Columbia University
Responses from the Student Interview
From a student who identifies as Major: Chemical Engineering
Minor: None
Student Self Identifies as: Southeast Asian/Filipino Heterosexual Female
Summary
I’m in 180 Degrees Consulting, I’m in Women in Engineering, and a sorority.
Background
Gender Identity: Female
Race/Ethnicity: Southeast Asian/Filipino
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
High School Experience: Private international school in Manila, Philippines with a graduating class of about 70 students. The school had the IB program. There was a culture of going to college in the U.S., U.K., and Australia.
First-Generation College Student: No
Major: Chemical Engineering
Minor: None
Extracurricular Activities: I’m in 180 Degrees Consulting, I’m in Women in Engineering, and a sorority.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience?
I get a lot of my social life from my sorority. It also takes up a lot of my time because I’m in a lot of roles within that sorority. It also helps me interact with people outside of Columbia, like people at NYU, as well.
Academic Experience
Can you describe your weekly coursework for your major?
We have weekly or biweekly problem sets with a quiz on the weeks where there are no problem sets. On average, we have two midterms per class and a final.
Is there anything that you feel your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
Generally, I don’t think it’s a great department. The professors can be hit or miss, this year the first semester I had great professors but this semester I didn’t. They do hold a lot of career fairs and there are research opportunities if you look for them. The coursework is very theoretical and I don’t see much application to industry. There is more of a focus on getting your Masters or Ph. D. after school and there isn’t a lot of support if you are looking for jobs outside of chemical engineering.
How would you describe the learning environment? Is it particularly competitive or collaborative?
It’s a little collaborative but there are elements of competitiveness because we’re graded on a curve. For major grades, like exams, it isn’t very collaborative but for problem sets, which aren’t graded on a curve, it is more collaborative. I’ll work on a problem set with somebody but probably wouldn’t study for an exam together.
How accessible are your professors?
They hold office hours so they’re pretty accessible then. Some of them also respond to emails fairly quickly.
What has been your favorite class you’ve taken for your major?
There was an analysis class which took chemical engineering problems and we learned how to solve them on Excel and Python. It was interesting and I could see how it would be useful for a lot of other classes and also helpful outside of chemical engineering.
How was transitioning academically from your school in Manila to Columbia? Were there any resources or systems in place that helped you adapt?
There are office hours and tutoring available if you take the initiative to go look for it. I thought the transition was fine. The fact my school was on the IB program helped a lot. But, there was definitely a gap in the level of difficulty from the work in high school to the work in college. It got much harder.
Why did you pick your major? Are you happy with your choice?
So far, I’m not that happy with my choice of major but I couldn’t find something else that I would prefer. I picked Chemical Engineering because I wanted to go into the chemical engineering industry at first and I thought that this was the most interesting out of all the engineering fields available. I also thought that it would require the least amount of physics, which was false.
Reasons to Attend
1) The diversity of people you meet, both professors and students. [About 65% of all faculty members are White and 56% are male. About 57% of domestic students in the Class of 2022 are White.]
2) The location is great if you want things to do on the weekends both on and off-campus.
3) There are clubs and interest groups for everyone, you just have to go look for it.
4) For pre-professional development, I think Columbia is a good balance because it’s not all about professional development but also it supports you with that.
Reasons Not to Attend
1) New York is not for everyone. It can be a con because it really influences your college life.
2) The Core Requirements are a pretty big deal, so it’s definitely something to consider when deciding. You have to decide if you want to take all of the core classes.
3) I don’t think there’s a lot of support for international students.
Around Campus
Where have you lived on and around campus?
Freshman: John Jay Hall in a single.
Sophomore: Schapiro Hall in a walk-through double, so I had my own room.
Junior: Schapiro Hall in a single
What was your favorite living situation?
Probably the single I’m in right now. I like the building and like having a single a lot.
How was transitioning from Manila to the Morningside Heights neighborhood of New York?
I like New York a lot. There’s a lot more to do, so I adjusted fairly quickly. I did have trouble with the weather adjustment, but I got used to it eventually.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
It’s generally safe. There’s public safety everywhere. We do get emails every now and then about incidents but that doesn’t really affect me.
Social Opportunities
What kind of nightlife or weekend activities do you like to participate in?
I generally like to go downtown and eat out or hang out with friends. We like to go to museums during the day. In terms of nightlife, we go to frat parties in bars, off-campus apartments, or suites. I usually go out Thursday and either Friday or Saturday, but not every week, I go out about two times a month.
What is the impact of Greek life on nightlife?
I think it gives you an option but it doesn’t restrict you from other things. It’s not the only option, so you don’t have to be in Greek life to have an active nightlife. Some people who are not in Greek life can go to the Greek life parties that are open to everyone. But, there are more Greek life parties that are closed to just people in Greek life than parties that are open to everyone.
What’s an alternative to going to a party or a bar that you like for a night out?
I like to go to the city, visit NYU, or go see a movie. There are a lot of things to do.
How happy are you with the weekend activities or nightlife at your school? Is there anything you would change if you could?
I’m pretty happy with them. You have to balance all of that with your workload. I have a pretty tough workload because of my major.
Campus Culture
How did you meet your closest friends?
Through freshman year orientation and my sorority.
How would you describe the overall social scene at Columbia?
I think there’s something for everyone. It’s pretty diverse so there’s a group for everyone. Sometimes you have to put in the effort to find your social scene. Freshman year it’s not as hard to find your group, but after freshman year you have to look a little harder to find your group. I think that’s just because freshman year everybody is making their friends but after people have settled into their friend groups.
To what extent do people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
To a large extent. It’s pretty common to see diverse groups of friends.
To what extent do international students and domestic students mix socially?
Not that much. I personally mix more with domestic students than international students. But, generally, I think international students tend to stick to themselves.
Were there any parts of Columbia or American university overall that surprised you?
No, I think this is generally what I expected it to be. I was expecting a bigger proportion of international students to be part of the group I met day to day. Other than that, not much surprised me. [About 16% of the Class of 2022 were international students.]
To what extent do people in Greek life and not in Greek life mix socially?
To a large extent. People in Greek life aren’t all about Greek life. Some of my friends are from Greek life but I have close friends who aren’t in it, and I think I could say that about the majority of people in my sorority.
How do you like the size of Columbia in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How has it impacted your experience? [There are about 8,900 undergraduates.]
I think it’s a good size in that I run into the people I know fairly often but it doesn’t feel like I know everyone.
How would you describe the Southeast Asian community? How strong is it?
It’s very small. Generally, they take like two or three people from the Philippines every year. I tend to stick more with domestic people. I do know people who are also from the Philippines, but I don’t know many other people from other countries in Southeast Asia.
Careers
Has the alumni network helped you find internships or jobs?
The alumni network in Manila specifically helped me find my freshman year internship. I reached out to one of them and they patched me through to someone.
To what extent have you used the career office? How helpful have they been?
I’ve used them for interview prep, resume checks, and cover letter checks. They’ve been pretty helpful.
Have you learned any computer programs or languages through your coursework that will be helpful to you professionally?
I learned Excel and Python through a chemical engineering class. Also, engineers are required to take a Python class, so that’ll be helpful in the future.