<p>Which one is easier to get accepted for Undergraduate:
Columbia College or Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science?</p>
<p>SEAS has higher acceptance rate, but less applicants than CC.</p>
<p>Also, I will be applying as an Canadian International if that matters.</p>
<p>Thanks :)</p>
<p>you wont get into either if your reason for applying to a college is its high probability of accepting you…</p>
<p>SEAS has a higher acceptance rate, but the applicants are self-selecting, back when they published sat scores and class rank separately, seas would have higher sat scores and higher class ranks. Overall they’re equally difficult to get into, both have yields of 55-60%. Worry more about what you want to study.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>you don’t say</p>
<p>Well I’m interested in Business.
Financial Engineering at SEAS sounds great, but I’m sure a liberal arts education at CC will get me into a good MBA program as well.</p>
<p>What’s your beef kelloggss? It’s not like my application will be weaker or stronger depending on which college I apply to. Is it not reasonable that I should know the college that I would be most likely accepted to?</p>
<p>^I would say it is unreasonable, and foolhardy, to select a Columbia school based on more likely acceptance. Your choice will dictate four years of day-to-day existence during your young life. Choose based on which you think you will enjoy most. Your longer term goals can be met from either school.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>it is unreasonable, because any small differences in your chances are heavily outweighed by the chance of you being stuck in the wrong major / curriculum. Also when you truly fit a school well, your chances of acceptance increase, so it’s counter-productive to pick schools which are slightly easier to get into all else being equal, because all else will not be equal.</p>
<p>As an international, I have no idea where I “fit”.
Since my long time goals can be met from either school, my primary aim right NOW is to get IN to a school. Your assumption is that I am cherrypicking a college, while the fact is that I have not even applied yet. The last thing I am worried about is “fitting in” or “dictating 4 years of my young life”-- if I make it into Columbia, obviously I know it’s not going to be an easy 4 years no matter which college.</p>
<p>Easy for you to comment on small differences as you are already accepted, but to me it could mean going to a sub-par Canadian Uni after SEAS reject, or going to CC. I don’t see the big difference- same core classes, shared resources, and same MBA in 6 years. I reiterate- both liberal arts education and financial engineering appeal greatly to me!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I don’t think you understand how much some CC students wish they were in seas and how much some seas students wish they had been in CC. Engineering is not for most people, and it is definitely for some. You need to figure out where you fit because:</p>
<p>a) It will affect your chance of admissions, admissions are highly subjective afterall</p>
<p>b) it will affect how well you do in college and thus what jobs you get when you graduate and what MBA programs you get into. </p>
<p>I just graduated from Columbia, am working in finance and will probably go on to get an MBA. When choosing grad school you need to be a complete prestige whore, but for undergrad you must find a place you’ll grow and be happy at, because that’s where you’ll really thrive. Most top 15 schools offer you a phenomenal and similar spring board for jobs and grad school. But using that springboard is up to you, and will be constrained if you are unhappy / unfit for a school socially and academically. There is a huge correlation between those who are happy with their experience and excited to be at Columbia and those who do well after. The excitement is mostly present before the success.</p>
<p>Thank you for your advice confidentialcoll!
I will definitely take a closer look at the college more appropriate to me, but do you have any suggestions as to how I would do that? I am not able to visit, and I have no friends who can tell me which option is more suitable. Perhaps you will be able to peruse my CV that I plan to finish this summer and offer your expertise? </p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>well what do you look for in a college? and what sort of a learning and social environment do you like / dislike? do you care about sports? do you like big cities or rural areas? do you want a structured or free curriculum? do you want to be part of a frat / sorority? etc.</p>
<p>I’ll be happy to give you opinions on where you can get / fit in.</p>
<p>Both are equally selective.</p>
<p>Well, I will try to give you an overview 
I look for close alumni-student relations
I want good job prospects, now and future, and the best quality teachers.
I prefer an independent learning environment, and a modest social environment (I’m a little shy)
I have no interest in sports
Big cities are better
I like a free curriculum, but I enjoy the idea of a common core
A frat sounds good, but only for friendships (no wild parties, drugs, violence, etc.)</p>
<p>kelloggss’s and pbr’s post has a lot of truth to it. To me, it honestly seems you want to go to Columbia for it’s “brand name.” Especially because you don’t even know if you will be a fit at Columbia. Please research Columbia further before you apply. First you need to understand college search process better. That does not mean go to a ranking chart and seeing which are the top schools. You need to at least know how to see if a college is a fit for you. You are never going to get into Columbia by saying “i’m applying to seas because it has a higher acceptance rate”</p>
<p>
Probably the worst thing you can say to an admissions officer. If you say “I don’t care if I don’t fit in” then they’ll just say “rejected” because if you didn’t know: College is a match to be made, not a prize to be won. Your post shows that you are heading toward the prize factor by saying that you don’t care if you don’t fit in. The truth is, admissions officers want to see the opposite of what you say. They want to see if you fit in. Read this article from the Journal of College Admissions: [College:</a> A good match, not a prize | Journal of College Admission | Find Articles at BNET](<a href=“http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3955/is_200304/ai_n9173282/]College:”>http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3955/is_200304/ai_n9173282/)</p>
<p>
Have you checked out Boston College? Boston University? Brown? UPenn? UChicago? USC? UC schools?
Because they all are in a big city, large alumni network, good job prospects, either a free curriculum or a distribution, not a dominating frat scene. They all fit into your wants. IMO and I’m not trying to put you down but you need to invest more time into searching schools.</p>
<p>I might sound harsh but it’s because you really should know this info.</p>
<p>Hmm let me explain some things gunit5. I am applying from Canada. Whether you like it or not, I will not be attending any school ranked lower than UBC, McGill, and UT-- it is simply embarrassing. And you are right in my pursuit of the brand name. However, it is truly foolish of you to believe I would say ANY of the above to an adcom. Seriously, it will be the same application no matter which school … my essays will reflect equal effort and interest. Why do you think I would put down HIGH ACCEPTANCE RATE LULZZ as my reason for attending SEAS on my application?
Give me a break please. I appreciate your idea that I should fit in, but to me, top-rated US colleges are simply a prize-- an opportunity. Otherwise, I would simply attend a Canadian uni without second thought.
FYI I am applying to Uchicago, penn, and berkeley. Notice their high rankings? To me it is the best or nothing. I know I can adapt to ANY top college, because honestly, they will all offer a superior experience to a Canadian Uni.
Columbia is a brand of prestige I want to wear, show off, and it is place to learn from the best and start a career-- if I happen to enjoy myself along the way, then that is merely a bonus.</p>
<p>I understand your concern, and I thank you However, I will apply to Columbia in my best light and demonstrate “interest” while ranking lists, butterflies, and acceptance rates dance around in my head. In the meantime, I would appreciate any advice to which college is most suitable to me.</p>
<p>It all comes down to what you want to study in college. Liberal arts? Apply to CC. Engineering (with a liberal arts twist)? Check off SEAS. Difficulty-wise, they’re both about equal. CC had an 8.3% admit rate for the Class of 2014; SEAS had 13.36%. A 5% differential is negligible once you consider the self-selectivity of SEAS applicants.</p>
<p>StarsAligned… one word of advice on your college search. College acceptance is not a prize to be won but rather, a match to be made. It is great to apply to any school (prestige or not) if you think you would actually want to go there. I know of students who get accepted, pick a college and then after the first semester are so miserable socially in an environment, that they feel the need to transfer. So, just try and avoid that misery for yourself in this process. The College search and application process are time consuming – good luck. I’m sure it will work out.</p>
<p>Thanks mom1966! I do understand my narrow-mindedness, but I desire nothing more than to attend a top college with classmates who think alike and value achievement.</p>
<p>I don’t think you’re being “narrow-minded.” But I also don’t think you should base your application on the relative selectivity of CC vs. SEAS. Both are comparable in selectivity so you need to choose different criteria to decide which you prefer.</p>
<p>In principle, I have nothing against choosing colleges within a university based on their relative selectivity. It’s just that in this case, there are only negligible differences (if any) in the selectivity between CC and SEAS.</p>
<p>
Wow. Now I really hope that you don’t get into any of the US schools. The last thing any students want to see is an egocentric, arrogant butthole at their university. I totally agree with kelloggss now. Please, stay in Canada. Americans don’t need people like you coming to the US and being a jerk and trying to be a “fake” and an arrogant Canadian by trying to showing off. I don’t care if you are from Canada, and I know that you will NOT adapt to every college. That is a fact, no one can adapt to every college. Research has shown that people who get 2400 on SAT can end up being worse in terms of freshman GPA than somebody who got a 2000. Why? Because they didn’t adapt. It doesn’t matter how well you do in high school, college is different.</p>
<p>
Again this shows your ignorance. No one else can tell you which college is most suitable, only you can. (A good example of how you are NOT going to fit into every college)</p>
<p>Please, stay out of the US, America doesn’t need Canadians like you.</p>
<p>Statistically, SEAS is easier, especially through ED. What are you guys arguing about?</p>