College Decisions - For tech entrepreneurship

College Search & Selection
1

Hey guys,

I’m an international applicant who has been admitted to the following schools:-

  1. Columbia GS (School of General Studies)
  2. UC Berkeley (Pre-Haas)
  3. USC Marshall School of Business

In the UK

  1. Cambridge
  2. LSE - London School of Economics
  3. UCL - University College London

I have also been waitlisted by

  1. Harvard
  2. Wharton
  3. Cornell Dyson
  4. U-Michigan
  5. UCLA

and rejected by several schools (Stanford, MIT, Yale, Princeton, Brown, Dartmouth, U-Chicago, Duke)

As an aspiring entrepreneur, I’m interested in tech startups and would love to know which schools would foster a strong startup culture and provide access to like-minded peers and VC funding. While I’m still hoping for the waitlists to come through (especially Harvard & Wharton), I realize that the odds are low. So my question is mainly regarding Columbia GS - is it the same as Columbia CC? I served compulsory national service for 2 years after finishing my IB Diploma, so I’m a 20-year-old male and so am still looking for a fun, traditional college experience. Also regarding USC Marshall, is it a good option for tech entrepreneurship? I’m mainly leaning towards the US since that’s where the VC money is and so trying to figure out the best school between the 3 acceptances I received :slight_smile:

Thanks a lot in advance for the help guys!

2

Assuming finances to pay for college are not an issue, I would go for UC Berkeley b/c it’s in California which is the center of the VC world, it’s got top engineering / CS so there should be interesting tech entrepreneurship collaboration opps, and it gives you great college experience / lifestyle. It is a pricey place to live but NYC and London would be even more.

Congrats on all your options and let us know what you decide!

3

Hi @HARVARDPENN, If you’re looking for a “traditional” college experience, Columbia GS is a great choice. GS students have access to the same student groups and are fully integrated into the undergraduate classroom, so you’ll be taking classes right alongside CC students, as well. Also, GS is known for attracting entrepreneurs who’ve decided they want to get a degree, often after having established successful companies - so you would be in good company. And there are a lot of organizations on campus that you might be interested in. Check out:

Columbia Entrepreneurship one of their featured alums graduated from GS
Columbia Venture Partners (http://www.columbiaventures.co)
Columbia Organization for Rising Entrepreneurs (https://coreatcu.com)
Startup Columbia (https://www.startupcolumbia.org)

Best of luck on whatever you decide!