Columbia University in the City of New York

Date: Jul 31 2013
Major: English (This Major's Salary over time)
CU is superb but not user-friendly. To be successful there, as in New York generally, one has to be focused, sharp, alert, and goal-oriented. You have to know what you want and be determined to find it. The administration is enormous and bloated, and, as one finds often when intellectually brilliant people predominate, common sense and ordinary courtesy are often lacking. The academics, however, along with the sense of place, the history, the facilities and the opportunities—to say nothing of the City of New York itself—are unbeatable. It is worth attending but one should recognise that there will be no hand-holding; on the contrary, the system will often seek to thwart you.