Chance me for Columbia ED?!? (I'm a junior and I'll chance back)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Okay, I put this in Columbia's thread too. I just want to increase the number of replies I get so please don't get on me for it. </p>

<p>Hi could you chance me for Columbia? I'm applying early decision this fall. Please, please, please don't just look I'd love your opinion. I realize that chance threads aren't really "accurate", but I'd like some tips on how to improve my chances. So please reply! Thanks! Oh there are questions sprinkled about in there, could you answer them if you know?</p>

<p>Courses:
Freshman-
Honors Biology
Honors Geometry
Honors English
Honors French 4
AP US History (4)
Gym
Ceramics 1</p>

<p>Sophomore-
Honors Chemistry
Honors English
Honors Algebra 2
IB French 5
AP US Gov and Politics (5)
Computer Programming (required tech class)
Health semester one/ Ceramics 2</p>

<p>Junior (current)-
AP Biology
IB Pre-Calc
AP World History
AP English Lang
IB French 6
Honors Ceramics 3</p>

<p>Senior (classes I've signed up for)-
AP Chemistry
AP Stat
AP Psychology
AP English Lit
IB French 7
AP Studio Art 3D</p>

<p>SAT:
Bio- Taking in October.
US History- 710
Took the general SAT in June so I'll update this when I find out. I don't want to put up a projected score because I feel like that jinks it.</p>

<p>ACT:
I'm going to take it in September</p>

<p>GPA:
3.93 unweighted
4.60 weighted
(Siiigghh IB pre-calc's gonna mess this up a bit. At our school the best you can hope for is a B)</p>

<p>Awards:
Small school stuff
Some scholarships </p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
Soccer (4 years)
Lax(4 years)
NHS (2 years) - will be co-president senior year (it was a dead tie between me and another girl lol)
French honor society(4 years) - will be co-president senior year. We're raising money to go to France next Spring Break, is that something I can talk about?
Ceramics club (4 years)
Church acolyte(4 years)</p>

<p>Work:
Tutor/Grader at Kumon (3 years)
NIDA teen advisory group (3 years) - We meet twice a month online and by phone and help out with their website. </p>

<p>Volunteering -
Spent Summer interning/volunteering at Women's Medical. 150+ hours
Volunteered as a teacher's assistant for an art class
Church this Summer (probably 100+)</p>

<p>Summer Stuff -
Georgetown Lead America medical forum (summer 2011)
Women's medical internship (summer 2012)
Job at kumon
Costa Rica service trip (summer 2013)
Paid internship at IQ Solution - with the department that works with the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) (Summer 2013)</p>

<p>** Also this Summer I'll be visiting Columbia for the second time. I'll get to sit in on some classes, take a tour again, talk to teachers and admission officers, etc. I know this isn't something I've earned (I just signed up for it) but it's something I can talk about when applying right?**</p>

<p>Hooks:
-I'm African American
-I live in a single parent home so things are pretty tight. Also my mom's paycheck was cutdown so it's gotten even worse. I work and buy my own things so my mom doesn't have to worry about it. Oh I paid for half of the price to go on the service trip. I'm not sure if this counts (Some people are much worse off than I am), but I'll put it down. </p>

<p>** Another question sorry. My mom's an immigrant (she came from Sierra Leone), but she got her Master's here (I think on a fast track or something, she didn't live on campus. It was when I was a baby.). So do I still count as first generation to college or no?</p>

<p>Thanks so much guys! Please tell me what you think, and if you have any suggestions please tell me. When it comes to applying my family and I are pretty much in the dark so anything helps really. Okay thanks again</p>

2

<p>Columbia: Reach (aim for 32+/2150+)</p>

3

<p>thanks, will do. Anyone else?</p>

4

<p>ECs and work look good, you have some solid leadership positions. And your personal story is compelling and should help you out. I think that if your scores are high enough by application time (for SAT I think 2200 would give you a better shot) then you have a solid chance at getting in. Ivy admissions are such a crapshoot, but you are definitely no worse off than anyone else! Good luck!</p>

<p>Chance me back?
[Chance</a> for Brown + other top schools?](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1514229-chance-brown-other-top-schools.html]Chance”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1514229-chance-brown-other-top-schools.html)</p>

5

<p>Thanks! and I took the SAT in June. I’m not sure how I did, but I hope for over a 2000. People say the May SAT was harder than the June one, so we’ll see.</p>

<p>Anyone else?</p>

6

<p>1). Start working on your essays as soon as the Common App. becomes available!!! And spend ALOT of time on them. Applicants sometimes underestimate how crucial those can be in enriching and rounding out the portraits of themselves that other components of the application reveal (grades, test scores, ecs, recs). Make sure that several people you trust read these essays and feel that the essays speak in your authentic voice. Start working on them asap. Columbia has several questions. Assume you might be asked why – specifically – you want to attend Columbia. Well…why are you and Columbia a good match? What can you bring to Columbia?</p>

<p>2). Also choose your recommenders wisely. And ask for recs as soon as is practicable when senior year starts. These should be teachers/advisors who know you EXTREMELY well --at least academically – and can speak in depth about your qualities. </p>

<p>3). Is your course load the most rigorous you can be taking at your high school? Looks like it, so far. Remember, as well, that your Guidance Counselor will be writing a school report for you and it requires that he or she evaluate the rigor of your curriculum in the context of what the school offers, and in comparison with your fellow students. How does the rigor of your schedule compare to that of your classmates who will also be applying to Columbia, or to comparably selective schools? Can your GC say, for example, that you consistently challenge yourself? </p>

<p>If your GC does not know you very well, make some appointments as soon as school starts and get to know your GC. Let the GC know your college hopes and dreams and let the GC become both a resource AND an advocate for you. But don’t let he or she talk you out of applying to any school you want to attend. That DOES happen, and often to students of color. My little one was discouraged, actively, by the upper division dean of her school. We had to intervene. We, and she, made an ally of the GC who worked with her and became a source of support, despite the upper school dean. She applied to 11 schools and got in to ten of them; one was her dream school – Columbia. But for awhile she lost all confidence because, as a not wealthy student of color in a wealthy, largely white high school, she was treated by the upper school dean as though she was applying “above her station.” It was very ugly for awhile. But one thing that helped was really getting to know her GC who became her advocate because he saw, truly saw, her intellectual and personal qualities and addressed them in the School Report.</p>

<p>4). Have as a back up plan a rounded, intelligently defined list of reach (dream schools), match, and safety schools. Therefore, start researching the schools other than Columbia to which you may need to apply if ED doesn’t come through. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Find other schools you could love, if you had to. Certainly three each in the match and safety categories.</p>

<p>5). And yes, take advantage of your visit to Columbia to talk to professors in your field of interest and with admissions officers. Also with financial aid officers. If you apply ED, you have no opportunity to compare financial aid offers from different schools that accept you. Only one offer, one you would be expected to accept, would be on the table for you if you get into Columbia ED. Can you afford Columbia? Talk to financial aid about your financial picture and see what they tell you about a potential aid package given your family’s economic ciircumstances. </p>

<p>Of course, showing real, sincere interest in Columbia can only help you, if your stats are competitive.</p>