how does my list look?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Early</p>

<p>Columbia – NY
MIT – MA </p>

<p>Regular</p>

<p>Harvard – MA
Stanford – CA
Princeton – NJ
University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) – PA
Brown – RI
Cornell – NY
University of Chicago – IL
Northwestern – IL
University of Michigan (Ross) – MI
Boston College – MA
Brandeis – MA
Tufts – MA
NYU (Stern) – NY
Lehigh – PA
Rutgers – NJ </p>

<p>Alright so this is my college list so far. The states are just for my reference...dont mind them. There will most likely be cuts, but I'm starting my apps now, and will hopefully be able to do as many of htese as possible without sacrificing quality. Pton, Cornell, Umich, are possible cuts. Maybe brandeis as well.</p>

<p>My quickstats: 2310, 750+ SATII's, 2/145, strong EC's and essays</p>

<p>So what do you think. My main concern is whether there is any chance that i will be rejected from ALL these schools. I don't think so, but I've heard many people criticize and say people need more safeties/matches. I understand i have several reaches, and I don't want to end up without a single acceptance. Besides that, does any school look out of place? My preferences include:</p>

<p>urban/suburban (probably excludes cornell)
strong academics of course
nice campus (nyu exception i guess)
good economics program or some type of strong business program</p>

<p>THat's probably it. I'm not very picky. Do any of those schools stand out besides the ones I chose? I honestly know very little about schools such as lehigh,tufts,bc,brandeis, and umich. Somene wanna fill me in on general info? I'll be visiting soon. Any suggetsions on other schools are welcome!!</p>

<p>Last question: Will my chances at MIT EA diminish because I applied CU ED, and visa versa?</p>

<p>Thanks for the feedback!</p>

2

<p>Just glancing at the list, I can tell it's way too long, so yes, there should definitely be some cuts. Seriously, you can't have researched each and everyone one of those to the point that you know you would love to attend. Really, try to narrow them down, especially since it's pretty top-heavy. If you're going to cut any, it shouldn't be your matches or safeties.</p>

<p>Rule of thumb: if you're unsure of whether to cut a school, then it shouldn't have been on the list in the first place. You need to fall in love with a school for it to make your 'applying to' list. And yes, this includes safeties.</p>

3

<p>I agree u should make some cuts. Make sure Rutgers stays, though you are very much likely to get into many better schools, you never really know. And just one question, are you absolutely positive you want to attend Columbia more than MIT?</p>

<p>Also, a biased pitch here. Georgetown seems to be a better fit for what you want then some of those schools.</p>

4

<p>
[quote]
Will my chances at MIT EA diminish because I applied CU ED, and visa versa?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I don't think that Columbia needs to know that you've applied MIT EA and vice versa. The real question is which is your number 1 choice? If it's MIT, then don't apply to Columbia ED as if you are lucky enough to be admitted to both you will be obligated to go to Columbia.</p>

<p>Otherwise I don't see a problem with having so many reaches. What *may*be a problem is not having the right safeties. You'll know better after you visit, but this is what I would concentrate on as less selectives are a lot harder to identify than reaches.</p>

<p>I would also encourage you to apply to Michigan as soon as possible (under their rolling admissions plan). If you apply in, say, September you'll have an answer in a few weeks and could conceivably use that as your "safety."</p>

5

<p>cory123: I don't think you can apply to any school early if you're applying ED somewhere.</p>

<p>momrath: the problem with applying to too many reaches is that one can't usually put in the effort necessary to get into them, even if the common app is used (supplements specific to each school and all).</p>

6

<p>
[quote]
I don't think you can apply to any school early if you're applying ED somewhere.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Columbia allows you to apply EA to another school at the same time that you apply ED to Columbia. Other schools may not so it's good to check every possible combination.</p>

<p>
[quote]
the problem with applying to too many reaches is that one can't usually put in the effort necessary

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Too many yes, agree, but who's to say how many are too many. Without doubt the quality of the applications is a factor. If you have one sure thing safety (can also be an EA or rolling admission) then I don't see any problem applying to 8 to 10 reaches.</p>

7

<p>I know you're looking for cuts, but a college I'd highly recommend you apply to is Babson College. It's a solely business school, and everyone starts out with the same major and then branch out into different concentrations. It's not too difficult to get into, and would likely be a low match for you in terms of admission. However, it's a well regarded business college if that's what you're looking for.</p>

8

<p>momrath: yes, but when you apply to too many reaches, you end up screwing yourself on them all and end up at your safety. And I'd say 6-8 is a good # of colleges, max of 10. Unless you're able to do one application for many colleges (like UC app = 10 colleges, CSU app = 23 colleges), then it'll be hard. Though the common app allows you to send to multiple schools, the colleges have those annoying supplements to do.</p>

9

<p>ye that's why i'm getting started now. Cornell will be cut. If I don't have time for Princeton, that'll be out as well. Good call momrath. I'll try to finish the Michigan one soon.</p>

<p>As for MIT and Columbia, I think I would be very happy at both schools. Right now, I'm in contact with the MIT coach. If I can get a little push there, then I will probabyl apply only MIT EA. If not, then I'll stick with my original plan and do MIT and columbia both early.</p>

<p>mikey: i will definitely look into gtown.</p>

10

<p>Chicago offers EA as well, you know. You could check to see if their EA is compatible with your other early applications.</p>

11

<p>ye i may move chicago up to the early round too to take some load of regular. However, if the MIT coach wants me to committ, i'll just apply there EA. If not, possibly CU,MIT,Chicago early.</p>

12

<p>What are your ECs? Strong to one person may be weak when compared to another</p>

13

<p>Someone else said it earlier but I will say it again; if you apply to columbia ED you CANNOT apply to any other schools early action and if columbia accepts you you have to withdraw your apps at all other colleges, both early and regular.</p>

14

<p>are you sure? I have lots of friends who combined ED at Columbia with non-binding early action at other schools (Chicago, Georgetown, MIT). Some schools allow you to combine binding and non-binding plans; other schools (like Brown) want you to be exclusive.</p>

<p>What you CANNOT do is apply to more than one BINDING school... if you get into two schools ED, they cancel each other out!</p>

<p>From <a href="http://www.studentaffairs.columbia.edu/admissions/applications/firstyear.php#early%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.studentaffairs.columbia.edu/admissions/applications/firstyear.php#early&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>"
According to National Association for College Admissions Counseling guidelines, “while pursuing admission under an Early Decision plan, students may apply to other institutions, but may have only one Early Decision application pending at any time.” While Columbia does not necessarily encourage the filing of both Early Decision (binding) and Early Action (non-binding) applications, we do not prohibit candidates from doing so. However, candidates should be aware that Columbia’s Early Decision program is a binding agreement and a candidate will be expected to enroll, regardless of any pending applications (early or otherwise)."</p>

<p>I would recommend applying to UChicago EA also. It has everything you're looking for by your original criteria.</p>

15

<p>I would drop Lehigh and Brandeis and add <a href="http://www3.babson.edu/About/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www3.babson.edu/About/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Has everything you're looking for, strong academia, nice campus, suburban and a very strong business program. Even if you get horribly unlucky and all the top tier colleges on your list reject you you won't be unhappy there. I visited and really liked it, would've ended up going had I not gotten into my top choice.</p>

16

<p>I haven't seen anything so far about financial aspects of going to college. Overall, unless you or your parents are able to afford the full cost of attending a school, especially a high-priced one like Columbia, the overwhelming recommendation on this board is to not apply ED anywhere. That is because (a) if you are accepted, you are obligated to attend unless you can convince the school that you/your parents simply cannot afford the cost when you see what if any financial aid is offered and (b) you will not have any opportunity to compare financial aid packages. So while your stats might make a good chance for acceptance at Columbia, your financial situation may indicate that you won't be able to afford it. So look at schools on your list such as Brandeis, Lehigh, Boston College, maybe also Carnegie-Mellon and Johns Hopkins. These are schools that offer quite good merit scholarships to students with records like yours.</p>

17

<p>thanks, I will definitely consider Babson</p>

<p>J.Shi my main EC is running, and I'm not too bad either. Like I said before, I have a chance for recruitment at MIT. THis summer I have a paid internship at Cornell Medical School. I'm not big on useless clubs, but I participate in a few. Various community service which adds up to around 200 hours</p>

<p>bigp: No, please get your facts right before posting. You can apply ED and EA at the same time, as long as all the schools allow it (which they do)</p>

<p>dadofsam:I will tell my parents to look at the costs of Columbia more closefully. Whenever I ask my dad whether he can afford it or not, he simply replies "dont worry, i'll just take out a loan". But i'll make sure...</p>

<p>thanks again for the advice...I will be trying to get the Uchicago app ready for early.</p>

<p>Once again, someone wanna give me quick information on schools like BC/Tufts/Brandeis/Lehigh? Are all those MA schools near boston? I want to be near the city. How are the campuses? What about business programs or economics programs? Thanks, i'll be visiting soon.</p>

18

<p>BC has a strong business program and its location is similar to Babson in that they're both a short from Boston. BC also has a great campus, better than Babson's (but that's just my opinion), and its students aren't all business majors, which can be a plus or minus depending on viewpoint. </p>

<p>I think Brandeis' business program is more focused on MBA, not undergrad.</p>

19

<p>Just a quick question that might help you to narrow your list, what is your feeling about curricular structure. I see that you're EDing Columbia which you know has the Core but I also see you have Brown on your list which hopefully you knew has the Open Curriculum. Are you comfortable with both academic structures or would you prefer a more structured academic environment? Also if you're planning on starting applications in the late summer start with schools like Umich which give decisions on a rolling basis.</p>

20

<p>
[quote]
if you apply to columbia ED you CANNOT apply to any other schools early action and if columbia accepts you you have to withdraw your apps at all other colleges, both early and regular.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Two separate issues. You can APPLY simultaneously to Columbia ED and MIT EA. The Columbia website specifically notes that they allow EA applications to other schools.</p>

<p>The rub here is that if you are accepted to Columbia ED you are legally (and I would say ethically) obligated to attend, even if you are also admitted to MIT EA.</p>

<p>In the OP's case I think the Columbia ED + MIT EA strategy is not a good one. It sounds to me (I may be reading between the lines) as if s/he prefers MIT. In that event why risk being commited to Columbia? To me this is a faulty strategy and needs to be better thought through.</p>