Both Columbia and Harvard accepted me. As noted above, while Columbia attempted to sell its prestige post-acceptance with a deluge of materials, Harvard attempted to market its prestige both prior to and following acceptance. In order to gain an offer of admission, candidates in high-standing were required to phone interview with the Dean. The same dean gave a phone-call acceptance and hand-signed acceptance letter. During the phone acceptance, the dean said something along the lines of "Welcome to the Class of 2011. You are going to love it here."

While perhaps just personal touches by a caring admissions dean (he seemed like a nice guy), these actions can be viewed as tactics designed to heighten the sense of accomplishment of those accepted. The fact that my matriculation was presumed, is indicative of the strategy that higher prestige schools may employ with regard to students considering "lesser-caliber" schools. When I submitted my withdrawl notice, the dean emailed me and wrote something to the effect of "are you sure you are making the correct decision..." Again, the sowing of doubt seemed another tactic employed to induce reconsideration of my choice to attend Columbia.

Ultimately, personal and not prestige factors informed my final decision. At the time, peers, relatives, and professors continually encouraged me to reconsider. Making an important decision on the basis of what I and, not what society thought, was most important felt empowering. I hope I can be courageous enough to continue blazing my own path.