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.

Anonymous wrote:you don’t turn down an Ivy.

Makes me think of the book "Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite" by an Ivy professor.

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.

Anonymous wrote:I really liked Rice when we went to visit it. Since we are in NYC, my kids did not even apply to Columbia but very few kids who went there liked it. You have to like the Core. Amherst is too small and remote but has a great reputation and I know many who should pick it over Rice. It is worth visiting all three because they are very different schools.

Rice is special and its location, campus layout, academic environment make it easy to have an amazing college experience. I would choose it over many colleges with supposedly more name glamor. The only case I would not choose Rice is 1) if your child is expecting rah rah social energy. Rice does not. Its social energy is friendly but mellow; 2) if you come in with a chip about Tx. Rice is not super political. The kids are truly academically and Rice community driven. They will find it annoying and pretentious if you keep harping about TX politics. It is a liberal campus.

All good schools

Anonymous wrote:Of the 3: Columbia is the weakest on the "college campus vibe." Amherst may be on the other end w Rice in the middle. Same w research univ feel. On the East Coast Columbia and Amherst will get the most "prestige" recognition. If your DC is looking for an academically rigorous experience with a classic American campus experience, Amherst is great. Columbia would be a tougher, grittier experience, best for grad school for most kids. OTOH, if my love of NYC is super strong, go to Columbia!

Not sure why PPs think Columbia is only a east coast thing. Wall Street or silicon valley, Columbia is a high hitter.

Top Feeder Rankings, Silicon Valley (adjusted for undergraduate enrollment):

Rank (Adjusted) Institution # Employed Top Employer (Total) Top Employer (Share)
1 Carnegie Mellon University 1,356 Google
2 Columbia University 651 Google LinkedIn
3 Stanford University 661 Google Airbnb
4 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 405
5 California Institute of Technology 78 Google A
6 Harvey Mudd College 72 Google Twilio
7 Georgia Institute of Technology 1,094
8 University of Southern California 1,252
9 Rice University 235 Google Airbnb
10 Harvard University 260 Google Meta
11 Duke University 304 Google Dropbox
12 Cornell University 612 Google Stripe
13 Northeastern University 604 Google HubSpot
14 University of California, Berkeley 1,212
15 University of Pennsylvania 352 Google Snap
16 Princeton University 170 Google Dropbox
17 Brown University 236 Google Stripe
18 Santa Clara University 180 Google Airbnb
19 Northwestern University 226 Google DocuSign
20 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 877 G
21 Swarthmore College 36 Google

Rice or Amherst for undergrad and Columbia for grad school.

Of the 3: Columbia is the weakest on the "college campus vibe." Amherst may be on the other end w Rice in the middle. Same w research univ feel. On the East Coast Columbia and Amherst will get the most "prestige" recognition. If your DC is looking for an academically rigorous experience with a classic American campus experience, Amherst is great. Columbia would be a tougher, grittier experience, best for grad school for most kids. OTOH, if my love of NYC is super strong, go to Columbia!

All really different schools but I would choose Amherst. Of course, I live in NYC and think it is an amazing city but would not want to go to college here (or have kid go to college in the city). Rice, seems nice, but it is in Texas. Amherst gives you a great undergrad education and with the 5 school consortia you get the opportunity to take classes at other schools if you want. But I agree with other posters that your child has to decide based on what is right for them.

Anonymous wrote:Rice grad here, sibling went to Columbia. Can’t express how exponentially more mileage sibling has gotten from Columbia prestige and connections (at least on the east coast). Also a lot more interesting student body.
(But fwiw, I did have a great experience at Rice and received an excellent education).

Vintage?

Rice grad here, sibling went to Columbia. Can’t express how exponentially more mileage sibling has gotten from Columbia prestige and connections (at least on the east coast). Also a lot more interesting student body.
(But fwiw, I did have a great experience at Rice and received an excellent education).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All three are great choices in and of themselves, and assuming that campus visits to each are financially and logistically feasible, the decision should be dictated by fit.

That said, I would be very hesitant in the current political climate to matriculate at a red state school. Rice may be in Houston, but Houston is still in TX which means that it is subject to all of the lunacy of the Republican-controlled state legislature.

Pretty funny how people have concerns about sending their kid to school in Texas when we are comparing it to a school in New York City which has spun completely out of control... white women getting punched in the face in broad daylight left and right... migrants taking over schools. But you are worried about Greg Abbott protecting the border.

Ah, yes, the same mentality that underlies the 1915 film Birth of A Nation. Two words: open carry. Texas has had seven mass shootings in 2024 alone (and we're only three months into the calendar year), three in Houston proper and one in Katy. Also, I encourage anyone who actually thinks that the presence of migrants in the U.S. is a problem to lobby Congress for sanctions against the corporations and entities (including individual farmers) who hire them.

And Maryland has had two in a much smaller state during the same period. How many Rice students have been shot in the last few years?

Anonymous wrote:Does your child want or need a smaller environment? Amherst
Are they highly competitive and not unfazed by the bustle and dirt of a large city? Columbia

Rice is a great school but being from our area I personally would rank that last

So you don't know much about it?

Anonymous wrote:How is this a ?

Rice is in Texas.

Before Republicans went insane sure awesome choice now.

Hell no.

Because what will happen to your child while attending Rice, a very liberal school?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rice. The other 2 are overflowing with douchebags. Over. Flowing.

You sound like one of them.

Over…………flowing.