<p>I realize that the majority of Columbia students were accepted with unweighted high school GPAs of 3.8 +, but I was wondering how often (or rarely) people get in with GPAs of around 3.5 (assuming course load rigor, test scores, recs, ECs, etc. are very strong)... If anybody has any idea about the statistics I would love to know... thanks!</p>
<p>u would definately be at a major disadvantage most ppl have the grades and very strong everything else. Also, keep in mind that grades are the most important thing in your application everything else is secondary.</p>
<p>Thanks Shraf for the reply - I realize that this GPA definitely puts an applicant at a strong disadvantage, but I was actually wondering approximately what percentage of the incoming class are accepted with GPAs of around 3.5</p>
<p>The people accepted on the merits (as opposed to athletes, diversity candidates, etc.) with 3.5s are overwhelmingly kids who attend very competitive high schools with major grade deflation. Columbia will know if this is your school. The point is that these people don't have "bad GPAs"; it's that they actually have good GPAs for their high schools.</p>
<p>Thanks Columbia2002 thats very helpful and even a bit comforting because my high school definitely falls under that category, not that that automatically makes up for a 3.5... but thanks for the response</p>
<p>I had a 3.3 unweighted, 3.9 weighted GPA coming out of high school. However, bear in mind:</p>
<ul>
<li>Highly competitive public high school that routinely sends 20%+ of its graduating class of ~450 to top-20 schools, including more than a dozen to harvard.</li>
<li>1550 SATs (800M/750V)</li>
<li>11 AP exams, with 5's on 9 of them</li>
<li>12 years of classical piano including solo concerts, etc.</li>
<li>Math team, debate team, science olympiad team, etc. had a full attached page of accomplishments.</li>
<li>Pretty good essay and great "Why Columbia" piece, if I do say so myself.</li>
</ul>
<p>And get this: they rejected me. Well, deferred me, then rejected. But my senior year, having finished my HS classes a year early, I was working full time - so I spent another year working full time (at this software company). And then applied again, early decision to SEAS. This time around, the admissions officer took a look and said "hey, the kid's learned how to work and has grown up a little, the GPA probably means less now", so they let me in. (he told me this. he's now the dean of admissions at Stanford, for the record)</p>
<p>So my point is, yeah, you can do it, but you better be a pretty compelling candidate for every reason except your GPA, and then give them a reason to ignore it (like, say, Full-Time professional work experience, plus AP exams proving you learned the material). And you probably better have a healthy sense of chutzpah.</p>
<p>I wouldn't recommend going through what I went through if you still have time to avoid it.</p>
<p>
[quote]
- 1550 SATs (800M/750V)
- 11 AP exams, with 5's on 9 of them
- 12 years of classical piano including solo concerts, etc.
- Math team, debate team, science olympiad team, etc. had a full attached page of accomplishments.
- Pretty good essay and great "Why Columbia" piece, if I do say so myself.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Outrageous! just those numbers alone is a great achievement!
Congratulations on your acceptance :D</p>
<p>Denzera - did you apply ED? do you think applying ED would have affected your chances?</p>
<p>Denzera, did you not get into anywhere good and to your liking as a senior, or did you just have your heart set on going to Columbia? Your situation is pretty unique, as most people are just going to go to whatever college that takes them rather than waiting a year.</p>
<p>My senior year of college, I was working full time (I had already finished the HS curriculum, except for one class, so I got a job - long story to that, not all of it reflecting well on me). I applied to 12 top schools around the country, with the above profile - but note the 3.3 unweighted GPA. I was probably 30th percentile at my HS, if that. Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Penn, Columbia, etc down to Rice, Northwestern... and I went 0 for 12. Well, Columbia and Cornell waitlisted me and then a rejection over the summer.</p>
<p>Not being satisfied with taking 2nd-tier choices, I took another year and worked some more, and then visited Columbia and fell in love with it - so I applied ED there and got in.</p>
<p>But like I was saying- I wouldn't recommend going through that to anyone. I have an overactive sense of chutzpah and a decent Plan B (work another year, save another 25k), and enough quals that i only really had one big hurdle to clear (the GPA). I'm not sure anyone else would fit the same mold.</p>
<p>Denzera - just to clarify... you meant your senior year of high school, not your senior year of college right? And I'm with you on the overactive sense of chutzpah and I've actually been working for a political fundraising firm, doing actual fundraising, not filing... almost full time... so I hope that that makes up for my 3.5 UW (although 4.3) weighted GPA in an extremely competetive high school</p>
<p>yes, my senior year of high school was when i started my job. Remember though, what you're trying to demonstrate by the job is maturity and work ethic - proving that, despite their lack in previous years of HS, you now have those qualities. I should add that a recommendation from my boss made a huge difference... it was something along the lines of</p>
<p>"Yeah, when he came in here he was a little rough around the edges, but he was so smart we just had to hire him... since then, he's really grown up a lot, developed professional relationships and skills, we trust him with clients, he operates on his own mostly..." (etc). You get the idea.</p>
<p>My boss is writing me a great recommendation... but when the admissions rep from Columbia came to our high school she said that the committee strongly discouraged students from submitting a 3rd recommendation, and my counselor is writing about my job in her recommendation... should I submit the letter from my boss anyway?</p>
<p>yeah, submit it anyway. it's clear you have a good reason and aren't just trying to pad things - it tells the admissions officer some things about you they wouldn't have known otherwise.</p>
<p>You have successfully scared the crap out of me. LOL</p>
<p>Denzera...</p>
<p>Sorry to bother you with the same question again... but I noticed this response to a question about supplemental recommendations:</p>
<p>columbia makes 1 exception for supplmental reccs. IF you do research. Otherwise, i wudnt send it. (you can check their policy online)</p>
<p>So I am worried about submitting an extra letter... although I do feel that it would not just add "fluff" to my application and actually emphasize my "hook"</p>
<p>Viva - You should only be scared if you have a mediocre GPA like I did. The risk profile goes way down once you get above a 3.7 or 3.8 unweighted.</p>
<p>Anyu - 'hook' is an overused phrase. you're not a recruited athlete or Development case. you're telling a story. If the extra rec provides the equivalent of a new chapter in the story, send it. If it provides the equivalent of adding a page to each chapter already in the story, don't send it. That's the best way I can put it.</p>
<p>Thanks Denzera... I was just using hook for lack of a better word, and I've decided to go ahead and submit the letter... out of curiosity, what exactly did you mean by "developmen case?"</p>
<p>admissions applicants whose parents are large donors or prospective donors to the university, or celebrities, or otherwise of university-wide 'interest', may get passed through the Development office. Or rather, if the Development office calls admissions and says "this guy is about to donate $20 million, can you let his kid in?", they tend to do it. After all, what's the harm in letting one person into a class of 1350 when all the rest of them can enjoy, say, a better library or new lounge?</p>
<p>Danzera... I am kind of in the same position as I applied last year... was rejected and am taking a year off. Im not taking a year off just to work but also because I have to have surgery from a sports injury. I am considering sending in a recommendation from my boss. However, I would also like to submit a recommendation from my Junior Achievment sponsor as I have been very involved in thier programs for the past three years and I am currently teaching one and assisting with another one. Which would be more influential to the commitee? Or would it be okay to send both along with my two teacher reqs? Any advice would me helpful. Thanks.</p>