Applying ED or not?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
1

<p>I'll be applying to SEAS. Not sure whether I should apply ED (see below)</p>

<p>Male, from competitive public HS in MA (class of ~400, about 15-25 to ivies each year)</p>

<p>GPA: ~3.84 UW, 4.6 W (6 APs by graduation plus 2 college classes) - this would be a 3.9+ had it not been for freshman year (upward trend)
Rank: My HS does UW ranks, so I get penalized a bit. I'm around the top 10%- give or take 3-5 spots, so definitely top 12%
SAT: 2010 (retaking later, but will use ACT)
ACT: 33 (36 M, 35 Science, 31 Writing, 31 Reading)
Subject Tests: 790 and 770 on Math lvl 2 and Physics subject tests.
Intended Major: MechE</p>

<p>Extracurriculars: I'm not going to go in much depth but I have a fair amount of ECs related to engineering and science. I have leadership positions in clubs, have gone to state/nationals in competitions and have worked in labs (I intend on sending an additional rec from mentor and/or research abstract)</p>

<p>Basically, should I wait for my senior year grades, a better class rank and apply RD? Or should I just go the ED route?</p>

2

<p>If Columbia is really where you want to go then go for ED. Senior year grades probably aren’t going to drastically effect your admissions chances.</p>

<p>I’m in a similar position as you. I have a 3.89 UW, 4.5 W, with an upward trend due to freshman year (I got a 3.5) and I’m being penalized by UW rank(I’m 12 out of 110 so top 11%) I’m also going for engineering so I find it interesting that we;ll be competing against each other with a similar situation. Good luck</p>