<p>Upon my acceptance to Columbia, I was designated a John Jay Scholar. From the few sources that I can find, I've heard that the title carries prestige and significant benefits, but what can I expect? All money held equal, does my status as a John Jay Scholar make considering Columbia over Harvard and Princeton worthwhile?</p>
<p>I’ve heard John Jay scholar means absolutely nothing but a compliment, in order to try to get you to do exactly what you’re doing–more highly consider Columbia.</p>
<p>Maybe I’ve heard wrong, though.</p>
<p>^MSauce is right. I have a friend who is a John Jay scholar and he says it is almost meaningless. Harvard and Princeton would both carry much more prestige and benefits.</p>
<p>WARNING! trf1021 is a Columbia waitlistee who is trying to get accepted students to turn down Columbia so that he is more likely to get admitted, he was rejected at a bunch of different ivies and Columbia’s probably the best he has:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/896071-ivy-selective-school-rd-results-2014-comparison-summary-3.html#post1064496857[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/896071-ivy-selective-school-rd-results-2014-comparison-summary-3.html#post1064496857</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/894258-official-yale-class-2014-rd-results-thread-3.html#post1064496778[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/894258-official-yale-class-2014-rd-results-thread-3.html#post1064496778</a></p>
<p>a direct quote: "if you know anyone who got into Columbia, TELL THEM NOT TO GO! "</p>
<p>as an actual scholar i think it is important to tread a thin line - on one hand, the scholars program is a great resource, a small niche within the university, but it is certainly not created to develop sizeable advantages for some students over others. in the end, consider it a leg up - the program gives you some funding, gives you more exemptions from work study, and has direct access to faculty. </p>
<p>i would say it can be as huge an advantage as you choose. students that come back voracious, find they will do so many incredible things and support other students in their work efforts.</p>
<p>@confidentialcoll, You are right, but I am telling the truth. I know someone at Columbia who is a John Jay scholar and he says it is really not a big deal. If the OP would rather go to Harvard or Princeton, then he or she should do so. If not, then I would encourage them to choose Columbia, but not because they are a John Jay scholar.</p>
<p>If we are talking prestige and benefits, Harvard destroys everything, especially with international prestige.</p>
<p>Actually, Columbia’s international presence is just as large, if not larger than Harvard’s, or so I’ve heard. They do more recruiting internationally.</p>
<p>Could be wrong, though.</p>
<p>international prestige is a bit diff than presence, columbia is more international in that it has more international students, but the harvard brand is very strong.</p>
<p>as for what trf says - it is true, some scholars don’t really care about the program, or notice that it offers a lot. like anything in the world - it is what you make of it. going to harvard alone wont turn you into something, you have to take advantage of the resources. for the most part though, it is meant to give you benefits that rival and beat what harvard gives its ugrads. columbia certainly is a small notch below as a whole, but the scholars program as far as i can tell was instituted specifically to compete with kids that would go to harvard, by giving them something better (better support, access to faculty, monies, free food).</p>
<p>come to columbia!
[YouTube</a> - Columbia University!](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZG7gThoGME]YouTube”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZG7gThoGME)</p>
<p>go to where you actually want to go to for college. H and P will be much more prestigious if that’s ur concern. The JJ scholarship is good but it cannot compensate for the resources and benefits of attending the other 2. If you really love the core, the thought on nyc etc etc over H and P then go to columbia otherwise go to one of the other 2.</p>
<p>Personally i’d choose princeton. its got more of an undergrad focus with similar prestige and resources.</p>
<p>The scholar programs range from useless to nice, but you should be comparing Columbia vs. ________<strong><em>, not Columbia X Scholar vs. </em></strong>______. Your experience as a Columbia X Scholar will be 95-99% the same as it would be if you weren’t a scholar. There are many good reasons to chose Columbia over HYP, and people regularly do so, but I wouldn’t be duped in letting the scholar thing be the tiebreaker.</p>
<p>Columbia has more international prestige, especially in Asia because the university tends to have a large graduate school. Actually, the graduate schools eclipse the undergraduate schools in size. You’ll see that the science, economics, and mathematics departments are filled with international students.</p>
<p>Personally, I would choose Princeton over Harvard and Columbia. The latter two schools are similar in that they are graduate school focused and tend to have poor campus life and bureaucratic administration. Princeton, from what I’ve gleaned, is focused on undergraduates and the alumni-giving rates as well as the annual P-rade are a testament to the great experience.</p>
<p>I’m from asia. H and P hold way more prestige.</p>
<p>If you are looking for prestige, then no doubt that you should choose Harvard, i live in a foreign country and almost everyone knows that Harvard is a top school. Not as many people have heard of princeton or Columbia. (I didnt know much about either until i started college apps)
It seems also that the scholars thing doesnt really differentiaite you that much from the rest of the student body, apart from special programs, event and a few other perks.
However, I don’t think you should choose your college based on prestige (These three are all prestigious in their own right in any case). If you like Columbia, more than Harvard and Princeton, for what it has to offer etc, then by all means go…youll be happy. On the other hand if you think that Harvard or Princeton will offer you more and youll feel more happier there, forget about the scholars thing and go.</p>
<p>Either way you can’t go that wrong, they are all good schools. Congrats on your admission to them.</p>
<p>Columbia trumps H and Y any day, in my opinion. not because it’s more prestigious, but because I like it more haha. If I were a Columbia waitlistee, I would be like trf1021 and tell you not to go, but I’m not a waitlistee. I got flat-out rejected. So Congrats on your acceptance! and again, you should go to Columbia and enjoy yourself + plenty of NYC opportunities really not offered by any other Ivy/prestigious school.</p>