Chance Me at Columbia ED, Northeastern EA, UMich EA, Barnard RD and UPenn RD

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Okay so I toured Columbia and absolutely fell in love with it. I applied ED.

Background about me:
Female, Originally from Central Asia (think borderline between middle east and south asia. Afghanistan!). Born in Canada. Permanent Resident in US, probably will be naturalized by applications. Did not self-identify in common app, but clarified the country I am from in common app essay.
Applying with heavy STEM, so hopefully that looks good.
Majors listed on app:
First choice: Evolutionary bio of human species
Second: Bio
Third: Comparative lit and society
interested in pre-med

Hooks:
Mom and Dad didn’t go to college. Both parents were immigrants/refugees. Minority. Moved to Dubai when I was a kid then moved to America, so that was a culture shock.

SAT 2: Bio 740, Lit 720
ACT: 33 Composite (36 E, 28 M, 31 S, 36 R)
GPA (UW): Like a 3.8-3.9
GPA (W): Around 4.4-4.5
Class Rank: Top 10 (probably gonna drop but still top 1-2%)
School Info: Public magnet

I am part of my school’s speciality program which is the I.T program.

These are whats on my app:

In-School ECs:
Teaching Tolerance: club about diversity and promoting. Advocates for minorites. PRESIDENT + FOUNDER! Grades 10-12
STAR Club - volunteering club at local elementary and middle schools. I volunteer 2x a week at least for this club. I am also SECRETARY AND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DIRECTOR. Grades 10-12.
National Math Honor Society Grade 11,12 - Vice-president
Women in STEM club, 12 - Secretary
Selected Hospitality Committee member, Mini-THON
Teen Volunteer, Novant Health UVA Health Program - volunteer in surgical services
Intern for Ryan Sawyers Congress Campaign
Sales Associate, Kohl’s
NHS
Spanish NHS

Honors:

AP Scholar with Honors

Congressional Recognition for 10th District Young Womens Leadership Program

Youth Salute County Nominee

Congressional Recognition for Elementary STEAM Expo

Scholarship Award for Outstanding Academic Performance

Classes that will appear on my transcript (Pre-AP = Honors. 0.5w = half wait. W = full weight)
Pre-AP Algebra 1 - A
Spanish 1 - A
Pre-AP Geometry - A
Pre-AP English 9 - A
Pre-AP Biology - A
World History 1 - A
Advanced Computer Math 0.5w - A
Spanish 2 - A
H.P.E - A

Sophomore Year
Pre-AP Algebra 2 + Trig 0.5w - A
Pre-AP English 10 - A
Chemistry - A
World History 2 - A
AP Computer Science W - A (5)
Pre-AP Spanish 3 0.5w - A
H.P.E - A
Earth Science (took it online as an extra load) - A

Junior Year (current)
Functions/Trig W - A
AP Language and Composition W - A (5 on exam)
AP Biology W - A (4)
US/VA History - 99% sure A
Data Structures/Algorithims - A
Pre-AP Spanish 4 0.5w - A
AP Seminar W - A (3)
AP Psychology (online as extra class) W - A (5)

Senior Year courses and first quarter grades
AP Calc AB W - B
AP Literature W - A
AP Physics 1 W - B or B+
Database W - A
AP Research W - A
AP Spanish 5 - A
Economics - A

Essays:
I think they are all well-written. I think my common app one is a little generic but well written. My supplements, one is very unique. The other is a bit of a sob story but not really.

Reccomendations: I think good?

Chance me pls!! It’s my dream school, i literally cry when I think about getting rejected.

2

If you also can chance me at Northeastern EA, UMich EA, Barnard RD and UPenn RD, I would appreciate it.

3

Your chances are probably pretty close to the overall acceptance rate. The majority of applicants to Ivy League universities are academically very strong, as are you. ED should give you an edge, but I still expect your chances are less than 50/50.

What is your budget? Have you run the NPC for Columbia?

If you were born in Canada, then you are a Canadian citizen. If you want an academically very strong university which is very demanding, has a very strong worldwide reputation, and is smack dab in the middle of a city with a LOT going on, then your stats would make McGill a safety for you, and at least in terms of “sticker price” it would be a fraction of the cost. Of course, if you want to maximize your chances for medical school, then it is not obvious to me that either Columbia or McGill would be the way to improve your chances of getting a medical-school-worthy GPA.

4

You look to be a viable candidate. Apply and give it your all.

BUT I really want to warn you against setting up one school, especially a hyper-competitive school like Columbia which has an acceptance rate of well under 10%, as a “dream college” which makes you devolve into tears at the mere thought of your not getting in. The people I see who get hurt by the college admission process are the ones who focus on one or two hyper-competitive schools and then don’t get in. Columbia must be considered as a reach school for any unhooked applicant. You need to recognize that there are many wonderful schools out there where you can have a great 4 year experience and get where you want to go in life. I’d recommend that you give up the idea of a dream school and create a solid college list that includes reach, match, and safety schools that appear affordable (find out your parents’ budget and run the net price calculator for each school) and that you would be excited to attend.

5

Please note that I am just giving my opinion:

GPA: good
SAT/ACT: good, maybe you could get a little higher but a 33/1460 should be ok for your major
ECs:
kinda average, nothing that you have indicates any interest in human evolution. For example, a friend of mine who applied for the same major and got into Columbia ED had done a research internship with an anthropologist in Ethiopia for 3 years during the summer.

Keep in mind that advocating for minorities seems pretty cliche unless you have a reason behind it. For example, lots of people at my school advocate for minorities because they themselves are minorities. They created an incubator to get the students of color a chance to make their businesses come to life.

If you want pre-med, I would have assumed some type of internship in the summer, not just volunteering. Internships speak much greater volumes to colleges.

NHS, Spanish NHS are REALLY common. They aren’t going to give too much dazzle to your application.

Awards:

Pretty good except that none of them are STEM. STEAM may help but lots of premed students, or any student applying for a STEM subject will have some sort of award, whether it be department award, one of the olympiads, some science fair competition, internship recognition etc.

Chances:
Columbia ED: most likely deferred, low chance of acceptance (it’s an IVY after all)
Northeastern EA: probably get in
UMich EA: deferred, average chance of getting in
Barnard RD: low chance
UPenn: lower than Columbia (IVY and med program there is good)

6

I agree. Falling in love with one school is frequently a huge mistake.

You’re a bright young woman. You’ll bloom wherever you’re planted. So sit down at the computer and compile a strong list of about 10 or 12 schools that are equally loveable. Include a number of schools that are safeties-- schools you’re confident you can get into, you know you can afford, and that you can actually see yourself loving to attend.

Do it this weekend, and get those other apps out.