Hello everyone! I would like some advice on my kid’s college decision (undergrad).
We need to select one college from the followings:
Columbia Univ, NYU Stern, Univ of Chicago and Dartmouth College.
Middle class family not qualify for need-based scholarship.
At this point my kid will probably major in Economics, and would like to get double major (not sure which one besides Economics, could be computer science, political science, etc…). Not sure about the career goal (so not sure if wall street is a must after graduation)
Right now I tend to think we should choose between Columbia and UChicago. (Dartmouth is kind of remote, NYU Stern may not be better than Columbia in terms of undergraduate studies).
I think these are great schools. So it is kind of hard to choose.
Thank you very much in advance. Good luck to every family!!
Agree with the two you have narrowed it down to. In my opinion there are a lot of similarities between the two. Can your kid go to accepted student visits at both? If you are truly “middle class”, you would probably get some aid from both. But I assume by this it means that you will struggle to be full pay? Did your kid get any merit from UChicago?
Your kid should examine the Core requirements at both schools.
I also agree with the two you’ve prioritized. All are top tier colleges. My son majored in economics at UChicago. He had all but a minor in political science. He also enjoyed being “in” Chicago (the city), not only “at” Chicago (the university). He made a point of getting well off campus at least once a week, whether to attend a sporting event or do other things in the city. He spent his junior year abroad at London School of Economics, which also allowed him to do some travel both in the UK and in continental Europe.
I think the curricula at Chicago and Columbia are similar. To my mind (as a grad of a liberal arts college), diverse core requirements that encourage students to develop many ways of contending intellectually are critically important. Not to mention, whatever your major is, your career can go in directions that you may not be contemplating in your senior year of high school. Although he considered grad school and law school, my son decided to go into the economy directly after graduating. He’s created a distinctive career that has allowed him to follow some of his longer life-time interests. He is the type of personality who might well have ended up where he is now even if he’d gone to a Dartmouth or a Reed (my alma mater) or a large state flagship, but he definitely appreciates the education he got at Chicago.
I think your kid posted in another forum (or someone did contemplating the exact same decision). I’ll post here what I posted there:
I think you’re on the right track here. Dartmouth is very remote - I personally would not recommend going there as I have a few friends who went and don’t speak well of it. That leaves Columbia, NYU, and Chicago.
You’re probably right that NYU is slightly lower ranked than Columbia and UChicago. The one thing I’ll say about NYU is that its culture is very different from the other 2 schools. It’s much more liberal, and much more integrated into NYC than Columbia. It’s very much a real NYC experience. If you’re interested in that, it may be worth a look still. Additionally, if you’re getting a business degree, NYU is actually higher ranked than the other two.
On the other hand, Columbia and UChicago are roughly equal from an academic perspective. You should look at non-academic factors when comparing the two schools, including:
Do you prefer to attend school in NYC or Chicago
Do you want to live in NYC or Chicago after school (where you attend makes a bigger difference than you think)
Do you like the culture better at Columbia or UChicago
Do you hate the cold (NYC is bad, but Chicago is brutal)
Hope this helped. I’d recommend at the very least visiting the schools and deciding off that.
There are plenty of people who have a good experience at Dartmouth, you know. It’s a different experience from the one you would have at Columbia or UChicago, but it’s not necessarily a bad one.
It depends on what the student wants. All four options are excellent schools – although NYU isn’t quite at the level of the other three.
If it was my kid, I would let the kid decide. And I wouldn’t flinch if the kid picked Dartmouth.
Will he be able to double major at Columbia? I thought the Core Curriculum classes limited the students ability to do that and still graduate in four years.
Those two sound like best bets for Economics, but the university’s orientations are different. Look together at the Economics department at each. Then, look at the Core requirements at each. Finally, has your kids visited? This could make the difference. There’s no “wrong” choice here, congratulations for the terrific choices!
Last year my son was deciding between UPenn and Dartmouth, very different schools in very different places. What sealed the deal was going to visit both. My H and I would have chosen UPenn, we thought that was the obvious choice, but after the visits he actually chose Dartmouth and has been extremely happy there! Contrary to expectations he especially loved the Winter quarter, when he got to take snowboarding for PE.
one would have to assume the OP’s child like something about Dartmouth and that’s why he chose to apply. It was just as remote, cold, and ‘different’ when the applications went in.
Just strictly from the major stand point, U of Chicago is consider the best in the world with most Nobel Prize winners in Economics. Of course, that’s a bit less important in comparison to the choice of grad school, but still. I’d think that the best decision maker is for your son to visit each of the top two choices and let him feel the campus community.
I have nothing to add but congratulations, those are great choices! Paying for them, not so great, but tis life these days. Good luck! Awesome schools.
Economic philosophy at both Chicago and Columbia is very conservative-anti government intervention. Graduates come out with a very specific world view and a very specific path into grad school (i.e., contacts). Student may want to look into that as part of the decision.
Chicago certainly has a conservative economics department, but (one would hope) a student’s professors won’t guarantee that he/she holds certain beliefs. I’m personally glad Chicago has a conservative bent - I’d like to be exposed to different viewpoints from mine. Those worried about free-market brainwashing should recall that noted conservative Bernie Sanders is a UChicago alum.
I really appreciate everyone who offers suggestions. THANK YOU!
We have visited all these schools before. My kid will also go to the admitted student overnight visit in a week or so (for uChicago and Columbia)
Economics is a dominant major at Dartmouth, which has many students hoping to go the Wall Street route. Such firms recruit there heavily. The D-plan enables students to intern during the academic year, which can be a significant advantage. The study abroad programs are excellent, varied, and integrated into the curriculum in a way that few others are. Undergraduate education is the school’s focus.
During my kid’s time at D, he spent a term studying in Paris and another interning in Washington, DC., so although it is located in a charming town, rather than a big city, the experience needn’t be all rural. (Personally, I think there is something to be said for spending a few years in an idyllic setting like Hanover. He’ll have the rest of his life, most likely, to live in suburbs and cities and work in office buildings. )
Both the U of C and Columbia are “urban,” but Hyde Park is mostly leafy, fairly quiet streets lined with 3-storey houses, whiIe Columbia is much more hard core.
I wouldn’t consider NYU, given the other choices.
Is there some reason why he isn’t going to Dimensions?
I went to the U of C as a grad student, H went to Stern for his MBA, and my son went to Dartmouth undergrad and Columbia grad.
The reason not to go to the Dimensions is that my kid spent a summer at the campus.
Thank you very much for the insight of Dartmouth, which I also heard from other sources.
