Columbia University
Responses from the Student Interview
From a student who identifies as Major: Psychology
Minor: None
Student Self Identifies as: Black and White Heterosexual Female
Summary
I am in a sorority, I’m part of a Women’s business organization, and I’m a resident advisor.
Background
Gender Identity: Female
Race/Ethnicity: Biracial: Black and White
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
High School Experience: Public school in Houston, TX with a graduating class of about 1,000 students. There was a culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: Yes
Major: Psychology
Minor: None
Extracurricular Activities: I am in a sorority, I’m part of a Women’s business organization, and I’m a resident advisor.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience? In what ways?
Being an R.A. has for sure. My sorority hasn’t just because Greek life isn’t a large percentage of the school, so it’s not that big of a deal. [About 30% of students are involved in Greek life.]
Academic Experience
Can you describe your weekly coursework for your major?
For my Psychology classes, we’re graded on two midterms and a final and sometimes group projects and presentations. We have readings we’re supposed to do every week but we’re not tested on them. We also don’t have problem sets or anything like that.
Is there anything that you feel either of your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
In terms of poorly, it wasn’t very clear on when I was supposed to take certain requirements. Last semester I was going through the major requirements and realized that there was this one course that I was supposed to take the fall of junior year or the end of sophomore year, but I didn’t know that was the time period to take it so I’m just taking it now. Other than that, the department doesn’t have a huge presence in your academic life. They have get-togethers every once in a while where you can go meet the professors and learn about classes, but I haven’t heard about too many people who actually go to those.
How would you describe the learning environment? Is it particularly competitive or collaborative?
It depends on the course, but in Psychology, I would say it’s a little more collaborative. In my Psychology courses this semester, one has a group project and the other has a group project and presentation. That’s where the more collaborative side comes in. The other Psychology courses I’ve taken are intro-level and more lecture-based. Overall, Psychology is more collaborative than Columbia as a whole. For Columbia as a whole, I wouldn’t use the word competitive, but I would say stressful. Most people aren’t competitive with each other, they’re just competitive with themselves. You’ll see your friend or someone you know studying in the library all day and pulling all-nighters, and then you think you should be pulling all-nighters and studying that hard. A lot of people get sucked into that and stress themselves out a lot. It also depends on your major because there are courses at Columbia that are unnecessarily difficult and there are courses that are graded on a curve. [See Columbia Spectator article, “Mental health town hall focuses on intersection of academics and well-being.”]
How accessible are your professors?
Pretty accessible. They all have office hours you can go to and, depending on the course, there are TA’s. The professors are usually open to meeting with you and talking.
Why did you pick your major? Are you happy with your choice?
I was all over the place. I started Neuroscience, then went to Economics, to Political Science, and then Psychology. At first, especially being a first-generation student, I was thinking about what would set me up for the best sort of financial situation when I come out of it. But, I quickly got over that and realized I should just pick something that I’m interested in. I felt that Psychology was an interesting thing to learn about because it’s about your brain, how you work, and how you interact with people, so that’s why I chose it. Overall, I’m pretty happy with it. I don’t intend to do anything with it in terms of going into research or therapy, but it’s interesting to learn about.
How was transitioning academically as a first-generation college student?
In general, the transition wasn’t too bad. For some of Columbia’s Core classes, you’ll be reading The Iliad or Dante’s Inferno, and there are students who went to private schools and have already read all of those books and been in the discussion-style classes that classes are in, so not being used to that is a disadvantage. I wasn’t used to that and had never read books like that with Old English.
In terms of resources, it depends because there is a program called ASP where they select a certain group of students who are either first-gen or low-income to participate. You get to take some intro courses during the summer and get acclimated, but it’s not a very big program. I wasn’t part of it but had some friends who did it. Outside of that, there is a club called the First-Generation Low Income Partnership, which is a club you can join.
Reasons to Attend
1) There’s a lot of opportunities not only with academics and getting to learn something new but also in terms of internships and getting to work in different jobs.
2) You are in New York, so if you take the time to go downtown you could run into the most random celebrity or the most promoted Broadway show.
Reasons Not to Attend
1) The stress culture here. It’s a really big thing and has been a topic on campus. [See Columbia Spectator article, “Students look to University to deliver on long-awaited mental health reforms” and article, “Mental health town hall focuses on intersection of academics and well-being.”]
2) The campus isn’t very wheelchair accessible.
Around Campus
Where have you lived on campus?
Freshman: Carman Hall with one roommate and two suitemates.
Sophomore & Junior: I lived in Carman as a Resident Advisor, so I had a single both years.
How was transitioning from Houston, TX to the Morningside Heights neighborhood of New York City?
It was fine. Columbia is in New York, but we have our own Columbia bubble that people don’t really go outside of. Especially depending on what you’re interested in and your socioeconomic status, you might go downtown more. But, for the most part, people just stay up here so it wasn’t a big culture shock. The only difference was the campus here is very liberal and Texas is not.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
It’s really safe. It’s one of the safest regions of Manhattan. We get emails about crimes happening around the campus and we have the blue light system on campus. Recently, there has been a backlash against public safety because there was an incident with a student who they profiled which is really bad. Other than that, it’s really safe. People leave their stuff around campus and nothing gets stolen.
Social Opportunities
What kind of nightlife or weekend activities do you like to participate in?
Sometimes I have mixers with my sorority and one of the other frats on campus, but I don’t go to those too often. There are student bars that are around campus that I like to go to, or I just like to hang out with friends in a lounge on campus.
What nights of the week do you regularly go out?
In general, people go out Thursday, Friday, or Saturday because pretty much nobody has class on Friday. Next year as a senior, Wednesday will be a big night because we have senior night at the local bar. There’s no preference in terms of what we do on certain nights.
What is the impact of Greek life on nightlife?
It’s not that significant unless a frat is having a party. If a frat is having a party, especially in the beginning of the semester, a lot of people will go there because they’re hosting something. The brownstones in New York that Greek life people live in are very small, so most people tend to go to our senior dorms to party. We have two days in the year where Greek life plays a huge role, Spring Fling and Homecoming, because they’re the only people who hold the day parties in their backyards so everyone will go there.
Is there any exclusivity with the Greek events?
A lot of the times they’ll have a mixer with another sorority and then it opens up to the public. In general, it’s not too hard to get into a frat party because they’re Columbia frats and don’t have that much clout. Sometimes they’ll be more selective if the party is getting full or if they just got off probation and there’s a guest list, but even then, you can still figure it out. For the most part, it’s not exclusive and you can just show up and get in.
What is an alternative to going to a party or going downtown that you like for a night out?
My friends and I don’t go downtown that often because it’s a hassle to get everyone all the way downtown and also doing something in downtown New York is usually expensive. There re things that go on on-campus, but we don’t go to those. Usually, we’ll just hang out and do our own thing.
How happy are you with the weekend activities or nightlife at your school? Is there anything you would change if you could?
It’s sufficient I guess. I wish there were more options for us and also more places close to campus that aren’t your typical student bar. There used to be a place where you could go and dance, and I wish we still had that. Other than that, the bars are pretty much fine.
Campus Culture
How did you meet your closest friends?
One of them was my suitemate from freshman year, one was through my sorority, and the other was the girl I met through my sorority’s freshman roommate. The last person I actually met on the subway during our New Student Orientation Program (NSOP).
How would you describe the overall social scene at Columbia?
It’s not really cohesive in general. People don’t go to Columbia activities, whether that’s sports games or performances on campus unless your friend’s in it. You mainly meet people through clubs, Greek life, and your freshman year hall. At Columbia, your freshman year hall is a big thing especially if you live in Carman because that’s a really social dorm.
To what extent do people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
Pretty frequently, in general. What I’ve found is if people are in affinity groups, such as the Black Students’ Organization, some people will make that their whole life and only have Black friends while others will be spread out and have friends all over the place. Also, the clubs that are racially focused aren’t really big, so I think that speaks to people being more integrated.
How would you describe the Black community on campus? How strong is it?
It is very strong in the sense that there is a sense of kinship with your fellow Black students on campus. In terms of the Black Students’ Organization, there are people who are a part of it and it’s a place people know they can always go, but not a place that people make the focal point of their lives. Overall, it’s not super tight-knit, but you definitely know people within the community.
To what extent do people in Greek life and not in Greek life mix socially?
Pretty often. In terms of Panhellenic sororities, people’s friend groups are usually mixed with people in and out of the organization. Fraternities are a little different because they’re much smaller, so they’re more tight-knit. A lot of their closest friends, especially when they first join, they’re closest friends will be in the fraternity.
What impact does being in Manhattan have on the social experience?
I think it’s nice. You can always find something if you really want downtown or in Midtown or something. It’s just a train ride away. You just have to organize and do it. I wouldn’t say I do it too much because people don’t go downtown that often. It’s nice to know that that’s an outlet whether you want to go ice skating, to a Broadway show, or some crazy restaurant.
Careers
Has the alumni network helped you find internships or jobs?
The alumni network of my sorority has but not Columbia’s alumni network.
To what extent have you used the career office? How helpful have they been?
The career center is very good. I used it the summer after my freshman year to review my resume and help me with that. They were really quick about getting an appointment, but it was also over the summer I stayed here and worked on campus. They were really helpful in telling me exactly what I needed to do and walked me through the steps of what was wrong. They also have other resources like career fairs and a closet where you can rent an outfit for an interview.
Have you learned any computer programs or languages through your coursework that will be helpful to you professionally?
I’m learning R in one of my Psychology courses this semester. It’s not super helpful for us because you read the instructions and it’s already set up, so you just press a button and run the code. You can take the time to learn what it actually does, but most people just do it and move on with it.
Financial Aid
Have you used financial aid? If so, how easy is the office to work with?
Before I came to Columbia, they were pretty responsive. However, it did take them a while because I didn’t get my finalized financial aid package until my first day of school, while most people got theirs way ahead of time. A lot of the issues are due to a lack of communication in terms of the documents you need to provide. For the most part, if you email them or call them, they’re super helpful in talking with you about what you have questions about or what you need. In my experience, it’s been pretty good.