Hey cordeliachase,
I’m pretty far removed from my Columbia experience. So, I hesitate to respond to questions about my time in Morningside Heights without a caveat: I don’t really know what campus life is like today.
I was in my late 20s when I graduated. I thought Columbia did an excellent job of catering to adults. Professors mostly treated us like any other students. But the GS administration was really mindful of the challenges that adult students face and tried to create programming, seminars, and other resources to address those issues.
I was not a student leader. I helped with a bunch of things (orientation, graduation and class day, etc). I was involved in Debate and Greek Life. I was usually spread pretty thin and didn’t have a ton of time to dedicate to either of those. I worked nearly full-time while going to school full-time.
Finally, I use my Columbia education all the time. Keep in mind that Columbia’s non-engineering undergraduate curricula are mostly liberal arts based. So, as funny as it sounds, they teach you how to think and not what to think.
Reminds me of a line (Twain, maybe?)… education is what’s left over after you’ve forgotten what you’ve learned.
Hopefully that’s helpful!