With fall and Thanksgiving break soon approaching, you may be wondering how to spend these precious days off. While students who live near the city can head home for the weekend, if you live on the West Coast or abroad, going home can be tricky, expensive, or flat-out impossible—so where should you go?

You are the friend who decided to go to college in the city, so naturally your friends all decide to come and spend the weekend with you when they are sick of their local college bars and the same three frats. Of course, you’re busy and haven’t had time to plan a weekend to show them around the city, so we’ve stepped to provide you with the ultimate New York City weekend guide that covers everything from life in Morningside Heights to karaoke bars in Koreatown.

About a week ago, I found out a good friend of mine—a sophomore—didn’t know the difference between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue. When other friends said their apartment was on Broadway and 109th Street, he would nod along and then Google Maps it. This made me wonder: How many others are on the same boat? So, while this article is mostly for first-year students, don’t feel embarrassed if you’re a sophomore, junior, and maybe even a senior, and find it helpful.

With NSOP rapidly approaching, thousands of new students are ready to flood Carman Hall, Low steps, and the Hamilton Hall elevators. If you’re one of those students, there’s much to be excited about and many unknowns to consider: What kind of person will I be? What kind of friends will I have? What will I major in? When will I go to sleep? How will I navigate the city? Will I find love? Will I enjoy my classes?

As the class of 2026 prepares to say goodbye to Columbia, what better way to look back on these formative undergrad years than recounting the best classes, shouting out professors, and remembering priceless moments with friends? Spectrum spoke to 10 graduating seniors about highlights from their time at Columbia.

With finals week approaching, Columbia students are picking up a few peculiar habits. After the typical all-nighters, coffees, and frantic extension requests emails, things can start to get… weird. Think you’ve been through it all? Try out Spectrum’s latest finals week bingo below to see if you’ve lived through the full finals week experience! No cheating allowed.

Bacchanal is right around the corner. You might have had your borg name planned for months, but have you really listened to any of the artists slated to appear? Not many of us are extensive music connoisseurs and don’t know where to start on making the playlist for the 10 a.m. pre.

First-year housing can be tricky. Before you get to Columbia and have plenty of people to guide you, how do you know which dorm is the best for you? Sometimes, never-ending Reddit wormholes and outdated articles just don’t cut it. Here’s Spectrum’s comprehensive guide to first-year housing that will tell you more than just “Carman is social” and “Wallach is quiet.”

2026 has been coined the new 2016, and what better way to welcome the new year than to look back to the year that popularized the Snapchat dog filter and mannequin challenge? As we reminisce on the great year 2016, we invite you to take a trip down memory lane by showcasing some snaps submitted by Columbia students to Spectrum ten years ago.

It’s February—the shortest month of the year, yet somehow the longest. It’s cold, it’s gray, and it’s often quiet. Quiet in the streets. Quiet in the park. Quiet in the 1 train on your trek back uptown at some ungodly hour of the night. Something about the month begs for an acoustic guitar and some great lyrics. This playlist is for long walks in warm coats, unfinished thoughts, and wide, empty spaces. It’s for reflection and a New York City winter. Below is Spectrum’s official February mix. Enjoy!