hellosail

Just wanted to chip in here. I'm still a high school student (senior, applying RD), but I spend a lot of time on the Columbia campus.

I went on a campus tour about a year ago exactly which was a bit of a pointless exercise for me since I basically spend all my Saturday mornings at Columbia anyways and they didn't really show me anything I couldn't have seen myself/already saw (but there was free food...). There are certain things about the Columbia campus that I'm familiar with that they might not have mentioned on the tour (I actually haven't been on one of the cookie-cutter tours that they give out regularly; I went on one that was specifically tailored to SHP students, so there was a certain math/science bent to their pitch, also, hence the free food).

For an urban campus, I think Columbia is amazing. And by this I mean that it actually exists (unlike NYU). It is gorgeous and historical and there is a certain charm to all the green copper roofs. However, there are certain limitations to the urban campus that my friend likes to bring up when he talks about why Columbia doesn't do it for him: the indoor gym/distant athletic facilities, the lack of open trails, and the policies surrounding the fields on campus. There is an indoor gym on campus (below campus but still above street level - if you didn't know campus is about 5 stories above street level), but most of the athletic facilities (fields, etc.) are located at 225th street (the Morningside campus is around 116th street) and is around a 30 to 45 minute subway ride to the north. In regards to the trails, my friend's a x-country runner and he doesn't like the idea of running on concrete. As for the fields, he really hates that the administration decides when you can go on them and denotes this with a little red flag (no going on the fields) or a green flag (yes, you can be on the fields). If you want frisbee all the time, anytime on campus, this may not be the college for you.

But these are really specific almost nitpicky problems. I actually really love the campus and still do after about a 3 year acquaintance with it. My favorite feature is the pedestrian bridge over Amsterdam Avenue. It's a) really pretty and b) really fun to just stand and watch the cars rushing beneath you. However, yeah there is a lot of construction on campus. Also the drainage is really horrible. Apparently, they did this huge overhaul recently of the drainage system. The only difference I have seen is that they replaced some of the bricks on the walk ways so there are less (deep) empty brick puddles when it rains. Drainage is still horrible.

As for getting to the rest of New York, Columbia is actually really accessible. The only train that stops on campus is the 1 train, and I actually hate the 1 train because it is slow and sometimes rather random. However, if you take the 1 train and transfer at the 96th street station to a 2 or 3 train you can be in midtown within about 15 minutes and even further downtown Manhattan (Chelsea, Little Italy, Chinatown, Wall Street) within probably 30 or 40 minutes. And the great thing about Manhattan is that it is very walkable.

However, the campus may be great and everything, but it is really the neighborhood that I love about Columbia. If anyone is uncertain about New York because they're uncomfortable about an impersonal urban landscape, they shouldn't be. The great thing about New York is that every area is its own neighborhood with its own character and Morningside is no different. There are a bunch of really nice restaurants/snack places within walking distance (The Hungarian Pastry Shop, a noodle place, Indian, (fairly authentic, not take-out, though there are take-out) Chinese, Thai, a gelatoria, an Asian Convenience store (!), etc. etc.).

And yes, New York is amazing. I love it. I love living near it.

As for the core, you're either going to love or hate it. It really appeals to me because I think everyone should have a basis in the western canon. It is where most of the knowledge we have learned in school comes from. It is a very good foundation from which to build a broad knowledge base. Yes, it does focus a lot on old, dead white men, but that is the western canon for you. But it's not just old stodgy texts like the Iliad, but a history component, a scientific perspective, a world perspective, an art component and a music component (if I'm not wrong). In conversations with my friend who actually goes to Columbia, it was very apparent that the core was her favorite part of her experience there. They were basically her favorite classes.

And a final note, just on the dorms (which they don't show you, I don't think). They are okay given that you are basically paying for dirt cheap rooming in Manhattan. They are actually not that small, and the rooms comparable in size to a lot of other dorms I've seen at other (less urban) colleges.

So that is basically my essay on Columbia.