<p>I really like both Columbia and Yale.Before I had been planning to EA at Yale.But now I'm thinking about EDing at C instead.Could I have some pointer's on the topic?
Remember,I love both schools,I just can't decide b/w them.
Thanks for your help!Let the debate begin! :)</p>
<p>Well, if you’re a HP hopeful, then ED’ing at Columbia could be a bad idea. EA at Yale would still allow you to RD at those schools. I am actually in the same position as you. I love Columbia, but I think I like Princeton a LITTLE bit more. If the super-anxious side of my personality takes over in two weeks, I’ll ED at Columbia, otherwise it’s either Yale or Stanford for SCEA. I have a debate in my mind every day regarding this (gave up Oxford to apply to Princeton but then fell in love with Columbia too). :)</p>
<p>Ahh.Thing is,I think Im starting to like C more than Y.Plus Im applying for Fin. Aid.So,since my chances would anyway be lower because of that at C(need aware :(and if it turns out Im a better fit for C),I’m considering ED’ing at C.I’d just like to hear some more opinions.Since Im an international,visiting is not an option.
EA doesnt really give much of an advantage(since you’re not bound by the decision) and Yale’s need blind anyway.</p>
<p>Story of my life. No surprise to see PrincetonDreams here, either =P. I have decided to apply SCEA to Yale.</p>
<p>Go for Columbia. [Yes, I may be biased since this is the Columbia board…] But seriously, I’ve only been here for a month and it already feels like I couldn’t imagine going anywhere else. I don’t know what your motivations are behind these two schools, but from personal experience, being in NYC is unbeatable. There are literally unlimited possibilities academically [taking a trip to the Met and seeing the real painting you’re discussing in class, going to the Met Opera as a class for Music Hum, etc] and there’s so much to do in the city, especially if you need to take a break on weekends…I just came back from a trip downtown on a school night and honestly, I can’t imagine what other college students would be doing if they only had access to a college town… </p>
<p>I can’t comment your FA situation, but generally speaking about the school, Columbia is the best thing that’s happened to me…And this is coming from the person who was a die-hard Yale fan last year [haha]. Seriously though, there’s nowhere else I would rather be so I do encourage you to look into EDing here. :p</p>
<p>If you are going to study engineering, apply to Columbia, for everything else, apply to Yale.</p>
<p>If you’re seeking aid from Columbia as an international, the likelihood of your admission plummets. You might have an easier time at Yale, though frankly both are notoriously difficult to get into. If you prefer Columbia, by all means apply ED.</p>
<p>Columbia is hardly generous with fin aid for internationals. If you prefer C, by all means ED there.</p>
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<p>I found this amusing :)</p>
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<p>ED won’t allow you to compare finaid offers. You may decline your offer of admission if, after an appeal process, your finaid still comes up short, but you don’t get to wait till RD to decide if you can foot the bill.</p>
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<p>this is very misleading. Applying for aid as an international decreases chances of admission slightly (it already is very low), so a few kids would have otherwise gotten in had they not applied for aid. but most kids who get rejected applying for aid would probably have been rejected anyway. Once they accept you after you apply for they, they give you huge amounts of aid I think the average discount for international students was 65-80% of cost, basically if they accept you after you apply for aid they make sure that you’ll be able to afford to come to columbia.</p>
<p>each year under 5 students (if any) reject columbia’s ED offer because they were not given enough aid.</p>
<p>I did this last year. So yes, it does happen.</p>
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<p>I think you’re the one who’s misleading potential international applicants to Columbia. Tons of people apply to Columbia from my high school every year (we send the most students to the Ivies outside of USA). Many get into HYPM with aid, many get into C w/o aid but I haven’t seen anyone get into C with aid. Take that as you will. </p>
<p>According to the Overseas Association for College Admission Counseling, C awarded 6.5m in aid to international students last year (~1.6m to ~46 students per class). Even the likes of Middlebury and Smith offered more per student and to a higher percentage of its international class. </p>
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<p>This might be true but it doesn’t account for the fact that your chances as an international student are *significantly *jeopardized if you apply for aid.</p>
<p>If your credentials are good enough, I would really consider SCEAing Yale. Don’t regret never having the chance to at least try for HYP.</p>
<p>Thanks for your replies guys!
Im looking for more “why this college’s better” posts that can cement my decision.Yale is more friendly toward Undecided applicants isnt it?</p>
<p>@Light Airen-I wouldn’t be the right judge of my credentials :)</p>
<p>I agree with Light Airen that you don’t want to “regret never having the chance to at least try for HYP” or any other school. The only way to avoid that regret is to be dead certain that Columbia is your unequivocal first choice when you apply ED. My Columbia son was dead certain, was accepted, and has not had a moment of regret.</p>
<p>It constantly amuses me how many people on this forum assume that everyone on earth would rather attend Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford or MIT (any of them–it seems not to matter which one) over any other university or college in this country.</p>
<p>In visiting all the usual suspects, I personally loved Yale. My son wisely observed that I was likely swayed by the “cute” tour guide. He’s probably right. When we walked on the Columbia campus (the day after the Yale visit), his eyes lit up, and after the information session, tour and lunch with students, he announced that Columbia was his unequivocal first choice. Yale, Harvard and Brown were his secondary choices. (He had no interest in Princeton, Stanford or MIT, all of which he visited.) His counselor, teachers and parents tried to dissuade him from applying ED to Columbia, but he insisted. (His counselor and teachers told him he had a much better shot at Harvard, Yale and Brown, based on his high school’s track record; his parents wanted him to have more time to decide, and worried about regret.) He’s happy as a clam at Columbia, so all the adults were wrong.</p>
<p>perfectpixie, I’m not sure where you heard about bias against undecided applicants. My son had no clue about a major when he applied (and is not much further along almost two years later), so he declared physics and political science as his intended majors when he applied ED. As “undecided” was not an option, he thought his two choices would appropriately convey the message that he had no clue. (How could a 17 year-old high school senior?) Now in his third semester, he is taking his first political science class and has not taken physics at all (nor, I suspect, will he). He’s quite pleased he doesn’t need to declare a major until late spring.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot for clearing up my misconception pbr 
That was one of the factors that was keeping me back.</p>
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<p>I take that as anecdotal evidence, and thus completely worthless when there are actual statistics on this. </p>
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<p>try collegeboard (which is updated every year and standardized), the actual figure is $8.7MM to 203 students total (so 51 per class). that’s about 30-31% of internationals, which i agree is low compared to 52% for US applicants. But the average aid package comes in at $43,000+ (compared to 38,000 for US applicants) per students per year. that’s a discount of nearly 80% on average for international students… </p>
<p>That’s slightly behind Harvard and Princeton and ahead of UPenn, Stanford and Brown (for example). Meaning once you make the cut, they meet need 100%. So it is more difficult to get in as an international applying for aid, but once you get in they make sure you can afford it. </p>
<p>[College</a> Search - Columbia University - International Students](<a href=“College Search - BigFuture | College Board”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board)</p>
<p>“If your credentials are good enough, I would really consider SCEAing Yale. Don’t regret never having the chance to at least try for HYP.”</p>
<p>I just gagged. You really think someone will regret treating the college admissions process as a way to find the school they will be happiest at for the next four years instead of abusing it as an exercise in meaningless prestige? If you define yourself by whether or not you can be accepted to one of the schools that USNWR ranks 1, 2, or 3 (as opposed to the one that they rank 4), then you’re going to disappointed, whether or not you’re accepted. It’s far more likely that a student will regret being a prestige whore instead of applying to the schools at which they would have been happiest. </p>
<p>OP, you don’t strike me as a prestige whore, but as an informed applicant who is trying to figure out which school is a better fit. My best advice to you is to spend a night or two at each school and meet current students, sit in on classes, go to parties, etc. and see which one you enjoy more. The two schools have slightly different academic strengths in different areas, but probably not enough to matter. It’s more important to figure out which campus culture fits you better.</p>