Columbia University

Approval Rate: 64%

64%Approval ratio

Reviews 25

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  • by

    daniellaatl

    Fri Nov 19 2010

    As a Senior, I'm sorry that I chose Columbia. My major did not satisfy my academic or professional needs, and I will have to go somewhere else after graduation to obtain the education that Columbia failed to deliver. The administration is inaccessible, secretive, and deviant. Repeated requests to speak to certain administrators at Columbia College and elsewhere fell on deaf ears. They just don't care about students, just protecting themselves. As for safety, there was a murder on campus last year, two rapes that I know of, and several cases of harassment which the university failed to do anything about other than protect those who committed the crime. The campus is small, dirty, and ugly. Arriving here from California, I found the 12 trees and a few swatches of grass which you can not walk upon because they are hedged off to be pathetic. The entire campus is gated and has an unapproachable feel to it. This is because directly to the north and east of the campus are some of the... Read more

  • by

    xcuses

    Tue Aug 04 2009

    Very prestigious university with top-notch professors and students, but the campus was windy and FREEZING when I visited in March six years ago. The entire campus (including the dorms) was enclosed in one square block, which gave me the feeling that the buildings were towering over me in an ominous, claustrophobic way. We weren’t allowed to walk on the tiny plots of grass, and there were like, five tree total. For someone who was used to bigger campuses with large trees and rolling lawns, this place was scary.

  • by

    chrisnyc1

    Thu Oct 23 2008

    Columbia was the worst experience of my life. The administration is corrupt, and could care less about student concerns. The campus is unsafe, and suffers from high crime and lots of cover-up from the so called "campus security," and the students are snobby and cold. I'm sorry I wasted 4 years of my time, and way to much money on this dump.

  • by

    toven8d5

    Wed Aug 13 2008

    Horrible, Horrible, HORRIBLE school. The administration is pure evil. That means you Chris Columbo, Morgan Levy, Mary McGee, and Susan Glancy. I would NEVER RECOMMEND COLUMBIA TO ANYONE. If you care about education, you can do much better at a community college.

  • by

    chrismark

    Thu Sep 20 2007

    I had a very negative experience at Columbia University involving harassment from another student.  Because this student's father as a graduate of the school, Columbia protected my harasser by providing him with an attorney.  Moreover, they threatened me with discipiplinary action if I were to file an official complaint. The student in question has used drugs and  alcohol on campus, is in posession of a fake ID, and has  harassed several other students.  A girl that lived on his dorm floor was so upset by his anti-social behavior, that she was compelled to move out of her room.   Yet, the administration continues to proctect him, even though Columbia's policies make him subject to expulsion.   Dean Colombo of Coumbia College, Marsha Wagner of the Ombuds Office, the Assistant Provost, Roxie Smith, Campus Security who failed to respond to any of my valid complaints are just some of the players complicit in his crime.

  • by

    hw4bd224

    Sat Jul 01 2006

    Former alumnus speaking here -- great place, have fond memories of the school and surrounding neighborhood. Love the campus and the architecture. If you want to go to a great school at an urban campus, this is the place. This is a place where, in the '50s, about half of its professors in the Physics dept had won or were going to win Nobel Prizes, and its dept.'s in the social sciences were among the best, if not the best. Academically, the school did lose some of its lustre in the '70s and '80s, but since the '90s, it's been getting it back. In the late '90s, 3 of the Nobel Prize winners in Economics were either current professors or alumni of Columbia (Mundell, Vickrey, Merton). Columbia recently went on a huge hiring spree for its Econ dept., hiring ~10 or more rising academic stars away from other schools, and its current president, Bollinger, seems very committed to expanding the school and investing more in its dept.'s in the hard sciences. Columbia's always had a rep... Read more

  • by

    pandajerk

    Tue Mar 14 2006

    I love this place. Barnard girls are easy.

  • by

    rateitcolumbia

    Sun Nov 13 2005

    From Alumni, Full Scholarship Student and FORMER donor. pros: extremely diverse university - u can take women studies at Barnard; biomed engineering at engineering; Health admin at Business School; synergies with Presbyterian Hospital. easier way to get job on Wall Street or Fashion or Advertising undergrad research and Noble Prize winners core curriculum - Discuss writing, philosophy (the GREAT ideas), aka contemporary civilization. The underground book at Papyrus Bookstore calls it "contempt for civilization." MIT and Polytech make nerds and inventors. Columbia makes the ONLY well rounded IVY league engineers. SIPA - international grad studies - or on your 'spare time' go to the 'French House' for conversation/film busy, everyone is into their own thing cons: highly competitive, sometimes grading on the 'curve' busy, "Grand Central Station" grad tutors (foreign) speak with an accent, but they have 1400 SATs housing is dirty, moldy, sometimes rats professors are interested in res... Read more

  • by

    genghisthehun

    Thu Jun 16 2005

    One of the top institutions

  • by

    cailgf5a

    Fri Mar 18 2005

    My son is a spohmore in high school here in NJ, and Columbia is one of the schools he is interested in. Could someone please answer some of our questions? What is the core curriculum that some of the posts have criticized? Also, I have heard so many different things from parents about the Ivy league schools and getting admitted. One told me that you have to be in honors or AP in every class. My is in all honors this year except for math, which we just recently dropped down to college prep because of the teacher. However, AP's start next year, and he is taking a competitive course load, so I am hoping the schools will not mind that he is getting an A+ in college prep math. He will be taking AP US history, AP European History (first one in the school to take the two together), AP English, AP Environmental Science, Asian Studies Honors, and Spanish 4 Honors, and Advanced math/precal CP. He is debating whether to take Bio AP next year or senior year. He is in the Science League, Academ... Read more

  • by

    hellothereball_s

    Sat Mar 05 2005

    Amazing school

  • by

    waveryder202

    Sat Mar 05 2005

    This school is unreal. Beautiful architecture, amazing studies, perfect location. Ivy League status. What more could you ask for? I hope I get in!!

  • by

    wavebacker

    Sat Dec 11 2004

    Bottom rung Ivy school. Has a great rep in NYC, but it's profile wanes the further you go from The City. Good school, no doubt, but there are some students there who are really.....out there....Like they should be at Cal -Berkeley.

  • by

    cu0208f8

    Tue Sep 21 2004

    From my position as an alum. of Columbia, I can honestly say there is no university with quite the same spark. Ethnically diverse, invigorating coursework and the most beautiful campus nestled in the heart of the most exciting city in the world. Top 5 school, hands down.

  • by

    alichka

    Tue Jul 06 2004

    an absolutely amazing school. the Core is actually extremely useful, provided you get a good professor. the location, of course, is one of the top reasons to choose Columbia. sports suck though. the classes are often hard, but grade inflation always helps. very liberal, very diverse, and overall definitely a top 5 university.

  • by

    sayuri

    Sun Mar 23 2003

    One of the best schools in the entire world--no question. Although many students dislike its Core requirement, it allows students to develop into more well-rounded individuals. Besides, it's in NYC, the opportunities are endless!

  • by

    nycfan

    Sat Mar 22 2003

    Columbia is the best university in the nation, bar none.

  • by

    conehead

    Wed Dec 26 2001

    Top school, but certainly not top 5 material. It's not even the best school in NY state.

  • by

    bekheit

    Sun Feb 25 2001

    Columbia University is a great school!!!!! I myself am an african american and believe that my treatment is terrific. I LOVE THIS PLACE!

  • by

    jrl_9904om

    Tue Aug 22 2000

    Definitely not appreciative of minorities. Elitist liberals!

  • by

    abcd3324om

    Sat Dec 18 1999

    Great!!! Hahaha.

  • by

    aw162706du

    Fri Dec 10 1999

    It's a super university in an awesome town; the classes are hard and there is a lot to be learned for anyone willing to work hard. However, if you're not so good at making friends, the social life is a little dull (you have to really make an effort to go out and meet people).

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    jcj11768om

    Sat Nov 27 1999

    With its New York City location and world class student body, there is no better place to learn about academics and people.

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    der6805du

    Tue Nov 23 1999

    College feeling in the middle of the busiest and most exciting city!

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    gt53288du

    Tue Oct 26 1999

    Not supportive of African-American students.