<p>Hey guys im in CA and i think i have a chance at these top tier schools, and i cant decide which one to apply to for ED/EA. i have visited Stanford, but i dont think i can visit the other two. Below i am gonna list some impression/notes of the three:</p>
<p>Stanford
-visited it, it was awesome
-a west coast feel: innovative, relaxed, you-can-do-anything-if-you-try feel
-students are well taken care of
-good location, obviously
-big campus and lots of opportunities</p>
<p>Yale
-cannot visit, but would love to go to east coast for school
-a elitist feel: European, Harry-potter ish (with different houses), high-class
-students well taken care of
-big campus and lots of opportunities</p>
<p>Columbia
-cannot visit, but would love to go to east coast for school
-initially i really liked this becuase i wanted to experience city life. NYC is NYC!
-a urban, modern feel
-campus not as big, independence valued more and students not as pampered as the 2 above?</p>
<p>Please give me pointers about the schools. Any info like weather, environment, sports, campus life is welcome. It would be great if you guys could compare them, but its cool if you just give info about one of the schools</p>
<p>If you loved Stanford and can't visit the other two, I would suggest you SCEA at Stanford; it's a great school and you absolutely can't go wrong applying there, although they are likely to give you a final decision rather than a polite deferral. (On a side note, I can tell you from personal experience that Yale is not elitist, at least not any more so than Stanford. I actually get the most elitist feel from Columbia, but that's IMHO).</p>
<p>And to preempt future comments on Yale, New Haven is not nearly as dangerous or depressing as some inexperienced posters like to claim. It's perfectly safe as long as you use common sense, as you would in any city. Take it from a student, not from some random person who visited campus for an afternoon.</p>
<p>Still, even if you do get amazing comments about the other two schools, I think you really should decide for yourself. It looks like you're most familiar with Stanford and you seem to love it. You should probably apply there since I don't see how anyone on CC could change your mind.</p>
<p>It looks and feels like Cambridge and Oxford because the gothic architecture is modeled after Oxbridge. The residential college system is also modeled after Oxbridge, lol.</p>
<p>Considering that they are all extremely hard to get into, why not apply to all three and worry about your choices when you get your acceptance notices?</p>
<p>Don't try to game the process, because you won't have a better shot at one school over another just based on acceptance rates. At this point, your top choice looks like Stanford; it doesn't make sense to apply anywhere else. This is a Yalie saying that, unless you'd rather not risk a rejection right off the bat (because Stanford rejects the vast majority of SCEA applicants whereas Yale defers the vast majority), you should SCEA at Stanford.</p>
<p>Stanford defers very few, like 10% of the kids-though that might have been slightly higher this year. They accept 16% and reject the rest. To the OP, Yale is not going to be easier than Stanford to get in SCEA, or even for that matter RD. Frankly, if you are looking for a significant boost in chance for admissions you would apply ED to Columbia. If you're not sure you'll be very satisfied going to Columbia, apply SCEA to Stanford or Yale, whichever you like more. As an important note, although Stanford rejects so many kids EA, even if you're deferred from Yale it's likely a polite deferral since few people get in during RD.</p>
<p>I wouldn't rule out Columbia, I am in a similar situation as you (those 3 schools my top choices), but recently I have started to lean toward Columbia. I would personally visit all, I have only seen Yale, but I am seeing both Columbia and Stanford within the next month. It may help people to know your stats as well, sometimes that can lead to people suggesting a better option. Everyone seems to love all 3 schools
Stanford: fun, social, great academics and sports, beautiful campus, CA weather
Yale: Amazing campus, very cool residential college system, great academics, not great town (can be overlooked)
Columbia: NYC!, core curriculum (great to be well-rounded imo), great social opportunities in and off campus, more intellectual feel than Stanford (similar to yale), from what I heard great campus (easy to get around as well)...</p>
<p>YOu can't really go wrong, I am pretty much deciding between Columbia and Stanford for early, since at least for me Yale isn't as realistic a chance with my circumstances.</p>
<p>**There are so many stanford vs. yale threads. </p>
<p>Seriously, come on man. use the search button.</p>
<p>You'd think, just for a moment...that someone
who has the academic resume to apply to those
schools, that you'd have a little more common
sense. Just a little. Hate to give tongue lashings
like this, but you kinda deserve it. :/</p>
<p>If you want to study law, history, English, and performing arts, then Yale is best. If you want to study anything else, or you want to learn from the most distinguished and most innovative professors, Stanford is best.</p>
<p>If you must go to NYC, then go to Columbia. Otherwise, go to Stanford.</p>