After four years of hard-work, I finally got several acceptances from top US universities. I got accepted to Columbia, Chicago, UPenn, Brown, and Georgetown. I am a US citizen and would like to double major in Political Science and Economics (but I am more politics-oriented). In the future, I would like to be something like a political consultant, lobbyist, campaign manager, chief of staff, strategist, policy advisor, etc. I would also like to go to Law School after university. Given my future interests, I really have a hard time picking a school as all of them are great schools. I managed to eliminate Brown and UPenn. They are great schools but are not as strong in government and the locations are not so great for politics.
Now I am left with Georgetown, Chicago, and Columbia. Out of these 3, I am more into either Columbia or Chicago. I am aware that Georgetown is in the DC and has a lot of networks; however, the academics, the prestige, and the student profile is not as great as in Chicago and Columbia. I feel that it would be stupid of me to turn down Columbia or Chicago instead of Georgetown.
Then, we come to the final part where I am stuck at: Columbia vs Chicago. In the past years, Chicago has ranked much higher on the academic rankings than Columbia. Additionally, I have heard that Chicago is a very intellectually-challenging school, which is something I like. However, it feels like Columbia has a slight edge because of its location and Ivy league status.
So, guys, I would like to hear your opinion. This is very important for me!! THANKSSSS A LOTT
would you be able to handle chicago’s academics along with the quarter system? the quarter system is pretty darn fast, and chicago’s academics are no walk in the park. i’m not saying columbia is easier by any means (because it’s really not, lmao), but the semester system gives you a chance to breathe a little bit.
in my opinion, it sounds like the best choice for you is columbia (right amount of intellectuality, rigor, social mobility, prestige, etc.), but that is solely my opinion.
(p.s. columbia is still a top ten school. once you hit the top ten [top twenty even], the rankings don’t really matter.)
UChicago ranks just one position higher than Columbia in the current USNWR listing. That’s a meaningless difference … but so is the “Ivy” imprimatur (for purposes of this decision anyway.) Is there a significant net price difference among these schools? That would be more important to many families than the “Ivy” branding or the miniscule ranking difference.
Congratulations on having great options! You can’t go wrong here. You will have a wonderful education at either, either will challenge you intellectually, either will have bright peers for you, and both are plenty “prestigious.” You can go by fit. Which one “feels” better to you as a home for the next four years? Pick that one.
First – Congrats for having such fabulous choices. You really cannot go wrong with either UChicago or Columbia. Second, the Ivy label is irrelevant. Stanford, MIT, UChicago and Cal Tech are equal two and in many cases more prestigious than the majority of ivies. The global reputation of UChicago and its top Business and Law schools is at the very top of world universities. Columbia has been slipping a bit. BUT in international affairs, Columbia has an edge over UChicago, just as UChicago has a clear edge over Columbia in economics. Both schools are very similar in their genuine intellectual vibe. Neither one is a party school. They are located in major cities. You should decide based on whether you prefer being in NY or Chicago Both are great cities. Chicago is more accessible and cheaper. NY is the center of the universe. Also, student bodies tend to be different. There is a different vibe to each school. .
Brown is probably the best school for a pre-law student, since the open curriculum means that the student can choose out-of-major electives that s/he is more likely to earn A grades in. The heavy core / GE requirements at Chicago and Columbia mean that you may not be able to avoid some courses where you are at higher risk of earning B or lower grades in, which would damage your chances of getting into a law school that matters (highest rank).
Are they all affordable? Don’t exhaust your family resources and pile on the debt if law school is in your future. Have you visited them all? If not, try to visit those you can before deciding. Otherwise, if Columbia is your favorite among those in the eastern time zone, go there. You can’t really go too wrong with those options, though. Any differences in terms of setting you up for law schools from those choices would just be splitting hairs.
Don’t go to law school unless someone else is paying for it. Honestly, I think this just comes down to fit. Where do you feel in your gut you want to go?
If the cost is affordable without loans, then there is no bad choice here. All are very, very good universities. All have very strong reputations and are widely respected.
Someone above mentioned the quarter system. I studied with the quarter system at a rigorous well known university. I liked it a lot, but do not fall behind. The end of the quarter comes up very quickly.
You guys are the best!!! Thank you for all the answers. I would like to answer some of your questions and concerns.
I have NOT done any overnight visits. I am an American currently living and studying in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, which makes it impossible for me to visit any. However, I have taken two summer college credit courses at Georgetown in International Relations and US Political Systems. Although I have very much liked it, I have heard from many people, including our RA in the summer and an associate professor friend of mine that the student body and culture is relatively bad compared to Ivy League schools, and the academics are weaker.
PreppedParent, it seems like you gave the best answer. That’s probably because of NYC and Washington, DC I assume. I got into Georgetown College for the major of Political Economy. I was not interested in International Relations and Diplomacy so didn’t bother applying to SFS. Also, as someone had asked, I have been rejected to Northwestern. However, I would not under any circumstances attend it if accepted. That probably affected my application and essay and showed a lack of genuine interest.
Additionally, my parents are not rich, but I would say we are way above average. My parents agreed to pay 2-3 years of university, also through support from my grandparents. So money is not a big issue here. It does come to fit.
In general, I am leaning more towards Columbia because of location.
Congrats on your acceptances! It looks like we applied to similar schools (however between deciding between Columbia and Chicago, I was accepted to Columbia but rejected from Chicago).
I’d first like to note that UC and Columbia are vastly different from Georgetown. I tend to categorize them more as “intellectual” school, and while people there are definitely focused on getting a job, I felt the students there were vastly more interested in learning rather than simply getting a job to make money if that makes sense. That said, I found the student bodies at UC and Columbia much more interesting than at Georgetown.
Between UC and Columbia, it’s a tough choice. I actually applied ED to Columbia (deferred but then accepted RD), and applied EA to Chicago (deferred, applied ED2 then rejected), so at one point they were also my top choices. Both obviously have the core curriculum which I would make sure you like before deciding on them—the core is definitely not for everyone. I felt Chicago had a much more active campus culture which I think was because it wasn’t as central to the city as Columbia is in NYC. Both obviously have great locations; I personally prefer UC’s location. I thought the student body at UC was slightly more lively too.
Also, I wouldn’t worry about the lack of connections for Georgetown going to those two schools. At both UC and Columbia, you’ll get incredibly connections and have incredible opportunities.
Personally, I think I would go with Chicago, but that’s just because I have a love for UChicago, and I think I’m still slightly upset that I was rejected (I’m kidding… but still).
I hope that helps! I’m also looking at IR, and I hope to go into the foreign service, so it seems we are quite similar. I’m actually interning in DC at the moment. Though, I’m currently deciding between Princeton and Swarthmore (though I think I will be attending Swarthmore).
Don’t worry about rankings and prestige. You are parsing the differences much too finely. All three are great universities, and you can’t go wrong with any of them.
Georgetown will get you where you want to get every bit as much as the other two. It certainly doesn’t put you at any disadvantage for getting into law school.
Okay, please ignore the comments about Columbia is an ivy because that’s really almost irrelevant. Ok? So? Georgetown and Chicago are extremely comparable. Please don’t base your decision off ranking or prestige. Chicago arguably SLIGHTLY takes the edge in academics, I’d say. However, be prepared for an extremely rigorous school. Anyways, here’s a scenario: say you graduate with X GPA and Y LSAT. Say you get into Z law school. You had gone to Columbia for undergrad. Z law school’s decision to accept you would not have been different if your transcript had said Georgetown. It’s about taking advantage of the opportunities around you. You could arguably get the same opportunities at a state school; it just might be a little harder to find them. As I said, in my opinion, Chicago may have a minuscule edge in academics. Despite this, they don’t have the edge in prestige. The general population would think U of Chi is a public school if you asked them.They most likely would not know the quality of education you would be receiving (not that public schools can’t give you the same education; I’m simply giving an example). Plot twist though (not really), the people that matter AKA law school admission (even though, as I said, undergrad name doesn’t matter that much), will know the quality of a U Chi education. Visit. It’s all about fit:)
You can’t go wrong with any of the three. There are very different places and schools as well, so I can’t emphasize fit enough.
@justliviglife iviglife Nobody who matters – even slightly – thinks UChicago is a public school. Law school admissions understand the prestige and rigor of UChicago and so especially does the UChicago Law School, which fourth in the country, and Chicago Booth Business School which is tied with Harvard as first in the country. 84% of UChicago graduates applying to law school got into a top 14 law school. All prospective employers understand this as well. This does not change the bottom line that you cannot go wrong with either Columbia or UChicago…