That sounds like a nice visit to the Aquarium. I've not been in so long, I'll have to keep that in mind as an option. Columbia is a great school, not a bad choice at all.
Having a power with so much destructive potential does make it quite difficult to practice and explore. I am running into that currently, myself. A friend had suggested I see if I could gain more control over the other guy when transformed and the only way to work on it is to transform which I try not to do. So it's quite a quagmire. I can understand your predicament.