Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The answer is so obvious I can't even believe it's a question. Yale.

Really? I am not being snarky, just genuinely surprised.

Because, as a general proposition, I think that anyone who gets into either Yale or Harvard and turns it down is insane. And not tapping into the greatest networking opportunities on the planet Earth.

If the question were any other school but Yale or Harvard v. [other top school], it would be a harder choice.

the real debate is Yale v. Harvard. Go ahead.

Huh? That would be Harvard, sorry.

Yale. If she's intrigued by NYC, she can spend some summers working there, grad school, etc.

I think Harvard and take are far better known in Europe than Columbia

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also new haven is supposedly way nicer now than it used to be

Maybe. But security near campus is still a notable problem for Yale in New Haven and Trinity in Hartford.

Morning side heights where Columbia is is way nicer than it used to be, but it's not exactly crime free

According to US News + World Report, Yale is ranked #3 and Columbia #4 (behind Princeton #! and Harvard #2). I would tell the girl to pick the one that fits her best.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The answer is so obvious I can't even believe it's a question. Yale.

Really? I am not being snarky, just genuinely surprised.

Because, as a general proposition, I think that anyone who gets into either Yale or Harvard and turns it down is insane. And not tapping into the greatest networking opportunities on the planet Earth.

If the question were any other school but Yale or Harvard v. [other top school], it would be a harder choice.

the real debate is Yale v. Harvard. Go ahead.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The answer is so obvious I can't even believe it's a question. Yale.

Really? I am not being snarky, just genuinely surprised.

Because, as a general proposition, I think that anyone who gets into either Yale or Harvard and turns it down is insane. And not tapping into the greatest networking opportunities on the planet Earth.

If the question were any other school but Yale or Harvard v. [other top school], it would be a harder choice.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The answer is so obvious I can't even believe it's a question. Yale.

Really? I am not being snarky, just genuinely surprised.

That's because the answer isn't necessarily obvious. Getting into Columbia is awesome, and Morningside Heights is a great place to live.

But I do think Yale is pretty much a quintessential American university and offers the best undergraduate experience in the country, along with Princeton. Having spent some time at Yale, though never a full-time student there, I would find it very, very difficult to turn down.

Hyperbole much?

If you weren't a full time student there, how do you know what kind of undergraduate experience it offers, never mind whether it is the best in the country?

Ridiculous.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The answer is so obvious I can't even believe it's a question. Yale.

Really? I am not being snarky, just genuinely surprised.

That's because the answer isn't necessarily obvious. Getting into Columbia is awesome, and Morningside Heights is a great place to live.

But I do think Yale is pretty much a quintessential American university and offers the best undergraduate experience in the country, along with Princeton. Having spent some time at Yale, though never a full-time student there, I would find it very, very difficult to turn down.

Anonymous wrote:The answer is so obvious I can't even believe it's a question. Yale.

Really? I am not being snarky, just genuinely surprised.

They are both excellent, incredibly selective schools. Of course there might be some people who would go for the prestige of Yale and say that you have more employment opportunities with the name...perhaps, but Columbia is an excellent school and there is a lot of networking to be done in New York. It sounds like she will do well wherever she chooses, and it should come down to finances and fit.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the child is interested in quantitative finance / Financial Engineering, then Columbia IMO. There are some technical majors at columbia that are better than yale.

Do undergrads want these majors? Yeah, I'm 18 and I want to be a hedge fund mogul who screws the rest of the world and lives in Greenwich or the UES. Yuck.

My 18 YO wants to be a hedge fund mogul. Seriously. But plans to go the MBA route rather than an undergrad in financial engineering (is that really a thing???).

http://ieor.columbia.edu/bs-financial-engineering

essentially it's the intersection of applied math, finance, programming, and economics

Carnegie Mellon has a really top undergrad program in Quant Finance that you apply to after your first couple of years at CMU..small rigourous program.

If she's even considering Columbia, good for her - -she's not spellbound by the Yale brand. Pick the college that makes the best overall sense in terms of quality of life, finances, ease of getting home, whatever is important to her. And congrats. She must be mighty impressive. Whatever got her this far is going to carry her forward in life no matter what college she attends.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Also new haven is supposedly way nicer now than it used to be

Maybe. But security near campus is still a notable problem for Yale in New Haven and Trinity in Hartford.

By contrast, New York City -- including the upper Broadway/Morningside area that abuts Columbia -- is much safer than it was in the 80s/90s.

Anonymous wrote:Also new haven is supposedly way nicer now than it used to be

Maybe. But security near campus is still a notable problem for Yale in New Haven and Trinity in Hartford.