Hello all,
I haven’t been able to find much on this forum or elsewhere specifically about studying sciences as an undergrad at Columbia. My D isn’t sure what science field she wants to major in and, unfortunately, Columbia requires students to apply to either CC or SEAS. So, she’s focusing on CC and possible majors are biochem, biophysics, physics, or biology. THe Columbia website touts a low student:teacher ratio in the sciences, but this number may or may not reflect anything about the science undergrad experience.
So, can anyone comment on what it is like to be an undergraduate majoring in these areas? Are you able to connect with professors (or are you dealing mainly with TAs)? Are research opportunities available for undergrads? Do you feel the focus is on graduate students more than undergrads? Do you feel like you are getting a good education and appropriate support?
I know that astronomy grad students has recently started a program to better integrate undergrads in that dept., so that raised the question if there was an underlying issue - and if there was an issue in a presumably small group like astronomy, are the issues even greater in other science depts?
Finally, do science majors find it more difficult to keep up with classwork than other majors? I assume yes since this is generally the norm. Is anything done formally to address this?
Thank you!