Student life

An overview for prefrosh.

Extracurricular

First years typically sign up for at least a dozen clubs at the activities fair in September. However, within a few months, most settle upon two or three clubs, which they tend to pursue throughout their remaining time at Columbia. Commitment varies widely. Varsity Sports, Club Sports, and student publications can consume more time than schoolwork for some students.

Daily life

Many if not most students read the Columbia Spectator every day. Many also check the The Bwog and perhaps another Columbia blog. Large numbers at least flick through The Blue and White and The Fed every month.

Nightlife

A large proportion of students, like at any Ivy League university, have no life. For the rest of us, there's lots to do. There are many restaurants in the surrounding Morningside Heights neighborhood. First years take particular joy in patronizing these restaurants because they're usually sick of their meal plan at John Jay Dining Hall and the other on-campus dining locations. There are also several bars in the area.

Once they get bored of the neighborhood, many students start heading to downtown bars and restaurants, such as near NYU. There are plenty of concerts throughout the city, and notably, lots of opera at the Lincoln Center.

Social life

Most of your initial friends will be the people living on your residence hall floor, until you start joining clubs and forming cliques with people of similar mindsets, deriding your initial friends as lame while slowly becoming increasingly closed-minded. You will then awkwardly acknowledge your former friends while walking around campus with a tepid wave or (if necessary), superficial conversation about housing, classes, or Spring Break plans.

More recent classes have formed virtual friendships via Facebook before arriving at Columbia, which quickly fade from memory upon meeting real people, or result in even more extremely awkward run-ins.