Im going to Columbia this fall to study epidemiology. Its true that the campus is a couple of miles north of the 'real Columbia campus' and the area isnt the greatest, but tell me what major medical center is in the best part of town? none that I know of and some consider the Washington heights area of the medical center to be one of the best kept secrets of nyc with a lot of migration towards that area and out of the 'downtown area'. The school of public health is one of the top 5 in the nation and the ivy league name never hurt anything. It is in the middle of new york city, so yes, dorms and apartments are on the small side and traffic sucks. But there are great places to see, such as broadway, a Yankees game, times square at new years, all the great restaurants, shopping, etc. where else can you get all that plus a great education? in the middle of michigan or georgia? It is a personal thing, and I love nyc. Every student I have met and spoken to loves the program and all of the opportunities at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital and other major businesses in nyc. The career services needs a little improvement, in that they dont spoon feed you every job available in the world, but they certainly have the resources for your own research and people to help if you need it. You pay around the same for most good mph programs and a life in nyc is a little more expensive, but I think its worth it.
