Wharton ED or Columbia SEAS ED????

admissionsgeek
Wed, 06 Apr 2011 20:37:10 +0000

I will say one thing here about your stats, I hate at times breaking my rule and actually ‘chancing’ a student, but I will say that as of now a) you have a good chance at SEAS ED, you’re marginal for SEAS RD. b) you have an ok shot at Wharton ED and long shot for Wharton RD.

Why (a): you’re applying from a school not far from Columbia, good testing, smart, your application doesn’t really stand out, but you seem solid. Why (b): The applicants to Wharton are very top notch - the best that apply to CC and SEAS, imagine if you could make that group and then say admit just a few folks. In that pool, I am guessing without a stellar summer, great recs and a good essay, ED is not a sure bet.

So that would ultimately mean you are caught between shooting high (Wharton) or shooting realistically (SEAS, still not a sure deal, but a very good shot ED). If you get in to Wharton your best chance would be early, so there is that. If you just want to get the worry out of the way, then SEAS ED is a good option.

As for fit…I mean everything you say is pretty generic thus far, you sound like dozens of SEAS kids I know. I guess you need to decide if you want to attend school in a big city. Ask yourself some of the questions folks on here do - what if you figure out you don’t love engineering, are you okay still studying OR/FE? From both schools you can become an I-banker.