<p>I’m sorry for the mistake, I accidently compared Columbia’s regular decision with Dartmouth’s Early Decision. However, I still consider a 10% difference substantial. Dartmouth also has a substantially smaller pool, which means less competition (although the competition may be of the same caliber). You are correct in saying that there may be a variety of other factors that contribute to the pool, which is exactly why I created this thread (to find out more!)</p>
<p>As for the environment, I am honestly happy wherever I go in regards to city vs rural. I think a lot of people make a big deal about rural vs city campuses, but I don’t see the preference as a mutually exclusive one. For example, I have visited Columbia’s campus and love the city-scene and I feel as though I would really enjoy the “hustle-and-bustle” of New York. However, I also have stayed with a friend in Emory university for an extended period of time, and I loved their open, green campus. </p>
<p>I guarantee you that I am not just shooting for an ivy league school. Columbia and Dartmouth aren’t even my top choices for CS, but just happen to be really good colleges on my list that offer ED programs. My top colleges include CMU (ED II), MIT (EA), and Berkeley(regular only). As you can see, none of them are ivy leagues. If I got into either Dartmouth or Columbia, I would not be disappointed that I couldn’t go to CMU or MIT. I know that they all offer great educational opportunities regardless of CS ranking, but would prefer to go to a big CS school if I am given the option. As I said, I would really be happy with either Dartmouth or Columbia, and am just trying to gauge which one would be more likely to accept me based on my unique position.</p>