Hi!
I’m a senior from Arizona trying to decide whether or not to apply to Yale and Columbia.
Reasons for:
I want to go to both schools
My stats are good and I have solid ECs (3.91 he gpa and 1580 sat with a lot of leadership)
Reasons against:
I don’t think I’ll get in because both are insanely selective
I want to give as much time as I can to more realistic choices
I’m definitely applying to Brown and UChicago RD because (even though they’re still very difficult to get into) I think I have a decent shot at both.
Thanks
@FriendlyBuddy --Your stats put you definitely in the running. And with college admissions being such as game of chance, I say apply!
Have you visited them? I LOVED Yale and HATED Columbia, expecting it to be the opposite
@camiruth No I haven’t been able to visit either of them. Are there any tangible/describable differences I should know about?
@FriendlyBuddy Columbia’s core curriculum is very very rigid (you can’t really draw your own path) and the general vibe on campus was bad. The students did not seem happy at all, even the tour guide was miserable. Also, all of the students walked around the campus in $2000 jackets and designer clothes, and the vibe was over all pretty snooty.
Yale is much less restricting, as they value expanding your horizons. Honestly the biggest difference is the atmosphere. It’s much more of a community, the students seem happier, the vibe is overall brighter. That tends to be what everyone says when comparing the two schools, so I don’t think it was just specific to the day I visited.
I hope this helps 
Also Columbia’s essays are annoying
P.S. Brown is the best!
@camiruth thanks so much that actually helps a lot. And Brown is actually the Ivy first on my list coincidentally haha
@friendlybuddy did you apply ED somewhere?
@camiruth Not really but I got rejected EA from Stanford