<p>Hi, </p>
<p>I am on the wait-list for both brown and columbia and though I'm writing letters to both I don't know which of the two is my first choice.
I've applied for politics and i hear that Columbia has a better department!</p>
<p>Which of the two am I most likely to get off the wait-list for this year do you think because that could play a huge role in my decision!</p>
<p>Thank you</p>
<p>You can stay on the wait list at both places if you want to.</p>
<p>I am aware of that and I have stayed on both, its just that my couselor advised that I send a letter of intent to my first choice telling them I will attend if accepted and I don’t know which one to pick!</p>
<p>You say that to both of them. The chances of you getting off the wait list at both places, and having time to decide which you would like better then, is minimal. If you should get off wait list A and say “YES I’M COMING!!!” then find out a week later that you are off wait list B, you can tell A “Gee whiz, sorry, sudden change of plans” if you realize that you really truly prefer B. </p>
<p>In a multiple wait list situation, the most important “favorite” to find is in the list of places where you have been accepted. You may never get off any of your wait lists, so be sure that the place you select is one that really truly is a good option for you.</p>
<p>I think it’s dishonest to tell both that they’re your first choice, regardless of how small your chances of getting off the waitlist at either are. I would say figure out quickly which one you like better and send that letter.</p>
<p>They’re both excellent schools and you probably couldn’t go wrong at either. Columbia probably has a bit more prestige and, as you said, it’s better in your department, but in scope of things these are probably minuscule differences that people only care about within the realms of CC. If you prefer the “no-core” element of Brown, then that would probably be a better choice, for example.</p>
<p>^I agree. Brown and Columbia are polar opposites in terms of the core and attending one over the other will definitely shape the course of your undergraduate education. However, I feel like you would benefit from Columbia’s core because it stresses a lot of philosophy that is essential to law and politics.
Best of luck!</p>
<p>What you could do is carefully phrase and say that you strongly prefer your waitlist school over the school you have agreed to attend, if you can do it in a way that doesn’t sound awkward.</p>
<p>You could send a letter like that to both Brown and Columbia and it would be truthful.</p>