<p>So I was accepted to Columbia and this other school, and decided on Columbia. I now want to attend that other school. Yeah, I know it's very late, but can I? Are you aware of past instances such as this where a student was allowed to change schools mid-summer?</p>
<p>Most likely not, unless the other school was an open admissions community college.</p>
<p>Why do you now feel that Columbia was not the right choice for you? I ask because if you do make the decision not to attend Columbia, you will probably find it necessary to wait a year to go to college – which is not a decision to be made lightly. So perhaps you might want to explain what prompted you to change your mind.</p>
<p>Better opportunities at the other school, that I wasn’t too interested in earlier but am now. I just really don’t want to attend Columbia anymore, and am hoping that the other school lets me start this fall. I kinda really want that school now… :(</p>
<p>You need information. Contact the other school and ask the question. If the answer is no, then you might consider going to Columbia, seeing how you like it, then transferring. </p>
<p>The other school may be a better fit for you, but also see if you can compare the long run impact of a Columbia degree vs a degree from The Other School. Do both schools have equal alumni networks in your chosen field? Do you know now what your chosen field is? </p>
<p>Buyer’s remorse is natural, even for a top school like Columbia. Good luck.</p>
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<p>Nope. The other school’s is better. But, Columbia’s is very decent too. I think I was blinded by the whole “NYC = opportunities to intern” thing. Complete nonsense. </p>
<p>Ugh, I just really don’t want to attend Columbia, but I don’t want to take the Gap Year either. Hopefully the other school will understand, but since it’s an HYPSM, I’m sure they’ve already found a replacement for me. :(</p>
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<p>Oh, gag me that HYPSM are “appreciably better” than Columbia. Yeah, I suppose in the same way that the silver medalist in the Olympics is better than the bronze medalist – a distinction without a difference. Anyway, how do you, as a rising college freshman, “know” that the NYC / intern thing is “complete nonsense”?</p>
<p>^ Firms in the industry that I’m interested in don’t take interns during the academic year.</p>
<p>Since the other school is a prestigious one, it seems extremely unlikely that you could attend now. Schools at this level have no trouble filling gaps in their classes off their waiting lists. </p>
<p>Of course, you can always ask. The worst they can say is no, in which case you can take the gap year option (if your family agrees) and apply to the other school again.</p>
<p>But I would think twice about giving up the opportunity to attend a university as excellent as Columbia, especially since there is no guarantee that the other school (or, for that matter, Columbia) would accept you again next year. You would be competing with a different group of applicants, and your results might be different. (If you do take a gap year, try to get Columbia to defer your admission for a year rather than just withdrawing. That way, if you don’t get into the other school a second time, you still have the chance to go to Columbia.)</p>
<p>Also, I find it very hard to imagine that an undergraduate degree from Columbia could be detrimental to your career in any profession, unless it is one where you have to have an undergraduate degree with a specific major and Columbia does not offer that major (e.g., accounting).</p>
<p>You could call the other school and see if they will take you for next year, get it in writing, and then do gap year.</p>
<p>Very few firms take interns during the academic year. Act like you’re as intelligent as the schools that admitted think you are and call your new top choice! Don’t ask us, we can’t tell you, especially since you sort of already know the answer, which is “no.”</p>
<p>Call and/or email, maybe the powers that be will be impressed that you had the courage to actually attempt the switch, or coincidentally another kid just called wanting to switch out of their school into another, who knows. The only thing you know for certain is that if you don’t call or email, it’s a definite “no.”</p>
<p>If it isn’t possible (which is probably the case) then suck it up and move on. You’ll love Columbia and living in NYC if you go in with the right attitude. I am a big believer in creating your own opportunities and there’s no way you can blame being at Columbia for lesser opportunities, that’s absurd!</p>
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<p>Well, maybe you’ll use your time at Columbia to expand your horizons and find something else you might enjoy doing. Stranger things have happened in college before! There’s nothing really attractive about determining that you HAVE to be in a certain industry when you’re the age you are – let the world and the opportunities unfold. You’re going to one of the absolute top universities in the country in a fabulous city – YOU can choose to mope that you’re not attending another similarly-ranked school, or you can take full advantage of the blessings you have. The choice is in your hands. There are more opportunities at Columbia than any one person can take advantage of, so don’t sweat it.</p>
<p>You chose Columbia because you thought you could intern at a particular firm during the year? That seem like a silly thing to do. You should be going to school to get adduction, not internship. I assume you want to go to MIT instead because no one ever says HYPSM(except for one poster). Give Cokumbia a shot, you may end up liking it. I am a fan of NYC, more than Boston.</p>
<p>^? Lots of people say HYPSM though they sometimes add C for Caltech.</p>
<p>Look you should contact the other school, because if you don’t ask you’ll never know. I think it’s unlikely they’ll take you at this point, but it can’t hurt to ask.</p>
<p>That said, even if there aren’t school year internship opportunities (and honestly at most elite colleges you’d be far too busy with things on campus to be looking) being in NYC gives you a jump on looking for summer times opportunities in the city. I went to grad school at Columbia and can tell you it’s a great place to go to school and it’s only gotten better as the city and the Columbia neighborhood are much nicer now than when I was in school.</p>
<p>oldfort, it’s the S, not M, in HYPSM, that’s the other school. I like Columbia too, but without the internship advantage, it’s not so attractive.</p>
<p>mathmom, thanks. I’ll be calling them in a couple hours. I really hope it works out!</p>
<p>These were the OP’s other choices:</p>
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<p>It’s a good lesson for class of 2016: choose carefully.</p>
<p>^ Lol, yeah that was my overenthusiastic-about-Columbia phase. </p>
<p>I wish I could go back in time!! :(</p>
<p>Call right away when the offfice is open and let us know the answer. Good luck!</p>
<p>Good luck to you OP. If you don’t get the answer you want, please understand that buyer’s remorse is very, very common. Students that get into elite universities are often surprised by this emotion when graduation is over and reality starts to set it. It’s hard to reconcile feeling unsettled when you got into your top school(s). </p>
<p>At some point you just have to move on with the opportunity that you have in front of you or you will find yourself in a very unhealthy place. That point will be when you find out if there is a chance that Stanford will let you change your mind. If they say no give Columbia a solid chance. The vast, vast, majority of students end up really liking their schools even if it wasn’t their top choice, even if they had second thoughts. If after the first semester you are truly unsettled you can consider applying as a transfer student to Stanford.</p>
<p>Keep in mind everything you know about each school right now is just in theory. Your experience, and your opinion of either school will change once you are actually a student. You’ll find things that you didn’t know about the campus, irritating glitches, awesome places to hang out, professors to cherish (and those to avoid)…things that you can’t learn online, on a message board, or during a visit. Wherever you go, keep an open mind and let the experience become yours.</p>
<p>Just sent a very detailed e-mail to my regional admissions officer (office doesn’t open for another 2 hours). Hopefully it works out and I can post the happy outcome here by the end of the day. :)</p>
<p>blueiguana, thank you for your great advice. I definitely understand that there are parts to Columbia that I haven’t explored yet that I might love, and if it doesn’t work out I’ll definitely move on. But, at this point, I would just much rather be at Stanford. I’m genuinely more excited about it compared to Columbia.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the help everyone! :)</p>
<p>Also, if future applicants or parents of future applicants are reading this: as coolweather mentioned, choose wisely! I didn’t. Start thinking about your choices even before decisions come out, would be my advice. April, with all the hectic school work and AP prep is just not enough to research your preferences in depth.</p>
<p>It’s probably not possible to transfer to MIT or Stanford for the fall at this point, though it never hurts to check. </p>
<p>My advice: buyer’s remorse is a common feeling with entering college freshmen. You’ve committed to Columbia, so you should just try to throw yourself into it and make the best of it. You can’t change Columbia, what you can change is your attitude towards it. Choose to be positive about it, force yourself to find things, however small, that you like, and just just give it chance. You might be surprised that when you actually start classes, you’ll have a much better experience than you’re anticipating. This won’t be the last time in life when you’ll have some doubts about a major decision. You just have to go through with it and hope for the best. And if it really is as terrible as you’re anticipating (which I highly doubt), you can transfer later on. But give your first school a chance first. You’re lucky to have been accpeted and to be able to go there.</p>