HYPS SCEA vs Columbia ED (double legacy)

[Anonymous]

My son is currently applying to colleges and we have a major dilemma as described in the title. He has top scores (1570, 3.97) at a top private school. He has good ECs (leadership positions, community service, started a club at his school, internship experience etc), but nothing extraordinary (international awards etc). His first choice is HYPS, and he specifically wants to apply early to either Harvard or Stanford. However, he is double legacy at Columbia which gives a good boost to legacy applicants if they apply ED. He is very persistent about applying early to his top choice and has already completed his Harvard and Stanford apps, but I am afraid he will waste his chance at a top school given that HYPS is a complete crapshoot and all the very top kids apply there early. Also all of the top 10 ED schools become crapshoots in RD. He definitely likes Columbia and wants apply there RD but it is his 6th choice so he is not very keen on EDing there. Should I let him be or push more for the ED school? Do you think a kid with his profile would have a decent chance at HYPS SCEA?

[Anonymous]

If Columbia is his 6th choice, I would say that he should SCEA to one of the HYPS. My top private son who had slightly lower GPA but higher SAT did this, and although he was deferred and then ultimately rejected from HYPS (no hooks), was accepted RD to a top ivy (also no hooks). You also have to consider the possibility that he could be deferred from C in the RD round. You have to let him decide! With his stats and legacy status at C, your son will end up at one of the top schools. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

He should probably make the choice. He's an adult and Columbia is his 6th choice. You don't want him wondering if he could have made it into Harvard or Stanford for the rest of his life and possibly resenting you. It sounds like Columbia might be a good backup if SCEA doesn't pan out, although the legacy aspect is less important during RD.

I hear you, though. DC insisted on applying ED to a super-competitive school (Columbia, as it happens) while I was pushing to use the ED/SCEA card for a surer thing. DC got into Columbia, but it was a nail biter for a few months.

At least you'll have an answer from whatever school he does apply to by mid-December.

[Anonymous]

If Columbia was his 3rd choice behind H & S I'd say apply ED to Columbia. But since there are 3 other schools he likes better let him apply to H & S. He won't get in but that's better than not trying and going the rest of his life thinking he might have gotten in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If Columbia was his 3rd choice behind H & S I'd say apply ED to Columbia. But since there are 3 other schools he likes better let him apply to H & S. He won't get in but that's better than not trying and going the rest of his life thinking he might have gotten in.

OP here, sadly Columbia is not even his 3rd choice, which is surprising because both i and my husband have always spoken very highly of our experience there. Maybe he is just rebelling a bit...idk
His list of reaches in order of preference is:

1.Harvard/Stanford
3.Yale
4.Princeton
5. Penn
6.Columbia
7.Brown

Why do you say that he definitely won't get in? I know he has nothing super extraordinary, but I thought with his top scores and good ECs there might be a chance.

[Anonymous]

How big of a contributor have you been? Harvard doesn't consider you to be a real legacy until you have donated seven figures.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How big of a contributor have you been? Harvard doesn't consider you to be a real legacy until you have donated seven figures.

OP here. we definitely haven't donated seven figures to Columbia but we give a sum in the low 5-figure range each year and we are very involved in the alumni community.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If Columbia was his 3rd choice behind H & S I'd say apply ED to Columbia. But since there are 3 other schools he likes better let him apply to H & S. He won't get in but that's better than not trying and going the rest of his life thinking he might have gotten in.

OP here, sadly Columbia is not even his 3rd choice, which is surprising because both i and my husband have always spoken very highly of our experience there. Maybe he is just rebelling a bit...idk
His list of reaches in order of preference is:

1.Harvard/Stanford
3.Yale
4.Princeton
5. Penn
6.Columbia
7.Brown

Why do you say that he definitely won't get in? I know he has nothing super extraordinary, but I thought with his top scores and good ECs there might be a chance.

He certainly is qualified, but remember over 44000 students apply to Stanford each year and they accept fewer than 2800. It is basically random for kids like yours...you need some of the admissions people to advocate how your kid will make the Stanford community a better place.

I do not believe SCEA at Stanford gives any significant bump for admissions chances unless hooked, but this is secondhand info.

[Anonymous]

Don’t make a kid ED to his or her 6th choice school. This isn’t hard.

[Anonymous]

He's going to be fine. Let him do H or S -- it's delusional, probably -- but either way, he'll end up somewhere strong.

What's the safety?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don’t make a kid ED to his or her 6th choice school. This isn’t hard.

I know, i know. i am just concerned that his chances of making it to a top school will go down dramatically if the doesn't do ED. HYPS is a complete lottery ticket and RD is a crapshoot even for the rest of the top schools these days. But yes you are right, I should let him make his own decision.

Thanks for all the comments!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He's going to be fine. Let him do H or S -- it's delusional, probably -- but either way, he'll end up somewhere strong.

What's the safety?

Matches/Safeties are WUSTL, Gtown, Tufts, UCLA, BU, Northeastern.

[Anonymous]

If Columbia is 6th on his list - he basically doesn't want to go there. Let his swing for the fences. There are worst things in life than trying and ending up at Tufts as a consequence. If he gets the risk - he should go for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If Columbia is his 6th choice, I would say that he should SCEA to one of the HYPS. My top private son who had slightly lower GPA but higher SAT did this, and although he was deferred and then ultimately rejected from HYPS (no hooks), was accepted RD to a top ivy (also no hooks). You also have to consider the possibility that he could be deferred from C in the RD round. You have to let him decide! With his stats and legacy status at C, your son will end up at one of the top schools. Good luck!

Correction: I meant that he could be deferred from C in the ED round. As a pp noted, if you pressure him to apply ED to C, he may always wonder about HYPS, resent you for it, and would be unhappy at C.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If Columbia was his 3rd choice behind H & S I'd say apply ED to Columbia. But since there are 3 other schools he likes better let him apply to H & S. He won't get in but that's better than not trying and going the rest of his life thinking he might have gotten in.

OP here, sadly Columbia is not even his 3rd choice, which is surprising because both i and my husband have always spoken very highly of our experience there. Maybe he is just rebelling a bit...idk
His list of reaches in order of preference is:

1.Harvard/Stanford
3.Yale
4.Princeton
5. Penn
6.Columbia
7.Brown

Why do you say that he definitely won't get in? I know he has nothing super extraordinary, but I thought with his top scores and good ECs there might be a chance.

It's most likely that he wants to get into a top school on his own merit. Legacy status is a bump, but also a burden.