My top choices are Georgetown, UPenn, and Columbia (columbia not as much though, just because I feel it might be too big of a reach.) I recently visited Penn and really liked the campus, but I’ve been dreaming of Georgetown since sophomore year. Now I’m conflicted about applying to Penn early decision or Georgetown early action. As much as I love Penn, I feel like if I did somehow get admitted (and I would be over-the-moon ecstatic, believe me) I would still wonder about where else I would have gotten in, and I’d wonder if I was missing out on the entire college app experience by cutting it short. On the other hand, if going ED gives a big advantage it may be the make-or-break factor for my application and I’m worried I would be definitely rejected without the boost.
So, does early decision really help that much? Do you think going early decision really could be the difference between a rejection and an acceptance?
Help an anxious senior?
Early Decision, due to its binding nature, has proven to be an advantage for many students. In the case of Georgetown Early Action, they explicitly state that it gives you no advantage at all. I’d say go for ED at Penn, as it will increase your chances.
Can you share your profile so we can make an informed recommendation
ED gives you a significant advantage at Penn. Just look at the numbers. Ed acceptance rate last year was 23.9% whereas RD was 7.5%. Some say the ED pool of applicants is more competitive but I am not sure this is true and if it is, it is marginally so since during RD you have many amazing students who did not want to commit to Penn straight away and a good percentage of them are students who end up being accepted to the three schools that Penn loses the majority of cross-admits to: Stanford, Harvard, Princeton. I d say Penn ED is a super good deal, RD is much more of a crapshoot.
Thanks for the advice everyone. I have finally decided to try early decision to Penn CAS, as much as I love Georgetown I think there’s just something about Penn that really clicks with me. It’s a scary decision, but I’m glad you all have helped me make it!
@ClarinetDad16 i have a 3.96 gpa unweighted/4.69 weighted, 2400 SAT, 5’s on all AP’s, 780 790 and 740 on SAT subject tests, pretty involved extra curriculars in school and a few regional writing awards. I also was contacted by Kelly Writers house (very tentative so I’m not banking on that helping at all), but i think that is also what helped finally swayed me.
1 in 5,000 score 2400 on SAT
I think ED could be the difference, but you will never really know. However, Penn does take over 1/2 of their class in the ED round so it has to help.
Yes it helps them get full pay commitments from legacies, athletes and huge donors. Those without a hook it’s probably extremely similar odds as RD.
@sillyface, what are your academic interests and potential long term directions?
@renaissancedad I plan to double major in biology and English as well as go the premed route. If the workload is too much with two majors I may drop English to a minor but I really want to study both with the same intensity.
On an unrelated note, how much does intended major matter on an applicant’s chances? If I put bio for example, would I have lower chances than if I put English?
@sillyface no it will not make a difference in your chances if you put bio or english. i think you have a very good chance based on your stats.also you seem to be the sort of person Penn looks for, someone who is able to be excellent academically and also have heavy extracurricular involvement.
@Penn95 ahh thank you so much! It means a lot to hear in this stressful time. I’ve been kind of toying with the idea of applying to Columbia ED (I just love complicating my life) but I’m still leaning heavily towards Penn for sure
@sillyface of course, ur welcome. Yeah you should have no regrets if you decide to do ED since it is binding. Do your research for both schools, ask a lot of questions on this forum and other sources you may have and make an informed decision about which one is best for your academic and career aspirations as well as where you think you would fit in best. What are the reasons you are torn between Penn and Columbia?
ED helps with Penn, but mainly if you are an athlete or legacy. It will help a little if you are neither.
Why do you think Columbia is too big a reach but Penn is just a reach?
I would not ED if you might have any regrets. You must attend Penn if you get in ED.
Please do NOT look at the ED acceptance numbers without knowing that athletes and legacies impact them quite a bit, at least for Penn.
@Penn95 I like that both have urban campuses and are really strong in the sciences as well as humanities (pretty interested in the Philomathean society and Philolexian society). Columbia’s core is appealing to me because of its classes in literature/arts, and I’ve heard it has a more liberal-leaning student body. It also has so many research opportunities and I’ve only heard great things about its sciences (first started really considering Columbia after reading about T.H. Morgan). Penn’s kelly writer house is a big selling point, i like their work hard/play hard mindset, and i’m drawn to how penn gives a lot of opportunities for scientific research to its undergrads (the tour guide emphasized this over and over again when i visited). The bad things are I’m worried Penn may be too fratty (parties are great but i want to be able to have a good social life without having to join a sorority) and Columbia might be too expensive for being in nyc. I’m probably missing something but this is just off the top of my head.
@rhandco just from my school’s past acceptances. One person has gotten into Penn every year for the past five years, whereas only two people have been accepted to Columbia in the past ten years. I know both are extremely competitive but it seems from my school’s naviance that our students have better luck with penn.
More than 70% of Penn undergrads are NOT in a sorority or fraternity, and they generally have great social lives. Penn’s reputation as “The Social Ivy” is about A LOT more than just fraternity and sorority parties.
@sillyface Penn has a more prominent greek life than other ivies ( apart from Cornell) but you can have a great social life at Penn even if you don’t go greek. Penn is so diverse that there is something for every type of lifestyle, character etc…Philadelphia has a lot to offer in terms of nightlife without being this overwhelming, whirlwind place that new york is ( also not nearly as expensive). Penn is in the city but it has a distinct campus and there is a so called penn bubble. At columbia there is not really that much of a campus and socially there is not much going on on campus since there is so much going on in the city. This contributes to a certain lack of cohesion and collegiate atmosphere at columbia. But obviously new york nightlife is way more impressive, crazy than philly nightlife.
Also regarding relative selectivity, columbia is more difficult to get in simply because it has a much much smaller class than Penn. So even though there is not really any difference in the quality of students between the two schools, and in fact Penn wins the cross-admit battle with Columbia and has a higher yield rate, statistically speaking chances are higher at Penn.
Lastly, I agree with @rhandco about legacies and athletes during ED, so they difference between ED and RD for a students who is none of the above might not be as huge as the acceptance rates suggest, but i still think there is a slightly better chance fir those who apply ED.
Everyone has already touched on some really important topics so I’ll keep it brief.
I chose Penn over Columbia because Penn has:
- a more flexible curriculum with equally great academic opportunities, allowing me to take outstanding classes in more fields that were of particular interest to me. I ended up being able to double major and double minor. And there is so much research being done at Penn that is accessible to undergrads: http://www.upenn.edu/curf/
- A more beautiful and cohesive campus. Penn’s campus is compact yet still spacious. It is beautiful but still possesses the charm of living in a city.
- A richer and more traditional campus life. Students are always content to stay on campus because there is so much to do but if they ever do get bored, Center City Philadelphia is a short walk away. All of the art, culture, food, etc. that is special about a city is just a few steps beyond Penn’s campus but it never detracts from the school spirit and sense of community that Penn’s campus life fosters.
- Easier access to one of America’s greatest cities. While Columbia is up in Harlem, Penn is a short walk from the heart of Philly (as mentioned previously)
- An interdisciplinary approach to education that is simply unavailable at a university with fewer course offerings or with a less diverse range of disciplines being taught. Penn’s four undergrad schools lead to an unmatched interdisciplinary education. Students can take classes in any of the undergrad and most of the graduate/professional schools with ease, integrating many disparate fields into one, cohesive education. The boundaries and barriers between what you might want to learn are so low at Penn that truly anything is possible.
- The incomparable social scene. Penn as the social ivy is perfect for students who want to make a close group of friends who aren’t afraid to put down their books on a Saturday night, hang out, and talk about anything and everything even if it isn’t overly academic. It’s also great for students who want to go to Fraternity parties or clubs downtown. And it’s the best for people who went to check out a new art exhibition and try out a new restaurant while still making it back to campus in time to partake in their College House’s bonding activity for the night. In comparison…http://columbiaspectator.com/opinion/2014/11/06/remembering-war-fun
Selectivity at Columbia and Penn is similar. Columbia’s admit rate is marginally lower yet the average student at Columbia College and the average student at Penn’s CAS are quite similar.
also I didn’t keep it brief-- sorry 
DD was admitted to Columbia and Penn. She chose Penn and she is very happy there.
She likes the flexibility of the curriculum at Penn. For example, is is almost impossible to double major at Columbia in four year because of all the core requirements. At Penn, a double major may be challenging, but it is much more achievable.
She also liked the more traditional campus at Penn that is about 300 acres, compared to about 30 acres at Columbia.
Regarding ED, I agree that the benefit may not be as large as some people think. They are not going to take a candidate that is not close. However, if it is close, I definitely think it helps. The more positions that admissions can fill ED with very strong candidates, the higher their yield goes.
Thank you all for your input!! @Much2learn especially for that point about double majoring at Columbia, I never seriously considered how the Core would affect that but double majoring or at least taking a minor is very important for me so that’s a definite negative.