<p>I'm really only looking at Columbia as a reasonably plausible transfer choice. I may apply to Yale and Stanford just for fun but am completely expecting rejections. </p>
<p>College Freshmen at Duke University
GPA: 3.775 - All A's or A-'s (Can I put 3.8 on the applications?)
Dean's List for Fall 2008 Semester
Majors: Economics and Mathematics
EC's: Involved in the investment club, the real estate club, and the raquetball club. I know this doesn't look to impressive but I don't know how to get any leadership positions in any of these clubs yet since I'm only a freshman. </p>
<p>HS GPA: around 3.5 (tough priv. school)
SAT: 2270
SATII: 700, 770, 670
AP Scholar with distinction, national merit commended scholar, IB diploma
All 5s and 4s on AP exams. I didn't do too well on the IB exams since I was a senior and didnt study at all for them. Should I still list them on my application or just stick with AP scores?
EC's: lots, president of 2 clubs, captain of varsity tennis team, etc. </p>
<p>I have very specific reasons to apply to Columbia including a special major in econ and its location which would make internsihps/jobs during the school year much easier. I think these specific reasons should help my chances correct?</p>
<p>as a freshman, your hs gpa will have more weight than one semester at college...a 3.5 won't cut it for columbia...in addition, i dont see anything in your ec's that makes you stand out from all the other applicants. columbia accepts 2% of xfer applicants and only takes the very exceptional, i quite honestly dont see anything special about your app</p>
<p>those reasons are pretty standard, i dont see how they would help more than most other peoples reasons...you usually dont put down your gpa, they usually see it on your transcript, its probably rounded to the hundreth or something</p>
<p>if you want to be a competitive applicant, put in another year...with the acceptance rate for those schools only around 2% of an incredibly qualified applicant pool, A-'s probably won't cut it from here on out...most importantly, you really have to find a hook</p>
<p>A decent chance for Columbia, I think. Keep in mind the 6% acceptance rate, though.</p>
<p>Your stats are very similar to mine, except for your slightly-higher SATs. I'm worried that our HS GPAs (roughly 3.5) might hinder us. Still, if you look at previous years' acceptance stats, most people who get in don't have 4.0s in HS or college. They have precisely 3.7-3.9s.</p>
<p>Also, my GPA is a 3.789. I'd love to round that to a 3.8, but it's written as a 3.78 on my transcript. We should double check with them on that. </p>
<p>Sorry, can't say much about Yale or Stanford.</p>
<p>Oh, see my "Columbia Essay" topic. You'll find it useful.</p>
<p>A 3.5 from an elite private school can often be close to the top of the class. And the OP's at a top college. He has a chance and it's worth applying IMO, though much better chance applying for junior transfer if you keep the grades high.</p>