Columbia vs Stanford for Undergrad

Hey, I got into Columbia with financial aid am very likely to commit. How disadvantage will I be at for IB recruiting compared to Stanford? I know Stanford is regarded as a top target and a tier above Columbia, but I will have to pay over $20,000 more compared to Columbia. 

I would really appreciate some insights. 

11 Comments
 

Congrats on your acceptances, that's amazing my friend. Both are among the top schools in the country obviously. Don't worry about the student loans, you'll be able to pay them off with one check after your bonus. I would put a list together of pros and cons for each. Do you want to be in NYC or the Bay Area? In terms of IB recruitment you're not going to be disadvantaged at all as long as you take good courses, get good grades, and network hard. The alumni network for both schools are huge

 
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Either OP did Stanford REA, and got a likely letter from Columbia, applied Columbia ED and got a likely letter from Stanford, or applied Columbia ED and Stanford REA which is unethical and can lead to rescinding both offers. Assuming the two former are true, then choose Stanford no doubt since you can network with GSB students, Stanford is more prestigious in its academics, and it has better weather. Columbia isn't far behind, but agree with the commenter above that if you land a high paying job, that $20,000 will be easy to pay off

 

Your interests might change. Maybe after a year you decide finance isn't for you because you want tech instead. Go with Stanford. You can do both from there.

 
[Comment removed by mod team]
 

Stanford. Columbia's college environment sucks. This is gonna be the best four years in your life - have some fun out in good weather. I chose Dartmouth over Columbia, Chicago, Duke, Penn, Vanderbilt, Brown, Cornell, etc just on the basis of campus culture. As long as you go to a good school, you'll be 100% fine professionally.

 

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