Morningside might not be the ritziest area of town, but walking down Broadway I still feel like it’s a nice area. Walking down Amsterdam (the street on the east side of the main campus) and that next street over the name of which I just forgot feels a little more like what one’s stereotypical picture of Harlem might be. Incidentally, walking down 125th Street, which is the first street going north from Columbia that is considered “Harlem” rather than “Morningside Heights,” feels less like the “bad part of town” stereotype.</p>

<p>Also, re: view from JJ single facing away from campus… the odds of having a good view are very slim. I wouldn’t by any means choose a college based on that. Now, you can be fairly sure that you’ll have the option of getting a great view at some point during your 4 years, especially if you pick an EC highrise as a senior (or an exclusion suite as a sophomore/junior), but as far as first year… eh, unlikely. On the other hand, I had a great view of the names of famous writers carved into Butler from my window, lol.</p>

<p>Haha gotta agree with that-I probably just got really lucky with a high floor view of campus</p>

<p>Although it might not be in such a bad part of town, keep in mind that it still is in urban NYC and everything that comes with that.</p>