Columbia College Chicago Top Questions

I love it. I love our motto: #LiveWhatYouLove

I love my school! All the classes teaches us how we can tie in what we learn towards our specific majors, whether it be fashion design, vocal performance, or film making. The class sizes aren't too large, so there's always the opportunity of being one on one with your professors. Plus all your professors in your specific major are actual successful beings in their lines of work.

I love Columbia, but it's definitely not for everyone. Having said that, a lot of people come to Columbia and end up dropping out. That's what happens to a school with open admissions. I love being in the city and the size of the school. I love a lot of my professors, but peers don't always have the highest work ethic or dedication to craft. It's a very special thing though to be in a class at Columbia full of excellent, hard-working creatives, and I wouldn't change this experience for anything. Columbia's main flaw is a lack of cohesion between departments, and though work is slowly done to amend this, there's really a lack of a single, unified student body. Not having a proper campus can be interesting, but it's not always ideal for these reasons.

I like the fact that this school offers a lot of classes and majors that traditonal schools do not. I also like that most classes are very hands on and project based. You will rarely find yourself seated in a lecture hall here. However I personally don't feel very challenged in my classes, at least so far in my first two semesters. Some unusal or untraditional things about Columbia is that there are no school colours, no sports, no mascot, and no actual campus. The campus is all over the city, which can be fun at times, but sometimes it is annoying when your classes are literally a mile apart. I would have to say the best part about Columbia is that it is right in the middle of the city of Chicago. There is a starbucks and dunkin' doughnuts on every corner along with people and oppertunites on every cornor.

Your experience at Columbia is what you make it. If you choose classes that are right for you and you're willing to dedicate long hours to your work, you will get a lot out of it. However, if you skate by at the minimum, it's not going to do you much good. I also think your experience here depends a lot on your major since each department is vastly different. You also have to be comfortable with spending a lot of time downtown. Columbia advertises its campus as being in "the heart of Chicago," but I think that's dramatizing it. There's not much around here besides Columbia buildings and chain restaurants. There are few places where you can go to hang out and meet other people (no quad, no real campus). Most school lounges are meant for people to pass time between classes and there's not much socialization. Living on campus can be very monotonous if you don't take the time to leave the South Loop. But again, that sort of stuff is what you make it. Most of the faculty here is amazing. You HAVE to use ratemyprofessor to make sure, though, because there are some terrible teachers. However, the good ones are so passionate about what they do and I've had teachers (specifically in the Fiction Department) that I would almost consider friends because they are so fun and down to earth in their teaching style. All in all, Columbia isn't for everybody. But if you're willing to put in the work and if the environment is something you're comfortable with, it can be a great school with some amazing resources such as internships and career opportunities.

My overall opinion of Columbia is that is the best school when it comes to networking. The location is amazing and the job fairs rock. When I tell people I attend Columbia College, the first hing they say is "Wow!! So you must be an art major or writer?" Well, they are partially correct, I am pursuing my BA in Fiction Writing. The main thing to appreciate about Columbia is the class sizes. It is a better learning experience to have an intimate group of 15 or less than a lecture hall and not having the teacher recognize you.

I love Columbia College Chicago! It has one of the most vibrant campuses I've ever visited alongside the students as well. The school harvests a wonderful learning environment for the evolving creative minds at work.

There are pros and cons of going to Columbia but all the things I have learned and have gained from columbia is defiantly worth every penny I paid here. All the teachers are working or have woken in the industry they are teaching so they have a ton of connections and can really help in finding a job. I like the city but it is hard to receive the sense of a college community because your in the heart of the city. I wish they had more sports and advertised sports around campus more because I was athletic in high school and miss doing sports when I came here. The school is exspensive and the supplies are exspensive but I leaned soo very much and built a really great portfolio and resume. I feel like I will earn ever penny back that I spent at Columbia because I went to Columbia.

Columbia has turned out to be a great college choice for me. I think it is a unique place and an appropriate environment to foster a creative mind. Columbia does something not many other private art schools follow; to provide a generous admissions policy. If you are interested in a creative/communication field, regardless of your past experience, it is very likely that you will be accepted to Columbia. This is done in an effort to provide art-related opportunities to all students, even those that were not given the proper tools or selection of classes in high school. This can be frustrating to students who have a strong foundation in their chosen field upon entering college, but this is one aspect that makes Columbia special. Regardless of your experience, every student should begin with the basics and learn the fundamentals. Focus on your own work and create the best product you can, even if you don't feel some student are not grasping the topic (and, hey, maybe help them out if you can). Although I believe I was a bit more artistically advanced than some of my first-year peers, I am grateful to have been reintroduced to the simple concepts that drive a successful work of art. You must also be ready to work. As you begin to delve deeper into your major-specific courses, expect to spend countless hours in the studio, or lab, or theatre, or wherever your major congregates. You are not simply finishing a homework assignment, you are creating a piece of work that reflects you as a creative mind, and will hopefully be something you can include in your portfolio. It can be hard work, but the end result is worth it. If you decide to attend Columbia, you must erase all expectations of a typical college experience from your mind. A handful of first-year students arrive on campus believing that a non-traditional college life is what they want, and then end up disappointed when they have no football game to attend in a massive stadium or greek life to pledge to. You must understand that Columbia is a place of the arts, and if hanging out on the campus quad with your fraternity brothers before the state championship game is what excites you about college, then Columbia may not be the best choice for you. For me, the absence of those things listed above reinforces my understanding that Columbia was a great choice to chase after my artistic and professional goals.

The city is our campus, which is my favorite part. I think it makes you mature quickly & gets you out exploring the city & communities around you. The school is working hard to be Green, we have a plethora of recycling bins on each floor & i know big steps are being made so our school is more sustainable. My program (product design) is a small intimate group. An awesome family really. There are big exciting changes happening in the program, which i am very excited about!

My only thing with Columbia is they have yet to fully prove the legitimacy of their education. I have a few absolutely fantastic teachers, but I have a few really sketchy ones. There are a lot of Columbia graduates that have been hired as adjunct-faculty members, and I am not sure how qualified they are for their job. That is not to say there are not amazing teachers here. I have ones that are really pushing me to the next level and I'm forever grateful. The bottom line is, you have to be seeking an education to get it. I chose hard classes, and I picked teachers wisely. Yet, again, it is strange to me that this must be the case. I'm paying ridiculous amounts of money to go here; the standard of educators should be much higher. I can only say that I hate doubting the school I attend, and fear how it will affect my future.

Ok, well, Columbia is in Chicago which is great, because there's a lot to do, and also, most people here are really nice and very chill. There are quite a bit of stupid people though, because the cut off high school GPA to get in here is pretty low. It's a big school, so you're never going to know everyone in your class, let alone in the whole school, but you'll know quite a lot of people in your program by the end I imagine. There are no sports teams or Greek life, so that's nice as they usually breed more stupidity, but that doesn't mean there aren't quite a few parties, and almost everyone here does at least pot and drink. I spend most of my time in the dorms and classrooms, other people hang out in the city. We don't really have a campus, but the South Loop (downtown Chicago) is practically one huge college campus anyway, with four or five schools packed in. The programs here are amazing and very professional, but the gen eds (or LAS courses as they're called) aren't very interesting so far, but it's my first semester so... anyway. Yeah.