Should I try ED Penn or Columbia

College Search & Lists
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My daughter is trying to decide about her ED choice. From California.

  1. GPA unweighted 3.8. School doesn’t rank
  2. African-American
  3. Attends a high level competitive private school
    4 SAT 1270 ( I know,)
  4. Has taken 4 APs and 10 honors classes. Senior year plans to take AP Calc, AP Lit, AP Bio
  5. is a professional Actor. Member of the Screen Actors Guild union. Has been acting since 7 years old. Not a celebrity name but has guest starred on a few popular TV shows, commercials. A few parts in films. Still auditions regularly. And gets a lot of network auditions in fact has made it to top 2 or 3 for network series. Earns her own income. Donates to charity.
  6. Founded club at school for minority students and is president
  7. Writer school newspaper
  8. Works for our family business.

Sister is alumni of Columbia Undergrad and Columbia Law School. Grandfather has masters and PHD from Columbia.

No financial aid requested. Penn is her first choice.

2

There is your answer

3 Likes
3

I am a big believer in only using ED if an applicant has a clear cut top choice. It sounds like your D’s top choice is Penn so IMO that is the answer.

One thing in Columbia’s favor is its NYC location for pursuing acting opportunities while in college - but I assume that your D has taken that into account before deciding on Penn as a top choice.

And FWIW your D would not be given legacy consideration at Columbia as they define it so that is not a real consideration. Per the Columbia website: “We are always pleased to receive applications from students whose family members have graduated from Columbia. When an applicant is extremely competitive and compares favorably with other similarly talented candidates, being the daughter or son of a Columbia University graduate (from any Columbia school or college) may be a slight advantage in the admission process. This advantage may especially apply for “legacy” candidates. Please note: applicants are considered to be “legacies” of Columbia only if they are the children of Columbia College or Columbia Engineering graduates.” https://undergrad.admissions.columbia.edu/ask/faq/question/2412