Hello! I was admitted to the Class of 2020. I have a question about the Core. For someone who is interested in humanities, arts and the social sciences, how heavy is the science/math portion of the core? Would I have to take a large portion of math and science classes?
Not burdensome at all. It does make one take a small modicum of science that any well educated person in modern society would benefit from.
You would be required to take 10 credits in sciences, during you college career – this amounts to 3 semesters of science classes. One of them would be Frontiers of Science which is a 1 semester course that is part of the actual Core Curriculum. The remaining 2 courses are more akin to Distribution requirements you would have at most colleges. Here is list of some acceptable and interesting sounding science course for non-science majors. http://bulletin.columbia.edu/columbia-college/core-curriculum/science-requirement/
Hey, I have sort of the opposite problem. Being more into the sciences would the core be too heavy for me cause I hear you study works of Plato etc , which seems beyond what I can do.
Columbia does a pretty good job in admissions - if they accept you they feel sure you will be able to handle the Core requirements.
The Core is something that everyone takes, it brings folks together. There will always be some who excel in some areas over others, but everyone leaves with a deeper appreciation of the depth and breadth of a varied education.