<p>I was sending question emails out to directors of admissions
to Uchi, Columbia, and Northwestern and while doing so
I accidentally ended up mailing how Columbia has been my first choice school since freshman year blah blah to my U Chi area reader.</p>
<p>Worse yet, he DID reply, saying “Sorry, I dont know anything about Columbia.”</p>
<p>You’re a human, right? You put the wrong letter in the envelope? Just explain it (“wow, you must think I’m the stupidest person ever to apply to Chicago…”), and enclose the correct letter. Unless the admissions person is supernaturally ignorant, s/he knows you are applying to more than one college. </p>
<p>I’ve heard horror stories like that, yet most of time they still end in acceptance. I’d say definetly go for it. You should apologize and maybe send some sort of gift to the admissions office. I’d buy a bag of oreos and send them in a package right now, along with a letter of apology. Everyone likes getting a bag of oreos in the mail.</p>
<p>Did u apply ED to Columbia. If so, they probably know it was your first choice school. Its nothing lost, a school doesn’t need to be first choice to collect an application fee. Are you trying to self-select yourself out of the pool?</p>
<p>gosh I feel even more stupid now…
I mean I really do love UChi - Ive spent a lot of time researching, i drove for 6 hours just to visit the campus (which I did not do for columbia because columbia is obviously too far away…), Ive talked to alumni… ummm
dammit I shouldve handled it more maturely instead of just freaking and backing out…</p>
<p>^ Just so you know, Columbia and Chicago are VERY similar. In fact, I commented on this to my alumni interviewer AND college counselor and they both agreed with me. So, don’t fret, if you are interested in Columbia most likely Chicago would be very appealing to you as well…and I am sure admissions knows this. Also, if it happened a while ago, people obviously change their minds A LOT (I was set on Brown three months ago now I am not even sure if I am applying there RD), and admissions should understand that not everyone is born loving Chicago.</p>
<p>Well. you are a step ahead of most applicants - the reader will remember your name!</p>
<p>Seriously, which do you think matters more to a college, what they think of you, or what you think of them? IMHO, this varies from college to college, but I’ve never had the sense that chicago was one of those schools that “wants to be loved”. They’re used to being a backup to other institutions, and used to turning down a lot of kids, chicago first choice or not, that don’t come through as chicago material.</p>
<p>The real lesson here is that you seem to be in a bit of a rush, and perhaps have no idea how things work. For example, why would you be seinding questions to each of the schools in which you have an interest, orther than you were getting through the “send emails to colleges to show interest” task. </p>
<p>Learning to carefully check and proof correspondence, enail or hardcopy is an important skill. You need to master it. And keep in mind that there is nothing informal about email. There are only contacts that allow informality like friends and family. In dealing with business associates or in professional settings, like college admissions, an email is every bit as formal as a letter, or should be. And the folks that treat them that way are often the ones that stand out for the good.</p>
<p>They are probably chuckling about that right now, they are not naive, they know that many of those “I love…” goes out to many schools. If all those were true, everyone’s yield would be 100%, often with the same students! </p>
<p>You may want to reply, with something like, "Let me tell you about Columbia, it is so much like Chicago that I would love to attend either one, and if accepted to both would find it a difficult decision to make…etc.</p>
<p>No Imagine how great it would feel to be sorting out all this mail in the admissions office and then randomly get a bag of oreos. They could put them on a plate and eat them when they so choosed.</p>
<p>I did the same thing two years ago, I sent my columbia essay to princeton without changing columbia to princeton. When I found out about it after I had submitted my application, I nearly fainted. Columbia was my first choice, and I am so glad I got it. From then on I did not care what princeton thought of me.</p>
<p>oh yess Columbia is very very similar to Uchi.
Big city, urban school but with great campus, academic rigor - well i mean you can easily connect UChi to Columbia.
I do have to admit that I did apply ED to Columbia:$ , but Chicago and Northwestern are the only two schools I’m applying RD.
And one safety state school.
You can kinda get a picture of what I want in colleges…</p>
<p>and as for tennisdude, yeah he did reply within two days. which made it worse…</p>
<p>thank you all for helpful tips!
My concern is, I did think about sending them an apology, but its been over two months since it happened…</p>