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contrary to popular belife, they dont think their above everyone else. boston is the best college town in the world. and ive heard harvard kids know how to have a good time.
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<p>Far from the truth...During my visit (after being admitted) everyone seemed extremely stressed out, nerdy like, aloof. Fun was certainly a word they were not very familiar with...(i thought for a moment I was at the University of Chicago..) I enjoyed the atmosphere of Dartmouth and Brown much better and ended up choosing Brown.</p>
<p>It's alright if you feel intimidated by the serious competitiveness of your peers, but if you feel "dumber," then you would be better off not applying.</p>
<p>Columbia -is- very small, and most of its students are competitive.
As is the case at Harvard, I'd imagine.</p>
<p>70:30 boy/girl ratio? Not at Columbia! I go here, and the student body is about 50-50. It only goes down if you add in Barnard, but Barnard is not Columbia College. Besides, there are many other schools and divisions of Columbia -- Fu Foundation School of Engineering and the School of General Studies -- and if you include Barnard, you should include them as well. The female/male ratio is definitely not 70-30.</p>
<p>Harvard and Columbia are both very good schools. The prestige difference between the two is negligible. How do you turn down Harvard? Because it's not the right fit for you; or because you prefer one school over another. I didn't even apply to Harvard for my graduate degree because I didn't want to be in stuffy Boston with stuffy Harvard kids. (We talk about Harvard all the time; the general consensus is that they're "weird"). I am an adult and a grad student so possibly it's true about NYC being a better place for an older set, but Columbia students seem to love the city. I would not agree that Boston is "the best college town in the world." The best college town is going to be different for everyone. Personally, I don't like Boston, but I love NYC.</p>
<p>Yes, we do love to protest, but we can't help it if we're not self-absorbed. We like to participate in the world around us.</p>
<p>Columbia's not small. The undergrad college is medium-sized (5600) but you have to remember that the college is one part of a much larger university with thousands of students. What do you mean we don't seem "united"? I'm not an undergrad, but it seems to me the undergrads seem to know and like each other.</p>
<p>It's not true that the <em>only</em> way you can make it acting is in NYC, but it is an awesome place to get into acting. Miller Theater has great productions and there are myriad opportunities all over the city to get involved in theater arts. As far as psychology, I'm a graduate student in the psych department and we have some legendary professors here. They actually teach the psych undergrad classes (not a TA -- TAs only grade papers and occasionally lead discussion sections here) and our psych department is awesome, although I have to admit I'm a bit biased.</p>
<p>You have to choose which one you feel is the best fit for you. If you prefer Boston/Cambridge and like the feel of Harvard better, go there. But don't choose Harvard over Columbia because of the name. Like I said, the difference is negligible in terms of prestige -- each will open incredible doors for you.</p>
<p>I have no answer to the cool baby blue football uniform argument.
But I would choose Harvard, and transfer later to Columbia later if you truly can't stand it. I'm sure Columbia would be flattered no end.
To the poster who would go to Columbia instead for the Japanese- good lord, go study in Japan!<br>
I'm guessing this a hypothetical post on the part of the OP. Of course almost all of us would be lucky to attend either one.</p>