Thoughts on Columbia? Intensity? Social life?

[Anonymous]

My brother went to Columbia in the early 2000s. He obviously got an excellent education, enjoyed the opportunities available in NYC and has a great career now. He wanted to get out of a small city and thought a big city would be the answer. However, his only disappointment with choosing a college in NYC is that the city drew students away from campus a lot.

He wonders if he would have enjoyed an environment where students stayed on campus, bonding over philosophical discussions into the early hours of the morning. He really enjoyed his experience at grad school which was in a smaller environment. He happily lives in a big city now but feels like this can be done at any stage. Bonding with other students at college is a brief moment in life.

Obviously that is just one person's opinion. For some, seizing the opportunities in NYC at ages 18-22 is absolutely the right decision. It's a trade-off between college in NYC and college at a top-rated SLAC. The education will be excellent at both institutions. Your student will have to figure out which environment is the best fit for them to thrive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, our child was admitted to Columbia. We are very excited! Columbia is an easy school to transfer to (nearly any other school). The same may not be true for some SLACs. Anyway, if you don't take the admissions offer, it will be snapped up by someone else in a wink.

Congratulations! My DD was admitted as well and we are over the moon excited. It was her first choice.

OP, your child can not go wrong with choosing Columbia.

This is just wrong. I was in graduate school at Columbia and had a roommate who'd gone to Columbia undergraduate. Through him I met a number of Columbia undergrads who were depressed and felt unsupported by the school. You can get swallowed by the city and the sense that others have their act together and no one really cares about you.

There are also great opportunities there for self-directed, intellectually curious, and motivated students. But it's definitely more sink or swim than a lot of other colleges and universities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your kid needs to be super liberal to fit in.

This is incorrect. Way more liberal than most SLACs

Sorry. I meant way less liberal than most SLACs

Sorry. I mean way most less than more.

Sorry. “liberal, disgraceful institution” - Donald J. Trump.
My kind of university.

[Anonymous]

Parent of a current Columbia freshman here. As a parent, I could not be more disappointed. I wish DC had applied to SLACs. At the time, this was their first choice but the education, the professors, and classmates have all been worse than expected. I'm sure not being on campus contributes to this poor opinion, but I still feel like I've been duped. Columbia is not all that. I don't understand where the hype or even the fake ranking is coming from. I'm confident that DC will get a perfectly good education, but pretty sure it's 70k better than UMD honors.

[Anonymous]

correction: it's NOT 70k better than UMD!

[Anonymous]

OP here, thanks for all the responses. Sorry I am slow to log back in. I haven't posted any other Columbia threads. I appreciate everyone's input. Just trying to separate out my anxiety from her decision, and this is helpful.

[Anonymous]

Living in nyc, with no money,is the worst!!no matter how old you are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parent of a current Columbia freshman here. As a parent, I could not be more disappointed. I wish DC had applied to SLACs. At the time, this was their first choice but the education, the professors, and classmates have all been worse than expected. I'm sure not being on campus contributes to this poor opinion, but I still feel like I've been duped. Columbia is not all that. I don't understand where the hype or even the fake ranking is coming from. I'm confident that DC will get a perfectly good education, but pretty sure it's 70k better than UMD honors.

Parents with kids at Brown are saying the same thing. I think it’s the pandemic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parent of a current Columbia freshman here. As a parent, I could not be more disappointed. I wish DC had applied to SLACs. At the time, this was their first choice but the education, the professors, and classmates have all been worse than expected. I'm sure not being on campus contributes to this poor opinion, but I still feel like I've been duped. Columbia is not all that. I don't understand where the hype or even the fake ranking is coming from. I'm confident that DC will get a perfectly good education, but pretty sure it's 70k better than UMD honors.

There are some horrible profs there. If your kid's taking CS, stay away from a stats prof who got his PHD from UC Irvine. Grumpy ol' man. Can't teach. That said, my kid says she learns a lot from very diverse course offerings to the depth of courses.

[Anonymous]

Parents everywhere feel the same at all the Ivies.

It is the pandemic that is throwing a spanner into the works. Can't make a judgment based on this once-in-history- life-changing pandemic event for the world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, our child was admitted to Columbia. We are very excited! Columbia is an easy school to transfer to (nearly any other school). The same may not be true for some SLACs. Anyway, if you don't take the admissions offer, it will be snapped up by someone else in a wink.

Congratulations! My DD was admitted as well and we are over the moon excited. It was her first choice.

OP, your child can not go wrong with choosing Columbia.

This is just wrong. I was in graduate school at Columbia and had a roommate who'd gone to Columbia undergraduate. Through him I met a number of Columbia undergrads who were depressed and felt unsupported by the school. You can get swallowed by the city and the sense that others have their act together and no one really cares about you.

There are also great opportunities there for self-directed, intellectually curious, and motivated students. But it's definitely more sink or swim than a lot of other colleges and universities.

That is part of the training and part of what makes it Ivy League. YOu must think for yourself. Others will help you, but you really need to think broadly and deeply. Harvard is the same, and Columbia has much smaller classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:correction: it's NOT 70k better than UMD!

It will be better than UMD. So many UMD grads train in subjects like forensic science or mechanical engineering and end up teaching middle school science and math.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:correction: it's NOT 70k better than UMD!

It will be better than UMD. So many UMD grads train in subjects like forensic science or mechanical engineering and end up teaching middle school science and math.

People who say UMD is as good as Ivy are nuts. They are the same people who say their 1970's Datsun B210 is as good as 2021 Lexus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:correction: it's NOT 70k better than UMD!

It will be better than UMD. So many UMD grads train in subjects like forensic science or mechanical engineering and end up teaching middle school science and math.

Is that a bad thing? Do you not want teachers with a strong education for your kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parent of a current Columbia freshman here. As a parent, I could not be more disappointed. I wish DC had applied to SLACs. At the time, this was their first choice but the education, the professors, and classmates have all been worse than expected. I'm sure not being on campus contributes to this poor opinion, but I still feel like I've been duped. Columbia is not all that. I don't understand where the hype or even the fake ranking is coming from. I'm confident that DC will get a perfectly good education, but pretty sure it's 70k better than UMD honors.

Did your child stay at home this year or were they actually on campus?