Hi,
I’m currently a junior, and I’m starting to think about which schools to apply ED. My favorite schools are Columbia and UChicago, but I really don’t think I have a good shot at either of them without applying ED. Between the two, I definitely prefer Columbia. I just love the campus, New York City, many of the professors who teach there, etc. It’s truly perfect for me. However, I also like UChicago a lot, and I’d be very happy going there. But again, I’d be happier at Columbia. The reason I’m debating between which school to apply ED is because my school has a much, much better history with UChicago. Nobody who applied got into Columbia this year, including the people who applied ED. Of the people who applied, ED half of them had a similar academic record as I do. Half of the people who applied ED to UChicago this year got in, and they all had worse academic records than I do. So, which one should I apply to ED? For context, I’m likely going to apply as a political science or public policy major. I’ve listed my resume below, and you’ll notice that I have no major national awards, which is part of the reason I’m considering going the safer route at UChicago. To be clear, I don’t think any of these schools are a slam dunk by any means, but I do think I have significantly better odds at UChicago, I think, given my school’s history.
Resume:
3.94 GPA (I go to a really tough prep school, if that matters)
1530 SAT (790 Math, 740 English)
Extracurriculars:
Speech and Debate(Co-founder and President), I also taught a course to middle schoolers
FBLA(President)
Model UN(Secretary)
Student Advisory Board for a Certain Public Official(not going to go into specifics for my privacy)
Varsity Tennis(very good team nationally)
Martial Arts(Black Belt)
School Orchestra(Associate Concertmaster)
Awards
National Merit Semifinalist Eligible(this one is likely but not certain given my PSAT score)
Selected as a Speaker at a forum, speech related to politics, about 25% of people who applied were accepted(not going to go into specifics for my privacy)
Does your GC have any explanation for why admissions for your school tend to skew towards UChicago rather than Columbia? Might be worth getting his/her input because the factors from prior years may or may not apply going forward.
This is a really tough one because I do think it can make a difference if the school has a strong track record with a particular college.
On the other hand, from what my son (who was accepted ED UChicago this year) and I have seen UChicago seems like it would be a good fit for some people and a place of torture for many others. Since you seem to know and love Columbia, it would be a shame to not apply there - especially since the alternate would be applying to a school that has a totally different fit and feel.
I think the schools are similar academically and if you’d be happy at one you’d be happy at the other. I could see how your school might do better at UChicago because in the last few years they seem to be taking more prep school students than they did in the past and Columbia may be more rigid about the prep schools they take a lot of students from. At my D’s special curriculum public school no student had ever been admitted to Columbia but the Columbia AO told the GC last year they really wanted to admit someone from her high school into Columbia and my D and a friend both ended up getting acceptances. Maybe a talk with your GC will give you more info about how the 2 Colleges are treating your school and help you make a decision.
Chicago is wonderful! Has many of the amenities of NYC but is close to Wisconsin and other recreational areas. Close to big ten and other great sports…professional and collegiate. October in IL is beautiful but without the same trees. Has great air travel in not much time to the East. Finally, Chicago close to St. Louis, Nashville. See the world rather than stay close to home. There is a whole country outside of Chicago.
My daughter was accepted into both, UChicago (EA) and Columbia (RD). UChicago was her choice, and she is currently doing great there. Both schools are academically similar (core curriculum). The big difference is the sense of community, which, in UChicago’s case, is very strong and inclusive. The housing system is pretty unique and gives extraordinary support to all students. Additionally, UChicago campus is prettier than Columbia’s, which could be a frivolous fact, but for my daughter, it was an important aspect of her decision.
Chicago is wonderful ^ It is clean and organized, with many cultural events, incredible restaurants, and extraordinary museums. Chicagoans are, in general, friendlier than Newyorkers, in my opinion.
Anyways, both are amazing universities. Good luck!
Columbia might be a little harder to get into ED, and UChicago is probably a bit harder to get into RD with its 2-3% RD admit rate. Your best chance to get into one of them might be at UChicago in the ED round.
However, if Columbia is your favorite, and you can afford it, I would choose it for the ED app.
I would personally recommend thinking less in terms of whether or not you’d be admitted but which school you prefer, which really sounds like Columbia. But also I wanna apply to Columbia ED so maybe don’t to give me a chance haha!
i know both schools very well. Academically very similar. UChicago preeminent in economics, math, physical sciences, humanities and most social sciences. Columbia much stronger in political science and international affairs and bio sciences, . NO engineering at UChicago. UChicago is notably a real campus with a real college experience. Chicago is a fabulous city and more accessible and much cheaper than NY. UChicago grads have a good track into Booth and Chicago law school which are absolute elite in their field. But if you can afford NY, It is the capital of the universe.
It is clean and organized, with many cultural events, incredible restaurants, and extraordinary museums. Chicagoans are, in general, friendlier than Newyorkers, in my opinion.