I have a big question about the legacy and ED

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
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<p>Okay here are my stats</p>

<p>Full IB Diploma</p>

<p>4 H courses, 2 S courses</p>

<p>AP CALC AB 5, MICROECON 4 (***ed it up)</p>

<p>SAT I: 780 MATH, 740 CR, 690 WRITING (TOTAL 2210)</p>

<p>SAT II: MATH IIC 800, BIO (took on Oct. 6 prob. above 750)</p>

<p>GPA: 3.85 UNWEIGHTED, 1st DECILE</p>

<p>Extracurricular: Lots of Computer Programming (hella advanced at it), a few sports, PSAT commended, IT club prez, thats pretty much it</p>

<p>Essay: Strong as hell, shows lots of passion, and damn good recs from teacher and counselor</p>

<p>Legacy: Mother (CC), Aunt (CC), Uncle (CC)</p>

<p>I'm trying to decide between</p>

<p>Columbia College ED or Yale SCEA</p>

<p>Yale, i have no legacies.</p>

<p>Columbia, i have to apply for financial aid, and they are NOT need-blind to international students, affecting my chances of getting in..</p>

<p>What should I do</p>

<p>should I do Yale SCEA, and then do Columbia RD,</p>

<p>or should I do Columbia ED, and just forget about Yale?</p>

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<p>Dude, I was faced with the same choice (minus legacy status--although your legacy status would make my post all the more relevant to your situation). Columbia ED or Yale EA. My decision-making process was this: If I apply to Columbia ED, I have an excellent chance of getting in (keep in mind--this is kind of obvious but is overlooked sometimes--the average ED acceptance rate (~20-25%?) is the sum of many things. Some ED applicants have a 0% chance. Others, a 99.9% chance.) With Yale, I knew I had a 50/50 chance at best. So, I opted for the safe choice, and went with Columbia. Looking back, I'm happy. (This is going to reek of self-justification, but I can handle that.) I've lost little by attending CU, and not Yale, in terms of actual quality of education. I've lost some college-brand recogntion, and perhaps missed out on meeting some future Senators and Presidents, but I'm cool with that. Would you be?</p>

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<p>were u also an international student?</p>

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<p>"I've lost little by attending CU, and not Yale, in terms of actual quality of education."</p>

<p>why do you think so?</p>

<p>"I've lost some college-brand recogntion"</p>

<p>-probably</p>

<p>"and perhaps missed out on meeting some future Senators and Presidents"</p>

<p>this is your fault, just search a bit deeper, they're around :p. And if you had gone to yale you would have missed out on meeting current presidents :D.</p>

<p>back to kidcoder:</p>

<p>your stats are not great, both yale and columbia will be stretches. Getting in as an interntional is tougher, columbia international with financial aid doesn't make it much tougher than it already is. the incremental difficult of getting in by applying for aid, is countered by your mother being an alumna. imo yale is still slightly tougher to get into, and on balance it wouldn't make a difference in terms of difficulty of getting in. so it comes completely down to which school you fit better and which one you want to be in more. </p>

<p>" Essay: Strong as hell, shows lots of passion"</p>

<p>if this is true and they end up being emphatic, it's good criterion for a rejection.</p>

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<p>I'd columbia ed hands down if I were you. Legacy plays a substantial role in Columbia's admissions process. I'd be surprised if you didn't get in if your essay is as good as you say it is.</p>