Which Undergrad College is Best for me?
Hello: I'm a high school senior and am trying to decide between UChicago and Columbia University (Columbia College). At UChicago I'm thinking of majoring in Business Econ (which is a new major they are offering starting in the fall), and at Columbia I am thinking of financial economics.
But I thought it would be good to bring this back up for discussion again because of the rapid rise in rankings at UChicago. Looking at US News & World Report, UChicago is now ranked #3. Now I know that rankings don't matter a whole lot, but since this was discussed in the last thread, the rankings have suddenly improved a lot for Chicago. I know that Columbia and UChicago are considered comparable schools in terms of prestige.
For me, I have no strong preference on living in Chicago vs NY. I do understand that UChicago generally has a tougher grading curve, so I'm worried about the grade deflation. UChicago does also appear to be a ton of work. I've spoken to current students and they complain about the trimester system and the brutal grading. Columbia's proximity for internships could also be an advantage. The cost to attend each of these schools is also about the same for me. Both campuses are nice, and I can see myself at either one.
So my questions are:
1) Which undergrad school does better with IB placement? Has the rise in rankings for UChicago made any difference?
2) Two candidates are applying UChicago student with 3.5 GPA vs Columbia student with 3.7. Who do you take? Why?
3) Is there a marginal difference for major preference? IE between studying Business Econ at Chicago vs Financial Economics at Columbia?
4) If I'm not one of the top students in college and don't get into IB, which school would offer better backup career paths (trading, consulting, asset management, etc)?
First of all, congrats on getting into both of these schools. They are both good choices.
I would pick Columbia University, personally. I think living and experiencing NYC is huge (networking and proximity to employers).
Its not like you can make a bad decision here. I think you just have to do a bit of research on your specific personal preferences and go from there.
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