<p>I'm from California, white/mexican, top 5% of my class. </p>
<p>Freshman:
Biology (A/A)
Spanish 3 (B/B)
Pre-IB English I (B/B)
Pre-IB World History (A/A)
Geometry (A/A)
Football/Track (A/A)</p>
<p>Sophomore:
AP Art History (A/A) (4 on exam)
Spanish IV (A/A)
Chemistry (B/A)
Pre-IB Alg2/Trig (A/A)
Pre-IB English 2 (A/A)</p>
<p>Junior:
Honors Anatomy/Physiology (A/A)
AP/IB Spanish Language (B/B) (3 on exam)
AP/IB English Lang/Comp (B/A) (4 on exam)
Honors Pre Calc (B/B)
AP US (A/A) (4 on exam)</p>
<p>Community College:
Intro to Psych (A)
Biological Anthropology (A)</p>
<p>Senior Year:
AP/IB Biology
AP/IB Spanish Literature
IB English Literature
AP/IB Calculus AB
IB 20th Century
IB Theory of Knowledge
IB Dance</p>
<p>Weighted GPA- 4.3 </p>
<p>SAT- 1850 plan to retake
ACT- 28 (Plan to retake and be tutored)
SAT II- US: 710 Spanish: 610 Math 2: 660 (plan to retake Spanish w/ listening and Math2)</p>
<p>I know my scores hurt me but I think I can get them up</p>
<p>President of Spanish Club and Safe Rides both Junior and Senior year
100+ hours volunteering in the Emergency Room at local hospital
60+ hours volunteering with Saferides
Traveled to Argentina and volunteered in a hospital, watched surgeries, lived with a host family (will most likely write my essay on this)</p>
<p>honestly, there is no doubt that you are wasting your time. you arent even a long shot. please dont waste my time by having to explain to you why you have no chance.</p>
<p>Your grades aren’t bad, but they aren’t great. If you retake your SAT’s and ACT’s and score 2100+ or 30+, respectively, those should be fine too. URM status will help you DEFINITELY, so exploit it, milk it for all its worth. Stress your community involvement, write impassioned essays, try to get an interview, get a little luck, and it certainly won’t be a waste of time. :D</p>
<p>^^Yeah I agree URM status will help a bit, and your academic score ranges do not automatically disqualify you. Columbia is a big reach for you, so only apply to one or two schools like it (including columbia). People have made it to Columbia with SAT scores as low as yours, but they usually shatter expectations elsewhere.</p>
<p>123: yes I do. My heritage is Italian and Colombian and I speak both Italian and Spanish fluently.</p>
<p>Silver: I don’t see how it was innappropriate? I find it strange that a Mexican wouldn’t know how to speak their own language. In my culture, that is not normal. It was just strange.</p>
<p>I find it quite ludicrous that you would presume that every American speaks the languages of their heritage. You are very fortunate to be raised speaking those languages. But this is not the point of my thread, I do not wish to argue.</p>
<p>Not that it matters now, but if you thought strategically you should have picked a different language to study at school since people will just assume you should already be an expert at Spanish, or at the very least have an advantage over your peers who have had no previous exposure to it.</p>
<p>How does a chance devolve into a discussion about cultural heritage and the merits of affirmative action? Combine, this is not the place to discuss affirmative action. You will find the proper place in the race thread at the College Admissions forum.</p>
<p>I can’t help but think it would help to be proficient in Spanish if you are identifying as Mexican. No? Could be these AP and SAT II scores demonstrate proficiency.</p>
<p>so i just got my act back with a 31 composite. What do you guys think my chances are now? I’m retaking it in October with some tutoring, hoping to break 32.
And about the Mexican thing. I am going to mark box that says I do not speak any other language other than English in my house. But I plan on trying to incorporate my heritage in my essay. some how…</p>
<p>Just to throw my hat into the ring. Seriously, it doesn’t hurt to try! And you can always do really well at a different school and apply as a transfer, when high school matters much, much less.</p>