<p>?????????????</p>
<p>U Chicago was my second choice. I really liked it from the brochures (you should check it out if you haven't already--I'm assuming you're asking this question so that you can apply to these Columbia-like schools). When I visited, it wasn't as "in the city" as I wanted, and it was in an okay neighborhood, but not great. I'm not sure exactly how much they have in common, but I know I really liked both of them (but one of them a little bit more). It's got a great campus and a cool attitude about it.</p>
<p>Of course, I had a safer choice in NYC too just in case decision time rolled around, and I still really wanted to be in Manhattan. NYU was my safer choice in the city, but it really has very little in common with Columbia from what I've gathered. They have very different atmospheres, and even both being in NYC, they have very different styles.</p>
<p>Other than that, I applied to an in-state, safety, Emory (which was also in-state for me), and my dad and grandpa's alma mater Notre Dame, but ND has nothing in common with Columbia.</p>
<p>Harvard...</p>
<p>My S's "safety" was Umich. It's not a safety OOS, really, but he applied so early he knew he was in before he even applied to Columbia. And he would have loved to go there, too.</p>
<p>Probably Swarthmore, or UChicago. Would've strongly considered Rice or Emory, but the cities appealed to me a whole lot less.</p>
<p>You couldn't have paid me enough to go to Harvard... it was too close to home, having grown up in and around that neighborhood. Columbia was the perfect distance away from where I grew up.</p>