<p>Hello, I was hoping that you could provide advice and gauge my odds of acceptance to Columbia College (sorry, I know this must get annoying, as there are already a dozen of these posts on this forum alone). I know that with 26,000 applicants for just 2,400 places all your accomplishments are reduced to little more than luck of the draw in admissions, but I was hoping that you might be able to tell me if I have a shot and provide some advice on strengthening my application.</p>
<p>To begin with:
Typical upper-middle class WASP at a public Colorado high school, so no hooks unfortunately.</p>
<p>Weighted GPA: 103.1 (my school uses a 100-point scale for some reason)
Class Rank: 3 out of 621
ACT: 34
SAT: 2090 (740R, 690M, 660W)
SAT II: 800 US History, 690 Chemistry</p>
<p>Course Load: most demanding possible
Freshman/Sophomore
Assortment of honors classes, electives, and basic requirements
AP US History (5 on AP test)
Junior
AP World History (5)
AP Euro (5)
AP Physics (4)
AP English Lang (4)
Honors Pre-cal
Honors French III
Tennis (JV)
Senior (if my schedule works out)
AP Calculus
AP Chemistry
AP Government
AP Economics
AP English Lit
AP French IV
Tennis (Varsity)
AP Music Theory</p>
<p>Awards and Extracurricular
Phi Beta Kappa academic excellence award
French honor society
National honor society
Microsoft Office Specialist Certification (achieved through my Computer
Information systems class, not sure it's worth anything)
Some volunteer work through church (not much though)
Helped run food drive at community center</p>
<p>Please feel free to offer advice, I know my extracurriculars are pretty weak. I apologize for taking your time (and the space on this forum) for another one of these "Chance Me" posts, I just need some suggestions on my application.</p>
<p>^
Interested to see what people say. My SAT scores are about the same (a bit lower but I hope to raise), my course load is a bit weaker but strong compared to my school (how are you taking that many classes?!), but I have more ECs. Sooo yeah, definitely want to see if anyone thinks you have a shot, but I have no clue myself.</p>
<p>My lack of EC’s are my biggest concern, I’m working hard, hoping to write a strong essay as that would be the only thing that could really distinguish my application from the rest of the pack. I’m also wondering whether I should send both my SAT and ACT scores or just the ACT. I’m inclined to send both, thinking that providing more information couldn’t hurt my chances (could it?), but my SAT is significantly less than my ACT, so I’m not sure.</p>
<p>Also does Columbia (or any Ivy level school for that matter) prefer SAT II to be in seperate subjects? I figured that they would most likely frown upon applicants whose tests are all in a related subject rather than diverse fields (I know I could do really well on the World history subject test, but would it be advisible to have all history subject tests?).</p>
<p>Your SAT score is greatly lower than average (middle 50% for 2014’s incoming class is 2100-2330) and courseload is expected if not slightly more challenging than the typical Ivy applicant. Good thing is that your AP scores are high. As you said yourself, the EC’s are relatively weaker, and nothing noticeably stands out. At this point, the only thing you can change is your essay, which must bring out the best of you to even be considered.</p>
<p>There are probably thousands of applicants like you-- some of them do make it but unfortunately many do not. If you truly like Columbia, apply ED, because that’s the only thing that can help your case. Nobody here can give you an accurate prediction of your chances. Maybe you can retake the SAT? Being under 2200 reduces your chances significantly when compared to the competitive scores of >2300.</p>