Columbia is well known for it’s “core curriculum”. That is all freshman and sophmores pretty much take the same core classes with some electives. It’s a broad education in arts, humanities, mathematics, etc. You don’t declare your major until junior year. Columbia grads are very well educated and perfectly primed for graduate school, corporate internships, or just about anything.

Yes, the courses are extremely difficult and on par with Harvard and Yale.

You won’t need to study 24 hours and there are plenty of times to have fun. But you’ll have to take classes and homework seriously or you’ll not keep up with the load. This often translates to giving up on parties and giving the books some priority. You have to remember, if you go there, your classmates will be some of the smartest kids from all over the world. And believe me, when a kid comes all the way from Ukrane to study in the U.S. with the hope of tapping into the American Dream, he’s gonna work his a** off. You’re going to have kids who have been drilled by their parents from birth to achieve. For them, failure (or even a B+) is not an option. You’re also going to have some dopes that make you wonder how they even got accepted.

I know people who went there. Columbia students tend to be more laid back, and less pretentious than some of the other Ivy League schools.

Anyway, going to any school with a good rep. says something; the most important being that you have the brains to get in, among other things.