<p>I understand the fascination with Columbia. When I visited it seemed like kind of a magical place, and the fact that such a quiet campus was inside a massive city was exciting. Just make sure you not getting drawn in by the Ivy allure too much. If you really think it has the people/atmosphere that’s best for you, I would go. In reality a degree from Columbia won’t really hold you back from anything, and their business school is incredible if that interest develops. Especially if you decide to apply to graduate school, you can go to your Cal Tech/MIT after you’ve had your undergraduate experience.</p>
<p>Just make sure you’re certain that you like the core classes and college life at Columbia. It might seem nice now, but it won’t when your life is being consumed your senior design project and you still have to read half of The Odyssey for your final the next day. You’ve probably heard this already, but it’s important to know that just because you’re at Columbia doesn’t mean you’ll haven’t a significantly less stressful life than at Cal Tech, you’ll just be experiencing it with different people in different situations.</p>