Anonymous wrote:Unless there really is a strong #2 that has EDII- Write a strong and meaningful LOCI, your student should note the traditions of Columbia that resonate, i.e. how the core connects students to alumni, the Varsity Show, doing the Swim Test with friends as a senior, Bad Poetry contest - the things that are unique.

This is a new one: I am thrilled that Columbia is one of the only schools in the country (Swarthmore is another) that has a swim test. What fun! I want to be tested!

It differs a lot between schools, but our school saw many ED acceptances to Columbia this year. Normally we are lucky to get 1. This could suggest that Columbia is casting a wider net in admissions, so if your student wasn't admitted, I would consider ED2 elsewhere if it's important to you to lock down a specific choice.

I wouldn't count on getting in ED after being deferred by an Ivy. I think in general those schools admit about 5% of deferred kids.

My child went down this path last year and then never got in: ED->deferral->waitlist->rejection. The school they applied to never went to the waitlist for their program. We know a couple of other kids that this happened to at different Ivies and other top schools.

In retrospect my kid should have applied ED2 to a different school. RD worked out ok but there were a lot of rejections (many top schools have a 2-8% admit rate at that point in the process!) and it was a long and stressful. In the end they settled for a school that isn't the best fit.

I guess the main point of my post is to NOT count on the ED deferral working out. It sounds so hopeful at the time ("Oh, I get another chance!") but the odds are super slim at top schools.

Good luck!

If she’s willing to go to any of these schools, it suggests she might be happy anywhere (with a strong academic program, including honors programs). Being deferred also suggests she is a strong student and may have a shot at other top places. I’m assuming she’s applying widely for RD - I think several places will work out for her and by applying RD she can compare several schools when the time comes.

Anonymous wrote:Unless there really is a strong #2 that has EDII- Write a strong and meaningful LOCI, your student should note the traditions of Columbia that resonate, i.e. how the core connects students to alumni, the Varsity Show, doing the Swim Test with friends as a senior, Bad Poetry contest - the things that are unique.

NP: how does the core connect students to alumni?

minimal shot at JHU ed 2 if you got deferred ar columbia.

Unless there really is a strong #2 that has EDII- Write a strong and meaningful LOCI, your student should note the traditions of Columbia that resonate, i.e. how the core connects students to alumni, the Varsity Show, doing the Swim Test with friends as a senior, Bad Poetry contest - the things that are unique.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why not try Barnard? You can take all Columbia classes and even live in Columbia forms and her diploma would be Columbia U.

JMU and CMU are such different schools those wouldn’t be my next set of choices.

Barnard doesn’t have engineering.

Ah. Ok that makes sense. But given the age of AI, why engineering? Truly curious! I’m telling my STEM leaving high s hoppers to apply as sociology majors bc we need people who can try AI to work for and with people.

It’s all just a crap shoot. My oldest daughter is a college freshman. Her closest high school friend was deferred from Columbia last year, then waitlisted for RD, and then finally taken off the waitlist in late June. There are a lot of schools where it’s easy to see a pattern of success or failure but Columbia is an outlier. If it is definitely a clear cut first choice, I don’t think I would advise my child to commit somewhere else through ED2.

Anonymous wrote:Why not try Barnard? You can take all Columbia classes and even live in Columbia forms and her diploma would be Columbia U.

JMU and CMU are such different schools those wouldn’t be my next set of choices.

Barnard doesn’t have engineering.

Why not try Barnard? You can take all Columbia classes and even live in Columbia forms and her diploma would be Columbia U.

JMU and CMU are such different schools those wouldn’t be my next set of choices.

From a probability-maximization standpoint, it's not optimal to opt out ED2.

Is Columbia selectively deferring? What percentage deferred?

Cmu doesn't have ed 2 anymore

Anonymous wrote:We aren’t sure if it’s a polite No or if she still has a chance. Would you advise ED2 to JHU or CMU, or wait and see?

Not just Columbia but for any school: definitely ED2. Columbia already had a chance to admit you. Your chances are far greater at an ED2.

We aren’t sure if it’s a polite No or if she still has a chance. Would you advise ED2 to JHU or CMU, or wait and see?