Columbia Campus Visits - Page 4

admissionsgeek · 03-10-2009, 07:40 PM

skipsmom. i personally don't know how relevant the information about how generous you and your family are as donors - it is very off-putting to read. i mean just as you may make assumptions about me and others, reading that makes me form an assumption about you and your comments that in fact minimizes the importance of your post because beyond that part that upset me i really sympathize with how you feel and certainly have had my days being turned off at alma. columbia is not the perfect looker - she has some unnecessary curves, some blotches i think are worth cleaning, and the colder you get into winter the less she likes to clean up after herself, but in the end of the day she has a sterling beauty that radiates in the summer when the cherry blossoms are out and the vines throughout.

nevertheless i apologize that columbia didn't meet your liking, i mean it is no annie orphanage, but i know the university does a swell job to keep things rather tidy (as a former new yorker, i am sure you've seen other parts of the city that truly are vile looking - the bowery anyone?). echoing concoll - it is often a very subjective experience completely based on the day you visited. i am surprised about the info session and tour guide, but alas not everyone can have a good day.

but let us put your visit in perspective: columbia probably gets 40,000 visitors a year and a handful of people probably do not like the campus for some of your reasons or other ones. i think though that most people are absolutely impressed by the campus. don't ask me, ask the people that gave columbia an award for best groundswork for an urban campus: Columbia News ::: Columbia Wins Best Urban Campus Grounds Prize

the general consensus (not fact, but some Rousseau-ish General Majority) is that the campus is an impressive, beautiful, and wonderful urban and academic space whose neoclassical architecture and groundswork is striking, inviting and memorable. think about the first time you walked through college walk and saw low library standing in front of you. the traditional campus lacks some modern amenities including easy opportunity to quickly clean or store trash, but it is more than anything a 'timeless' aesthetic that attracts far more people than it detracts.

fyi - columbia sits above a mini water basin that is located underneath campus and actually is the cause of why college walk has become undulated as the water expands with cold weather and pushes upward. it is something that facilities are slowly trying to think about how to fix, but they have done a pretty solid job with the center road that they repaved 3 years ago, i am curious when they will start work on the sides.

if skipsmom came in winter - um, yes the dirty snow mixed with salt makes the carpet and floors less appealing.

as an aside: i remember giving tours and having SO many parents acting rude and talking amongst themselves and pulling me off my A-game. sometimes the mere appearance of a disgruntled person is enough to make a tour guide feel as if they are not communicating with the crowd. i think people forget that tour guides are like any other performers and they require feedback to let them feel comfortable. and that their behavior (answering phones, talking, pestering, pushing) is something they have to deal with. life is always a push-pull.

Denzera · 03-11-2009, 11:42 AM

Quote:

as an aside: i remember giving tours and having SO many parents acting rude and talking amongst themselves and pulling me off my A-game. sometimes the mere appearance of a disgruntled person is enough to make a tour guide feel as if they are not communicating with the crowd. i think people forget that tour guides are like any other performers and they require feedback to let them feel comfortable. and that their behavior (answering phones, talking, pestering, pushing) is something they have to deal with. life is always a push-pull.

let's not get too whiny there. You were hired to keep your cool and stick roughly to your script no matter how many stinky babies are in your tour group.

Some people aren't going to like the campus because it's urban and they don't like density and concrete, but they'll invent all kinds of reasons to try and objectively justify this. Some people won't like it because they don't like winter, or cold, and visited in the wrong part of the year. If you take that kind of thing personally, you're going to go through life being offended and fragile.

admissionsgeek · 03-11-2009, 04:16 PM

Denzera, completely understandable - but i think few "parents" realize how rude they can be. One person alone doesn't make the show. But yes, it was nitpicky, then again wouldn't you agree calling the tour guide a valley girl was just the same? (Many a 'valley girl' at Columbia turned out to be a PBK inductee; don't always judge a book by its cover.) Anyhow, I thought it was worth mentioning that people from the other side (tour guides) have feelings too.

I hope you didn't think I took it personally, I just was putting some thoughts in context.

Islander4 · 04-19-2009, 07:42 AM

I really hope no one takes that review serious. "Dirtiest college campus in America" and "Midwest giggly girl" really put me on alert. Plus, she doesn't seem to know too much about the city (not just Manhattan...) in general.

powderblue93 · 04-30-2009, 05:39 PM

My son and I went for a revisit to Columbia for his final pre-May 1st decision. The weather cooperated; it was a beautiful, sunny day, and the Low Library plaza was teeming with life. Those steps, and the Alma Mater statue really made it look like a Greek temple. He stayed overnight with a friend; at 330a they went for food. The place was still bustling. Morningside Heights seems safer than I expected; it is an upscale neighborhood with restaurants, bookstores, homes, and university buildings. The intellectual energy was palpable; people walked with animated conversations. For its intelligence, cutting-edge research, Earth Institute, networking opportunities, and access to one of the greatest cities on the planet, he will pick Columbia over other fine colleges (Ivy and other). Thus ends our college expedition, from East to West coast, Midwest, and South.

oeij · 05-07-2009, 10:21 PM

are there campus tours around sept 17 to 29? i read their schedule, and it only states visit dates till end of august!!!

karot · 05-08-2009, 10:35 AM

There are campus tours then.

Epaminondas · 05-20-2009, 10:27 PM

I enjoyed both of my visits (one in the summer and one in the spring). The Neoclassical style really grabbed my attention. However I must say, the unevenness of the red pavement bothered me a bit...

2kidsincollege · 05-23-2009, 12:08 PM

^ ColumbiaPostBac

As I stated before, my kids attend both NYU and Columbia. Each school has its strengths and weaknesses.

The fact you are “trolling” threads to bash NYU makes it hard to believe you are a current graduate at Columbia. Graduate admissions normally does a pretty good job of weeding out people like you.

Give it a rest.

2kidsincollege · 05-23-2009, 04:47 PM

The fact that you are attending the School of Continuing Education and not graduate school might explain why you have not yet learned to express what you say in a manner that isn't condescending towards your alma mater. There is hope for you yet.

2kidsincollege · 05-24-2009, 12:26 PM

^ ColumbiaPostBac

You are correct; this is the wrong thread to air your petty grievances with respect to the disposition of NYU employees.

2kidsincollege · 05-25-2009, 04:55 PM

^ ColumbiaPostBac

Try getting your graduate degree from Columbia and making something of yourself in the real world before you worry about my "intelligence". Because until you do, only one of us is truly qualified to comment on the other person's intellect.

Your issues you are *****ing and griping about might seem important to you, but in the whole scheme of what NYU has to offer of things they are petty. On a number of occasions, I have personally interacted with members of the NYU administration and have found them to be no less courteous or responsive than any of the 3 colleges or universities I have attended. NYU is a unique school, is a unique setting. Does it have its challenges, of course it does. No more so than any other university in an urban setting. However, there is a reason it is one of the top “dream schools” in the country. If things were as bad as you claim them to be, it wouldn’t be as there other NYC schools that could satisfy someone’s desire to attend school in the big apple.

As someone who attended Columbia, there were things I didn't like about my program, but I focused on the positive aspects, which far outweighed the negative. I also happen to be a trustee at an Independent K-12 school so I have some insight into the issues that impact the delivery of a quality, well rounded education.

Quite frankly, you sound like a spoiled brat who needs to spend some time out in the real world so every little difficult encounter won't seem like a major affront.

2kidsincollege · 05-25-2009, 07:20 PM

^ ColumbiaPostBac

Wow...you are in your late 20's. That explains a lot. When you have worked for 20 years, perhaps we can continue this conversation. I have forgotten more than you could possibly know at this stage of your pampered, spoiled existence.

My advice to you would be to stop whining about things you don’t like and do something constructive about it. It's a good thing you own your own business, that way no one has the responsibility of babysitting you.

admissionsgeek · 05-25-2009, 07:51 PM

please carry this off forum if you wish to insult each other. and though it is tempting to respond and get that last word in, it will just eventually spiral out of contorl.. consider the fact that you are each giving columbia a bad reputation. if i were a prospective student this would not encourage me in thinking about Columbia.

2kidsincollege · 05-25-2009, 08:39 PM

^admissionsgeek

I'm done. I said all I have to say.