<p>Yes, Columbia has a good reputation, but in terms of prestige it's really in a different league than are Harvard, Yale, etc. I'd say Columbia is less prestigious than Brown, MIT and Princeton, too. But Columbia has a tremendous faculty, many famous alums and an 11% admit rate--almost as selective as H and Y, and more selective than Princeton and virtually everywhere else. </p>
<p>So why isn't it as prestigious? (I have my own theory, but I want to hear what you guys think.)</p>
<p>Columbia has plenty of prestige. It's not up there with HYP, MIT, and a few others, but it's definetely a top-notch school. I think that its slightly more selective than it is prestigious because of the fact that it is in New York City. Urban schools are popular these days.</p>
<p>It depends on what you mean by prestige. Most folks would use selectivity as a proxy. Otherwise, your question does not make much sense. How would you know, for instance, that Brown is better? To say that HYP and MIT are more prestigious is not lowering Columbia by much.</p>
<p>Columbia has a great faculty and will keep attracting this because of its location. But there were points in history when its location worked against it. In the 70s it was probably the least favorite ivy. Before NYC was cleaned up the perception of danger was much more pronounced than it is today. </p>
<p>Now, NYU is the number one dream school because big cities are in vogue and what better big city than NY. This has also brightened Columbia's star.</p>
<p>what are you smoking, no one in his right mind thinks brown is more prestigious than columbia. and this increase in selectivity is a sign of the upward trend for the university.</p>
<p>By the way, selectivity doesn't necessarily lead to prestige... not many consider Cooper Union, Deep Springs, or College of the Ozarks prestigious even though their admit rate is around the same level as the Ivies. Heck, some people here don't even consider CalTech prestigious -_-</p>
<p>I think the fact that it's in such a busy metropolis works against it. Places like Harvard, Yale, and Princeton are tucked away in pockets of New England where intellectuals mysteriously congregate inside Colonial-era buildings. Columbia, on the other hand, is smack dab right in the middle of the busiest city in the world for all to see.</p>
<p>Eh? Columbia is one of the most prestigious universities in the World...and rightly so. In North America, only 5 universities are arguably more prestigious...they are H,M,P,S and Y. And that'a only arguably so.</p>
<p>Well, in response to the "what are you smoking" questions, prestige is highly subjective. Given that, maybe I shouldn't have started this thread, except that I know that many circles where I live (Atlantic region) subjectively consider Brown more prestigious than Columbia without question. Delfire and shizz, a lot of people in their right minds (myself included) consider Brown more prestigious than Columbia--I think a fair amount of it depends on where you live, and where I live, that happens to be the case. BTW, in case anyone's interested, the title of this thread was a little more of an intended attention-grabber than what I really believe. Certainly Columbia is prestigious; my argument's that it isn't as prestigious as it (ostensibly, given the stats) deserves to be. </p>
<p>And that's a big 'ostensibly'. Actually I think Columbia's selectivity is misleading; the 11% probably reflects a minute admission rate for native New Yorkers, a great volume of whom probably apply each year, averaged with a far higher rate for everyone else. I know a lot (LOT) of people attending or accepted at Columbia who seem in person and are on paper substantially (and I really mean substantially) less smart/qualified than your average Harvard admit. (To be fair, I also know a handful of Columbia kids who are quite brilliant.) </p>
<p>That's my theory for why Columbia's selectivity exceeds its prestige, at least in my neck of the woods. Really, I don't mean to offend anyone. Actually anyone who takes offense should note that the original point of my post was to suggest that Columbia should be MORE prestigious than it currently is. Again, they have a superb faculty and many great alumni.</p>
<p>this is what my dad said when I told him I got into Columbia and consider going there: "Columbia? What's Columbia? If you'r going there, you might as well enroll at the community college 10 minutes away. It makes no difference"</p>
<p>I would not brag about that Stat...your dad not knowing about Columbia tells me he isn't very educated.</p>
<p>As for your point Claret, Brown is not more prestigious than Columbia. Nor is Columbia more prestigious than Brown. You may know of a few people who think one way or the other, but by and large, in educated circles, they are equally reputable and prestigious.</p>
<p>ya so he isn't. In fact, both of my parents are immigrants who don't know anything beyong Harvard, Yale, MIT, UC-Berkeley, and Stanford. It wasn't meant to be a brag. How is my post, in any way, instilled with arrogance? It was just another pointer that goes into this thread which says "Why isn't Columbia prestigious."</p>
<p>Brown is sometimes called a doormat ivy I've never heard that term applied to Columbia and going NOT by selectivity but by academic reputation among peers Columbia has a clear prestige over the likes of Brown, at least according to the U.S News survey. Not that I am knocking Brown.</p>
<p>Who told you that? That is all nonsense. All of the Ivies and the other top 25 schools are extremely prestigious. It's just plain dumb to nitpick any further than that.</p>