From Columbia’s website: While Columbia does not necessarily encourage the filing of both Early Decision (binding) and Early Action (non-binding) applications, we do not prohibit candidates from doing so. Does this mean Columbia will take your applying EA elsewhere (e.g. UChicago, Georgetown) into account and look at your application less favorably?I’m mildly paranoid
Columbia does allow ED applicants to apply to schools under non-binding EA programs, and won’t know you applied elsewhere. However, you also need to look at the rules of the other schools, as in your example, Georgetown early applicants are not allowed to apply ED anywhere. From GT’s website: “In keeping with this principle, students applying under the Early Action program may not apply to any binding Early Decision programs since they then would not be free to choose Georgetown if admitted”.
There is no impact on your application to Columbia by applying EA elsewhere. However, check closely the rules for the colleges to which you intend to apply EA, because, like Georgetown, they may prohibut you from applying EA if you apply ED elsewhere, or may even prohibit you from applying both ED and EA elsewhere, such as Yale, Stanford, Harvard and Princeton.
As others have said, it will not impact your Columbia decision. However, the ability to apply to other schools will be impacted by that school’s rules. Since Georgetown will not allow an applicant to simultaneously apply to G’Town EA and another school ED, that’s off the table. Hopefully the GC would not have allowed such applications to have been submitted.