Student life at Columbia

Tshiknn
Sat, 26 Sep 2015 07:38:56 +0000

I can speak to that since I’m an incoming freshman from a more suburban area at least.

City life is pretty cool, but from what I’ve found your life is pretty much centered around the Columbia campus, which is in a quieter area of Manhattan anyway. Some people say they never leave campus. I wouldn’t go that far, but I would say that you get the resources of the city without it being too overwhelming since you have a sort of oasis-like campus to retreat to. The campus is actually really quiet and serene at night, and it’s safe enough to take a midnight walk without having to worry.

But I’m more of the party-averse kind. My outings to the city have been to visit record shops and ramen places, and to see friends at other colleges, and I’m not well-acquainted with the club scene at all.

One thing I’ve noticed is that people here study a LOT. Your friends will tell you about how they’re spending 6-hour stretches in the library on the weekend. You will do it yourself. But it also builds a kind of solidarity. I spent a good 5 hours quietly typing out an essay with someone from my class that I had barely talked to before, and it ended with a nice discussion on our life goals, our stories, etc. Discussions about math homework turn into discussions about the nature of math.

I’d disagree with the people that say Columbia is an intense and overwhelming place. If you let it, it can be really nice.