this is an unfocused list. Large school, small school, urban, rural. All with great reps. That’s your common factor. A bunch of highly ranked schools that are unlikely to all be a good fit for the same student
you haven’t put in the minimal time it takes to find out that studying economics is not the same as studying business.
you go to a “challenging private HS” and yet rather than talk with your GC who knows you, your teachers, and where kids similar to you have gone, you turn to strangers on the internet for advice
My take is Columbia has just told you that they’re certain you wouldn’t make the cut at schools of their caliber. Maybe they’re wrong, but given the other factors I mentioned above I wouldn’t be too sure of it. In mid-December its probably too late to figure out what you want in college and where you can find it. So pick some schools that aren’t such extreme reaches, when the letters roll in maybe one will turn out to be a good fit for you.
If you feel that Harvard, Yale, Princeton or Stanford would offer you distinctly more in terms of your interests than, for example, USC, UC-B, Penn or Babson, then by all means include them. If not, then the former group serves little purpose for you. The final determination should depend on your further research into these schools.
how is it that you are going to apply to all these schools before the end of the year? You do realize that the ‘top tier’ schools have very specific supplemental essays that will be highly regarded. If you don’t put enough time into them, you might as well not bother applying. Skinny down your list…
@badgolfer thanks for the feedback! as I mentioned earlier, I’m more geared towards the larger sized, more urban schools. I see your perspective but the reason so many highly ranked schools are on my list is not just prestige, but for the types of people I can meet and networking opportunities available; I think that would be extremely helpful for business/ entrepreneurship. I do understand the differences between business and economics, both of which interest me extremely (although it’s starting to seem as if I’m leaning towards business). I have talked with my counselors, teachers, and peers, but it never hurts to hear another perspective-- some of the people on CC are equally or even more qualified in these matters!
@merc81 I agree that one should apply for the specific interests more than overall reputation, and I’m leaning towards eliminating all but maybe one from the ultra-elite schools. Thanks for the advice!
Why did you wait til this was over before putting together the rest of your list and the rest of your apps? Surely you understood that Columbia ED (like any other elite school) is a crapshoot with a low acceptance rate no matter how qualified you are.
One year the co-valedictorian at our high school ( with his twin brother as the other co-valedictorian) went to an elite entrepreneurship program at Lehigh on a full ride while his twin brother went to Syracuse on a full-ride after both were rejected from MIT and many other selective schools.
Although not my d’s area of interest, I can tell you that the economics department at Rochester is one of the most highly rated programs in the country.
I am confused by what input your guidance counselor offered to have such an unfocused, unbalanced list. Michigan and Indiana are also both schools with strong business/entreprenership programs.
Hi @Pizzagirl , reasonable question. I was never simply expecting to get into Columbia ED and I’d already applied to about 5 other schools by the time I heard back. This is just an additional list of schools I am planning for, some of which for I have already written the essays and have ready to send! My primary purpose was just to find a few more match-safety schools which I might like, and to reduce my list so I’m not applying to an insanely high number of schools.
@ucbalumnus Yes, I am in-state for ASU. Cost is not the biggest factor, but I am looking for optimal value schools- that is, some top schools may be worth full price but for mid-tier and safety schools I am pursuing merit-based scholarships (I’m currently a National Merit Semifinalist, so schools like USC are great value).
For the record, @collegemaster32, I wasn’t specifically suggesting that any of those schools (21) have a better overall reputation than any of the others, but only that schools that may be 1) less suitable for your interests and also 2) more difficult to get into may not be the best places to apply. This is more of a general opinion that can be applied to each of your choices on a case by case basis.
The Economics program is good at the University of Minnesota-TC and Carlson Business school is also well-ranked. My S was also accepted at CWRU, BU, University of Rochester (others too but those were in his top 5) and decided on Minnesota for the program, the cost, and the urban environment. Their honors college is quite selective so you would get strong peers and challenging courses in that program. I think it is a better safety than ASU (unless you are extremely averse to cold weather).
I do think you have a good shot at some on your list - UCLA and USC take a high percentage of OOS. Northwestern and the University of Chicago both have excellent economics and business programs - however, they are also both highly selective. How about the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor?
Check out Middlebury’s Social Entrepreneurship program. It’s one of the very best. They were also recently listed as one of the country’s best schools for entrepreneurs by Forbes or Princeton Review or one of the other many rankings out there.