Click here to go to the NEW College Discussion Forum

Hey guys, how's everyone today? I'm just curious -- who's starting Columbia next year as a freshman, who's almost more excited about living in NY than the rest of college. Is everyone here looking forward to going to clubs (I know some people at NYU who literally go every weekend), and bars in the village and stuff. I'm sure there are tons of parties at Columbia, where one can get appreciably drunk, but what about going out into the city.

I'm having so many apprehensive thoughts now about going to a school with Columbia's caliber. I mean, I tried so little in high school because it just didn't seem worth it to stress myself out. Until April 1st, I wanted to go to the University of Colorado in Boulder, because it seemed like so much fun! Or UMiami, or something like that. But then my guidance counselor was like, well you should apply to ivy leagues (and other schools with equivalent prestige and academics), so I did. I never though I would get into a place like Harvard, Brown, Stanford or Columbia (where I ultimately chose), but then they all took me, and I was prepared to go to Boulder! (I'm not even kidding; sorry, I know it sounds pathetic). But now I'm so scared, because I've never worked hard in my life, and I'm much more of a party person than I am into studying. Does anyone else feel this way. Can anyone please alleviate my fears? I've never posted anything like this before, because I thought everyone would just think I'm an idiot, but I don't even care anymore, so I'm just posting it.

Well, I hope someone can make me feel better. =(

By Number9 (Number9) on Wednesday, June 09, 2004 - 05:47 pm: Edit

I'm really curious to see your stats, if you have them around, could you show them to me? As one wanting to get in next year, I like to see who gets in and such...

Well if you can get accepted to HBSC without trying hard, you're probably very smart. I wouldn't worry too much, but I think you'll still have to work a little harder than you're used to...I really don't see the problem, you've gotten in, and thats half the battle. Just make sure you don't flunk out!

By Blah1111 (Blah1111) on Wednesday, June 09, 2004 - 06:09 pm: Edit

You're like many high achieving seniors. I can empathize, and am pretty sure that things will fall into place at college.

By Cadence (Cadence) on Wednesday, June 09, 2004 - 06:42 pm: Edit

Hi Number 9,

I really don't think I'm that smart. I'm just a very good test taker. I didn't even take all the honors and AP classes in school. Actually, I never even took an honors history course. And I didn't take honors english freshman and soph year. LOL. I know everyone says I'm an underachiever. I'm not sure if that's true though.

As for stats, well, hmm.. I got 1570 (by luck) on the SAT, but that's just because I got 800 on the math. (I'm good at math and science). I took 4 SAT IIs: chem, physics, writing, and math 2C. I got 800's on physics and math, 780 on chem, and 760 on writing (I was really luck with writing). I don't know if you want to know about anything else. Tell me if you do.

I really have no clue why I got into those schools. I did other stuff like student government, a bunch of clubs, and stuff like that. I really don't know! Everytime I think about it, I'm just bedazzled. It makes no sense. I better not flunk out. I think I might invest in a planner and some time to actually study. Hehe. We'll see what happens.

By Ruku320 (Ruku320) on Wednesday, June 09, 2004 - 07:18 pm: Edit

Hey Cadence, I'll be at SEAS next year. I don't really feel anything specific right now, I don't think its really hit me yet that I'm gonna be living in NYC in a few more months. As for the clubs and stuff, I'm not a party person so I don't think I'm gonna be really into that.

As for your fears about work, I don't really know what to say. You've managed to make it in and I'm sure you'll be able to manage it all if you choose to do so.

By Soulofheaven8 (Soulofheaven8) on Wednesday, June 09, 2004 - 08:02 pm: Edit

Living in the suburbs of NYC right now, the move into the city does not intimidate me too much. But the academics are certainly making me a little nervous. I feel like I tried my hardest in high school and yet there are many things I don't get, so I wonder how that translates next year.

But we'll probably make it through ok if we just continue to put forth 100%. If there were doubts about our academic aptitude we probably wouldn't have been admitted in the first place.

By Cadence (Cadence) on Wednesday, June 09, 2004 - 09:07 pm: Edit

But the thing is Soulofheaven8, I put like, 25% in... and I'm scared I can't push myself more, because I'm so used to being lazy. Haha. I can't even imagine spending a friday or saturday night when I'm not sick (I get sick a lot - but then I just sleep) doing work. This, I fear, does not bode well for Columbia. =(

By Edmoney (Edmoney) on Wednesday, June 09, 2004 - 09:45 pm: Edit

Cadence, I've decided that I don't believe you. If I did, I would feel far too inferior.

By Nabo (Nabo) on Wednesday, June 09, 2004 - 10:27 pm: Edit

As you reach towards a book, one of those great tomes of literature, is your whole body overcome with a sluggish torpor and an inescapable ennui? If someone began to explain some esoteric scientific idea, do your eyes begin to focus on an unspecified point several meters behind his head due an utter lack of interest?

If you have lost any desire to learn in general, I suspect, irrespective of your ability, you will be doomed. However, if you do actually like to expand your mind, man, [not in that way!], then I believe you will do a dandy job.

Here's how I break down the actual workload:
3:30 hours of class a day, Monday through Friday, assuming an 18ish credit load per semester.

From hearsay from Columbia kids I know, unless you are really dimwitted or a pathlogical overachiever [i doubt you are either], you'll have 3-5 hours of work every day depending on your courseload.

I know a handful of students who put the extra hours in during the week, and have the whole weekend off [including all of Friday if they get a groovy schedule]. Others do alot during the weekend. You just find a style suitable to your needs.

However, the huge distinction between high school and Columbia is that the vast majority of your work will no longer be mindnumbing repetition, but truly engaging and fun.

Although I am an entering freshman into Columbia College, I have taken a few courses there over the years. Although I could have really gotten away with blowing off the reading lists and other homework, most of the subject was interesting, I found myself wanting to read more and more. But there was always time to party. [mostly on the weekends, mind you, as being completely zonked out for a morning class is no fun]

All in all, I wouldn't worry about flunking out.
You may have to learn some study habits, but the whole experience won't be like the factory work at high school. The total time spent on studying and classes will be about equal to how time is spent [or as i feel, wasted] in high school. 8 hours a day of work, 8 hours a day of play, and 8 hours of recuperation for the next day. Seems like a good deal to me.

If you can't anyone to go out for the night [which I truly doubt], I, for one, am more than willing.

By Elleneast (Elleneast) on Thursday, June 10, 2004 - 12:43 pm: Edit

Nabo-
You, my friend, sound like the perfect Columbia student. Have a great year.

By Cadence (Cadence) on Thursday, June 10, 2004 - 01:59 pm: Edit

Edmoney -- what don't you believe?

Nabo -- 3-5 hours of work a day is crazy! You better bet I'll chill with you. What's your name?

By Edmoney (Edmoney) on Thursday, June 10, 2004 - 04:34 pm: Edit

It would be funny if his name is Nabo.

eight hours for work, eight hours for rest, and eight hours for what we will

I don't believe that you only put forth 25%.

By Cadence (Cadence) on Thursday, June 10, 2004 - 04:48 pm: Edit

I can't believe I'm bored enough to keep coming back to this page. I've literally been on the phone or on this website all afternoon. I'm so addicted! lol. And I really did put in 25%. Seriously... if you look at the classes I took, no honors history ever, 2 years of regular English. And math and science are easy so they're not much work. I don't know, I just didn't try much. Oh well... if you want I'll say 35% haha.

By Invalidusername (Invalidusername) on Thursday, June 10, 2004 - 05:19 pm: Edit

for me, college will be my proving ground--i can talk all i want about how i didn't fulfill my potential in HS and how I'll do much better in college, and how my HS GPA doesn't reflect my abilities, but this is it. all that talk will be worth nothing if I don't succeed in college--it will mean my test scores are just a fluke. because of this pressure to prove myself, i almost feel like i MUST atone for my high school sins by doing well in college. columbia was one of the few schools to give a slacker like me a chance, and i hope to god i don't abuse or waste it.

one thing that few of us should be afraid of is failing. luckily, columbia is one of those grade-inflated ivy leagues that fails virtually no one. in 4 years, as long as we keep up with the payments, most of us will have shiny diplomas that will say "Columbia College- Columbia University" on them! so no need to fear!

By Godis (Godis) on Thursday, June 10, 2004 - 05:51 pm: Edit

you should also keep in mind that you might stay the way you are and slack off there too.

By Soulofheaven8 (Soulofheaven8) on Thursday, June 10, 2004 - 06:22 pm: Edit

And I don't wanna graduate with a 2.5 GPA either.

By Invalidusername (Invalidusername) on Thursday, June 10, 2004 - 06:30 pm: Edit

"you should also keep in mind that you might stay the way you are and slack off there too. "

hence, the whole point of my post. cf:

"all that talk will be worth nothing if I don't succeed in college--it will mean my test scores are just a fluke. because of this pressure to prove myself, i almost feel like i MUST atone for my high school sins by doing well in college. columbia was one of the few schools to give a slacker like me a chance, and i hope to god i don't abuse or waste it. "

By Nabo (Nabo) on Thursday, June 10, 2004 - 06:44 pm: Edit

My email is jpb2106@columbia.edu

As jpb refer to the initials of my full name, the widespread speculation and rumor of the authenticity of the Nabo pseudonymn can finally stop. Any attempt to refer to me as Nabo outside of this forum is malicious slander and has no basis in my real identity. If the winds shall carry such an utterance from your lips [as dainty as they are] i will be forced to prosecute you to the full extent of the law or if that scenario is not possible, give you a good paddywhacking.

As to specifics of actual lettering on my birth cetificate, you can either

send me an email and perhaps we could meet up to do something fun at Columbia

or you can

use my CUID number [jpb2106] to track which classes i'm taking next semester. Then, you firebomb one of my classes on the assumption that i will be present. Then, you look in the newspaper for obituaries and try to match J P B will someone who recently died on Columbia campus. [you may have to pursue this multiple times, in case i didnt show, but if you truly are a raving lunatic, the extra deaths {truly for a noble cause, i promise you} will be justified]

If you are truly lazy, the second option may not appeal to as much as it will require a sizable portion of time to plan and execute [unless you are already familiar with ballistics and pyrotechnics]. Consequently, I would suggest the first option. However, I don't know you [unless you give me a chance! {subtle suggestion}], so you only alone should carefully weigh your options and make an informed choice that will best suit your needs. Remember such abstract and often arbitrary judgements, like prestige, are often the least meaningful criteria down the road. [even if you desire to engage in "violent dissent" as a career option {you have so much more time ahead of you to commit far more atrocious and grandiose acts against humanity, so there is no rush}]

[yes, i am rambling and [as you may have suspected] i am bored. Although, i am not usually this way, this rare appearance of my repressed ill-fated imagination may provide a good indicator of my more psychological abnormal thought patterns that I am able to hide under the cloak of anonymity in cyberspace.]

By Cadence (Cadence) on Thursday, June 10, 2004 - 08:31 pm: Edit

I really am addicted to this freaking site! Haha. Another way to determine identities. Put a CUID into the Columbia people search, and voila. I won't be any more concrete; I imagine we're all smart enough to figure out what I'm talking about. lol.

Yes, this is why I was accepted to all these colleges. I can determine who one is based on an email address. Oh baby, I'm that totally smart!

However, there is a catch. Anyone on here could find the email address of an incoming freshman and claim to be them. Thus, one's claim to anonymity is always valid through the lens of cyberspace - who knows if anything one posts is true! However, if one adds a filter of trust to the cyberspace paradigm, anonymity is only that easy with a known email address!

lol. I'm sooo pathetic. Sorry guys.

By Edmoney (Edmoney) on Thursday, June 10, 2004 - 09:15 pm: Edit

Well, I have to say that I'm a bit embarrassed...In spite the potential for anonymity, my name actually is Edward Money.

(...and I plan on naming my children Dirty, Laundered, and Cash)

By Nabo (Nabo) on Thursday, June 10, 2004 - 09:18 pm: Edit

You've foiled my master plot, miss. I randomly entered alphanumeric codes as cuid's until i finally got a match. I am actually a pasty white lecher who lurks in the dark corner of your room. yes'm, i'm watching your right now! [it just shows i care about you... *eye twitch* perhaps, a bit too much]

By Cadence (Cadence) on Thursday, June 10, 2004 - 09:22 pm: Edit

We're both ridiculously addicted, Nabo! But now I'm confused (I told you I'm really dumb) - that is your real email, right?

Haha. I should be going to Boulder.. not Columbia. lol.

By Nabo (Nabo) on Thursday, June 10, 2004 - 09:29 pm: Edit

yes, it's my real email. This site has treated me well in the past, kinda like a drug dealer offering the first hit for free. Unfortunately, i have been unable to break the habit.

By Cadence (Cadence) on Thursday, June 10, 2004 - 09:31 pm: Edit

Haha.. I've been waiting for a response from you, silly! I hope we get to be real friends at CoLuMbIa!! Maybe you can teach me a work ethic and I can drag (or at least take you with me) to parties. lol. j/k j/k.

Wow, I'm SOOO excited now.

By Nabo (Nabo) on Thursday, June 10, 2004 - 09:45 pm: Edit

I'm sure we're destined to be friends. Even if we never formally try to meet up, avenging chance will thrust me upon you. Perhaps, in a cliched melodramatic scene, I bump into you, knocking down your books. We both stoop down to pick them up, bumping our heads as non-descript, but moving music plays in the background. By the evening, we are starcrossed lovers in Paris. By the next day, we have eloped in the forest. By the end of the week, I have to leave for the war. You run after the train, arms raised, handkerchief blowing in the wind. And I blow you a kiss!

By Cadence (Cadence) on Thursday, June 10, 2004 - 09:58 pm: Edit

What order were your dorm requests? -- John Jay, Carmen, Furnald, Wallace?

By the way your little fantasy is quite romantic, although I was never one for blowing kisses. Haha. Are you doing any of those early programs (I'm not, but I'm just wondering anyway). What's your major and stuff?

by the way - I'm really enjoying our silly online convo. I must, though, get off CC already. lol~ I'm like watching music videos and checking this site perpetually.

On another note -- are you doing anything fun tomorrow night? Haha, okay now I'm just babbling on.

ttyl.

By Nabo (Nabo) on Thursday, June 10, 2004 - 10:11 pm: Edit

The order you spelled them out was my order: JJ, Carmen, Furnald, Wallace. If you are as cool as I have you envisioned in my mind, we could always trade around rooms until we end up together in perpetual lovey-dovey bliss.

Major: i'm a weirdo who actually enjoys learning everything, so I'm considering the 3-2 program. As i have it planned out in my head, I'll get a BA in Philosophy/Econ and a BS in Applied Physics out of Fu.

Tomorrow night? that's a really long time from now, so i dont have any formal plans at the moment. Tomorrow, I might.

By Cadence (Cadence) on Thursday, June 10, 2004 - 10:31 pm: Edit

Haha. I feel like such a loser on this board! Oh well - I guess that makes 2 of us.

That was my dorm order as well! I purposefully didn't put Carmen first when I found out it was the "party dorm." Haha, a sad attempt to work on sobriety. Philsophy/Econ is so cool. I love math and science, and I bet I'd love econ. And My absolute favorite part of european history (even though it wasn't honors or AP :P) was Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, etc. I found that stuff fascinating. You're making me feel more Columbian.

Care to share a SN?

By Nabo (Nabo) on Thursday, June 10, 2004 - 10:44 pm: Edit

jonbadal --> aim

I didn't pick Carmen because I'm too greedy to share my room with a roommate. Or perhaps, out of the kindness of my heart, I will spare him my terrible personal habits and total lack of hygiene.

By Niacris (Niacris) on Saturday, June 12, 2004 - 11:06 pm: Edit

I'm sorry to kinda cut in on a conversation, but Cadence, I feel pretty connected to you, because I'm also one of those underachievers who likes to party, and who is intimidated by Columbia's workload. I did work hard the last year of high school though, even if my grades don't reflect it, lol, but never ever have I studied on a weekend night and I'm really hoping that I won't have to do that at Columbia. Also, living in SC for the past two years, even though I was probably lucky (I was going to a boarding school, but was surrounded by cool people and awesome college parties), I'm still really overwhelmed about living in the center of NYC. That's another reason why I'm afraid too spend too much time studying at Columbia. I know I must sound really silly to all people that are already there, and to everybody who is worried only about getting a good education, but maybe somebody feels or felt the same way as I do, wondering if it's possible to do well at Columbia both academicly and socially! I love going to dance clubs, I love having a lot of friends, and I like to party, but I don't want to flunk out either, and I don't really know anybody in NYC yet. Is it possible to succeed in Columbia academically and have a full NYC experience at the same time? Can somebody please alleviate my worries?Again, I'm sorry for possibly sounding shallow and silly, hopefully I'll get over it eventually

By Partygirl04 (Partygirl04) on Saturday, June 19, 2004 - 11:12 pm: Edit

Hi boys! I'm really glad someone else has similar concerns- I really felt like the only one.
Like I'll admit i'm a bad kid! I got kicked out of two boarding schools, I've had a fake since I was 17 and I come from a very party oriented city(cant say which one, might give away who i am later ;P) and I've literally gone out clubbing like 4 nights a week for the past year while holding down a 60 hr a week job.
Like I know how to balance a schedule pretty well(lots of naps) and I partied a lot at boarding school and still managed a 1510 on the SATs and a pretty good GPA but is it really going to be that much more intense? I go to barnard btw.
Like I want to change in college and as long as im interested in what i study it shouldnt be that hard but its just I'm a little overwhelmed, especially since I took a year off to do volunteer work. So Questions: How hard will it really be? and can i really party?

By Cadence (Cadence) on Sunday, June 20, 2004 - 01:49 pm: Edit

I hope so partygirl04. I can't imagine going to Columbia/Barnard and not going out clubbing in the city lol.

By Columbia07 (Columbia07) on Sunday, June 20, 2004 - 03:05 pm: Edit

hey guys, i'm going to be a soph at columbia next year...i stumbled upon this website while looking for info on med schools for a friend, and i thought that i'd chime in on this discussion.

don't worry. there is so much to do at columbia and in the city that you will have way too much to do rather than not enough. although you definitely have to put in some work in order to do well (if you're normal, i do know some crazy-smart kids who do basically nothing and pull excellent gpa's), the workload is definitely manageable. although this is just anecdotal stuff, i'll tell you a bit about myself so that you have some idea. i'm in seas, partied 3 nights a week (sometimes 2 depending on my job schedule), held down a 20 hr a week research job and studied probably 3 hrs a day on weekdays, 5 hrs a day on wkends, and pulled off a 3.6 last year.

that's just an example, but in my opinion it helps to have solid numbers to reassure yourself. there are so many bars/clubs/parties/events/concerts to go to and experience. alot of my friends are very similar, love to go out and party and have fun, but also do well in school. and for you kids who aren't big on partying, i also have many friends who i can call up to go to operas, plays, broadway shows, jazz clubs, etc. there's something for everyone in nyc. anyway, if you have any questions, either post them here or post your im/email and i'll get back to you.

i love columbia, there's no place i think that i'd be happier. i can't wait till summer's over and i can go back!

By Plumber (Plumber) on Sunday, July 18, 2004 - 02:51 am: Edit

Hi Cadence, if you were really a relaxed and easygoing partier as you think you are, then you wouldn't be worrying.

So, you'll probably do fine at Columbia.