How Columbia University Retains Its Prestige

Columbia University in the City of New York is a private Ivy League school in Upper Manhattan. One of the oldest and most prestigious schools in the United States, the educational institution encompasses more than six city blocks, twenty schools and affiliates with a number of other institutions, including Juilliard, Teachers College and the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. The famous Butler Library is the largest in Columbia’s library system.

As an undergraduate student who lead campus tours for the Columbia’s admissions office, Moshe Ohayon of Louisville, Kentucky, knows that the distinguished school was founded by King George II of England in 1754. Columbia is the first college in New York, the fifth oldest in the country and one of eight Ivy League schools.

During their years at Columbia, students tend to discover quite a few little-known facts about their soon-to-be alma mater. For example, two Columbia University students invented the first trivia game: In 1960, Ed Goodgold and Dan Carlinsky devised and conducted trivia competitions between Columbia students and students from other schools. The pair went on to write a best-selling trivia book. Another fun fact is that two Columbia psychology grads tested famous baseball player Babe Ruth and found him to be operating at 90 percent efficiency, as opposed to 60 percent for normal people.

After graduation Ohayon joined a long list of impressive graduates, including Barack Obama, Chelsea Clinton, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Warren Buffet. Columbia University is a racially diverse school with an impressive 93 percent graduation rate. With first-rate professors and a local atmosphere like no other, Columbia University is an experience students and graduates never forget.