Hello! I’d really appreciate any and all reflection, advice, or criticism in relation to my credentials and how they’ll impact me when I apply to Columbia next year (I’m currently a junior). I understand that the acceptance rate is so low that it requires a bit of chance and luck to be accepted, but I’d still appreciate any sort of input. Thanks in advance! If you’d like for me to do the same on one of your threads, let me know.
INFORMATION
Sex: F.
Ethnicity: White.
High school type: Private.
Probable major: Biochemistry (for pre-med).
Unweighted GPA: 3.98.
Weighted GPA: within the range of 4.3-4.4 (4.0 given for A in reg class, 4.5 for A in honors, 5.0 for A in AP)
Class rank: one of the top 10 students in my class, not sure specifically.
Probable SAT Scores:
SAT: 1550-1580
SAT Math: 780-800
SAT Reading/Writing: 770-780
SAT Subject Tests: aiming for 780+ on chemistry, 750+ on math II, maybe also taking U.S. history or english.
AP’s (11 by senior year): Aiming for 5’s on AP Chem, APUSH, AP Calc AB, and AP English Literature this year as a junior and taking 4-5 other AP’s as a senior. In the past, I’ve gotten 4’s on AP Biology and AP European History.
Other awards: Dean’s List every year of high school (for those who use the term Honor Roll, this is essentially the top of that), some top awards in SciOly, some sort of national merit award, probably some from my school as well.
AP/Honors Classes:
Freshman – none
Sophomore – two AP’s (AP Euro, AP Biology), one honors class (Honors Precalculus)
Junior – four AP’s (AP Chemistry, AP U.S. History, AP Calculus AB, AP English Literature)
Senior – four AP’s (AP Gov, AP Physics, AP Calculus BC, AP Statistics), one honors class (not sure what yet)
Extracurriculars (by the time I’m a senior): captain of SciOly for 2 years, member --> leader of a large community service organization at my school for 2 years, newspaper for 4 years, started another advocacy club, leader of a community service group at my school.
Summers: classes at prestigious universities, research programs at prestigious universities.
Volunteering: a TON of it through both school and external organizations.
Essays: I’m quite an experienced reader and writer, so these should be more than decent.
Hooks: I’m not sure I have any hooks. I’m just very dedicated to studying and helping people in the future. Some of my desire to study medicine stems from a childhood experience with the passing of a relative, so that could be an essay topic as my motivations are completely genuine, but I’m not certain right now.
Letters of rec:
Chem teacher (10/10), great relationship with them as a peer and mentor
History teacher (9/10), history isn’t one of my favorite subjects so I work really hard in it to get high A’s and my teacher definitely respects my determination
Great ones from counselor and research mentor (8 or 9/10 each)
If you need any more information to determine my chances to a greater extent, let me know.