Columbia University in the City of New York Top Questions

Most of my classes are lecture style, and meet twice a week. A few are seminar style, and meet once a week. The lecture classes usually have a weekly discussion section, and your grade is made up of a midterm, term paper, and a final. Some classes may have two shorter papers.

To choose classes before registration, I use the student-run site culpa.info that has recent student reviews of professors and courses. check it out, it's really useful. I've found that, in general, my core classes have been amazing. (FYI: the Columbia core curriculum consists of several classes that every student MUST take to graduate). I really like their small class size (under 20) and the intriguing discussions that stem from the seminar-style. I'm actually learning, remembering, and enjoying most of my core classes. They're classes that everyone should take before they die. Morbid, I know, but true. As for lectures, they're a hit or miss. It all depends on the professor and your own learning style. I find that I learn best when I actually do the readings (which happens much more often when I'm in a small class or there are pop quizzes! just being honest) and have the chance to ask questions in class. Though some lectures allow for discussion, seminars are where you really get the chance to interact with peers and professors. I find that I get most out of my classes when I decide for myself that I'm going to engage in all of the in-class and out-of-class work. This is easier said than done. If you're in a boring lecture, it's easy to tune out or just not show up. As for seminars, it's all about your drive to learn and experience meaningful classroom discussions.

Scenes from films such as Kinsey, Mona Lisa Smile and Spiderman 2 were filmed here.