<p>Hey Guys, just had a couple of questions. I might get to play golf at Columbia, and I wanted to get a feel for how tough the workload is. I obviously want to be able to put time into golf, and having an obscenely tough workload would not be the most convenient of situations. Also, how are the facilities at Columbia? Are the buildings and classrooms old? Or are they fairly updated? Also, I’ve heard the area around Columbia is a little dangerous – is that true? Thanks!</p>
<p>In a nutshell, the workload is pretty tough and you won’t get cut much slack for being an athlete. Columbia is one of the nation’s oldest schools, so yes, the buildings and classrooms are pretty old. That being said, they recently built the Northwest Corner building which is a truly state of the art science center. Some of the surrounding areas can be a little sketchy but you are in New York City! Most of the students who go to Columbia are there for the added bonus of being in the most vibrant and cultural city in the world. Kids usually quickly learn how to avoid dangerous situations.</p>
<p>There are indoor training facilities for golf on campus (but as you know hitting into nets with simulators is less than ideal) and the team plays at tri-state courses which are at least 25 minutes away assuming no traffic (lol). </p>
<p>You mentioned in another thread that you are considering Harvard, Princeton and UPenn. If you have the game and the academics to be a viable recruited candidate for those schools, you probably should be looking at Stanford as well which seems to have everything you are looking for (except a moderate workload). The weather is conducive to year round golf, the buildings are modern and new, the campus is safe and the golf course is consistently rated as one of the best college golf courses in the nation.</p>
<p>In a nutshell, although Columbia is easily one of the top schools in the country in many respects, I’m not sure it is a good fit for you based upon what you are looking for.</p>
<p>Haha, stanford would be ideal. But their golf team is about 200 ranking places above columbia, so that would be hard. This was really informative though, thanks so much. Yeah playimg golf in NYC isnt the best combo but then again it is columbia. Hopefully it all turns out well.</p>
<p>Yes, sorry I actually tried to edit my post to add that caveat about Stanford (and Duke) being ideal for you but hyper-competitive relative to the Ivys but you answered me to quickly. </p>
<p>Btw, Yale has a really nice course and you could play and practice a lot easier than being at Columbia or UPenn.</p>
<p>Actually, you haven’t mentioned what your academic goals are but in my opinion you should think heavily about this in choosing a school not just about their golf program.</p>
<p>Columbia is old, but the campus used to be downtown. We’ve only had our (excellent) Morningside Heights campus since 1890s. That means most of the buildings were constructed in 1896-1940, or in the mid 20th century. The university has poured a fair amount in maintenance, but certainly nothing is perfect. I find it pleasant and charming, and connects me to the idea of a canon of knowledge with a legacy measured in millennia. However, if you want to pretend you live on a space station, it’s not for you.</p>
<p>The area within about 10 blocks of campus exceedingly safe. Indeed, it is in the police precinct with one of the lowest crime rates in Manhattan. There is some minor theft, as you would expect anywhere. Primarily it’s stealing smartphones from people who are paying attention to the screen, and not what’s going on around them.</p>
<p>Thanks campaigner, makes sense. And Falcon1, yes Yale has a very nice course, you are absolutely correct. But, the weather is, not really good at all, so that’s a big turn-off golf-wise. It’s obviously really good academically. And could you clarify academic goals? What major i plan to take? I honestly want to go to a pretty good college(academically) where I can play alot of golf(weather an facilities) and is DI.</p>