dude9521

I'm highly considering majoring in engineering, but I'm not entirely sure. How separated are the SEAS students from the CC students? Do they have separate housing? If I wanted to switch to a non-engineering major how hard would it be? Also, the acceptance rate for SEAS is higher than that of CC. Is SEAS less competitive or is it just the nature of the students who go into engineering? Thank you!

DowneasterDad

The SEAS students are not seperated from the CC students. They share housing. Switching majors in theory will not be an issue, in practice however, you'll have to go through the Columbia bureaucratic gauntlet which is always an adventure. SEAS is not less competitve than CC, in fact your courseload will probably be greater. As for the acceptance rates, SEAS's is higher because less students per spot apply.

Algernon

One thing to keep in mind though! Switching majors within your college is fairly easy. But switching majors BETWEEN colleges is rather difficult. That is.. if you are in SEAS and want to change from say.. Mechanical Engineering to Civil Engineering.. no problemo! But if you want to go from SEAS to the college and do some liberal arts major, that's more difficult, since they essentially evaluate you in the same pool as prospective applicants. Although, I did have a friend switch from Columbia College to SEAS and major in civil engineering now. So it definitely happens, but generally most people stick to the college they're accepted to!