<p>Hello all,
I really want to attend Columbia after high school, I would consider it my #1 choice dream school. I am well aware that getting in is no easy feat, but everything is worth a try. I'll give you a little information about myself and maybe you can give me some feedback and tips! Thanks and here it goes:
-I'm going to be a junior in the Fall at a school in South Florida
-I will also be starting the IB Program for my junior and senior year(s).
-I have taken 2 AP classes thus far(APHG-4 and APWH-2) and will take 2-3 more throughout high school, the lack of AP's is made up for my enrollment in IB I would presume.
-The IB classes I will be starting my junior year are: Biology HL English HL History of the Americas HL Chem SL(Sixth Subject) Spanish SL(HL Not offered) and Math Studies SL. That is all I can remember right now, but I am pretty sure that's it.
-My current GPA is 3.55! I know it is low(for Columbia standards at least!) but it is on the rise! The main reason it is low is mostly due to a little slacking off in my freshmen year and my constant trouble with math... I don't know my unweighted GPA but it is somewhat high because of the AP's and honor's classes I have taken. I am almost in the top 10% of my class, back in like Oct. my class rank was 67/450ish and thats about 14.8% and my GPA was lower then.
-My SAT scores aren't the best, I know, but they are as follows: 600-reading 570-math 550-writing, 1720 combined. I am going to take some private SAT prep class in order to significantly raise my scores.
-I am the VP of my Junior Class as well as a Captain on my school's Academic Team
-Clubs that I do not hold a officer position in are NHS(National Honor Society), SHS(Spanish Honor Society) and SGA(Student Government Association)
-The only sports team I am on is the Swim Team and my Junior and Senior year will be my only year(s) on it.
-For those of you who were in the IB program in high school or are familiar with it, could you please advise me on which IB math I should take. I just recently toured Columbia and they said "rigor over error" and it really got me thinking, should I take IB Math SL instead of Studies. I know studies is a breeze and I am not that good at math but I don't Columbia to think I just took the easy way out. I am not going to apply to the Engineering school so math is not going to be used in that way in my future.
-When I Apply I will probably choose my major to be Political Science or something in that realm.
-I am a white male living in the south from a small town, just for demographic purposes!
-I do not just want to attend Columbia because it is NYC and its an Ivy, although those are a giant plus! The thing that really attracts me is it's diversity or melting pot community. I hate living in this small town were no one is as zealous and outspoken as I am, I want to be immersed in a place were people are just as obsessed over an issue as I am. I am very pro-diverse and I think I would be the perfect fit at Columbia. Also, I really like their curriculum and how it is structured. It in somewhat mirrors IB's curriculum and that is why I chose IB because of the structured, worldly curriculum. I would like to continue that structure through College as well.<br>
-That is all the information I can feed now, but if I can think of more I will update the thread.
Thanks for everything!!
-K</p>
<p>As of now, you would probably be rejected the second they saw your SAT score. Luckily, you still have Junior year to go. So haul. Get you academic performance on the up. 67/450 isn’t going to do you good; trust me, I was around the same spot after my Freshman year. Also, make sure you know what SAT II’s you are going to take–don’t wait until the last minute like I did. Consider the ACT, by the way. Some people perform better on that than the SAT. </p>
<p>For test prep, you don’t need a $500 course from Princeton Review or Kaplan. Buy yourself two or three review books, and do all the practice exercises. Memorize SAT words, read more, write more. I know it sounds Asian (which is no coincidence), but you must get that score higher. I personally don’t know too much about the IB, but do try and get a 5 on your APs. </p>
<p>Finally, while it’s good to hear, you don’t need to give your reasons of wanting to go there. They sound a bit egotistical and lack depth. That being said, you still have a year to go before you apply, so just put the pedal to the metal.</p>
<p>thanks! I know my reasons are probably like really cliche, but I thought I would include them</p>
<p>Oh and I forgot to include that I have a part-time job</p>
<p>Ahh Im sorry, I forgot to include my volunteer experience. I volunteer with my community’s Project Graduation Foundation, it helps prevent teen drinking on graduation night. I also build houses with Habitat</p>