Hey guys,
I absolutely LOVE Columbia. I moved to the US last year and I have visited Columbia more than three times and I am trying to get into the HSP but have been having some difficulties as my preferred teacher has not replied to his email yet ):
Either way, I would love to go to Columbia.
Here’s a little bit about me before you start judging me on some numbers:
I moved to the US a year ago and I currently live in Texas
I am not ranked in my current high school because of some GPA issues but also my school only ranks the top 10% (It’s weird I know)
3.I visited Columbia three times and since I intern here in NYC, I like to go to the Starbucks near Columbia and just admire it (Sorry, can’t help it).
I am currently working on a research project here in NYC
I am a vegan lol if it makes me unique
I want to pursue law in graduate school and will most probably study something related to that in CC
Columbia is my no 1 choice
Here are my stats:
3.7 UW 3.89 W
2150 SATs
Took the school sponsored ACT and got a 28 (will not send btw)
Rank- n/a (My graduating class has 850+ students)
Will apply ED
Current Junior
Senior year course load: 4 APs and 2 Honor classes
AP grades: APUSH (5) Eng comp (4) I moved here last year so not many AP classes ):
Asian
EC’s
School- President of an animal rights club, Mock trial, Lit crit ( 2nd place overall in state), SS uil , writer for school newspaper ( most were about being a vegan + animal rights ) ( Not many but are the ones I truly care about)
Others: Dancer (5 years classical) Ballet (2 years) ( Love being a dancer, please tell me if I can somehow continue Ballet in Columbia)
Teen court
Dance teacher
Writer- Own a personal blog, writer for huffpost teen
State champ tennis player before I moved to the US (only girl) (will probably not add this to my application)
Won several writing awards
Work/Job:
Co-founder of an online business that donates money
Walk local dogs to pay for my research (Summer job)
**Cannot work locally because of some visa issues
*If it helps, my research is about animal rights as well
Columbia is a bit of a reach for you. Unfortunately, such famous schools usually care less about demonstrated interest, unless you can make it flower in your essay. ED may help in the interest sector but I’m not sure by how much. Hopefully your passion can tip the scales
Very high reach. Don’t feel sad if you don’t get in. Honestly a lot of applicants will outclass you in every way due to your mediocre GPA and SAT, as well as your standardized test scores. Consider applying to a few easier schools Early Action… Columbia is really hard to get into with those stats.
@mrwiggles I was just scrolling at the Columbia ED results for class of 2019 and people with lower stats got in (no hooks or legacies) btw so I really didn’t think my stats would pull me back. It was the EC’s I was worried about. I forgot to add the community service section but I do volunteer a lot. I attended the information session at Columbia and they actually appreciate interest to their university.
Sorry if I was rude but this is my first chance post here and I didn’t know that I would get such discouragement! Should have not bothered to ask unless it was an admission officer or something.
it’s not “hate” lol the people in these responses are just being realistic. i think you should definitely apply and hope for the best because applying to the ivies is most of the time a crapshoot. a 2150 to me is a fabulous SAT score, but there are a lot of people applying to columbia who have a 2150+. just dont be heartbroken if you dont get in. there are thousands of schools in the USA that would love to have you
@kelika I understand that but I do think that in order to have a chance post in effect people should include of what that person can do to improve their chances. As I said above, Columbia is my first choice. I would really appreciate if people would be polite enough to tell me what I can do to improve my chances rather than straight out discouraging me. It really hurts when someone just straight out says that. I was just searching and I came across this website which really sounded interesting to me. After reading a couple of Ed/Rd results here I decided to add a chance post because people have gotten in with lower stats. I have worked really hard for this and now I am just questioning myself because of couple of responses. It’s wrong to discourage and demotivate a person. Yes, if my stats were ridiculously low I would have not even bothered to post here, but I really didn’t expect such response in such way. A little politeness would have been appreciated.
i thought the people who responded were little too harsh, imo. there are a lot of people on this site who are willing to help you. definitely apply to columbia though, you never know!!
I don’t think anyone intended to discourage or demotivate you. If they had, they would’ve told you not to even apply. The Ivies are a high reach for everyone short of Taylor Swift. I don’t think your stats would in any way knock you out, it’s just impossible to know for sure your likelihood of getting in because it’s so intensely competitive and so many great students like you choose to apply. I think if you have the opportunity to retake the SAT and score a 2250+, that could increase your chances, but your EC’s are great and your GPA is perfectly fine. Don’t give up hope, and definitely apply–you never know what could happen!
@txbornandraised I’m not trying to be mean, just realistic. I have seen a lot of friends end up being very disappointed and even depressed when they aimed too high. When you browsed through those posts on the people who got in with lower scores and SATs, did you notice their ethnicity? I bet most of those people are under-represented minorities (african american, native american, etc.) who have a huge advantage over many of others. What’s your ethnicity, i don’t think you mentioned it in your initial post.
@MrWiggles I did mention, I am an Asian. The person who I was talking about was also an Asian. And two more people were Asian. I am sorry if I sounded rude but you probably didn’t realize that it was a little discouraging. It made me question about my hard work and you asked me to apply to easier schools. Yes I don’t have a perfect GPA or perfect SAT score, but I have worked hard. Sorry if I sounded rude I really didn’t mean too
@skgriffin yeah I understand that now lol it was my first time so I wasn’t expecting this. Thank you for actually telling me what I should do to improve my chances, I will be retaking the SAT Thankyou for your help!
I think all Columbia University undergrad dance is taught at Barnard. If your in NYC anyway you might consider touring and interviewing at Barnard, it’s just across Broadway from Columbia. Barnard students take a lot of their classes at Columbia College.
@txbornandraised Hey! Your SAT score is awesome, but a bit low for Columbia – probably around the 25th-30th percentile mark. Your UW GPA is a bit on the low side.
Your ECs seem great and make you a competitive applicant. As other have said above, the Ivies are a reach even for the top 5% academically. At the end of the day, it’s a crapshoot and no one here can accurately predict your chances. If you’re honestly in love with Columbia, write a killer essay and go ED – you never know!!
@arwarw I was thinking to just apply CC and then join the ballet club that Columbia has. Thank you for your help
@EIC2400 Thank you yes I am keeping my fingers crossed. Do you know how to improve my score? I have purchased the blue book to take practice tests but do you suggest any good books? Thanks
Your chances are around 6% like everyone else who pays $95 and fills out a very long supplement. You can increase your chances by looking at it from the admissions department perspective. First you need stats that don’t hurt them in the scores reported for college rankings. If you look at they way colleges report their SAT scores you will notice any single area under 700 hurts the colleges numbers.
Once you make the cut on stats then you need to have something the college needs. Now if they need more writers for the school paper or website, you have a better chance. Better yet if you come from a state that has less applicants. Then being a unique vegan who is willing to start new clubs might stand out.
It’s great that you fell in ‘love’ with Columbia but I would recommend you fall in love with a few other college too! I’m not saying you won’t get in but it’s kind of like winning the lottery. Somebody buys the winning ticket but it might not be you.
The auditions for Columbia’s ballet club are actually held at Barnard College, but as a Columbia undergrad you would have full access to the classes and studios at Barnard College just as Barnard undergrads have full access to Columbia University including classes, clubs and athletics.
