Admissions

Definitely search for internships and other things to gain experience in your profession. This school wants you to get out there and make a name for yourself. Get out of your dorm room work hard and experience the city, the school, and just enjoy your time here. It is up to you if you want your name out there.

Make sure to make friends both in and outside of your major. Conferring with other students while doing homework and group study sessions are a great way to understand material and get homework done. Having these connections will not only help getting assignments done, but after you graduate these friends can help get you jobs in your field if you decide to go a more freelance route.
Also, make sure to take advantage of Student Instruction sessions. In these, students who took the class previously go over the same material from a student perspective. Even if you understand everything the teacher said, it's still a great way to get a well-rounded understanding from the basics (and it forces you to study for the tests and quizzes).
Go to the Harold Washington Library near the University Center and CVS. In my opinion, its nine floors are far superior to the school's library. As an added bonus the massive amounts of research material, there are movies and CDs you can check out on the ground level, sheet music and practice rooms on the 8th floor, and a beautiful lounge on the top level if you take the escalator toward the back of the building. It's a great place to study and use the free wifi. Oh, and did I meantion that you can check out the movies and sheet music free of charge with a library card! Just make sure to return them on time.

On-campus housing is very expensive and not really worth it. No strong community is created in the dorms and I find that you will not really get to know that many more people that way.

Prospective students need to understand that while Columbia is an art school, classes still require a lot of time and energy. Students should not simply choose Columbia because they think that it is going to be easy.

Work really hard. I know thats cliche but its for real.

Make sure you are serious about the career you intend to pursue. At Columbia the courses are very major-oriented and are difficult to transfer to other major programs.

If you plan on coming to Columbia , be ready to get your eyes opened to more ways to view things and different ways to get people to know who you are and what you do. It has a lot of networking going on in this environment so it is very easy to find people who is really passionate about doing things that you are passionate about and being open to new things. You wont be disappointed !

Keep an open mind, and don't be deterred by the art school exclusive labeling. Columbia is a college for the public, not just painters and fashion designers. If you dont know what your major is yet, there is time to find out.

Don't buy the administration's pretty presentations. I love Columbia, but make sure you dig deeper and don't fall for anything they might say to get you to attend. Do the research yourself.

Know what you're getting into. You will live and breathe your art. It can be a lot more work than you may think.