COLUMBIA or HARVARD ?

pbr
Sat, 01 May 2010 00:45:43 +0000

Maybe it’s because we live several thousands of miles from Harvard (and Columbia), but not everyone is obsessed with Harvard. Although my wife and I both attended Harvard, we never volunteered to speak about it in our home with our kids, not out of shame, but because we were quite aware that the hype exceeds the reality. Maybe some kids “game” the system by applying ED to a place like Columbia, but my son didn’t. His status as a valedictorian, varsity football captain and two-way starter, national mock trial award winner, not-for-profit religious tolerance organization founder, 34 ACT score, homecoming royalty, legacy, etc. status certainly made him a Harvard contender. Both of his high school classmates now at Harvard were rejected by Columbia. My son, and his parents, were fully aware of these “random” admissions results when he applied ED to Columbia, over the objection of his counselor and teachers (“Columbia doesn’t like our high school; apply to Harvard!”). One should select his or her college based on where one thinks he or she will be most happy and successful. For my son, that was Columbia, over Harvard.