School acceptance letters are rolling in — and, out of the blue, some candidates don’t even need to hear from Columbia.
An admissions marketing consultant who helped 10 purchasers get accepted to the Ivy League college’s Class of ’29 instructed The Publish that not a single one plans to attend.
“This is able to not have been the case three years in the past,” Christopher Rim stated. “The precise model has been tarnished.”
As for September’s incoming freshman class, Rim stated: “I feel it’s going to be the scholars who didn’t get in anyplace else.”
This comes as the varsity has mishandled pro-Palestinian protests and the Trump administration has threatened to tug some $400 million in federal grants.
On Friday, interim college president Katrina Armstrong resigned her submit amid allegations that she had instructed the federal authorities she would implement a masks ban for campus protests — however privately promised college it might not occur.
“There’s a lot up-and-down craziness, and Columbia doesn’t appear steady in any respect,” stated Rim, who’s the CEO of Command Training.
As a substitute, he defined, his purchasers who have been accepted to Columbia throughout this yr’s common admissions cycle are headed to colleges like NYU and Duke.
One Command advisee selected Washington College in St. Louis over Columbia, Duke and the College of Pennsylvania.
A second Columbia-accepted consumer, who grew up in New York Metropolis and needs to remain right here, opted for NYU. One other picked Duke.
The remainder are but to pick out a faculty — however have all already eradicated Columbia, Rim stated.
It’s even extending to legacies.
Ethan, a Manhattan high-school senior and consumer of Command Training, was accepted to Columbia — which each of his dad and mom graduated from.
“We have been hopeful that the brand new president at Columbia would flip issues round, which is why Ethan utilized,” his mom, who requested to withhold the household’s title for privateness causes, instructed The Publish.
Rim talked the household out of making use of to the Manhattan Ivy throughout the early determination spherical — which requires a binding dedication with acceptance.
“He could be taking a spot yr now if he [had applied early],” his mother stated.
Ethan has narrowed down his option to Harvard and Stanford, and he additionally obtained into Yale, Princeton and Duke.
“He received’t be distracted and disturbed by the entire nonsense protesters [at Columbia], and he’ll get a significantly better training,” his mom stated.
Rim’s solely two advisees at the moment dedicated to Columbia have been accepted within the early determination spherical. However now that campus protests are ramping up once more, each need out.
“They needed Columbia initially, however we’re going to work with them” — free of charge, Rim stated — “on transferring as a result of they don’t need to go there, they don’t really feel protected, and I feel it’s the suitable factor to do.”
Their dad and mom, he added, “don’t actually belief the college to guard the scholars. The management at Columbia has not been so reliable, they usually really feel prefer it may very well be violent.”
Rim says these college students are additionally apprehensive about what may occur if the college will get defunded by the Trump administration.
“They’re involved, like, ‘What does this imply?’ Trump remains to be going to be president for the subsequent 4 years — and 4 years is faculty,” he stated. “Something may occur.”
Columbia’s acceptance fee for the present admissions cycle is 4.29%, up from 3.86% final yr. The applicant pool additionally shrunk barely, from 60,248 to 59,616 college students.
Given the ding to the varsity’s desirability, Rim predicts it would turn into simpler and simpler to get into.
“I feel the second tier of scholars — perhaps that they had 4 Bs in all of highschool — who weren’t essentially going to get into Columbia are going to have a a lot simpler likelihood, as a result of the highest tier college students may have extra decisions and select different colleges,” he stated.
Given his personal purchasers’ common determination to forgo the varsity, Rim additionally expects Columbia’s yield fee — the share of children accepted who really present up within the fall — will probably be down significantly.
“When you have been waitlisted at Columbia,” he famous, “you could be getting a name within the subsequent few weeks from the admissions workplace saying that they’ve a spot for you.”
