Columbia v. Yale

posterX
Fri, 19 May 2006 17:37:31 +0000

New Haven is not such a small city. There are hundreds upon hundreds of restaurants, stores, bars, nightclubs, theaters, etc., within just a few blocks of Yale, and obviously much more just beyond that. It’s true that Columbia is in NYC, but it’s not in the area you would typically hang out with. The area right around Columbia is pretty dead by comparison to the part around Yale, or NYU, which is several miles (and a decent subway ride, especially late at night) away from Columbia. Because of this distance, Columbia’s campus itself I’ve found to be very dead.

Also, New York City is very close to New Haven, so I think Yale has the best deal: a thriving campus social life (you kind of have to experience it to believe it, but since Yale is so compact it is always buzzing with students & activities), great college town in the immediate area, and access to New York City. Columbia only has one of those three things.

Academically, Yale is stronger on all levels, in my opinion. Classes are smaller, professors much more accessible, stronger departments, and the like. Also, the students themselves are great at both Columbia and Yale, but Yale has an edge in getting the very top students (e.g., nearly 1/5th of Yalies are National Merit Scholars, the highest rate in the United States, versus less than 5% of Columbia students). However, obviously both are a good choice for someone who is ambitious and law-school minded.

Check out this post for some additional perspective on that. You’ll see that in terms of pre-law, Columbia and Yale both make the top ten.