<p>People say this school is really stressful, so I am wondering how manageable is this school? If I plan to major in a science, will I still be able to “have a life” while attending Columbia? Will I constantly be pulling all-nighters or slip through the cracks?</p>
<p>bump bump bump</p>
<p>Get accepted first. put the horse before the cart. Worrying about “surviving” Columbia? How about worry about surviving decision notifications first?</p>
<p>In general students at schools like C are self driven and place more pressure on themselves than the coursework. If you get accepted, then C is confident of your ability to succeed.</p>
<p>I am trying to decide if I should do ED, that’s why I want to know all of this for sure</p>
<p>“I am trying to decide if I should do ED, that’s why I want to know all of this for sure”</p>
<p>First, T26E4 makes a very valid point, “if” you are accepted than Columbia must obviously feel you have demonstrated you are more than capable of handling the work.</p>
<p>Second, you want to know “for sure” but how could a bunch of strangers on the Internet possibly know how intelligent you are and what your work ethic is? My experience at an Ivy was that for some kids, things came pretty easily to them and other kids had to work much harder than the average kid. Only you can make the judgement call of where you stand. Most kids were around the average and therefore “had a life” to boot.</p>
<p>Really tempted to just write: “No.”</p>
<p>While I understand your concern for the, let’s say, “lived experience” of Columbia, it’s almost impossible to talk about. How do you define “have a life” or “manageable”?</p>
<p>Fact is, many people attend Columbia, take very challenging classes, and yet don’t spend all of their time studying. There are people who lead clubs and yet still get Phi Beta Kappa. (I am most certainly not one of them.)</p>
<p>There are other people who are very involved, socially or extracurricularly, and their grades suffer for it. Finally, there are people who spend all of their time studying in the library.</p>
<p>In general, Columbia can be a stressful place, but that’s more a result of the ambitious atmosphere and fast-paced culture than the caliber of the academics. If people complain about Columbia, they complain that the social life is very decentralized and there’s little overarching community; they don’t complain that the classes are too hard.</p>
<p>Does that make sense?</p>
<p>^^ Perfect sense.</p>