<p>ok..i read on some other thread that columbia compares your SAT scores with your school's average...? how does that work? and also, i live in a city in so. cal. where we are considered low-middle class families. in my grade alone there are near 1000 people. im a senior and each class after mine has gotten bigger and bigger. furthermore, our school is grossly underfunded. does any of this matter on the columbia app? thanks!</p>
<p>There's no mathematical formula. They just look at everything to figure out who you are and where you're coming from. Your school's SAT average helps them determine how good your school is so they can determine if your strong class ranking really means much. They'll also look at your HS's curriculum to see if you've taken the hardest possible courses. It isn't necessarily bad that your school isn't strong, as they might prefer a star at a mediocre socal school over yet another Harvard-Westlake kid. Applications are read by your regional officer, so they'll definitely know about your school if it is that large.</p>