Chance me! Barnard College of Columbia University, IB, 4.0, (add more recs)

Chance Me / Match Me!
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Hey all, Barnard is my absolute dream school. I applied ED and I want anyone who may be able to chance me! I am not using Barnard as a gateway, I truly love the school and would thrive surrounded by creative, open minded women(cheesy, ik but it’s true)

Stats:
Permanent US resident

Private IB High School (Small, nobody else in my school is applying to Barnard)

Italian-American female from major northeast city

Intended major: Environmental studies

GPA: 4.02/4.0W

No class rank

Test optional

Classes:

ENG - HL Language and Literature -(IB) (6)
HIST - HL Individuals and Societies- (IB) (6)
ART - HL Visual Arts - (IB) (6)
ENVSCI - SL Environmental Systems and Societies - (IB) (7)
LANG - SL Spanish Ab Initio - (IB) (6)
MATH - SL Applications and interpretations - (IB) (5)

Precollege at Rhode Island School of Design(RISD)

7 week program, FAV Major

NHS chapter founder at my school

NHD regional competition

CPR/AED / FIRST RESPONDER certified

IMPORTANT:

I reclassified my junior year to a different , more elite school and repeated my junior year. I was always young for my grade so I am not graduating any older than anyone else

Essays and why I reclassed:

Essay # 1 (common app)- without getting into detailed, It was an incredible recounting of some very personal hardships I faced and how I used my visual art ability to take control of my life( I had a bad disease I was born with and no doctors knew how to treat it… its OCD related)

Essay # 2 (optional one for if you need to explain more)

My mother got breast cancer and chemotherapy during my Sop. And junior year of high school. I had to watch her lose her hair, go thru all of radiation, etc. I maintained my grades(As and Bs) I switched schools due to the personal issue I mentioned prior and other factors such as my school handling some mental health stuff in a really uncaring and unsupportive way, I wanted better for myself and knew I wasn’t being academically challenged, I found an incredible IB school got accepted and transfered- right when things seemed normal again, at my new school, half way through the year my father was diagnosed with a brain tumour last year. We had to pack all of our bags and temporarily move to Pittsburgh to treat him. I kept up w school remotely.

My worst grade thru my entire 5 years of high school was a B-

When I declassed my grades skyrocketed and now I have all 6’s and 7’s with some 5’s. (Very upward trend)

I think my essays are very moving and I poured my heart into them without victimising myself! (I am not a victim, everything happens for a reason, I am happy everyone in my family is alive and healthy) I spent hours working on them and asked many people to review!

Ec:

Intern for Congressman, United States of America,
House of Representatives (1 yr)

(Ran town hall meetings, filed paperwork, met w congressman and helped local communities businesses)

Assistant, Volunteer, & Observer(4 yr)
Shadowed doctors and allied health care providers in a busy medical
practice, assisted with basic patient care, patient intake, daily office
workflow

Varsity Basketball, Guard,- Was named a NEPSAC All-Star (2 yr)

Varsity Crew , rower (2 yr)

Competed in numerous races

Varsity Sailing, Sailor, Sailing Major, Instructor, & Volunteer(4 yr)

Taught kids how to sail, sailed in regattas, etc

Volunteer and Fund-Raiser, Africa Service Project
Lead fund-raiser (gave speeches/meetings) for service trip to Africa
installed sustainable stoves and goat sheds, helped in school
construction(we were there for 2 weeks)

Chapter Founder, National Honor Society,
Responsible for starting an NHS chapter at my school, follow-up with staff to get paperwork and start meetings+ member of NHS

caregiver to my family, had to watch my brother and assist my mom during our stay in the ICU (mother had breast cancer+ chemo, dad had brain tumor, explained already)

Certified Life Guard, Swimming Instructor-
Certified summer camp lifeguard, competitive swimmer, now swim
instructor (also held jobs at Chipotle, Legal Seafood, & Wegman’s, many paid jobs for years)

Lifelong Visual Artist, Self-Taught, & RISD(RISD Precollege FAV major)
Hone skills and create art daily. It has been a passion and a constant,
woven into all aspects of my life

Recs:

1 from House of Rep Congressman

1 from chief of surgery at the hospital I volunteered at

1 rec from english teacher who def touched on my ability to think critically + participate in class
1 rec from my environmental science teacher who told my story from his point of view/ we have a really good relationship and I trust him very much

1 from college counsellor who I also have a rlly good relationship with/explained my story

  • Portfolio with 4 pieces of my greatest artworks

No cost res., upper middle class

Sorry for it being so long, but my story isn’t short! If anyone could also offer some other schools they see being a fit, please LMK… Barnard is highly selective and I am aware I need backups… (I applied to Holy Cross and Fairfield )

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Congrats on a terrific record! You clearly have what it takes to thrive at Barnard. The only problem is that Barnard gets so many well qualified applicants that it can admit only a small fraction. For this reason, outside of students with major “hooks” such as recruited athlete, or family member who is a major donor, or child of faculty, or Olympian or movie star, it is almost impossible to chance anyone because the odds are so low despite a terrific record such as yours.

Therefore, I think the best strategy would be to assume the odds won’t fall your way, assume you won’t get in, and start researching backups which also can become your dream school.

My own kid really wanted to be in NY, and ended up at Fordham (the Manhattan campus.) He is having a terrific experience even though this school was not originally even on his radar.

Best of luck and best wishes!

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Thank you so much, I was looking at Fordham Lincoln Center but read many reviews that it didnt feel like a college campus… I might tour it if ED dosent go in my favour!

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Fordham LC is for sure not a traditional campus! To move from class to class you don’t walk across a quad, you go up and down in a high rise! It does have a lovely although small central court, however, and of course Central Park less than 2 blocks away! In contrast, Fordham Rose Hill has a beautiful classic campus, but my kid wanted to be in Manhattan rather than the Bronx.

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Sounds like a dream to me… NYC has always been where I want to live. Thank you so much for your feedback, this 4 week wait period is KILLING ME!! I just want to find out! haha, but thats how it is. I will update this thread with what happens but your kindness means a lot.

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Agree that you are an accomplished applicant (congrats!) but it is impossible to chance for the very competitive colleges. Hopefully you have already checked and determined that Barnard is expected to be affordable if you are admitted.

Good luck with Barnard - hopefully ED will be a positive in your application.

In general, it is best to avoid the mindset that there is one “dream college.” If you love the idea of a women’s college there are many other great options to consider if Barnard doesn’t work out for you.

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True! Thank you sm for your feedback, fingers crossed is all I can do at this point!

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Based on your intended major, some of these colleges may be of interest:

Mount Holyoke, for example, might suit you.

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With all the important caveats (about getting too emotionally invested in highly selective schools) out of the way, let me say that I think you have some very competitive aspects to your application - portraying a mature, independent, highly engaged, and personally resilient young woman.

Your US Rep internship, and the specifics of tasks there, your crucially important caregiver tasks, the depth of your engagement in your Africa Service Project (including the funds-raising aspect!), and your various after school/vacation jobs you held, would already be impressive on their own - but even more so when combined with athletic achievements in multiple disciplines and in light of the personal challenges you had to overcome.

I think there is enough substance for an admissions officer to see your excellence, when there is no standardized tests and class rank available.

Of course, no matter how much a good fit you would be for Barnard, the ultimate selection from among the too many top applicants into a class are not a reflection on your own application, but what geographically, socially, economically, and otherwise diverse class a college is wishing to “shape” that year.

Therefore, there is no realistic way to assign an individual probability for schools like Barnard - other than that >90% will not be admitted. But wishing you good luck that all the stars align in your case.

PS - you do realize that you can apply to Columbia College in parallel? If by chance you are only admitted at CC, but not BC, you’d still be able to use the Barnard campus, dining rooms, and facilities (other than the health center), join the same clubs, attend many of your classes at Barnard, and (after the first year) even share housing with BC students. My daughter was a Barnard student but her friends circle was from both colleges.

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When I was a senior in high school I also decided that NYC was my destiny and…also ended up at Fordham :slight_smile:

(Although I opted for Rose Hill both because that was the campus that had my intended major and because, to me, it felt like the best of both worlds - I actually ended up living in Manhattan senior year, not far from LC, and commuting to the Bronx campus.)

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As a breast cancer survivor myself, sending lots of love to your mom - I hope she is doing well.

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Thank you so much, she’s doing better every day. God bless!

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Wow, thank you so much for your time and effort with this- It feels a lot better to know that at least im qualified and if I dont get in its not directly my fault! Fingers crossed and If it dosent work out Im gonna tell them to keep my application because Ill be back!

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Unsolicited advice.

First – I really do hope you get into Barnard. Please keep this in mind as you read my other comments.

Second – As I said upthread, you seem like a strong candidate and ED is a plus. If you don’t get accepted at Barnard, it is not a reflection on you or your achievements – rather it would be a case of the college having too many well qualified applicants for the spots available. NEVER allow an admission officer who spends maybe 10 - 15 minutes on your application have any impact on your self-worth.

Third – If you happen not to get accepted (and again, I hope you do get in) I would caution against the attitude of “I’ll be back.” Instead, I would put Barnard in your rear-view mirror and focus on the many many other fantastic options out there. If you count on transferring before you even start college it can hold you back – you may be hesitant to get involved on campus, form close friendships, work with professors etc. In my experience the people who get hurt by the process the most are the students who pin all their hopes and dreams on one (often super competitive) college and then don’t get in. If you love the idea of a women’s college – look at Smith, Mt. Holyoke, Bryn Mawr etc. – if you love NYC look at NYU, Fordham (both campuses) and so forth. You are a strong and resilient person and I have no doubt that if you give yourself the chance and go in with a positive attitude you will flourish wherever you end up. (Rant over).

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I can’t thank you enough truly. I am so grateful people who want to truly help are out there- I am going to embrace all of my strengths , my past and be excited for the future no matter where I end up going. I can’t wait to see where the stars align for me whether that at Barnard or anywhere else. Hearing others acknowledge my hard work really reminds me that no matter what happens I should be proud that I even came this far!

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