I am trying to decide between UCDavis and Columbia University in New York. I’ve already talked to Davis students but I don’t know anyone who is currently at Columbia or has recently graduated. I’m majoring in Biological Anthropology but I’d like to hear from anyone with experience there. What I wish to know is…
How accessible are the Professors? If you are having trouble in a class, can you get good help from them?
Do they have good, free tutoring and help available for struggling students?
What if you need mental health support, is that easy to get and low cost?
How safe did you feel on Campus? I know it is in the middle of NY but is the Campus itself very safe?
If you don’t get on-campus housing, how easy is it to find an apartment in NY? I would like to commute as little as possible, live in a safe neighborhood, and not spend a lot of money. Is that possible or do I need to budget a fortune?
Are there a lot of clubs and activities? How is the community?
And… if you don’t mind…
How much do you pay per month for housing?
And for those graduated…
How much did you take out in loans and was it worth it?
I’m not a Columbia grad or student, but my stepdaughter recently completed a master’s degree. I tell you what I"ve heard, and what I know.
First off, I don’t think NYC is that dangerous anymore. The days of worrying about muggers on every block are gone.
Second, rents do appear to drop sharply once you go off the island, judging by her experience. She and her boyfriend were paying $1500 for a small two-bedroom in Brooklyn, near the Bedford Avenue subway station. I’d check out their transit website to see how long it will take you to reach Columbia from there. Subway commutes can be horriendously long, as I found out here.
Mental health support–I got nothing.
California’s central valley vs. the middle of one of the world’s great cities, if not the greatest? It would be no contest. If I were in your shoes UCD would have to have an extreme advantage over Columbia, although in my case, as a California resident, the cost difference would be huge, and just that sort of incentive.
I found the professors to be extremely accessible. I am still in touch with two of them. If the class has a teaching assistant or a preceptor, this would be the first place to go if you are in trouble.
I do not know.
Yes, and I don’t know. There is insurance available through the school, and if you choose to avail yourself of it, it covers mental health professionals quite amply.
NYC is one of the safest places to live in the United States. The campus and immediate environs are very much so.
It is very easy to find apartments near Columbia. During my education there and for a few years thereafter, I rented in the neighborhood. Though it is easy, it is by no means cheap. You probably won’t get a 1BR for less than $1200 per month. If you don’t mind roommates, you can cut this cost down substantially.
The community is there if you want it. I didn’t, so I can’t speak much from experience. There are a lot of clubs. But the truth is, you are in the middle of NYC. You can have any experience you want.
The best deal I ever got was around 2001, when I paid $1500 for a railroad 2BR. Terrible apartment, great deal.
Asking whether it was “worth it” is probably not very informative. What are you looking to get out of the experience? Then perhaps we can help assess whether you will get what you are looking for.
If it makes a difference, I was enormously happy and I feel I received a great deal of value from my education.
I eventually want to go to graduate school and get a PhD in Biological Anthropology. I plan on teaching or doing research and I probably will not be making a lot of money for a while.
I am worried that taking out loans for undergraduate will cause me problems later in life. Davis has given me a very nice offer where they are covering all my books and tuition and giving me $850/month spending money to use for whatever for the first year. I expect to get a good portion of the second year covered as well. I anticipate graduating from Davis with no debt or just a few K of pell grants which don’t gain any interest until 6 months after final graduation (I can carry them through grad school).
Columbia is a higher ranked school but it also costs three times more. I am still waiting on financial aid information so I don’t know what type of package they are offering. I need to decide by the 31st and I might not know the package until close to that date which is why I am trying to learn as much as I can about Columbia now. Right now, I am thinking that I don’t want to take out more than 10k in loans to finance undergrad but if I hear from a lot of people saying that they took out up to 20k in loans and think a Columbia education is worth that debt, then I will give more weight to Columbia.
Columbia College, Class of 1993, and Columbia School of Public Health (P&S Campus), Master’s in 1997. Columbia is awesome and the city is awesome. In addition to the great neighborhood around the campus, you have access to all the greatness that is NYC. I lived on campus all four years of undergrad (when I was there, about 95% of the students lived on campus) and for my first semester of my Master’s program (I was way uptown and hated it - then I got an apartment on 110th and like it much better except that it was a total dump and was very expensive).
The professors are accessible. You will also have access to TA’s for some of the bigger classes like chemistry and biology. The health services are really great as well. There are also a lot of peer support groups that may be helpful depending on your situation.
I played volleyball when I was there so I spent a lot of time doing campus activities. I also spent a lot of time doing things around the city. If you go there, I recommend spending at least one summer on campus (you don’t have to take classes to stay in the dorms for the summer) - it’s so much fun and you still get the security of the campus.
The campus is very safe and gated. You definitely get the feeling of a “campus” (as opposed to say NYU which feels much more like you are in the city).
I did not take out too much in loans for undergrad but I took out a lot for graduate school (a total of about $50K - $12K for undergrad and $38K for grad school). I’m still paying for it but it’s totally worth it. Columbia actually has a pretty generous financial aid policy which includes scholarships and work-study which can minimize the amount you need to borrow.