collegefreak779

So I loved Columbia when I visited. It had one of the most amazing campuses I've ever seen and it just seems great. But I have heard a few people say that because it's in nyc, no one does anything on campus and they all just go out into the city for fun. I just want to see if this is true, because I love the city, but i plan on living there after college, so during college I want a real campus life with things to do on campus and strong, familial bonds with the other students.

Thanks!!!

confidentialcoll

I'm a senior at Columbia and I can tell you unambiguously that the city does not detract from social life on campus. I used to go downtown (anywhere south of campus) about once or twice a week like for a meal or a movie, but now I probably leave campus for a social event for part of one evening a week. This means that nearly all my social time is spent on campus. Socially I am pretty characteristic of Columbia students, not a huge partier but go to dorm parties frequently along with bars near campus, go into the city with a small group of friends once in a while, and just hang out with friends on the weekends, like go to restaurants near campus watch a movie in someone's suite, play board games until the middle of the night, go to a campus play or acapella performance, etc.

As a freshman you will definitely find some small cliques who religiously go clubbing downtown 2 weekend nights a week. These people either adapt over time or don't develop a large core social group on campus. I (like the vast majority of seniors) have developed a large core social group(s) on campus. Columbia really is lively and brings a ton of people together on it's compact campus. Had we been spread out like NYU it might have been a different story. In general Columbia kids opt to stay on campus for most of their social lives, because that's where their friends are and importantly going downtown costs time and energy. We still use the city as a resource of opportunity and entertainment, but even if going for a broadway show or to an art museum, it is always with a few other friends and rarely the same set of friends.

Fastfood15

I'm a freshman, so I have some perspective on this. It depends on what you want from your life here.

In my dorm, John Jay, my floor acts like a big family and we always have something fun. There are people who go out and enjoy the NYC night life, but those are generally people who were originally from the city to begin with. There is a frat scene which usually has people coming back to the floor later to chill out before crashing. Others, like me, stay more on campus and relax with friends.

The point is that there is something for everyone to enjoy. There will be other people like you, who have the same interest in having a traditional collegiate experience. We aren't like Cornell or most states schools though. So the campus life is going to be less campus centric, but that is to be expected when you have the best college town in the world surrounding you.

Skraylor

Also a senior, my take on it is this:

Freshman year - mix of doing things on and off campus
Sophomore - more on campus than freshman year but still go away every now and again
Jr - mostly on campus just due to fact that work tends to hit hard this year
Sr - more of a mix like freshman year

At least that has been my experience....