<p>So its time to make my decision and Im caught between Harvard Early Action and Columbia ED. Could some one give me some pros and cons with each school. Its evident that both are a crapshoot for any applicant and admissions rates will be the same, although the Harvard applicant pool might be a bit more selective but itll be hard to predict cause this is the first time they've done it in a couple years. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!</p>
<p>How much do you have going for you besides academic excellence and high standardized test scores?</p>
<p>Make an honest and critical assessment of yourself to see how high you can realistically aim.</p>
<p>If you underestimate your own ability and potential, successfully ED’ing to Columbia would take you out of the running for Harvard and Yale.</p>
<p>You make a good point. Looking at myself it looks Ive done interesting things, show leadership qualities and hopefully plan on putting my passions into my essay (as soon as I figure out my topic)</p>
<p>Harvard and Columbia are very different schools. </p>
<p>Columbia prides itself on its Core Curriculum, where every student, regardless of major, is required to take the same basic set of courses: Masterpieces of Western Literature, University Writing, Frontiers of Science, Contemporary Civilization, Music Humanities and Art Humanities. All first and second year students must take these specific courses – the theory being that it gives all Columbia graduates a shared commonality and conversation. The core is not for everyone – students either love it or hate it.</p>
<p>Harvard’s General Education requirements are less rigid; they allow students to pick-and-choose courses from eight broad categories over four years: Aesthetic and Interpretive Understanding, Culture and Belief, Empirical and Mathematical Reasoning, Ethical Reasoning, Science of Living Systems, Science of the Physical Universe, Societies of the World and United States in the World. </p>
<p>Once you understand the schools, and the differences in their educational philosophy, your choice should become clear. Which school fits your personality better?</p>