Columbia University in the City of New York Reviews

"The best part of my program, the M.S. Journalism program at Columbia University, is pushing you into the field to practice, learn, gain experience, and improve yourself to be a better journalist. The program does not only stay in the textbook, or case studies, or lectures, but instead it forced you to do your reporting in the New York City, like a mother eagle that pushes her babies off a tree and forces them to fly. Every class is like a newsroom -- you have the great, experienced, and probably Pulitzer-winner professors as your editors/producers, and more importantly, your instructors and mentors. When you get confused or you want to seek help from them, they are always there providing professional suggestions, guiding you to the better path."

"The administration leaves some things to be desired and disorganization is not uncommon so you need to really take initiative and pester people especially for things like financial aid. The gender balance is heavily skewed but the diversity of race, socioeconomic, ethnicity, etc. is pretty good. The campus isn't really a campus, it's just a few buildings and New York Presbyterian."

"It is a very diverse master's, and also very demanding as well. However I have not found enough student financial aid."

"Columbia is a wonderful place to get the best of both a college experience and the experience of living in New York City. There are good reasons beside the prestige of the school that it's so hard to get into."

"There's no getting around it, New York City is expensive. However, the close-knit, supportive community the program fosters made it a wonderful and enriching academic experience. The faculty are just as passionate about the subject matter as they are teaching, continually going above and beyond to help the student's find success. The quality of the courses and workload varies significantly from professor to professor, however the program actively seeks out feedback from the student's and makes appropriate changes accordingly. Communications from the program can be un-timely and disjointed at times, but that is nothing that a simple email cannot handle. Overall, I am more than satisfied with the academic preparation I have received and the community I have become a welcomed part of."

"Columbia's name precedes it so I can't say anything negative about the value. Generally, classes are interesting and challenging and they have a huge faculty base. The administration could be a little bit more organized though. They keep accepting more students than they can actually handle. It just seems like they are greedy. They then try to blame the students when there are required seminars and people have to sit in the aisles. The student body is fairly diverse although there are much more women than men in the program. The area does not have a lot going on so if you want to have fun, generally hop on the express train downtown. Housing in NYC is expensive but Washington Heights is cheaper than a lot of places."

"Highly competitive and excellent program. Cost of living in Morningside is very high."

"My graduate program at Columbia University is currently training the future of public health, on a national and global level. This is a top notch program. Although it is one of the best public health programs in the country, the financial aspect is difficult."

"Columbia University's MPH program is one of the most advanced in the country. The only problem is the housing situation; it's expensive."

"Columbia offers a very theoretical approach to CS which is great since it allows students to be able to learn skills that won't be outdated. However, they should allocate some time especially for more industry driven classes to work and learn with some of the tools we would use at work. Overall, the best courses to take are those in the 6000 range. They provide the best bang for your buck and are immensely interesting."

"The Bioethics MS program at Columbia University offers a comprehensive and in depth study in the area of Bioethics. The program provides introductory and advanced courses in areas scubas clinical and research ethics. It provides a strong foundation for students seeking employment in practical ethics. It is an essential program for anyone considering a career in Medicine, Nursing, Law, or the Humanities."

"The program and courses are challenging and interesting when discussions are promoted. The student body is quite diverse with people from not only all over the US, but all over the world too. Washington Heights is quite dull and the campus is extremely small. If you want to enjoy the city, you should go downtown. The campus is off an express line that runs all night and right into Brooklyn -- all the way to JFK. Career services has a good website with a lot of regular postings. The program itself is extremely expensive. Sometimes I wish I did the accelerated program to save money."

"I had a great experience. Most professors and courses are fantastic. The clubs and events including study trips abroad are really exceptional. The career management center was not very helpful for international students seeking opportunities in the US."

"I found Columbia challenging, but I loved it. Going to college in New York provided an invaluable set of experiences, academic and otherwise. Columbia also has a strong history of students committed to social justice, and I met a lot of incredible, passionate, brilliant people there."

"An intense and comprehensive program with students from diverse backgrounds. Program quality can be improved by making stronger connections between the economic, financial and managerial tenets and actual public polices. For instance, coursework should include an examination of how economics, data analysis and sociopolitical climate influenced the criteria for food stamp recipients."

"Columbia Business School provided the ideal combination of academic rigor, career guidance, and community support that I had hoped for in my MBA experience. I have nothing but glowing things to say about the school, professors, administrators, students and alumni and am honored and humbled to be a part of this amazing network of business leaders."

"Scholarships and grants on behalf of Columbia University are unbelievably meager. They award plenty of loans, but fail to disperse grant money to competitive candidates. The prestige and rigorous coursework makes the program a stellar and highly coveted one."

"Pros: lots of hands on work, well known for name, good alumni network, lots of support (peers and faculty), great writing center Cons: professors who don't really know how to teach material albeit knowledgeable in the field, irrelevant field placements at times and incompetent field instructors during other times"

"Pros: It is a great program with lots of opportunity and a good network for finding jobs, research. Cons: It's only a year so hard to make as strong of connections with people and work is really fast-paced."

"Columbia is in the city, which is a pro to me because you get to be out in the real world and see real people everyday. They have an excellent social work program that pushes their students to try their best. No specific cons, because I love the school."