I’m a high school junior and I seem to have fallen in love with this school. I absolutely love NYC and I hear great things about Columbia College’s neuroscience program, which is what I intend to major in. However, it is an Ivy League institution and I have a very low chance of getting in. Please help me fall out of love with this school
More usefully, you might focus on figuring out what you like about Columbia and finding other places with those elements.
First, last and always: what can you afford?
Next, college is not a goal in itself- it is preparing you for your move into adult life. What do you imagine that to be? If you are pre-med, your first priorities in choosing a college are 1) ability to be a star- high GPA and 2) no debt for undergrad. If your goal is a life of challenging neuroscience research by day and a rich life of the mind by night, then your priority will be a place where profs in both fields are engaged with undergrads. And so on.
From your post the first 2 things you love about Columbia are that it is in NYC & that it has a good neuroscience program, so start there:
=what are the other NYC colleges & universities? go through them to see what looks interesting
=what are other cities that you think you would like? look at the universities based in them
=learn more about the pros & cons of living in urban-based schools / living in a city (working in a place is never the same as being there on holiday)
Then go learn more about Columbia College @ Columbia U: does the Common Core / lots of reading and writing excite you? if so, look for other colleges & universities that have a strong humanities/intellectual thrust (Jesuit schools, such as Georgetown, come to mind, but there are others).
Fwiw, after 2 years of college shopping, collegekid #1 had chosen her ED school (visited twice, spent the night on campus, sat in on a class, etc) and a list of RD schools all sorted by April of Junior year. She was ready! And…in October she applied to a completely different set of colleges… Her list changed that much in just 6 months.
It’s not a matter of hating on Columbia. It’s a matter of moving past having a crush (which is where you are) and developing a deeper, more realistic understanding of what you like about your first crush, and finding a range of colleges - from certains to lottery tickets- any of which will suit you and your goals.