<p>I was split between Columbia and Stanford for a while, but ultimately decided on Stanford. Besides having better departments as a whole, the Stanford administration is much more friendly and outgoing than Columbia’s. Anyone who was at the SEAS days on campus knows the disaster the administration organized. After the evening activities fell apart, I ended up hanging out with my friend’s brother and all of his dormmates. Each and every one of the 20 people that were hanging out agreed that the administration does not care in the slightest about undergrads, and the bureaucracy creates all sorts of problems that a university with the size and resources of Columbia should not have. As compared to other universities, you have to fight much more to get research opportunities at Columbia. Even in my own experience, the only instances in which Columbia has been open and outgoing has been at the admission receptions, whereas I’m usually brushed off otherwise.</p>
<p>That being said, everyone in the dorm agreed that a lot of awesome things happen at Columbia. You can walk around the university, and randomly come upon some fun event or activity, and that doesn’t even include all the great things that happen in NYC.</p>