Columbia University

Columbia is a university that respects the rights and differences of every kind of student. As a Chinese student here, I always feel a warm and equal environment to study and communicate with others. The campus is located in Manhattan, New York which allows us to contact a very special commercial world in the US.

I'm really enjoying my time at Columbia! The courses are challenging, there are tons of clubs on campus, and of course, the city is a huge plus. The food is also really good! I will say that stress culture is definitely huge at Columbia. I have friends at other schools like Columbia who say the stress culture is no where near as bad. Still, the pressure can be motivating. Take time for yourself and you'll do well.

Columbia University is a wonderful institution if you want to challenge yourself. The Core Curriculum pushes students to explore literature and courses outside of their major, inspiring them to be well-rounded. Although the canon is incredibly eurocentric, there are still benefits in its ability to create a foundation of knowledge which all students share. Further, there has been push to change the curriculum and students have been vocal on both sides—expanding the syllabus or keeping it as is. This goes to show Columbia's open dialogue and the many opinions present on campus. In terms of specific courses, Columbia is renowned for many programs and has some leading scholars in their fields teaching here. Their classes are great but it's at office hours that you get the most out of it, one-on-one dialogues about what is happening in class. In addition to academics, there are also many clubs on campus. Housing is incredibly nice (especially considering it's in the city) albeit on the smaller side, and guaranteed all four years. The only thing I would complain about is that there is not the typical college community here. Being in the city, students are fairly scattered and often leave campus to explore downtown. They are also exceedingly ambition and are oftentimes busy. These are, of course, good things too because you are surrounded by bright individuals but it can create a feeling of loneliness sometimes. That being said, just because Columbia does not have one big community does not mean it is not made up of many smaller communities, where everyone can find their own niche with time.

Columbia is an amazing opportunity. A great university with a gorgeous campus in the middle of the city. Medium to small class sizes, great professors and a core curriculum that will (whether you like it or not) make you learn countless new things and bring you and your entire graduating class closer together. Nonetheless, it is a demanding school where it is easy to get swept up in "stress culture". With so many opportunities at our disposal, its entirely up to students to decide the ones that they want to take advantage of (extracurriculars at Columbia, study abroad programs, interesting classes outside of our majors, discovering the city, ect.). Though the sheer amount of choices and workload can be a lot at times, it is undoubtedly an amazing place to discover your passions and follow them.

The Dual BA between Columbia University and Sciences Po offers the opportunity to achieve, in four years, two Bachelor's Degrees, one in Social Sciences at Sciences Po and another at Columbia. The international student body, as well as the opportunity to study in both Europe and the United States make this program a truly unique experience. I would highly recommend this program to all the students who are interested in the social sciences and want to be challenged both academically and socially to become agile global citizens.

I studied at Teachers College of Columbia University. High-quality professors. However, there was a clear shift to STEM-related courses although my degree was one of social science. Since the student corpus was international I would expect the course related to education to not only address the educational system of the US.