Columbia Or Stanford For Me? Please help Current CU Students!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
1

<p>Hello,
First of all I'm a Canadian citizen living in Winnipeg. I'll be applying to some US colleges for the 2008/2009 application season.
Right now I'm very interested in applying ED to Columbia or SCEA at Stanford. But because I cannot apply early to both schools I am having a hard time choosing between the two.
Also, I'm not quite familiar with how financial aid is evaluated by US colleges yet, so I'm not sure about what kind of financial aid I can expect from either colleges.</p>

<p>Let me delve more into the pros and cons of each school from my own perspective. Please correct any of my incorrect assumptions.</p>

<p>Columbia</p>

<p>Pros:
-Financial aid! Columbia has a need blind policy for Canadian citizens and Mexican citizens as well. Also, I've heard that with the Kluge donation families with annual incomes of less than 50k are given fin aid packages with grants only! This is a huge plus for me because I believe that I fit in this category... Not exactly sure though.
-New York and Wall Street. I'm very interested in going into finance after
college. Reading previous posts gives me a sense that Columbia has a bit of an advantage in terms of internships at big firms, simply because internships can be done during the school year due to proximity.
-The academics. The core sounds very exciting to me. Although I'm more of a science/math person (I'll be applying to SEAS), I've always valued reading and learning about other disciplines, simply to broaden my perspective. Also the SEAS department offers many of the engineering majors I am interested in.</p>

<p>Cons:
-The weather. I know this is a stupid reason but I've always wanted to go to a warmer climate for my undergraduate years. Although New York is a great improvement from Winnipeg, the lure of California is still tempting.
-Academic flexibility. Although I like the idea of the core, it does limit what I can take during my 4 years of undergrad at the school. I've also looked at some of the "tracks" for each engineering major, and they all seem to be very rigid and structured.</p>

<p>Stanford:</p>

<p>Pros:
-The weather...
-Greater academic flexibility in terms of course choices.</p>

<p>Cons:
-Need aware for all international students. Here is where the dilemma takes place. My father is an employee under the government, and as such he can take out no interest loans for all tuition fees of his children. If I really want to, I can apply for no fin-aid at Stanford for SCEA and possibly receive a greater admissions boost. However a loan is a loan, and I'll be in huge debt when I graduate. I just don't know if this is worth it. From another perspective, the fact that I have this option may also reduce my CU fin aid package? Again I'm not so sure how all of this factors in.</p>

<p>Personally I think I'd be more happy at Stanford, but I don't think I'd be miserable at Columbia either.
I think the tipping point in my decision would be based on the possible fin-aid package I could be receiving from Columbia. My family has an annual income of about 40-45k. What kind of aid package can I expect? If it's on the low end I think I'd be more comfortable applying to Stanford.
Any advice and opinions on what you would do would be highly appreciated!</p>

<p>Happy New Years everyone!</p>

2

<p>With 40-45k income, you'll get basically a free ride at either school provided you get accepted. Maybe you'd have to pay more at Stanford... but I doubt it'd be a big issue if you get accepted into Columbia as well and leverage the FA offer.</p>

<p>Apply early to the school you think you'd be more happy at, which in this class as you've indicated is Stanford. </p>

<p>With that said however, a few points. You said that you're interested in wall-street. Well if that's the case, while going to Stanford isn't a disadvantage to say the least, just pragmatically (location), Columbia tends to have more opportunities open in terms of internships during the year, networking events, etc. </p>

<p>As for applying to engineering. I am a "math/science" person myself. But realize that doesn't mean you HAVE to apply to the engineering school. In fact, ALL of the PURE SCIENCES (physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics) are departments at Columbia COLLEGE. Furthermore, the other courses in the Core (e.g. LitHum, Contemporary Civilization) provide a great opportunity for you to expand your horizons beyond just the sciences.</p>

<p>In any case, good luck! Both are great schools~</p>

3

<p>I could be getting the wrong impression, but it doesn't sound like you visited the schools. It could be that you can't function in the hectic populous Urban environment of NYC and would prefer a Suburb. Or conversely, you may decide there's absolutely nothing to do in Palo Alto and consequently will develop a mild case of schizophrenia, conversing regularly with an imaginary dwarf.</p>

4

<p>These are very different schools socially I would pick based on what type of environment you like more. In terms of getting into Wall Street/ finance both will get you there, that shouldn't be a reason to choose one of these over the other. HYPS, Columbia, Dartmouth, Wharton/ Penn, Williams and a couple others all do a fantastic job getting people on Wall street.</p>

5

<p>
[quote]
-Academic flexibility. Although I like the idea of the core, it does limit what I can take during my 4 years of undergrad at the school. I've also looked at some of the "tracks" for each engineering major, and they all seem to be very rigid and structured.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>most of the SEAS majors are abet accredited and abet sets pretty rigid requirements for what you need to take. theoretically the only difference between stanford eng and columbia eng should be the core (tho i am too lazy to actually check this) </p>

<p>also keep in mind that the suggested tracks that it gives in the bulletin are fairly conservative and leave you with usually taking 17 credits or so (its much more common to see engineers with 20-21 creds per semester)</p>

6

<p>this is a great thread and a really hard subject on which to give advice. the heart in all of us here says to go to columbia because we love our school. but if i'm being completely honest, i'd tell you that stanford is probably the one school that might've convinced me to attend over columbia.</p>

<p>things i love include biking and ultimate frisbee and athletic women and tech startups. while all can be found at columbia, stanford is probably a better place for all 4.</p>

<p>on the other hand, the core really is a big determinant. students at columbia generally speaking (like 80%+) love the core. they may not like every last detail about it, but they like the idea of a curriculum that's been 100 years in the making, teaching them about the highlights of western civilization. those are the kind of courses i'd like to take if grades weren't a concern - so the fact that EVERYONE HAS to take these courses mean that it's not a competitive disadvantage. I also like the idea that the core proves the university cares about its undergraduates.</p>

<p>the weather isnt' that big a deal. the snow is fun. you're from freaking winnipeg, you can appreciate it. i like having 4 seasons, makes you appreciate the summer more, gives you variety - instead of it being 65 and sunny every freaking day.</p>

7

<p>truazn8948532
Thanks for the advice about CC. I've been looking into many of the departments there as well and I've been very impressed.
However I don't think I'll be getting the same aid at Stanford (provided that I get accepted) since I'm an international student. Stanford is need aware for Canadian students.
One thing that I don't think I made clear is that if I do decide to apply EA to Stanford, applying for fin-aid will severely detriment my chances. The only Canadians I know that were accepted to Stanford with aid during SCEA, are top notch athletes (which I am not).
If I decide to apply SCEA to Stanford I am probably better off applying for no aid, or very little. On the other hand I can apply to Columbia for aid during ED and commit myself. Statistically speaking ED is better than RD.</p>

<p>I'm just worried that I might royally screw myself over if I apply SCEA to Stanford, then RD to Columbia, and then end up with no acceptances.</p>

<p>Also, I've heard that international students have a limit on internship hours each year. I'm not sure how this works yet, but I think I'll probably be ineligible for many of the internship opportunities that Columbia provides. Can anyone tell me more about this?</p>

<p>Godfatherbob
I'll be visiting both this summer. Personally I think I'd prefer the isolated campus culture at Stanford. I've been going to a private school downtown, that seems to have the same culture at Columbia (based on what I've read from these boards).</p>

<p>slipper1234
Environment wise I'd prefer Stanford by a slight margin. But like I said, Columbia and New York is still awesome. I'm just worried that I might develop a ton of debt by shooting for Stanford.</p>

<p>Skraylor
The thing is if I get into Columbia SEAS but wanted to do a pure science major later on, I'd have to transfer over to the college. Or vice versa. If I wanted to major in ChemE, but I'm in CC, I'd have to transfer over. Although I'm pretty sure engineering is right for me, Stanford doesn't have those types of border problems for a possible major switch.</p>

<p>Denzera
Definitely many of the reasons you've cited about Stanford are also pluses for me. However New York is New York and both are great schools. If I get in, I'd probably be happy at Columbia as well.</p>

<p>I've been thinking about this issue a lot lately, even when I have about 8 months till the app deadline. I really appreciate all of your comments. Right now I think I'm going to apply ED to Columbia. There's no doubt that both are great schools that offer a plethora of opportunities. But CU has better financial options for me. ^^</p>

<p>Thanks again!</p>

8

<p>Tell me if I'm mistaken but I think it's pretty hard to get into Stanford as an international if you need finaid. I believe Stanford's policy states that they will give you finaid if you applied for it, which of course makes it harder to get in with finaid than without. Cornell, for instance, doesn't care if you need finaid or not when they admit you, but they don't necessarily give you any money after you get admitted. I'm not ad adcom, but as an international student myself, I've heard from numerous fellow internationals that Stanford is really stingy as hell... And Columbia RD is rough, in case you don't get in Stanford SCEA. Also, my parents make significantly more than the number you stated, and I get a pretty awesome finaid package (all grants), so finaid shouldn't be a big issue.</p>