I’d be ecstatic to go to either college, but my current concern is that both the valedictorian and salutorian of my school are applying to Penn ED to CAS and Wharton, respectively. I have pretty solid EC’s but am just in the top decile, not top 2 of my class w/ even better EC’s, so im wondering if I have a better chance competing with my fellow peers from my school for Penn ED or Columbia ED even though the latter is more selective?
Penn has been known to take more than 2 from a given high school (especially legacies ED) , but they have also been known to reject all candidates from the same school. Same with Columbia - although you are probably bright enough to realize your chances are slim at both schools regardless as to your rank.
In order for anyone to give you a realistic answer, you’d have to provide much more background about your HS. If you are in a graduating class of 700+ kids, where 90+% go on to college, including a variety of Ivies, it is different than if you are in a class of only 50-75 kids, and also different than a school with 1500 kids and a 50% graduation rate, with only 30% attending college.
If you are in the top decile with a stellar essay that shows you are an interesting/unique person, you can present yourself in a way to get yourself noticed. Don’t sell yourself short compared to your peers in your school - think positively and you’ll have great choices come next March/April.
You always have a better chance of getting into a school if you are a legacy.
Don’t assume that admissions staff prioritize the very top of the class over all others. DS got into Columbia early and he was about the 10th in his class. The val and sal didn’t get into their ED choices and the val was waitlisted at Columbia.