Columbia College Chicago (Wheaton, Elmhurst, Richmond: credit, transferring to, public school)

[vcuhoney]

Hi! I'm a 21 year old college sophomore in Richmond, VA looking to transfer schools. I am very interested in transferring to Columbia College. Is that a good school by local standard. Anybody a student there, or know anybody there. Is it worth moving 1000 miles ? lol . Thanks

[EyesInTheSky]

In academic circles, Columbia College does *not* have a strong reputation. If you hope to attend a really good, top-tier graduate school after your undergraduate degree, you'd have a very difficult time getting admitted with a degree from Columbia, regardless of your grades. By far the best two schools in the immediate Chicago area are Northwestern and the University of Chicago; these two schools are in a class by themselves compared to all other Chicago-area schools. The next tier down are the University of Illinois at Chicago, Depaul, Wheaton, Loyola, and perhaps IIT. The next tier down include a bunch of small schools such as Elmhurst, North Central, Lewis, and so on, along with perhaps Northeastern (a public school). I'd place Columbia at even the next tier down and at the lowest tier of accredited schools in the Chicago metro area. However, I'm sure Columbia has its supporters and they probably will rebut my opinion. But my advice to you is if you're thinking of moving across the country to attend college in Chicago, there are many schools to choose from that have a much stronger reputation than Columbia.

[noid_1985]

Originally Posted by vcuhoney

Hi! I'm a 21 year old college sophomore in Richmond, VA looking to transfer schools. I am very interested in transferring to Columbia College. Is that a good school by local standard. Anybody a student there, or know anybody there. Is it worth moving 1000 miles ? lol . Thanks

Richmond is really 1000 miles away wow

[binarybelle]

I don't think it's fair to get down on Columbia College without first asking what the kid plans on studying. The school's photography and film programs are very reputable, and I believe they also offer solid training for a career in journalism. Is it a research school? No. But it may provide the type of grounding that he/she needs.

[skipcromer]

Binary,

there are tons of threads on here about columbia. Use the search feature to see if you can find some.

Other then that I cant really help, I dont know much about the school.

[binarybelle]

I wasn't asking.

[skipcromer]

Originally Posted by binarybelle

I wasn't asking.

Whoops! Sorry, I meant the OP.

[eevee]

Originally Posted by EyesInTheSky

In academic circles, Columbia College does *not* have a strong reputation. If you hope to attend a really good, top-tier graduate school after your undergraduate degree, you'd have a very difficult time getting admitted with a degree from Columbia, regardless of your grades. By far the best two schools in the immediate Chicago area are Northwestern and the University of Chicago; these two schools are in a class by themselves compared to all other Chicago-area schools. The next tier down are the University of Illinois at Chicago, Depaul, Wheaton, Loyola, and perhaps IIT. The next tier down include a bunch of small schools such as Elmhurst, North Central, Lewis, and so on, along with perhaps Northeastern (a public school). I'd place Columbia at even the next tier down and at the lowest tier of accredited schools in the Chicago metro area. However, I'm sure Columbia has its supporters and they probably will rebut my opinion. But my advice to you is if you're thinking of moving across the country to attend college in Chicago, there are many schools to choose from that have a much stronger reputation than Columbia.

well, I'll be completely biased, given that I currently attend Columbia, and disagree w/ you. I moved here from Boston to attend Columbia and have yet to regret the decision. no, it doesn't have the academic prestige of schools like NYU, Emerson, or Depaul, however, it's a different type of school from these. Columbia is an art and media school, so pulling in students w/ creative talents is more important than pulling in students that aced their SAT's, for example. the school is open admission, which is good and bad: good because, again, if you have the talent, but didn't have the best GPA in high school, it wouldn't hold you back; bad b/c it seems like a lot of kids, thinking that open admission=easy as hell come to find out that some of the classes are actually hard. not to say the school is a last choice option for kids w/ bad grades; there are kids here that excelled in high school and chose to come to Columbia (and unfortunately, there are kids who really shouldn't be in college going here, though these tend to get culled as the semester move on due to the work load)

as for what happens after you graduate from Columbia, yes, you can get into a grad school w/ a degree from Columbia. I know a couple of fiction writing majors that are going to grad school at Emerson or other schools. put in the work and effort, and you'll find something

I think the local reputation of Columbia is pretty good. the school holds a lot of major events throughout the year including Manifest (where students perform and show off their work at the end of the year and where famous musicians have performed) and Story Week (week long panels w/ visiting authors, many local, but some, like Junot Diaz, who are well renowned). so it's not some little-heard-of school of poor repute

it really depends on what your major is. I can't speak for any other major other than my own, but I'll say that my department is fabulous. is it the best in the nation? no, but I'm fine w/ that. if you have in interest in music and can get into Julliard, go to Julliard. if you're interested in film and can get into the film school at UCLA, go to UCLA. likewise, if you want to act and can get into the drama school at NYU, go to NYU. but you may find that Columbia has what you're looking for or that the "name brand" doesn't matter much.

I suggest you do some research and decide on what you want, in particular to your major. one of the main reasons I chose Columbia was b/c they offered a BFA in writing (didn't find many schools that offered those). as mentioned, there are a ton of threads about Columbia if you search for them. I'd tried to come out for a visit if possible also

[whatsthebigdeal]

they have an excellent film school... and that is about it.

[vcuhoney]

Thanks!
Well currently my major is Marketing/Advertising, but i'm very artistic. I like that major but i want to get into a more artistic major. I have always been very interested in Film (i want to direct music videos, && get the best of both worlds), but i also like to write and i've written 6 or 7 plays/scripts although they are unofficial, but friends have told me that they were very good. So i want to get into writing screen plays or fictional writing, like writing for TV sitcoms and such. The current school i go to, the admissions were OPEN. Alot of people give my college slack because locally it has a good reputation, but nationally it's one of those schools nobody heard of, but probably the school your doctor graduated from. LOL. I originally went to be a physical therapist (to appease my parents), and ended up doing poorly. Due to my low GPA because of all the chemistry/bio i have taken that i hate, i've decided that i want to pursue my own goals and i searched and searched and from the outside Columbia looks like a great school. Are there any alumni or current students who can tell me about job opportunities after graduation, or internships and job opportunities while in school? Thanks!