<p>A lot of students on this thread seem to choosing Columbia because of two things:</p>
<p>1) NYC
2) Ivy (prestige)</p>
<p>I think while in high school, the biggest misconception is that you go to the most prestigious school you get into. But once you get to the actual college, you realize that, hey, it doesn’t matter that much. While Columbia is more prestigious etcetc, the difference in prestige is definitely not THAT big of a deal. Go to the school that FITS you.</p>
<p>NYC, the number one reason some students gravitate towards Columbia, is not necessarily as amazing as it sounds. In fact, it’s a major reason I didn’t choose it in the end. Now, I’m not saying it’s not an incredible school. Heck, I applied to it for a reason. But remember that because of NYC, Columbia does not have the typical collegiate feel. There isn’t the sense of community or school spirit that many kids would value (this is simply what a lot of students that I spoke to there informed me. It might be because we were comparing “community feel” and “school spirit” relative to Duke, but whatevs haha).</p>
<p>No one can truly decide for you… that’s something you have to feel yourself. The best thing to do is to VISIT both campuses. Seriously.</p>
<p>Anyway, think about the following couple of things:</p>
<p>1) Do you want the core? Are you SURE (just making sure hahah. 'Cause I thought I wanted it but realized last minute “NOPE, not in a million years…”)?
2) Access to research? (Columbia wins this)
3) Community/school spirit?
4) THE PEOPLE. This is really important, which is why visiting is really important.
5) The campus. (Let me tell you something… waking up in a de facto castle every morning and seeing the Duke chapel is a beautiful, beautiful feeling…)</p>
<p>While I personally dislike Gtown right now (WE SHOULD HAVE WON WE SHOULD HAVE WON FDSGH), I just wanted to make sure you didn’t only have advice from HS kids going “OMG NYC IT’S AMAZING! AND AN IVY OMG!”</p>