We know you know what we think about using Columbia Early Decision as an insurance policy.
If Columbia is not your first choice school, then don’t apply Early Decision. If you’re also applying to schools like Harvard and Stanford and Wharton, then it’s borderline unethical to also try for Columbia ED since you’re clearly focused on “better” schools than them. What if you get in to both?
But at this point in the season you may be saying, “Gee, EssaySnark said all my other essays are not going to be good enough. It sounds like EssaySnark doesn’t think I have a chance at H/S/W. I was gonna do Columbia in Regular Decision, to, you know, play by the rules and be ethical and all. But if EssaySnark doesn’t think I’m gonna make it anywhere else, why shouldn’t I go for Columbia ED?”
We can see the perceived logic in that. But we don’t really see it working out for you at Columbia either.
If all of our feedback on your prior apps to date has been, “Nope, not good enough,” then what makes you think that your work on Columbia is any better?
The REAL answer is to actually force yourself to do the hard work of figuring out how to write your essays.
We know that every single person who comes across this blahg is capable of doing it.
If you choose not to, then we understand. It is not easy work!! In fact, it may be one of the hardest things you’ve attempted to date, depending upon your background and prior experience.
But it’s totally possible.
Frequently, the BSers who start off with the most gawdawful drafts in the world are the ones who end up with the best essays of all, when they apply themselves to the task of figuring out what we’re talking about with these essay-writing concepts and techniques, and going through all the effort and sweat of actually learning how to do it.
So the right answer to the question at the top of this page is not, yes, throw one more opportunity away because heck, all the other ones are sh!t and none are going to turn out, so may as well try for that “advantage” of Early Decision.
No.
The right answer is step back from the essays and decide to DO IT RIGHT.
Columbia has Regular Decision. If you apply early enough in the Regular Decision cycle, you have just as much of a chance as if you apply now a WAY BETTER CHANCE if you do it with better essays.
Tell us what you think.