Amherst, Rice or Columbia

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think even given the current climate/protests, Columbia is an Ivy and you don’t turn down an Ivy. My second choice would be Rice. I loved Rice when I visited. Amherst is too small and too remote for me.

I hope that you are kidding, but know that you are not.

Really depends upon one's major and upon one's other options.

Stanford, MIT, Caltech, about a dozen schools of engineering, Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, specialty schools (all female, military,drama, music, etc.) = are all good reasons to turn down an Ivu League offer.

I meant you don’t turn down an Ivy for Amherst or Rice. Not that I wouldn’t turn down an Ivy for Stanford or MIT (because in that case I would turn down the Ivy bc I think Stanford and MIT are better).

Why? Simply because it’s an Ivy. That would show a lack of critical thinking.

Because, as has been stated in this thread, of the alumni network/the connections post graduation. Like it or not, being an Ivy grad will open more doors for you than being an Amherst or Rice grad.

Is there any data to show that or is this pure conjecture?

Of course it's pure conjecture. Some people are obsessed with the Ivy League. I'm pretty sure even Notre Dame and Michigan offer a more useful network than Columbia. I'm also pretty confident being a Rice and Amherst grad is going to open more doors going forward than graduating from Columbia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think even given the current climate/protests, Columbia is an Ivy and you don’t turn down an Ivy. My second choice would be Rice. I loved Rice when I visited. Amherst is too small and too remote for me.

I hope that you are kidding, but know that you are not.

Really depends upon one's major and upon one's other options.

Stanford, MIT, Caltech, about a dozen schools of engineering, Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, specialty schools (all female, military,drama, music, etc.) = are all good reasons to turn down an Ivu League offer.

I meant you don’t turn down an Ivy for Amherst or Rice. Not that I wouldn’t turn down an Ivy for Stanford or MIT (because in that case I would turn down the Ivy bc I think Stanford and MIT are better).

Why? Simply because it’s an Ivy. That would show a lack of critical thinking.

Because, as has been stated in this thread, of the alumni network/the connections post graduation. Like it or not, being an Ivy grad will open more doors for you than being an Amherst or Rice grad.

Is there any data to show that or is this pure conjecture?

Of course it's pure conjecture. Some people are obsessed with the Ivy League. I'm pretty sure even Notre Dame and Michigan offer a more useful network than Columbia.[b] I'm also pretty confident being a Rice and Amherst grad is going to open more doors going forward than graduating from Columbia[i].

It’s ironic you call the PP “pure conjecture” and then offer your own pure conjecture. 😂

[Anonymous]

I could understand one turning down an Ivy League school for Amherst.

The 8 Ivy League schools are:

Harvard
Yale
Princeton
Columbia
Cornell
Brown
Dartmouth
U Penn

Assume that the student is undecided, but wants to study liberal arts. And assume that the student wants a small school located in a semi-rural area. This leaves Amherst versus Dartmouth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think even given the current climate/protests, Columbia is an Ivy and you don’t turn down an Ivy. My second choice would be Rice. I loved Rice when I visited. Amherst is too small and too remote for me.

I hope that you are kidding, but know that you are not.

Really depends upon one's major and upon one's other options.

Stanford, MIT, Caltech, about a dozen schools of engineering, Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, specialty schools (all female, military,drama, music, etc.) = are all good reasons to turn down an Ivu League offer.

I meant you don’t turn down an Ivy for Amherst or Rice. Not that I wouldn’t turn down an Ivy for Stanford or MIT (because in that case I would turn down the Ivy bc I think Stanford and MIT are better).

Why? Simply because it’s an Ivy. That would show a lack of critical thinking.

Because, as has been stated in this thread, of the alumni network/the connections post graduation. Like it or not, being an Ivy grad will open more doors for you than being an Amherst or Rice grad.

Is there any data to show that or is this pure conjecture?

Of course it's pure conjecture. Some people are obsessed with the Ivy League. I'm pretty sure even Notre Dame and Michigan offer a more useful network than Columbia.[b] I'm also pretty confident being a Rice and Amherst grad is going to open more doors going forward than graduating from Columbia[i].

It’s ironic you call the PP “pure conjecture” and then offer your own pure conjecture. 😂

Not PP, but it sounds more like an opinion to me than “your own pure conjecture”

[Anonymous]

Rice. No question.

Amherst second.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rice. No question.

Amherst second.

Really? I would have said Columbia, Amherst, and finally Rice. Nothing against Rice, but it’s less well known and it’s in Texas. Not really a state known for academic excellence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I graduated from Columbia decades ago, enjoyed the NYC adult vibe as that what I was seeking; lots of job opportunities in NYC in my field over weekends during college; since then a lot of jobs come with Columbia contacts (esp at entry level screening for prestigious jobs in finance, media, law). Life consists of classes, nightclubs (hooking up with older twenty-somethings), jobs, our own parties on campus.

If you want a classic college campus life this is not for you - like. greeks, sports teams.

If you already partied hard in high school (i had already gone to many nightclubs etc) abd want to skip college and to to adult socializing, this works.

Not sure if this helps!!! For my own kids, there is 1 that i think would thrive, and obe that would hate Columbia. Probably better for girls right now at Columbia.

Good luck.

creepy comment

[Anonymous]

Can't go wrong. Congrats.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These are such different schools. Even before the current disturbances, Columbia has always been a cold, stressful college. Undergraduates are an afterthought. It can be a very lonely school. There's a big international cohort, which largely keeps to themselves. The Core Curriculum is not for everyone. Neither is Morningside Heights. NYC can be a tough place for four years as an undergrad, particularly for those who are not wealthy. When we visited, we did not get a good vibe. Students seemed unhappy. DC quickly dropped it off their list.

Rice and Amherst seem like much better places for undergrad. The thing about Amherst though is that it seems to be having an identity crisis presently. Not just the school, but the entire community - see The New Yorker article about Amherst. Like it's a very privileged community that's been tying themselves into knots for years now. And everyone is walking on eggshells. I think it would be tedious to spend four years in such an environment. Amherst is not big enough to ignore the cloud that seems to be hanging over it.

Of the three, Rice seems to be the most comfortable in its bones. It's a beautiful campus in a nice area. It's always been primarily focused on undergrads. It has the residential college system, which is great. Yale, Notre Dame, and Rice seem to understand how to build communities. The overall vibe seems friendly and nerdy. It's not a Wall Street pipeline kind of school. Students seem to have different interests. The downside would be Houston - not the most interesting city in America. But the weather is nice for most of the school year - except September, when it's a furnace - and Rice Village seems very self contained. What's weird about Rice is that it's like the superstar school in Texas, but nobody seems to know much about it in the northeast. Not a school for the Ivy or bust crowd.

I agree with all of this. Everyone I've ever known who attended Rice was smart, quirky and nice. I do think the school is comfortable where it is, and hasn't gone out of its way to try to market itself as an "elite" school across the country. Which is a good thing, imo.

I used to interview law students for a biglaw firm, and I traveled to law schools across the country. It's kind of interesting how much you can tell about a school from a day of walking around campus and sitting in a university-provided room interviewing students. Columbia had the most negative "vibe" of any school I visited. It was partially the surroundings. I have vivid memories of being in a dingy classroom (as I recall it was in one of the main buildings) that had a window unit air conditioner that was rattling and intermittently spitting out lukewarm air (I get window units in an old building, but they can't get one that works? Or clean the room?). Another year we were in a dorm room that literally felt like a prison - gray concrete with one small high window with bars looking out onto a utility area. The students had no energy and seemed depressed. It was quite a contrast with other schools, which often had dedicated interview space set aside in the job center, or others where we were in a bright classroom looking out onto a quad full of students reading in the sun in bathing suits. Columbia always struck me as a school that was coasting on its laurels and location.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These are such different schools. Even before the current disturbances, Columbia has always been a cold, stressful college. Undergraduates are an afterthought. It can be a very lonely school. There's a big international cohort, which largely keeps to themselves. The Core Curriculum is not for everyone. Neither is Morningside Heights. NYC can be a tough place for four years as an undergrad, particularly for those who are not wealthy. When we visited, we did not get a good vibe. Students seemed unhappy. DC quickly dropped it off their list.

Rice and Amherst seem like much better places for undergrad. The thing about Amherst though is that it seems to be having an identity crisis presently. Not just the school, but the entire community - see The New Yorker article about Amherst. Like it's a very privileged community that's been tying themselves into knots for years now. And everyone is walking on eggshells. I think it would be tedious to spend four years in such an environment. Amherst is not big enough to ignore the cloud that seems to be hanging over it.

Of the three, Rice seems to be the most comfortable in its bones. It's a beautiful campus in a nice area. It's always been primarily focused on undergrads. It has the residential college system, which is great. Yale, Notre Dame, and Rice seem to understand how to build communities. The overall vibe seems friendly and nerdy. It's not a Wall Street pipeline kind of school. Students seem to have different interests. The downside would be Houston - not the most interesting city in America. But the weather is nice for most of the school year - except September, when it's a furnace - and Rice Village seems very self contained. What's weird about Rice is that it's like the superstar school in Texas, but nobody seems to know much about it in the northeast. Not a school for the Ivy or bust crowd.

As someone who went to Columbia, know zero people who I graduated with that had an experience like what you describe. “Always been a Cold, stressful college?” Huh? What is this based on exactly?

[Anonymous]

Columbia 100%

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:These are such different schools. Even before the current disturbances, Columbia has always been a cold, stressful college. Undergraduates are an afterthought. It can be a very lonely school. There's a big international cohort, which largely keeps to themselves. The Core Curriculum is not for everyone. Neither is Morningside Heights. NYC can be a tough place for four years as an undergrad, particularly for those who are not wealthy. When we visited, we did not get a good vibe. Students seemed unhappy. DC quickly dropped it off their list.

Rice and Amherst seem like much better places for undergrad. The thing about Amherst though is that it seems to be having an identity crisis presently. Not just the school, but the entire community - see The New Yorker article about Amherst. Like it's a very privileged community that's been tying themselves into knots for years now. And everyone is walking on eggshells. I think it would be tedious to spend four years in such an environment. Amherst is not big enough to ignore the cloud that seems to be hanging over it.

Of the three, Rice seems to be the most comfortable in its bones. It's a beautiful campus in a nice area. It's always been primarily focused on undergrads. It has the residential college system, which is great. Yale, Notre Dame, and Rice seem to understand how to build communities. The overall vibe seems friendly and nerdy. It's not a Wall Street pipeline kind of school. Students seem to have different interests. The downside would be Houston - not the most interesting city in America. But the weather is nice for most of the school year - except September, when it's a furnace - and Rice Village seems very self contained. What's weird about Rice is that it's like the superstar school in Texas, but nobody seems to know much about it in the northeast. Not a school for the Ivy or bust crowd.

As someone who went to Columbia, know zero people who I graduated with that had an experience like what you describe. “Always been a Cold, stressful college?” Huh? What is this based on exactly?

You seem stressed. And rude. Case in point.

[Anonymous]

Amherst is a great college in a great town. But all 3 are good. It all depends on what you re looking for!

[Anonymous]

I would choose Rice. Columbia is the epicenter of political unrest right now, and Amherst is a great school but so small. A midsize school in a blue bubble in a red state sounds like a half-sane place to be right now. YMMV.

[Anonymous]

I would choose Rice.