Overall, Columbia University was a fantastic experience. Its located in a vibrant city, with opportunities to stick to a campus life, and still enjoy everything NYC has to offer. The students are helpful and collaborative. The professors are incredibly well experienced with several accolades. All in all, had a great learning experience.
Course Curriculum :
The course syllabus was a combination of engineering, quantitative classes, and more interactive, practical business school classes. We worked on 3 projects, as part of our curriculum, giving us exposure to a real life consulting project.
Exams :
My scores: GRE 157 Verbal 164 Quant 4.5 Writing; TOEFL 114/120 I did not take any other tests like the SAT. I submitted my resume, 3 academic LOR's and a Personal Statement. Through my application materials, I highlighted all facets of my accomplishments - both academic and extracurricular. This also showcased to the school where my strengths lie. I also clearly outlined my short term and long term goals, and how Columbia would help me achieve it. I had a virtual question answer interview. It was 3 randomly generated questions.
Placement :
Several technology based companies typically recruit from Columbia. However, there are still Consulting, Finance and Product Management companies coming to recruit. Most students received an internship and job offer.
Internship :
I interned at Kearney in Chicago, and was paid ~$14K for a 10 week internship. I had to go through a few rounds of interview to receive the offer.
Fees :
$2000 per credit, and 38 credits were required to graduate. So, a total of $76K for just the course fees.
Faculty :
The faculty to student ratio was high in the engineering school, but significantly smaller in the business school. Classes were great, and really interactive. Medini Singh will remain my all time favorite professor.
Campus Life :
Columbia constantly hosts several events on campus, and off campus, which are great for meeting people. There are several clubs for people interested like Robotics club, but also for career related purposes like Consulting Club.
Hostel :
We were allowed to choose our own accommodations. It ranges anywhere between $1K to $1.5K on average, to live close to campus.
