I am a student from Germany and will spent my next fall semester studying in the US.
I applied at the Columbia University and Harvard University as an visiting student and recently I received an offer from Columbia University and will get my feedback from Harvard in a few weeks.
Now assuming that the Harvard feedback is positive as well, I am asking myself what would be the best way to go? I have never been to New York or Boston before and I think New York is more exciting, but I dont know if I will have this much free time to explore the city. But on the other side I dont think that I will go wrong with either one of them and it is a big difference of you are getting your degree at one of those universities or if you are “just” an visiting student, so I think the name Harvard with a bit more reputation will not be that important in the CV.
Where do you think is the place to learn more, not only from an academic perspective, but also from a personal perspective.
And one question I have is regarding the course work. I need to do at least 15 credits in the US for transferring the grades to my German university. Harvard has 4 courses with 4 credits each, which would be fine. Columbia University however has only 3 credits per course which means I have to take 5 classes instead of 4. Does this mean 1 Harvard course is more work but all in all they are the same work or will 5 courses at Columbia be a lot of work, because I read that most students take only 4 classes per semester at Columbia.
Several issues would seem to impact your decision.
1. COURSES. What do you want to study? Which school – Harvard or Columbia – has more of the courses you want to take? For that, you’ll have to investigate each college’s course catalog and see what’s available.
2. REPUTATION: While Harvard might have more name recognition than Columbia, you should NOT be choosing a college based on a name. Instead, you should be choosing a college based upon what you could learn there that you cannot study at your current college. Employers aren’t going to care if you spent a semester at Harvard or Columbia, as your degree with still be from your current college.
**3. FOUR COURSES VS FIVE COURSES. ** Taking five courses is going to be more work than four courses, but if they are five courses you absolutely love, you should be fine. Some colleges, like Yale, require students to take 5 courses during their junior and senior years, so it’s not out of the norm or possibility for a student to take 5 courses. Unfortunately, you can’t assume that one course at Harvard is more work than one course at Columbia, as it all depends on the courses you choose and the required syllabus of each course. Again, you need to do your due-diligence and investigate the course catalog at each college.
**4.HOUSING. **Harvard does NOT offer on-campus housing for visiting students, so you’ll have to find someone nearby who is looking for a roommate. Columba does offer housing, so you could avail yourself of Columbus’s housing or look for a place of your own nearby the campus. Beyond the campuses resources, a good place to look for roommates is on craigslist.
I would rather take the 4 courses and enjoy them. The two locations are different. Columbia is in Morningside Heights, above the Upper West Side, below Harlem. The subway is nearby of course. Barnard and Manhattan School of Music are nearby.
The Harvard campus is brick and leafy, and very integrated in the community. It is the center of that part of the city. Subway is right there too, naturally. Lots going on.
I myself prefer Harvard but I have spent a lot of time around that area, and don’t know Columbia well, though I have visited.
We don’t know what area you are studying so that is something to look into as well: the courses and faculty, are ther TA’s, how big are the classes, even what books are read.
Is money an issue? How much does Columbia’s housing cost? Cambridge is expensive: it is possible to get a roommate situation that costs, say $800/month. What about food: are you eating in a dining hall?