Making Friends at Columbia College Chicago: Collaboration Is the Social Life

Columbia College Chicago has no quad, no football team and barely a campus in the traditional sense — just a cluster of buildings in the South Loop full of studios, edit suites, black-box theatres and darkrooms. That sounds like a recipe for anonymity. In practice it is the opposite, because almost every class here produces work that requires other people.

The social rule at Columbia is simple: your friends will come from the projects you say yes to. Everything else is secondary.

What the campus is actually like

• Vertical and dispersed. Buildings along Michigan, Wabash and State, connected by pavement rather than paths. You will walk between classes past commuters and tourists.
• Project-driven. Film, audio, design, photography, theatre, writing and games programmes all run on collaboration. Crews and cohorts are the real social units.
• Downtown. Grant Park, the Art Institute, the lakefront and the Loop are all within a walk, which makes the whole city your student union.

On campus: where friendships actually start

Say yes to crews

Someone in your programme will need a boom operator, a second camera, an actor, a designer or a co-writer. Volunteer for other people''s projects early and often, especially in your first two terms. It costs weekends and buys you a network faster than any club.

Studios, labs and shared spaces

The equipment cage, the edit suites, the practice rooms and the library are where people cross paths repeatedly. Book time in the same slots and you will keep seeing the same faces.

Student organisations and showcases

Columbia runs student media, performance groups, cultural organisations and a steady calendar of showcases, screenings and readings. Attending other students'' work — and staying afterwards — is the single most efficient social habit available at an arts school.

Residence halls

If you live in student housing in the South Loop, treat the floor and the shared kitchens as a real opportunity. Many Columbia students commute, so the residents build tighter circles.

Off campus: the South Loop and the Loop

• Culture within walking distance. The Art Institute, Grant Park, museums and free downtown events — start with the best art galleries and museums in Chicago and free things to do in Chicago.
• Live music and comedy are the natural extension of an arts education here: live music venues and comedy clubs.
• Cheap food. The South Loop, Chinatown to the south and the food halls and markets downtown cover most student budgets.
• Neighbourhoods to know: Pilsen for the art scene and Wicker Park for the music scene are where a lot of Columbia social life eventually migrates.

If you commute

Columbia has a large commuter population. The fix is to make campus time dense: schedule one long day, book studio or lab time on it, and stay for the evening screening or show. A single weekly evening on campus beats five daytime dashes.

Grad students, transfers and international students

Graduate and transfer students should crew up immediately — showing up to help on a shoot in your first month reads as generosity, not neediness, and instantly makes you known. International students will find the collaborative culture the easiest possible entry, because the work gives you a shared subject before you need small talk.

Your first term, in order

• Weeks 1–2: volunteer for two other people''s projects and join one student organisation.
• Weeks 3–6: go to every showcase, screening or reading you hear about, and stay for the after.
• Weeks 7–10: start something of your own and ask three people to help. Being the person with the project makes you the centre of a small circle.
• Weeks 11+: move it off campus — a gig, a gallery night, a cheap dinner in Pilsen.

Common questions

Is it hard to make friends at Columbia College?

Not if you work on other people''s projects. It is hard if you only attend class and leave, because there is no quad to catch you.

Where do Columbia students hang out?

Studios and edit suites, the library and campus cafés, South Loop cheap eats, and downtown venues for shows.

Is the South Loop a good place to be a student?

Yes for culture and transit, less so for cheap nightlife — most of that is a short train ride west or north.

I am shy. How do I get on a crew?

Ask one direct question in class: "Do you need help on your shoot?" It is the normal currency here and nobody finds it strange.

How do I meet people in Chicago outside college?

See the Chicago city guide and the best apps for making friends in Chicago.