<p>Both my parents work @ Columbia. Its been our bread and butter.. quite literally, and naturally I always thought about Earlying Columbia. </p>
<p>I honestly hated schools like Harvard. It represented everything I didnt want to be (as in... obsessing over harvard). But recently, as a junior, and witnessing this harvard/yale./princeton crapshoot, you start getting this... what if. And lemme tell you its pretty powerful. </p>
<p>So what do you guys think. Early Columbia- lock myself in (if i get in). Or give myself a chance at Harvard. Oh and i should mention that a HUGE incentive for going to Columbia is FREE TUITION. But other than that, I have no delusions that HYP Academics in most areas trump those of Columbia. My stats are pretty competitive for all those schools. But if i dont early COlumbia, my chances drop a lot (by half actually) and i run the risk of losing free tuition AND not getting into HYP. Comments? Opinions? Hellllpp mehhh!</p>
<p>Go early decision at Columbia. If you get into Columbia ED, and the thought of HPY continues to eat away at you, apply as a transfer later. You will have the safe base of Columbia if you do not get accepted. Otherwise, you might not have that safety net. It seems to me that graduate schools are the new undergraduate schools. If you stay at Columbia undergrad, you will have another shot at HPY if you go on to graduate school. Among professionals, the graduate degree carries more weight.</p>
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If you stay at Columbia undergrad, you will have another shot at HPY if you go on to graduate school.
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<p>I love the ignorance of such comments, that there is some HYP for some amorphous graduate schools. Princeton doesn't have a medical school nor does it have a law school. Yale's b-school is not top notch by any stretch of the imagination.</p>
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It seems to me that graduate schools are the new undergraduate schools.
<p>They don't have to be great professional schools...Harvard, Yale, and Princeton do have many of the strongest PhD programs in the liberal arts and sciences. Yale has its strength in English, History, Political Science, Philosophy, etc. Princeton in mathematics, economics, history, international relations, english, etc. And of course, we're all familiar with Harvard.</p>
<p>apply early to the school that you like the most. if that school happens to be columbia then definitely go for it because you have a rare opportunity</p>
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I have no delusions that HYP Academics in most areas trump those of Columbia.
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<p>Yeah right. Unless there are only 100 stellar professors to go around any single discipline, America's top schools will all be filled with professors who have served with distinction in their field. Even at Cornell.</p>
<p>to the poster: ya, you're a bit deluded yourself if you really hold that opinion. i'd think you'd know better considering all the time you've spent around columbia.</p>
<p>The sentence is ambiguous, but I read the statement as meaning that the OP does NOT believe HYP academics trump Columbia in most areas, because that would be a delusion.</p>
<p>I agree with sac that the sentence is ambiguous and inartfully drafted. I disagree with his interpretation, however. I read the sentence the same way he does. But, when you look at the context:</p>
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Oh and i should mention that a HUGE incentive for going to Columbia is FREE TUITION. But other than that, I have no delusions that HYP Academics in most areas trump those of Columbia.
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<p>OP seems to be saying "Columbia is great because of free tuition... BUT OTHER THAN THAT, HYP wins on academics." I interpret it the opposite way based not on the literal meaning of ("no delusions") but based on the surrounding sentences.</p>
<p>If your parents get free tuition at Columbia, don't they also get at least some portion of your tuition paid at another school? If, say, they get all of it should you go to Columbia and half if you go to a different private institution (which is how I know it works, for example, with Stanford faculty) and both of them as employees get that benefit, could that mean free tuition elsewhere as well?</p>
<p>I ask because I can't tell whether the free tuition is the only reason you'd choose Columbia. There are still very valid reasons that some students choose it over HYP.</p>
<p>Columbia pays 50% for other institutions. I don't think you can double-dip if both parents are Columbia employees. But, remember the tuition benefit is taxable income, so you're hardly getting a 100% (or 50%) effective tuition reducton.</p>
<p>Burb Parent: Statements like "graduate schools are the new undergrad" betray the growing sentiment that college functions only as another resume booster. Grad school is the new college only inasmuch as a degree differentiates one from others when competing for jobs. However, graduate school does in no way, shape, or form cultivate the student to the degree which undergrad does. Therefore, it seems to me that undergrad will always be the most important factor in one's academic personality.</p>