<p>Both my parents work @ Columbia. Its been our bread and butter.. quite literally, and naturally I always thought about Earlying Columbia. </p>
<p>I honestly hated schools like Harvard. It represented everything I didnt want to be (as in... obsessing over harvard). But recently, as a junior, and witnessing this harvard/yale./princeton crapshoot, you start getting this... what if. And lemme tell you its pretty powerful. </p>
<p>So what do you guys think. Early Columbia- lock myself in (if i get in). Or give myself a chance at Harvard. Oh and i should mention that a HUGE incentive for going to Columbia is FREE TUITION. But other than that, I have no delusions that HYP Academics in most areas trump those of Columbia. My stats are pretty competitive for all those schools. But if i dont early COlumbia, my chances drop a lot (by half actually) and i run the risk of losing free tuition AND not getting into HYP. Comments? Opinions? Hellllpp mehhh!</p>
<p>Just do early Columbia. It's an ivy league and it's in the top ten. Both top-notch academics and reputation. Seriously. People are just too fixated on this Harvard crap...</p>
<p>I vote for Columbia, also. With both parents working, Harvard would probably offer little to no aid, and you would end up paying a huge bill for the same education and a marginally better prestige factor.</p>
<p>I hope this thread lasts long enough for someone to have the b@lls to make a post saying that paying for HPY is a better option than Columbia for free. I can't wait to see what logic one would use to make that case.</p>
<p>Are you BlInD or somethig??@?!?!?! Why would you give up HYP for any other school?!?!?!!? That's like, the ultimate mistake one could ever make!!!!</p>
<p>Free tuition at Columbia?! Pssh! Harvard still pwns even with paying the whole thing twice over! Why? Because it's Harvard!!!! Duh!</p>
<p>I don't mind playing devil's advocate. First the assumption that he probably won't get financial aid is unfounded. What if his parents are low paid employees of Columbia? What if they have 4 others in college?</p>
<p>Second, it sounds like he grew up in NYC. Part of education and growth is seeing the world. Maybe a different environment will really benefit this student.</p>
<p>I believe central to this analysis is how good of a candidate you would be at the other schools and you don't offer stats. If you are a 4.0/2250 from an average school and do not have really exceptional ECs, and if you're not likely to get aid, I wouldn't give up the edge applying early to Columbia will give you. If you're a 4.0/2400 from a school that send lots of kids to ivies and you have outstanding honors and ECs, it may be worth the risk.</p>
<p>However, it sounds like you don't really... well... care. If you don't WANT to go to HYP, by all means go to Columbia, save a LOT of money, go to a great grad/professional school and continue to live a blessed life! If you do want to go there, take the risk. If you get in and your FA package isn't enough, you can always apply to Columbia RD. (Hopefully you are a good enough candidate to get in RD, but I'm confident that that is the case, especially with professor parents!)</p>
<p>If you like NY and you're OK with Columbia's urban setting, it's not even close. Columbia all the way. Princeton or Yale aren't nearly that much better. Go to Columbia and live comfortably.</p>