<p>A long time lurker, finally registered so I can get feedback on my upcoming choice.</p>
<p>I have been admitted to several universities, but ultimately the choice has come down to Stanford vs Columbia College. As far as financial aid, they both will cost the same (I didn't apply for finaid), however I am part of the Science Research Fellowship Program at Columbia.</p>
<p>I'm not sure exactly what I want to do... I have a science background (tons of research and two publicatiosn in high school), but I either want to do soft science with a business focus (entrepreneurship) or possibly going into banking or prelaw. My lack of conviction is one of the reasons why I may be leaning towards Stanford.. for its increased versatility.</p>
<p>I wanted to get feedback on a few different points:
1) As a possible pre-law or prospective-banking major, it goes without saying that GPA is crucial. Which school gives me the opportunity to get the best GPA (considering grade inflation as well)?
2) Which school has better law school placement?
3) Which school is higher regarded on the street?
4) How significant of an asset is being a part of the Science Research Fellowship Program (CUSP)?
5) One of my worries about Stanford from a logistics perspective is getting internship in BB or big law firms. How substantiated should my concerns be? </p>
<p>Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>1/ Not hard to get a 3.7+ GPA in a non-sci major at Stanford if you have solid reading/writing skills and manage your time well. Actually, most of it is time management. 3.5+ in a sci major at Stanford ain’t hard either. Both would put you in the running for top tier law schools.
2/ Stanford
3/ Stanford
4/ Not much if law school/banking are your objectives. To get a better idea, find out how many Science Research Fellowship Program alumni went on to be lawyers or bankers. The major exceptions to this are IP law (patent law in particular) and ibanking in high-tech/sci sectors.
5/ You’re close to old school BB and law firms in NY, but you’re close to cutting-edge, innovative businesses and law firms in Silicon Valley and San Fran.</p>
<p>Given your career goals, the research fellowship doesn’t seem like it’ll provide a significant advantage. Again, I can only picture sci + law jiving if you’re interested in IP/corp law. Sci at the undergrad level doesn’t really complement banking though they do take generalists…</p>
<p>Think carefully about why you want to go to law school/banking with your science background. Your soft-sci interest is more in tune with entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley than getting lost in a big firm.</p>
<p>A few thoughts, in the science area, Stanford is truly among the top two or three universities in the world. Columbia is not close to this.</p>
<p>On grades, Stanford is known a little more for grade inflation than Columbia.</p>
<p>On law school admissions, the schools are about the same.</p>
<p>On Invesment Banking jobs, although Columbia is in New York, both schools are at about the same level, a tier below Harvard, Wharton and Princeton.</p>
<p>On Entrepreneurship, Stanford is much better than Columbia considering its Silicon Valley location and connection to the hitech small business and venture capital community in the area.</p>
<p>Campus wise, Stanford has one of the prettiest campuses in the country and Columbia has 24,000 students crowded in a realtively small campus, right nearby some very bad areas of NYC, including Harlem. However, if your desire is to spend every weekend and some weeknights socializing in a big city, then Columbia/NYC would be a lot easier than Stanford/SF.</p>
<p>Not mentioned too often, but starting to become more public, is the fact that at Columbia, as part of Columbia College, you will be taking classes with 25% of the undergraduates that are 30 somethings that are part-time and were accepted through the School of General Studies, having a much less rigorous admissions policy - where only a 3.0 GPA is required to apply.</p>
<p>OP, be advised that japanako is a Princeton ■■■■■ with his or her knickers in a knot over the likes of Columbia nipping at Princeton’s heels. japanako, what is the minimum GPA required to apply to Princeton?</p>
<p>My firm belief is that, given the wide disparity in day-to-day life between Columbia and Stanford, you should choose based on how you want to spend the next four years. Do you want the California sunshine, palm trees and the laid-back suburban Stanford life? Or do you want to immerse yourself in the diversity (including the 25-year old GS students who took non-traditional paths to become your classmate) and urban life of Columbia? You can achieve your goals equally at either place, but the journey will be quite different.</p>
<p>A little bit more on the 25% of Columbia undergraduates that Columbia fails to account for in the acceptance, SAT, GPA, school Ranking stats of its undergraduates:</p>
<p>pbr, a school, which enrolls 25% of its undergraduates as part time 30 something commuters and which is located in the ghetto part of NYC and which loses 90% of its cross-admits to Princeton would hardly be known as “nipping at Princeton’s heels”, don’t you think?</p>
<ol>
<li>Stanford, definitely, but it also depends on what you’re majoring in. Some majors will be difficult to get a high GPA in no matter where you go.</li>
<li>Neither probably confers a material advantage, but as said, Stanford would probably be better for your GPA, which is really important for law school. Also, Stanford’s top 4 for producing the most professional school students (med, law, and business) / highest proportion.</li>
<li>[url=<a href=“Harvard Number One University in Eyes of Public”>Harvard Number One University in Eyes of Public]Stanford[/url</a>]</li>
<li>Not sure</li>
<li>As said, Stanford may not be in New York, but it’s got plenty going for it in terms of investment/finance, law, business, etc. in Silicon Valley, San Francisco, and the Bay Area in general.</li>
</ol>
<p>You might be interested in management science and engineering (MS&E), which is Stanford’s equivalent of a undergrad business major. It has a focus both on science and on entrepreneurship.</p>
<p>Stanford has great weather and yes, it’s suburban, but it’s easy to get off campus and to the city (San Francisco, San Jose, etc. or even downtown Palo Alto) or a ton of other awesome places–the Bay, Santa Cruz, etc. Tahoe and Yosemite are a drive away, too.</p>
<p>Columbia will be freezing for part of the year, and it’s in a big city. You’ll have to decide whether Manhattan is for you, because IMO it takes a special kind of person to live in the densest area of the US (71,000 people per square mile? No thank you).</p>