Overview of Columbia University in the City of New York

The campus is amazing. Right in the heart of NYC, Columbia provides an awesome experience along with brilliant minds.

You might think that, being an Ivy, many of the students here would be snooty or rather pompous, but you'll find fairly quickly that that's not the case. Everyone here is generally rather laidback, amiable, and down to earth. It’s a strongly positive aspect of the Columbia community, as friendships tend to form fast and last long--and you can take my word for it that these friendships keep you afloat during the harrowing occurrence known as finals! The bonus, too, is that many share your value in intellectual pursuits!

The campus atmosphere is great! Classic architecture and landscaping make the campus beautiful. Everyone is very nice and someone is always ready to help you

As far as I can tell, college is extraordinary because it is a period of unprecedented – and probably unique – freedom in nearly all aspects of life. Of course, freedom has the potential for both great success and great failure, and so it all depends on how we utilize it. In my time at Columbia, I’ve tried to balance a challenging and engaging courseload with a variety of other pursuits and activities, and have enjoyed my college experience immensely as a result. I’ve found that the secret lies in making time to pursue what interests me most – for instance, I play a lot of music, and so I joined a band that plays all around the city. Of course, the primary goal is to learn, and a boring or overly easy schedule makes for a boring time at college, not to mention a waste of tuition. In addition, there is a neverending stream of possibilities in New York City, and it’s easy to be ceaselessly occupied simply by taking advantage of a small fraction of these.

Campus is very nice. Being in the city, the buildings are very close to each other. I hear the dorm rooms are crappy though.