ED or RD?? advice would be greatly appreciated :)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
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<p>Hey everyone! I'm a Asian female from the Midwest who will be a senior in the fall. I'm going to apply to Columbia SEAS but I don't know whether to do ED or RD. Will applying ED greatly improve my chances? All reponses are welcome!</p>

<p>Here are my stats:</p>

<p>SAT I: 2330
ACT: 35
GPA: 5.48 weighted (on 5.0 scale)
Class Rank: top 2% out of ~450 students
SAT II: Math II - 800, Chemistry - 800, World History - 750, Chinese - 800, US History - 740, Biology - 740
APs: Chem - 5, World History - 5, Calc BC - 5, Stats - 5, US History - 5, Biology - 5</p>

<p>Senior Year Course Load:
~AP Economics
~AP Literature
~AP Psychology
~AP Physics C
~AP Spanish Language
~Multivariable Calculus H
~also working on an AP Art Studio portfolio</p>

<p>Extracurricular Activities:</p>

<p>~4 years varsity swimming:
2009 Captain, 2008 All-Academic, 2008 Most Improved, 4th place at Sectionals 2008, alternate for State 2008
also invited to and attended a regional sports leadership conference in fall 2008</p>

<p>~4 years school literature magazine:
junior year Discussion Leader, senior Editor</p>

<p>~National Honor Society, Cum Laude Society, Quill and Scroll Society</p>

<p>~4 years Debate Team: varsity member</p>

<p>~3 years Math Team:
2008 and 2009 state qualifier, various Illinois Math League awards</p>

<p>~Student Mentoring Club:
junior Public Relations Officer</p>

<p>~Lab research on diabetes at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine for the entire summer 2009</p>

<p>~Art:
Won $1000 scholarship to take a 6-week art class at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago
North Suburban Conference Art Show Blue Ribbon Winner
Artwork framed and displayed at various local shows</p>

<p>~Attended the National Young Leaders Conference 2008 in Washington DC </p>

<p>Volunteering:</p>

<p>~Hospital volunteer
~Church pianist
~various volunteer projects at local food pantries, rec centers, fundraisers
~total 200+ hours</p>

<p>Work Experience:
~worked as swim instructor, cashier & concessions at local park district pool</p>

<p><strong>I also want to apply to HYPS, so I don't know whether or not to do Columbia ED. Any advice? Thanks!</strong></p>

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<p>Everything looks great. You would probably get accepted ED at Columbia, so apply if it’s your first choice. If it isn’t, then do not.</p>

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<p>You should apply ED only if you are certain that school is your first choice. My son applied to Columbia ED because he liked it better than SHYP (after visiting all five schools), or any other college he considered. He’s overjoyed to be heading off to Columbia in a couple of weeks, but if it were not his true first choice, I suspect he would be less excited.</p>

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<p>thanks!
it is definitely one of my top choices - i love the idea of spending my college years in NYC. still, as much as i hate to say it, there’s always the prestige of HYPS but a much slimmer chance of getting in. and some schools like Emory and WashU that give out merit based scholarships which is always nice…
such a hard decision =/</p>

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<p>Unfortunately for Columbia prospies, the “chance of getting in” at HYPS isn’t much slimmer anymore. RD admission to Columbia (in terms of percentages) is actually more competitive than Princeton now.</p>

<p>(Note: not trying to ignite an ivy flame war here, just saying that those who perceive Columbia as an “easier” pick might end up being surprised.)</p>

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<p>uh-oh…even for SEAS?</p>

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<p>I was wondering that too- is SEAS much easier to get into than CC? Also, does SEAS carry the same reputation that Columbia does in general?</p>

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<p>Given the sheer percentages, SEAS has a higher rate of admission. However, the applicant pool is more self-selecting, and has less of the people who apply to an Ivy just for the hell of it to see whether they can get in. Thus, the actual difficulty of gaining admission is probably fairly similar between the two colleges.</p>

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<p>If you’re wondering whether to apply ED, answer yourself this question: if you got into every university in the country, would you pick Columbia? If yes, and finances are not a problem, then I would say apply ED. If not, I would not apply ED.</p>

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<p>“I was wondering that too- is SEAS much easier to get into than CC? Also, does SEAS carry the same reputation that Columbia does in general?” (By NWdivisionCHAMPS)</p>

<p>From what I heard an upperclassman say, though the SEAS admission is almost double that of CC’s, the SEAS students are generally treated equally as the CC students. This, apparently, is mostly because of the fact that SEAS students tend to score higher on exams and have an overall higher GPA than CC students. And please, this is a VERY GENERAL STATEMENT and definitely not absolute in any way.</p>

<p>And astronaut135:</p>

<p>My GOD you have nice credentials.</p>

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<p>Hmm these are all really good points…even if SEAS is just as hard as CC, I think i’ll still apply there because my strengths lie with math and science.
Aw thanks, Bob6823!</p>

<p>I’ve been doing some more research on Columbia’s academic programs, and now I have a slightly off-the-topic question.
If I do get into SEAS, would I still be able to take classes in art? Maybe even minor in it? As much as I enjoy math and science, art is still something I don’t want to leave behind…</p>