<p>What did you end up deciding? I hope to God not Columbia, because if you wanted a nice college experience then too bad! Going to Columbia is more like studying in various office buildings vs an actual close-nit college campus. It is open to all of the craziness of the city and you can hardly distinguish between what is campus and what is new york city. You will not develop a connection with many people. The worst of all is that you don’t really get that ivy league feel. I mean the caliber of the students and staff is sub-par to say the least. Hell, you’d feel more like in ivy leaguer at Vanderbilt or even Boston College. The teachers aren’t that great either.</p>