Columbia University User Reviews and Ratings
Outstanding!
By Vic, From Fairfax, Virginia
Attended
What best describes you? Alumni
Activities & Social Life
Score：5
City & Setting
Score：5
Classes & Teachers
Score：5
Dining & Food
Score：5
Dorms & Housing
Score：4
Health & Safety
Score：4
A school for future leaders!
By Philo2018, From Singapore
When I hear what my fellow Columbians are doing now that they have graduated, I feel so inspired and motivated to do more. Whether it's positions in academia, finance, consulting, tech, social entrepreneurship, politics, or law, Columbians seem to succeed at it all. The famous Columbians of this generation i.e. Bill Barr, Barack Obama, Eric Holder, Neil Gorsuch, Warren Buffett, Robert Kraft, Henry Kravitz all demonstrate the level of professional and intellectual diversity there is at the school. So proud to be a Columbian =-)
What best describes you? Alumni
Activities & Social Life
Score：5
City & Setting
Score：5
Classes & Teachers
Score：5
Dining & Food
Score：5
Dorms & Housing
Score：5
Health & Safety
Score：5
The Best University In The World
By S. Carl, From Illinois
Located in the best city in the world. Alumni include Warren Buffett, probably the most successful investor in the world. Alumni also include Presidents of the U.S. and Supreme Court justices, hundreds of CEOs including a CEO alum who recently donated 100 million dollars to the Medical school. I could go on and on.
What best describes you? Alumni
Activities & Social Life
Score：5
City & Setting
Score：5
Classes & Teachers
Score：5
Dining & Food
Score：5
Dorms & Housing
Score：5
Health & Safety
Score：5
Columbia is on its way to Numero Uno :)
By Felicity, From New York, New York
In senior year of high school I had an enormously difficult choice – I had to choose between attending Columbia, Yale and MIT. I had been accepted to all three and spent hours researching the universities online and visiting the schools in terms. I was also accepted into other elite schools such as Dartmouth and UChicago, but I never seriously considered those institutions simply because the academic quality, location and reputation wasn't considered as superb as Columbia, Yale and MIT. I ultimately chose Columbia because of academics, "prestige", location and post-grad opportunities. When comparing these 3 super-elite institutions side by side it was clear that Columbia was matched only by MIT in terms of academic rigor, had equal or similar prestige to Yale (with the potential to blow past Yale in the coming future), and was – by an order of magnitude – better located than Yale and MIT. Lastly, Columbia was unparalleled in terms of opportunities in finance, consulting and tech. After scoring these universities according the above criteria, Columbia came out on top. I'm certain that this will soon be reflected in the U.S. News rankings soon :).
What best describes you? Current Student
Activities & Social Life
Score：5
City & Setting
Score：5
Classes & Teachers
Score：5
Dining & Food
Score：5
Dorms & Housing
Score：5
Health & Safety
Score：5
Columbia has the Brightest Future among the Top 5/10 schools
By HigherEd Enthusiast, From San Francisco, CA
Columbia is so well positioned for the future to threaten research juggernauts like Harvard, Stanford and Cambridge. Here's why: Columbia along with Stanford and MIT is leading the charge in blockchain technology – IBM, the undisputed leader among tech companies in Blockchain, has partnered with Columbia to establish a Blockchain accelerator laboratory that will allow undergraduates, business school, engineering and law school students to collaborate and pitch start up ideas to leaders in the blockchain field. Additionally, Columbia along with Harvard and Stanford was one of only three schools to raise over 1 billion dollars from alumni donations this past year which set a record among American colleges and universities. Lastly, NYC is the next Silicon Valley. If Stanford is any indication of what the tech industry can do to a university's status then Columbia is the place to be in the coming years.
What best describes you? Other
Activities & Social Life
Score：4
City & Setting
Score：5
Classes & Teachers
Score：5
Dining & Food
Score：5
Dorms & Housing
Score：4
Health & Safety
Score：5
Best University in the Country
By Lindsey K., From New York
I cannot thank Columbia University enough for the wholesome education, endless opportunities and incredible pride it has bestowed upon me. I'm incredibly jealous that the incoming class(es) of students will now have access to not only the rigor and intellectualism of the nation's oldest core curriculum, but additionally jobs in the tech industry that previously didn't exist in NYC. The opportunities at bulge bracket banks, hedge funds, and tech companies that are laid on a silver platter for future generations of Columbia students will make the university hard to compete with.
What best describes you? Alumni
Activities & Social Life
Score：5
City & Setting
Score：5
Classes & Teachers
Score：5
Dining & Food
Score：5
Dorms & Housing
Score：5
Health & Safety
Score：5
Cultivates your endurance of loneliness
By J. O., From Queens, NY
You must be very independent in Columbia, whether from the academic or social life aspect. The Core can be extremely annoying if you are not interested in it.
What best describes you? Current Student
Activities & Social Life
Score：5
City & Setting
Score：5
Classes & Teachers
Score：5
Dining & Food
Score：4
Dorms & Housing
Score：5
Health & Safety
Score：5
The Best School In The World
By Jay Ivy, From Chicago
I am a African American and an Alumni from Chicago. What I learned after attending Columbia University is that it is an excellent school; it gives a student everything he or she needs to succeed; the only thing they have to have is a vision. So if you come to Columbia without any drive, determination or passion for what your are doing. This is not the school for you. This is a school for visionaries and leaders.
What best describes you? Alumni
Activities & Social Life
Score：5
City & Setting
Score：5
Classes & Teachers
Score：5
Dining & Food
Score：5
Dorms & Housing
Score：5
Health & Safety
Score：5
Best school in the country, but not for everyone
By Nathan '21, From Columbia, Missouri
I am a first generation college student from Missouri. By "not for everyone" I mean is not all personalities. There are plenty of rich, arrogant, awful people and exclusive pre-professional clubs, but all of Columbia's peers have these. Instead what defines Columbia is the Core Curriculum, New York City, and a lack of school pride. I think the Core is the main factor in differentiating Columbia from its peers. Many of Columbia's peers have a great deal of flexibility in non-major classes to take. This results in an inferior education filled with important gaps. Some students will not appreciate the Core Curriculum (and if you won't then Columbia may not fit best for you; it will still help you if you let it) but it provides what I think an institution's main goal should be: a defined curriculum of an institution's idea of the most important works. Flawed as it is, no peer does it better, and only UChicago from my awareness competes, which is why I believe these are the two best schools (among the traditional US elite), in addition to MIT and Cornell for other reasons (I wish I could elaborate on). If you let it, it will change you. New York City is self-explanatory (I wish I could elaborate). Columbia's lack of school pride is a major point of contention for some. I think this is important in minimizing the elitism inherent at a school of this prestige. I think this is why Columbia is able to be near the top of the New York Time's mobility index for Ivy Plus schools (only behind the other schools I've mentioned). The personality required to enjoy Columbia: perseverance, solitary geniality, perspective. Everyone can benefit from Columbia's academics, but it can be a very lonely without these qualities. I love it, but you might have to be very good at making friends or super persistent to find your group. Like all of our peers it may be tough to be an outspoken conservative. This assumes prestige matters but is not everything; a less prestigious school may be better.
What best describes you? Current Student
Activities & Social Life
Score：5
City & Setting
Score：5
Classes & Teachers
Score：5
Dining & Food
Score：5
Dorms & Housing
Score：5
Health & Safety
Score：5
Best Undergraduate College in the Top Three
By F.T., From Ontario
Columbia U is famous for its undergraduate 'Great Books' courses, which are taught by world famous professors of philosophy, literature, sociology, anthropology, and so on. These courses confer an intellectual and analytical ethos to the CU student body that isn't present at the other schools ranked in the top three (Princeton U, Harvard, MIT).
What best describes you? Other
Activities & Social Life
Score：4
City & Setting
Score：5
Classes & Teachers
Score：5
Dining & Food
Score：4
Dorms & Housing
Score：4
Health & Safety
Score：5
Best City, Best School
By AKUAN, SEAS'22, From Connecticut
You really can't imagine how much goes on not only on campus, but also in The CITY. As someone who has lived in a suburban setting for most of my life, this was unimaginable before, but a pleasant surprise as I got here.
What best describes you? Current Student
Activities & Social Life
Score：5
City & Setting
Score：5
Classes & Teachers
Score：5
Dining & Food
Score：4
Dorms & Housing
Score：4
Health & Safety
Score：5
Excellent institution
By William Fournette, From Pasadena, CA
An institution with opportunities and name brand that few can match.
What best describes you? Faculty/administrator/employee
Activities & Social Life
Score：4
City & Setting
Score：5
Classes & Teachers
Score：5
Dining & Food
Score：3
Dorms & Housing
Score：4
Health & Safety
Score：4
Columbia should #1 or #2 in my own opinion
By Michael S., Harvard BA, MA, PhD, From Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
As a professor at a Top 10 university in the United States, I personally believe that the combination of Columbia's core curriculum, location and world-class faculty makes it the first or second best university in the United States
What best describes you? Faculty/administrator/employee
Activities & Social Life
Score：5
City & Setting
Score：5
Classes & Teachers
Score：5
Dining & Food
Score：5
Dorms & Housing
Score：5
Health & Safety
Score：5
The greatest university in the greatest city in the world
By Andrew, Class of 2020, From New York, NY
I have found my experience at Columbia to have been one of endless discovery. In this review I will focus on the Core Curriculum, which all students in the College and the School of Engineering take in one way or another. Columbia's teaching and discursive methodology is second-to-none. The way I see it, there is universal value in being well-read; it is a prerequisite for engaging with the world in meaningful terms outside of what one might experience through their personal spheres. Even those who may oppose aspects of the Core -- as I have at times -- have plenty of options to respond creatively. The curriculum may appear rigid at first, but as Columbia teaches us, knowledge at face-value is nothing gained. The Core Curriculum is the most flexible aspect of my education, because there is always the lingering question of how I would bend it towards my will in hopes of doing good for this world. The truth is that most of the top schools offer the same caliber education for its students; many lower-ranked schools can do this as well. But Columbia's standing as a world-renowned research institute, with the curriculum of the world's greatest liberal arts program, and its location in the greatest city in the world makes it incomparable. Side note: famous alumni include Barack Obama and Spider-Man.
What best describes you? Current Student
Activities & Social Life
Score：5
City & Setting
Score：5
Classes & Teachers
Score：5
Dining & Food
Score：5
Dorms & Housing
Score：5
Health & Safety
Score：5
Great Overall
By Chris P, From New
Great environment, opportunities and academics.
What best describes you? Other
Activities & Social Life
Score：5
City & Setting
Score：5
Classes & Teachers
Score：5
Dining & Food
Score：5
Dorms & Housing
Score：5
Health & Safety
Score：5
experience
By SK, From New York, NY
Columbia is what means are made of. Expert faculty, brilliant students—all driven to improve the world.
What best describes you? Current Student
Activities & Social Life
Score：5
City & Setting
Score：5
Classes & Teachers
Score：5
Dining & Food
Score：5
Dorms & Housing
Score：5
Health & Safety
Score：5
Transformative and Enlightening Experience
By Eugene, Class of 2018, From San Francisco
Columbia University, in my opinion, has more to offer than any other university in the world. It's academic quality, location and devoted faculty have helped shaped me into a human being capable of taking on the obstacles of professional and adult life ahead of me. Columbia is a challenging environment in almost every sense, but you leave the institution feeling more prepared than your peers from other institutions.
What best describes you? Alumni
Activities & Social Life
Score：5
City & Setting
Score：5
Classes & Teachers
Score：5
Dining & Food
Score：5
Dorms & Housing
Score：5
Health & Safety
Score：5
