ArPlaquette

Do you feel Columbia SEAS fosters a competitive or collaborative learning environment?

Are students out to dominate the curve or do they fight the good fight together?

The presence of a curve frightens me, both for GPA and class competition reasons, regardless of whether it's centered around a B/B+.

Columbia2002

Definitely more of a fight the good fight together attitude. Some of the premed types are a bit different, so you'll find more competitive people in probably BME.

You have a lot of people who are at Columbia to have a good time and aren't obsessed with grades because they figure they're smart enough to do well enough to get a decent job when they're done.

A "curve" may sound bad, but you're not really competing against your peers all that much. Your grade is primarily a function of how much you study and how smart you are.

Skraylor

collaborative

no one tries to ruin the curve...some people will be smarter than you anyways tho but that's not intentional

curve doesnt foster hatred.

Columbia2002

The point is that no one person can "ruin" a curve. Any one person's performance barely has any impact on your grade. That's why it's mainly up to you.

fruitloops89

That sounds very reassuring! Basically, if you have the smarts and just work your butt off, there shouldn't be anything impeding you from going to say medical school right?

Denzera

that's very true. but mostly, it's that Columbia kids are fairly chill and don't take themselves as seriously as they do at peer institutions. there's plenty of collaboration, although it's still not "all teamwork, all day long".