<p>I’ve been accepted to both of these schools, but haven’t visited either yet. I love the core in both of these schools and think they really my personality. Unfortunately my major doesn’t suit the schools, so we’ll see what happens come April. Most of the info I’ve gathered are from friends that have visited/ going or just reading info online, so please take it with a grain of salt.</p>
<p>Weather: I have gone to New York (in the winter) and used to live in Illinois and in my opinion both are pretty soggy and miserable when it’s cold. It really won’t make much of a difference weather wise. In my opinion, Illinois is great in the summer and we’ll see what Columbia is like during spring. </p>
<p>Grading: It’s not incredibly important unless you plan to go to graduate school, but Columbia and Uchic have different grading systems. UChic is known for grade deflation, whereas Columbia is not… to say the least. Either way the classes are going to be hard and you’re still going to have to work for your grades, but if GPA is big on your list of worries, Columbia will make it easier for you to get As. According to my Uchic interviewer, at least one class in UChic is going to make you say screw (yay euphemisms) it there’s no way I can do well. It’s not like it’s any easier at Columbia either though :)</p>
<p>The Core: Columbia has a set of classes known as the Core, whereas Uchic has a set of subjects in which you can pick classes for as theirs. I like the idea of sharing the same classes in Columbia better as that seems like the best way to make friends, but I also see the practicality of having a bit more room to choose.</p>
<p>Prestige: Icky subject 
I honestly don’t know much about how they’re seen in the business world so I hope someone can expand on this to help me as well. I thought Uchci was a state school for the longest time until around sophomore year. Then again I also thought Columbia was a school in England until about high school. ( Not the brightest kid alert here 
) I’ve tried to get a better idea of how people see both schools now. I’ve had longer to figure out Uchic and it seems to be very strong in econ and therefore business, physics and bio, and law. There are probably others, but those were the ones that caught my eye. Columbia, I don’t know as well. It seems to produce a lot of people in finance however. Unfortunately Uchic has denied the existence of engineering in its majors and Columbia seems to be trying very hard to attract engineering students. </p>
<p>People: I really can’t tell you much here. Most of the friends I know who have applied and gotten into Uchic are really smart but also as mentioned before not extremely social. There is definitely a socially awkward aspect to Uchic that Columbia doesn’t seem to embody. One of my friends visited this mid-winter break and told me he had an entire conversation with a physics major who was brilliant, but also couldn’t make eye contact with him during the entire conversation. However, I also went to a Uchic gathering a few months ago and all of the alumni there were fine, though some were a bit on the nerdy side lol. I’m personally pretty socially ■■■■■■■■ around strangers but become fine once I get to know someone. So I guess I would fit the Uchic “stereotype”. I don’t think this aspect of the school really attracts me however. I only have one friend going to Columbia. She’s also a bit crazy (see the pattern of friends that I have yet? lol) but I think what differentiates her from my Uchic accepted friends is that she’s very ambitious. That’s just my two cents on how I see the schools differently. Uchic does have its weird students, but it is mostly filled with very smart and also very ambitious students. I think I’ve heard about Uchic producing a lot more intellectual, professor like students than industry driven people however. My idea of Columbia isn’t very clear yet. I can’t wait to get to know it better come spring 
</p>
<p>Anyways my fish are starting to eat my new duckweed D: I’m gonna stop talking now and feed them.</p>