Applying to Columbia through QB and if I don't match, ED. Am I competitive?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
1

Hi! I go to a high school where no one usually applies to any Ivies (most kids just go in-state) and so my counselors aren’t much help with the application process. I know Columbia is a reach for everyone, but I just wanted to see if I’m competitive from an outside POV. I’m planning on studying poli. sci. and then law in grad school. This was inspired by nomood’s post and I’m using her template.

Profile:

  • White female from West Virginia, lower income bracket (<20k)

Stats:
ACT - 34, 36 science and reading, 35 english, 30 math. retaking next month.
SAT II: taking in November bc of listening tests so N/A yet
GPA - 4.5 weighted, our school doesn’t calculate unweighted GPA’s
Rank - top 10% of 250

Classes:
9th grade -
pre-ib eng 9, online chinese, H. alg II, pre-ib world history, pre-ib earth science, H. comp sci, health, piano

10th grade -
pre-ib eng 10, online chinese II, H. pre-calc, pre-ib USH, H. physics 12, PE, pre-ib bio

11th grade (I transferred to a local uni., all college credits are weighted) -
online chinese II (second sem.), AP Euro., AP Stats., AP Calc., english composition 101, english literature 150, calculus 306, political science 101

12th grade (first semester)-
english composition 102, world economics 101, comparative politics 304, chemistry 105, statistics 200, psychology 101

Extracurriculars:

  • founder and captain of dance team (10th-12th)
  • science quiz bowl (10th-12th) captain (11th-12th)
  • volunteer to translate for ESL kids from China
  • volunteer to tutor international students at the local uni.
  • work as a political/law intern at local courthouse and state capitol (9th-12th)
  • studied abroad in seoul, south korea during fall semester of junior year after saving up through my job
  • self-taught trilingual in english, korean, and mandarin

Awards:
principal’s list, dean’s list, national merit semi-finalist

2

As low as the chances are to get into Columbia, your chance of getting a QB match to ANY school is about 1%. So your chances are about zilch. Are you listing other schools on your Match list? Do you know how it works if you are matched to another school? You know that it’s game over —with a marvelous scholarships but maybe not to Columbia.

It is highly unlikely you will get a match. It’s highly unlikely anyone gets a match. Like a lottery ticket.

It is possible, however, that the schools on the Match list, contact you and invite you to apply ED. That has happened. I do not know if Columbia does this. It is also presumed—i do not know the actual statistics and you might want to ask QB, or Columbia Admissions , that you have a better than average chance of getting accepted to a QB Partner school Regular Decision as a QB finalist or even participant.

3

Hi! I’m applying to all the non-binding matches through QB too, so Princeton, Stanford, MIT, and Yale. Outside of QB, I’m applying to T20 and many target/safety schools through Common App Regular Decision after I find out whether or not I’m a finalist or matched, etc.

4

Well, you know what the chances are that you get a match. Then you have the chances that the match is Columbia over the others. You have another chance at Columbia regardless RD whether you get it through match or not.

5

@xseulgiii You seem wonderful to me – a low-income white kid from west virginia who’s self-taught trilingual in english, korean, and mandarin with 4 years as an intern at the State House and with a 34 ACT. I realize that Questbridge is a hard path but you feel like a very strong candidate – very competitive. Keep us posted on whether you make it to the next round and folks can help you figure out what schools to target.

Some quick stats from 2018: Out of 16,248 applications, 6,507 students were selected as National College Match Finalists. Of the Finalists, 1,044 students matched to a QuestBridge college partner and received a full four-year College Match Scholarship.

6

You understand the odds. But my money says you’ll get a serious look. I hope it works out for you.