Posts Tagged ‘freshman fifteen’
Meeting people and making friends: a guide
So you hopped off the plane at LAX JFK with nothing but a dream and your cardigan almost a week ago and still haven’t made any meaningful connections with the kids in your class yet?
Not to worry: With this comprehensive guide on making new friends at Columbia, we’ll be sure to get you off on the right foot towards a lifetime of Facebook invitations and awkward elevator run-ins.
NSOP neighborhood tours begin today
In honor of the NSOP neighborhood tours, which begin today and continue through Monday, we’re providing you a list of old posts describing some of our trips to various places in NYC. Maybe they’ll help you pick a tour — or maybe they’ll inspire you to take your own, self-guided tour of this incredible city that is now your home.
Brooklyn
Brooklyn: One big room full of bad hipsters?
“However, if you’re looking for somewhere scenic, cool, and new to explore, Park Slope’s an awesome place.”
Some people (read: several people) didn’t find our jokes at Brooklyn’s expense amusing, and one of them even wrote the next post on offer here in response… More »
Make your new home feel like one
It has been suggested, maybe once or twice, that making an average dorm room feel somewhat livable is a rather difficult task. It has also been suggested that Columbia is not exactly average.
Like it or not, we’re in Manhattan, and therefore stacked on top of one another like sardines. But it’s great, right? Togetherness and stuff?
Yeah, sure. All that’s great, but how is anyone supposed to reasonably decorate any of these rooms, be them too small, oddly-shaped, or surrounded by prison-like cinderblock walls (hey, Carman)?
Your concerns are valid. This is a daunting task. But you can do it. Read on for some general guidelines that may help ease your burden of interior design. More »
Which dining hall is right for you?
Last semester it was decided that SEAS is Slytherin, CC is Gryffindor, Barnard is Ravenclaw, and GS is Hufflepuff. Now we take on the dining halls.
Take our quiz after the jump, and find out where you’ll be sorted! More »
A friendly guide on what to bring and what not to bring
In our continued efforts to welcome our freshmen friends to Columbia as a part of our Freshman 15 series, we present some upperclassman wisdom on what to add to your Bed Bath & Beyond pick up lists and what to leave home with your rock collection.
What to bring:
“I’d bring your high school letterman jacket to wear to every NSOP event with a transcript of your ACT scores stapled to the inside. Trust me, if you want to be the absolute coolest freshman, you WILL have to prove your straight 35 section-by-section breakdown.”
-Jim Pagels, CC ’13
“Bring: Earplugs. Useful for blocking out nearby sex sounds, St. Luke’s, saxophone practice, tap dancers, shower singers.”
-Jason Bell, CC ’13
“A credit card. You can get everything else in New York. If you can’t then you should just stay home and forget about college.”
-Lanbo Zhang, CC ’14, Editorial Page Editor
“Posters and lamps. Because you can’t underestimate the depressing effect peeling white walls and institutional lighting will have on your soul.”
-Marilyn He, CC ’14, Digital Engagement Director
Prefrosh problems
For the class of 2016 (and the rest of Columbia), we present the Freshman 15, a series of posts that will offer some guides to life at Columbia, catch you up on news you’ve missed, and let us get to know some of the interesting incoming faces. Today, we hear from one incoming first-year on his thoughts about coming to Columbia.
It’s hard for a prefosh to think of something to write about for Spec. It’s almost harder than picking up the Iliad and actually suffering through the first 12 books, or completing the required Alcohol Education online course.
Why it’s hard might seem obvious. You watch as fellow prefosh ask questions, and some try to answer each other on the Facebook group, often without successful results. Occasionally maybe a sage upperclassman will pop in with seemingly infinite knowledge about every little thing, served with a healthy dose of cynicism. More »
Scavenger Hunt: Venture forth freshmen!
This post marks the end of our Freshman Fifteen series. Head out to the big college in the sky now! Make friends and explore the nooks and crannies of Columbia for the following items in our scavenger hunt. More »
What you should say during NSOP (hint: not your SAT scores)
The Freshman Fifteen, our guide to assimilating in the MoHi community, is near its close. In this penultimate post, we give you tips on starting a conversation during NSOP so you’re not stuck talking about the hurricane. More »
Where to eat: Spectrum’s top 15
For the class of 2015, we humbly present the Freshman Fifteen, our collective guide to becoming a true Columbian. In today’s installment, we give you 15 delicious reasons to skip out on John Jay Dining Hall. More »
Where should you study?
For the class of 2015, we humbly present the Freshman Fifteen, our collective guide to becoming a true Columbian. Next up in the series is our comprehensive guide of where to study. It’s a puzzling dilemma that has vexed generations of Columbians. More »