What is your opinion on this matter? What should I do? ED high reach or ED mid/low reach?

Applying to College
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<p>My dad wants me to apply ED to Columbia and I keep telling him I have little to no chance but he thinks I can get in. The thing is, it would be between applying ED to Columbia or ED to Cornell. I have a much better shot at being accepted by applying ED to Cornell, so if I apply ED to Columbia and get rejected, then apply RD to Cornell and get rejected, I would have made a huge mistake and probably wouldn't be able to sleep at night if that happened, which there is a great chance it might. </p>

<p>Plus, I have not even done any Columbia ED supplements as I've been concentrating mainly on the Cornell one. I do feel though as if I can write adequate enough "essays" (quotations because the supplements are all 150 or 300 words and all but 2 of them are just lists) in the time allotted between now and Nov 1st and I don't think they'll be rushed, but not as good as if I were to take a month or two months. The bigger problem here is what if I get rejected by Columbia ED (a high chance) and Cornell RD (a good possibility as well)? That would be absolutely devastating. Meanwhile, if I apply Cornell ED, I have a fighting chance.</p>

<p>Regardless, my chances are below mediocre and that is not an understatement. This is the scatterplot for my school's acceptances to Columbia, school name and student name blacked out:
<a href="http://i.imgur"&gt;http://i.imgur&lt;/a>. com/cORIMXr.png</p>

<p>Columbia is in New York City, truly the only reason why my dad wants me to go there because its so close to home, besides that Columbia is more prestigious than Cornell. Its location is also a big positive for me as well. They also offer a system that is not divided into schools, thereby its not like Cornell where one school has a lower acceptance rate over the other. That also falls in conjunction with the fact that you can switch majors with comparative ease at Columbia, whereas at Cornell you would have to apply to transfer schools and there is no guarantee you will even be accepted. I am still not 100% sure on what I want to do in life, though I am 100% positive that I will major in something english/history/business related, so that artifact about Columbia is also a big plus. As far as what one school has to offer academically over the other, nothing, they are both top institutions and my future would not change much if I were to go to one over the other.</p>

<p>Cornell obviously has the higher acceptance rate, and looking at the stats of people who were accepted ED to Columbia, they had major awards, they were top 10 in their class, 2300 SAT's, and 4.0 GPA unweighted, hooks, great teacher recs, significant positives in an app which I do not have. Add the fact that I'm an Asian male, that my GPA is really low compared to the top students in my class, and it's a wrap. You can check out my stats which I posted here: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1698199-what-are-my-chances-for-columbia-ed-p1.html"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1698199-what-are-my-chances-for-columbia-ed-p1.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>You seem to care more about getting into one of the two schools than choosing the one you like better.</p>

<p>Your stats are good enough to get you into either school imo. But if you really feel that the competition in your school is overwhelming, apply to Cornell. Just understand that you must be willing to accept its offer if you are selected. This is the phase where a lot of students end up saying “What have I done?” </p>

<p>Regardless, good luck!</p>

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<p>@AnEpicIndian‌ You are correct in that assumption, but only because Columbia is a longshot for me to get in even though I like it more than Cornell.</p>

<p>Thanks for the advice though</p>

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<p>Tbh, I probably am in the same situation as you are. Some of the “more qualified” applicants at my school though, are URMs while I’m pure brown. They all want to go to HYPSM. I would actually consider Cornell if I was in your shoes.</p>

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<p>@AnEpicIndian‌ I was 100% set on Cornell before this week when my dad brought up Columbia</p>

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<p>I’ve actually had this very same crisis run through in my mind, but it was for Duke vs. Rice instead. In the end, my parents figured that Rice wouldn’t give us much financial aid according to the calculator, so they’re making me apply to Duke instead. I’m ridiculously scared for my chances.</p>

<p>Going by what you’ve said, I would definitely go with Cornell. It’s one thing for you to be wishy-washy for a long while and working on both applications simultaneously; it’s another to be deciding less than two weeks before ED apps are due whether you should switch schools or not. Best of luck to you.</p>

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<p>Not to mention it looks like you’re going to end up rushing your Columbia supplements if that’s the path you end up going down. Cutting your own legs off before you’d even have a chance IMO.</p>

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<p>If you are applying to Columbia College then it is easy to switch majors, but if you are interested in engineering, then you would apply to Columbia SEAS, and transferring between the College and SEAS is not automatic.</p>

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<p>@green678‌ I would be applying to CC, no chance I’m going into engineering</p>

<p>@leglariat‌ I don’t know, looking at the Columbia supplements its 4 lists, one 150 word “essay” about which activity was your favorite and why, and two 300 essays, one about what you find appealing about Columbia and the other about what attracts you to the majors you chose.</p>

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<p>At Cornell, English and history are both in the College of Arts and Sciences, so you would not have to change into another division to change between these majors.</p>

<p><a href=“Academic Departments | Cornell University”>http://www.cornell.edu/academics/departments.cfm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Think about which school you absolutely want to go and is more affordable.</p>

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<p>@MyRealName‌ well, I guess it depends on the kind of writer you are. Personally I thought my writing supplement wouldn’t take this long but it feels like I’m on my sixth draft or something ridiculous.</p>

<p>One thing is for sure though, you definitely don’t want to Early Decision to a school you’re not in love with. It seems like you’re ehh about Columbia. Don’t ED to a school you feel ehh about.</p>

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<p>Just want to chime in that I have heard from parents at private schools around Boston that between “ED high reach or ED mid/low reach” the college counselors are generally saying go for the mid/low reach.</p>

<p>I guess they are saying that the bump you get from ED is not as great as people think, and you should not waste the opportunity on an unlikely high reach.</p>

<p>@MyRealName, do you like the concept of Columbia’s Core Curriculum? It is pretty unique, make sure you know what you would be getting into.</p>

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<p>@ucbalumnus‌ I failed to mention that I’m applying to Cornell’s ILR school</p>

<p>@leglariat‌ I’m not really ehh about Columbia, the school and campus is fantastic, and I would really love the opportunity to go there. I’m just iffy on it because my chances are very low and Cornell is more realistic. The only advantages Columbia has over Cornell for me at this point is the location and the flexibility of majors, which I mentioned. But those are pretty big advantages and pretty big factors in my college decision. Other than that, I like both schools equally.</p>

<p>@ormdad‌ I’m familiar with Columbia’s core curriculum and don’t really have any issues with it</p>

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<p>It’s sad that ED at the highly selective schools puts kids in this dilemma, but “it is what it is”. My son had similar concerns and was considering a strategic ED choice like you. </p>

<p>In the end it came down to his other options. Many posts on CC encourage students to have a safety (or even multiple safeties) that is “affordable, virtual guarantee of acceptance, and you would be happy to attend”. Sounds good, but in the real world it can be a challenge. My son did end up having several schools that met these criteria, so he is going to choose his number one choice and apply (in the case of this school) SCEA. If he doesn’t get in there, and then doesn’t get into any of his other uber-selective choices RD, then he is fine going to his so-called safeties. </p>

<p>So I think it really depends on your list and your high-likelihood options. If the list is balanced and you are happy to go to the schools that are slam dunks, then apply to Columbia because that is really your number 1. If you don’t have good fallbacks then maybe Cornell is the right choice strategically. I encourage you to pursue the former path.</p>