Ivy League Chances

Chance Me / Match Me!
21

@collegemom3717 I see your point… here’s what I love about these two schools.

Yale first off is very caring about their students. More then I’ve seen from any college I’ve visited or research. I love Yale’s dorms, each having a special theme, and the buttery and games in the dorms. I love the research opportunities found at Yale as a freshman compared to other schools. I can see myself at Yale, I can see myself attending Yale and not because of the brand name Ivy League. It’s close to New York and I know that I can make an impact in the world by attending Yale, I can imagine what my roommates will be like, the businessmen From New York I’ll be able to meet in comparison to attending NYU for example. I also love the campus at Yale, it’s so beautiful, and who wouldn’t want to be a bulldog?

For Columbia, it’s a dream. Not because of the Ivy League brand, that’s not why I’m attracted to it actually it’s hard to explain. It’s in the heart of New York, I get greater opportunities to intern for successful business people. The campus is absolutely stunning to me personally, and I can also see myself attending this university. The research opportunities are fantastic, but not compared to Yale, however, they are still great. Internships are greater at Columbia from what I’ve seen once again due to Columbia’s location.

Overall, it’s not the name brand, but it’s what the college can provide me, and how I fit into that college. You may argue that I may attend Georgetown and receive all of these opportunities which is simply not true. Being in or next to New York or LA with fantastic research opportunities, a large alumni network, and spirit can be a factor, but I’m okay with Columbia not being a huge sports fan. My high school has no sports so it’s not a craze of mine. I’ve also looked into schools in or near LA, such as USC, UCLA, and Pepperdine University.

22

(this is said kindly)

Your glasses are strongly rose-coloured.

The things that you love about Yale and Columbia seem to break down into:

  1. Beautiful campus- which is fair, they are both great campuses. But: there are a lot of beautiful campuses, including Notre Dame, Furman, Bryn Mawr, UVa, and many more.

  2. Research opportunities: you are interested in business and poli sci, neither of which are areas in which there are a lot of undergrad student research options at Yale (or anywhere else- and I disagree that Yale’s opportunities are dramatically better than Columbia’s). As Yale does not have a business major, if you go that route I’m guessing you are thinking Econ- and I’m pretty sure that Econ research is not what you are thinking of.

On the other hand, for both business and poli sci, internships are key, and for those Columbia obviously trumps Yale, because of location- but so do NYU and Barnard (which shares a campus with Columbia). “I can imagine what my roommates will be like, the businessmen From New York I’ll be able to meet in comparison to attending NYU for example.” is dreaming, not reality.

If you go the poli sci route, Georgetown and George Washington are 2 of the best choices in the country- b/c of their connections with and access to fantastic internships. If you go the business route, UPenn is a more usual suspect, but Bryn Mawr and Haverford code share with UPenn, adding more options.

  1. Location:“Being in or next to New York or LA with fantastic research opportunities, a large alumni network, and spirit”. If you want the biggest alumni network, you need to look at the state university flagships. If you want the ‘best’ alumni network- the ones where alums actively help each other, look at this list:

http://www.businessinsider.com/colleges-with-alumni-who-will-jump-start-your-career-2016-2/#2-pennsylvania-state-university-24

Alumni networks tend to be quite strong at most of the top tier of schools, so not a good top-line metric.

Few of your points on why those 2 colleges really have much to do with actually going to college there- it’s mostly about how pretty the campus or exciting the city is; the important people you think you’ll meet; and (largely irrelevant to you) research opportunities.

Of course, a dream is a dream, and everybody should have dreams- and it is not impossible that this one will come true for you. But, as the odds are 90+% that this one won’t, it makes sense to be actively building up a serious idea of what would be the closest 2nd and 3rd choices that could also make you happy. To do that you need to really think hard about each element of actually attending a college*- everything from the actual academics (course offerings in the subjects you are interested in/typical class sizes/use of TAs/partnerships with other schools or organizations/etc) to the campus culture (UCLA and Pepperdine might be near neighbors but they are pretty different cultures) and student life (size of student body/Greek/weather/etc) and most of all, how they apply* to you*. Spring of Junior year is a good time to take the glasses off and dig deeper.

Once you have identified some solid high/mid/low matches- ones somewhere between your dream colleges and your ‘if I have to’ colleges- and written some strong ‘why us’ essays about them, then put the glasses back on and write your ‘dream school’ essays :slight_smile:

*money hasn’t been mentioned afaik: making sure that you can actually afford the college is - always- step 1.

23

@collegemom3717 Thank you very much for your response. I see your perspective, and I guess I should further explore why I want to go into these specific schools, and look into more colleges. It won’t hurt to apply, and I’m for sure going to shoot my shot, but I guess I really do need to know why I’m pulled into these two colleges of all the ivies. So for now, I shall take off my glasses and look more into the colleges. Once I figure out what I want to do and where, and if Columbia and Yale really is right for me, I’ll put my glasses on. Thank you.

24

Happy hunting, @SafalM :slight_smile:

This time of digging in, of discerning what speaks to you-and why- is an often overlooked, but really important part of the college process- it’s an opportunity to learn so much about who you are becoming, and what you want from the next chapter. There are a lot of people here on CC with good info on the colleges that you may consider over the coming spring and early summer, so come back with questions and thoughts as you ‘shop’!

Also- CC’ers really appreciate posters who are open to other points of view, which is not an easy thing to do, especially when you have your heart already set on something- kudos to you for that.

25

I think you should rank your most important factors for fit – making sure that two of them are Cost and Majors Offered – and rate schools that way.

You might make a spreadsheet each for reaches, matches and safeties. Make a row for each school and a column for your fit variables, and total them up. That would be one way to rank them according to what you think is important – making sure that Cost and Majors are included. Because… bar none, you don’t want to apply to a school you can’t afford without too much debt, nor to a school that doesn’t offer multiple majors you might be interested in. I say “multiple” because a lot of kids change their minds.

You could do this in your head, too, or on a couple pieces of paper. The important thing is to identify what exactly you want and to match that to a range of schools that comprise a mix of reach, match and safety. At the very least, you need safeties. If you have the time and money, add matches and reaches.

You asked me whether Yale or Columbia is a better ED/SCEA choice. Personally, I wouldn’t apply ED anywhere unless i was sure it’s my clear #1. I would not want to be faced with having to go someplace if I really would rather be somewhere else.

And frankly, I don’t think those two are particularly great for you, unless you’re OK with Econ instead of the various pre-professional Business majors that an undergrad Business school would offer.

But if you had to, the choice would come down to the advantage of being in NYC (Columbia) vs. the value you see in Yale’s residential colleges and social vibe.

I think you should also think about Columbia’s core vs. Yale’s more flexible curriculum. Which would you prefer?

But – regardless of “Yale vs. Columbia”, do find other schools that have what you want. And if you only apply to schools that match your interests and which you can afford – and at least one is a true safety – you likely will have successful admissions results.

Finally, if you are considering a double-major or a major and a minor, check to make sure you could do that at a school.

26

@collegemom3717 Thank you.

@prezbucky I have created spreadsheets of my college choices. One in particular is more in depth, and has everything from financial aid to if it’s a safety, match, or reach school. Cost isn’t so much of an issue for my family, as they have a large college fund set aside for me so I graduate with no debt. I like the advantage in Columbia, however, if I was accepted into Yale and Columbia, that’s when I would step back and start to become more indecisive. I am looking at a ton more colleges, and I don’t want to do Econ. I love Business, but I also love Political Science. I could just as easily do political science undergrad, then business graduate, so the majors aren’t my issue. Thank you for taking the time to respond however, and I totally see your point. I do want to apply to Columbia early, it’s for sure my number one choice, but so is Yale. I would benefit more from applying to Columbia early.

27

Hope to be accepted into Yale and Columbia, but prepare to be accepted into neither. That’s why you should be sure to add some matches and a safety, and even some less reachy reaches if you so choose.