<p>I'm very split. I've narrowed my college choices down to these two. I'm not sure what I'd like to major in, but probably something social sciences or humanities. I love Columbia and had envisioned myself there for a while, but I also like Harvard, and I find it incredibly difficult to turn down Harvard and everything that comes with it. The two things throwing me off are that I was put in CUSP (the Columbia honors program), which I like, and the Harvard social scene, about which I'm a little apprehensive. Were both of those out of the equation, I would probably be leaning Harvard.</p>
<p>Any thoughts? Anything I should consider? I haven't been to Harvard's admit weekend yet, but I'm worried that I'll still be undecided when I do.</p>
<p>I definitely think the Columbia scene is more fun, you get to go into the city and explore, etc.</p>
<p>Whereas at Harvard you’ll feel a little more confined to campus. However, Harvard’s academics and prestige is hard to pass up. Do some research on the Harvard social scene, find out how hard kids work and what they do in their free time. If I were you, though, I’d pick Harvard.</p>
<p>When I was at Columbia Business I knew two people who actually chose Columbia out of their love for Opera and the Met in particular. Each of these guys paid standing room twice a week to see the Met. So if you love opera, the choice is clear.</p>
<p>Columbia on its own offers a strong educational experience than Harvard does. The added benefit of the honors program makes it a compelling choice.</p>
<p>On the other hand, Harvard is Harvard, and you have Cambridge and MIT.</p>
<p>There are countless cultural opportunities and fun to be had in Boston too.</p>
<p>A few more questions: would either be better for getting into grad school? I’d be more likely to be at the top of my class at Columbia, but Harvard is Harvard. And would I be a complete fool to turn down Harvard? One other thing I’m considering is money–Harvard gave me much more financial aid, but Columbia just adjusted their offer to match Harvard’s. Still, I’ve heard it’s really easy to get grants for research, study abroad, etc. at Harvard, and I would like to have those kinds of opportunities.</p>
<p>Hoping to leave the Harvard admit weekend with a decision in mind.</p>
<p>^^^ “the Harvard social scene, about which I’m a little apprehensive”</p>
<p>I’m kind of confused by that angle - H has a very active campus social scene, while the stereotype of C is that many students who go there are more NYC-oriented than campus-oriented and disappear with their social lives into the city.</p>
<p>Very true. I should clarify–I study very hard, as almost everyone who gets into either of these schools does. With that said, I do like to go out and have fun. The stereotype about Harvard is that the students study all the time and don’t have fun. Clearly, this is not true, but I do think they go out less frequently than the kids at Columbia do. (At least in my experience.) So I guess I should just say I’m a little worried about whether or not I would enjoy myself at Harvard, though I could just be getting the wrong impression.</p>
<p>lol, what’s this supposed to mean? That the kids at Columbia are less competitive and intelligent? IMO, you would have your fair share of struggles at either school: you’d be surprised.</p>
<p>If you’re as academically earnest as you purport yourself to be, you’re not going to get out very often at either school, trust me.</p>
that sounds dumb. Columbia students are just as academically competitive as Harvard students. it will be a serious uphill battle trying to be #1 at either school, and chances are you won’t get out at all so don’t worry about the social scene. </p>
<p>and you don’t need to be #1 in your class to get into grad school… especially not at an Ivy League school. at both schools, your chances of getting into grad school will be very high.</p>
<p>you should probably readjust your goals… make up your mind as to whether you aim to be #1, or whether you’re just aiming to get into a top grad school. those goals would lead to drastically different lives over the next 4 years.</p>
<p>I’m sorry if that sounds cocky at all. The thing about CUSP though is that they select the top 5% of applicants to be in it. So my assumption is that if I’m in the top 5% of the applicant pool, I’d be in the upper end of the class, too. Clearly Columbia students are intelligent or I wouldn’t like it so much!</p>
<p>And I definitely do think I’ll go out… I don’t sleep that much but I make time for balance between work and play. I’m at the top of my competitive high school class (we have 20+ kids going to Ivies out of a little more than 100) and I enjoy myself now.</p>
<p>I don’t mean #1 specifically. Maybe at the “top of the class” was ambiguous, but I never said #1 anywhere–realistically I know that’s very unlikely at any school, especially one as good as Columbia or Harvard. I just mean that having been set aside as one of the most competitive applicants does let me know I might have an easier time at Columbia than Harvard.</p>