<p>Any input? I know Columbia probably has more name recognition, but I like UVA a lot too. I’m looking probably into social sciences…ya know…</p>
<p>Columbia is certainly more prestigious, but the education quality is probably similar (though CC does have the Core).</p>
<p>A far greater difference to consider would be whether you want an urban school or a suburban/rural/whatever UVA is school</p>
<p>yea its all about the setting…i live an hour away from UVA and i couldnt hate it more just because its 66% people from virginia and i want to get away from here</p>
<p>Columbia is a very different school than UVA stylistically. The student body at Columbia has a more intellectual feel (not arguing basic smarts between the two schools here) and even though people have a certain pride at attending there is very little rah-rah to the place when compared to a school like UVA. My daughter loves that about Columbia but if you are looking for a more typical campus culture you might not like it.</p>
<p>I would first explore Columbia’s Core on their website and see if you are up for it. It takes up a significant part of your undergraduate career. I would spend (more) time on their campus…it does not have to be on their visiting day. Attend a few classes. </p>
<p>I understand your feeling about UVA and living nearby. Penn is a local school for us and many people from my daughter’s world attend. It is a fabulous school but too close to home and the student population is a little more predictable than at Columbia. If Columbia had dinged her she would have been happy (and lucky) to go to Penn but she would have run into the hometown crowd every other second.</p>
<p>Columbia is a prestige level above, but I think you might find UVA much more stimulating socially. Especially with the West End closing down~(the main campus bar at Columbia) - now its going to be really quiet on the weekends.</p>
<p>As I said, Columbia is a very different school but a dirty little freshman bar is closing - even if it has a noble history I don’t think that should be a deal breaker…and maybe the OP likes Cuban food. ;)</p>
<p>Lol, true. But it is a sad day for Columbia.</p>
<p>Sorry to take this off topic but Slipper, this one’s for you.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.columbiaspectator.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2006/04/06/4434baf290021?in_archive=1[/url]”>http://www.columbiaspectator.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2006/04/06/4434baf290021?in_archive=1</a></p>
<p>i agree whole heartedly with the intellectual feeling thin on campus…its not that UVA kids are dumb, its just they are extremely preppy. about 50% of the campus owns every single color polo shirt ever imaginable. orange, yellow pink? check. teal? check. aquamarine-summertime-tickle me elmo-purple? check. the other 50% of the school isnt like that and its possible to find them, however, most tend to be echols/rodman scholars and finding them the first few weeks might be hard (thats what a friend of mine said at least)</p>
<p>heh, and columbia students don’t own polo shirts with the collars pre-emptively up?</p>
<p>do they own literally 25++ shirts tho?</p>
<p>Skraylor, you make me laugh. LOL!</p>
<p>eh, say what you want but until you see UVA kids, you cant compare ~_~</p>
<p>I say this all of the time, but research the Core at Columbia. It’s much more than sitting around with your peers discussing great novels and the classics. Check out <a href=“http://www.culpa.com%5B/url%5D”>www.culpa.com</a> and read reviews of some of the core classes. You either love it or hate it.</p>
<p>yeah your core course is almost completely dependent on your preceptor.</p>
<p>I think you meant <a href=“http://culpa.info/[/url]”>http://culpa.info/</a></p>
<p>Funny you are choosing between UVA and Columbia. Duke, Princeton, Dartmouth, Penn, etc are much more like UVA in terms of campus life /community etc.</p>
<p>I think most things are more like each other than Columbia in terms of campus life/community.</p>
<p>RLauraD, you should really visit both schools, check out some classes, talk to the students and even the professors. If you can, stay overnight with a current student to see what student life is like. That’s how you’ll really know which school is a better fit.</p>
<p>To stay overnight at Columbia, click here:
<a href=“http://www.studentaffairs.columbia.edu/visiting/[/url]”>http://www.studentaffairs.columbia.edu/visiting/</a></p>
<p>To stay overnight at UVa, click here:
<a href=“http://www.student.virginia.edu/~monroe/index.htm[/url]”>http://www.student.virginia.edu/~monroe/index.htm</a></p>
<p>Skraylor, I think the average per UVa student is around 17 polos - 25 is overkill. ;)</p>
<p>yea…i know columbia and uva are really different. i really like new york and would love to be in the city…at the same time, it freaks me out a little bit. And I know UVA is preppy…and i’m not preppy at all…but it has the nice benefit of two of my best friends going there, as well as my sister went there, so I kinda have an idea what it’s like. But anyway, I am visiting them both overnight (Columbia tomorrow!), so we’ll see. thanks for all the help everyone!</p>