Rising Senior: ED Columbia or USC
I’m a rising senior looking to recruit into IB and hoping to eventually pivot into HF. I was wondering on which would be better to apply ED, especially considering that deadlines are coming up soon. For USC I would be applying to Marshall with an emphasis in finance. For Columbia I would be doing their BS ORFE program.
Here’s my general stats
large uncompetitive title 1 public school in a suburban area
maxed out course rigor (4 APs with all 5s, IB Diploma 40+, 16 dual enrollment courses) with a 3.9 uw and 4.6 w gpa
pretty good extracurriculars
awards aren’t crazy but aiming for AIME coming up
1560 SAT
Pros and Cons for USC:
Pros:
1. its in california, and i love living in this state
2. Feel like its more of a traditional college experience than columbia would be, and more opportunities for fun.
3. Pretty strong target school for west coast
4. less academic stress and competition from what ive heard
Cons:
1. Recruiting for east coast would be slightly harder but not impossible
2. Lower ranking, but thats really minuscule.
Pros and Cons for Columbia:
Pros:
1. ORFE is probably a better path for HF and wouldnt be difficult to recruit into IB either.
2. strong recruiting especially with nyc location.
3. Would get to explore life on the east coast
Cons:
1. Kind of repeating some pros for usc.
Made this post hastily, but let me know your thoughts.