<p>Both my parents work @ Columbia. Its been our bread and butter.. quite literally, and naturally I always thought about Earlying Columbia. </p>
<p>I honestly hated schools like Harvard. It represented everything I didnt want to be (as in... obsessing over harvard). But recently, as a junior, and witnessing this harvard/yale./princeton crapshoot, you start getting this... what if. And lemme tell you its pretty powerful. </p>
<p>So what do you guys think. Early Columbia- lock myself in (if i get in). Or give myself a chance at Harvard. Oh and i should mention that a HUGE incentive for going to Columbia is FREE TUITION. But other than that, I have no delusions that HYP Academics in most areas trump those of Columbia. My stats are pretty competitive for all those schools. But if i dont early COlumbia, my chances drop a lot (by half actually) and i run the risk of losing free tuition AND not getting into HYP. Comments? Opinions? Hellllpp mehhh!</p>
<p>uh. screw harvard. apply columbia ED. FREE tuition??? that's just an opportunity i wouldn't pass up. columbia's a great school.. i kinda prefer it over harvard myself =]</p>
<p>like everyone else said, if you've got FREE TUITION you definitely take it. ESPECIALLY at a school like columbia.</p>
<p>the caliber of education at both columbia + harvard are both so ridiculously high that you have NOTHING to worry about. take the free tuition if you can get it!</p>
<p>one thing though....... im assuming you're planning on applying to columbia college yes? not seas?</p>
<p>i applied early to a school where i was deferred and then rejected. i was subsequently accepted at harvard and rejected at columbia. seriously.... anything can happen :)</p>
<p>Apply ED to Columbia, but have your backup apps ready to go long before the ED decisions come out. There have been a number of faculty kid rejects on CC in recent years. It is not a lock and its not a legacy. HYP are not safeties (you knew this). You need to find other schools where you can be happy.</p>
<p>Spend lots of time checking out Yale/Harvard/Princeton, then comparing with Columbia, and then decide. Yale/Harvard/Princeton are very different than Columbia. Yale is located pretty close by, it would be easy to spend a few days there and stay over a weekend with some current students (once the school year starts up in late Aug/Sep). In terms of campus life it is probably the most different from Columbia. Cornell is another place you might want to look at.</p>
<p>Harvard is not worth giving up an excellent chance of being accepted to Columbia. If they were both reaches, then I'd advise you to apply early to Harvard, but your case being what it is, stick with Columbia.</p>
<p>Like you said, would you rather have Columbia or end up with nothing? If you apply early to Columbia and get accepted, then you'll go to Columbia and have a great time. If you apply early to Harvard and not Columbia and subsequently get rejected at both schools, you'll want to kick yourself off a cliff.</p>
<p>This kind of "stategic admissions" thinking is becoming more and more prevelant. Sometimes the "stategists" out-fox themselves. </p>
<p>Its fine if you are applying to your "first choice" school, or you don't feel strongly about one option vs. the other, but for every person who is denied or waitlisted at his/her "first choice" and must apply elsewhere RD, there are several who, because of a crisis of confidence, aimed lower than they should have, and miss out on their "real first choice."</p>
<p>The bottom line, of course, is that if you lack self confidence, then the less risky course is the smart course, as long as you are sure you'll never kick yourself about what "might have been. And if you "always hated Harvard" why are you even posting here?</p>
<p>Well, you'd have to be a fool to kick your self for going to Columbia over Harvard. Columbia is a great school, why would you kick yourself for going to such a great school over an equally great school?</p>
<p>If your parents are faculty at Columbia, they will also get financial assistance from Columbia if you go to another institution (although not a full free ride).</p>
<p>If they are modestly paid employees they will qualify for the generous aid packages @ HYP. </p>
<p>If they are well off, then the worry over money should become secondary.</p>
<p>As for the schools, part of the maturation process is getting rid of preconceived notions about what college means to you. You are framing the whole issue in terms of money vs prestige. Powerful draws, for sure, but not necessarily ones that will make you happy or lead you to a peak intellectual growth experience.</p>
<p>Independently of money or prestige, which school do you think you'll get the most out of?</p>
<p>Indepedent of Money or Prestige?... Harvard/Yale</p>
<p>But w/o going into details my parents 'qualify' for Free tuition @ Columbia and i get 50% off for any other college in the United States excluding room and board and books and stuff like that</p>
<p>Thanks guys~ Lots of helpful tips. I think I'll early Columbia.</p>