Campus

It is somehow funny, but true: all in all, travel time is less than in Germany. I spend less time in the subway than in Germany. The reason: Columbia is a Campus University. Everything you need is within walking distance.

I did not have this in mind when I applied, but in the retrospective, this might have been a strong additional argument to choose Columbia. It is just comfortable to sleep until 10 minutes before class starts. It is just convenient to be able to fetch a book you forgot. But this is not it. Everything is nearby: the dodge fitness center, the swimming pool, the squash courts, the book store, libraries, the law school, music practice rooms, university housing or other university buildings where you can broaden your (legal) horizon be it in the business school or SIPA, just to mention two examples. Columbia Law School is basically in the center. Restaurants, supermarkets, or bars are also not to far. It is indeed possible to survive here without walking more than 5 minutes. And for friends of nature, team sports (and dogs), Central Park, Morningside Park and Riverside Park are 15 minutes walk away – at most. There are not only dog playgrounds, but also wonderful soccer fields, tennis courts, running tracks, outside squash courts, baseball fields waiting for ambitious hobby athletes. What sounds like an euphemistic advertisement for an apartment, is true.

You may call this ‘Columbia Bubble’. It is not New York downtown. Life is busy, students are hurrying to their lectures. But it is calmer. It is not as breath-taking and hectic. But it is still New York. New York, with its thousand faces: ‘Columbia Bubble’ is a calm part. And if you miss the hectic, crazy life: it is at sight. And if this is not enough: it takes just 14 minutes subway-ride to Times Square.

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