Chance Me for Columbia!

Hi! I’m still a grade 10 student but wanted to do a “chance me” to see my current chances!

Stats:
93% average (will raise it by end of year)
Aiming for 1500 min SAT
School offers no APs, IB, or Honours - self-studying for APUSH, AP Euro, AP Human geo instead
In top 5% at school
Graduating with 10ish extra credits

Execs:
Founder and Editor-in-Chief of a magazine
President of a non-profit
Co-Founder of an organization
Research internship at a uni
Intern at a financial institution
Intern at a tech/immigration company
FBLA chapter founder
School wellness committee head
Editor and social media manager for school newspaper
PLAN international speakers bureau
School environmental team
School charity week head
Peer Leader
Social media coordinator for organization and part of blood donation advocacy toolkit
Economic olympiad competitor
3x Columbia Pre-College - also led faculty orientation panel for pre-college
1x Harvard Pre-College
Might change within the coming years, but only for the better^^^

Demographics:
Female, white, only live with mom (she is an immigrant), dad is dead, public school, middle class, large Canadian city (will need financial aid)

Spike: My spike is extremely unique but I’d rather not list it because of that purpose - has to do with immigration, neurodivergence, and globality

Intended areas of study: economics and political sciences
Let me know what you all think!!! Tips appreciated

How do your stats compare to the accepted students from your high school in the past on Naviance (or similar software)? Have you spoken to your college counselor about what your chances are? Both of these resources will be much more helpful and realistic than anyone can provide here.

Also, while your stats and ECs are great, keep in mind that it is extremely difficult to predict what admissions officers look for in each instance. I’ve known people who’ve gotten into Princeton but rejected at Cornell, deferred at Michigan but getting into MIT and UPenn. On the flip side, people with perfect GPAs and test scores and seemly perfect ECs will end up at their local state school, not even sniffing a T30. The process is seemingly random, and the best you can do right now is keeping your great number up, get a 1500+ on the SAT (easier said than done), and focus on depth in your ECs.

In short, you have a good start, but anyone who claims they can give you an accurate “chance” for acceptance at Columbia is fooling themselves and you. The only true “chance me” is the one when you open the decision letter less than two years from now. Good luck!

I have no idea how my stats compare to other students at my high school as our guidance counsellors do not disclose this information. However, my counsellor believes my chances are good. Thanks for the advice!

Don’t. It won’t help with admissions.

You have a lot of big things on your long list of ECs. At some point you will want to focus them.

Are you a US citizen?

Nobody has a good chance at columbia. Like everyone you’ll have stretch, target, and safety schools. Chase your dreams. Just realize any Ivy, perhaps short of a couple of Cornell’s programs, is a stretch for everyone. Good luck

Canadian

Well, I’d say that if you keep up with the grades and achievements you are earning, then you should be in the running.

But keep in mind that any school in the US News Top 20 is a reach school…for everybody. It’s not a personal thing, it’s just that ALL of these schools accept less than 15% of their applicants.

I’d argue the same for the US News Top 30, as almost every school in the Top 30 accepts less than 20% of their applicants. Once again, it’s not personal, it’s just how it works nowadays.

Make sure to take a look at the top LAC’s—take a good look at the LAC’s ranging from Williams (#1 on US News) to Lafayette (#40). The Top 20 LAC’s are also VERY competitive (a reach for anybody), but you should take a look. The Top 50 LAC’s (or so) should include some match schools and possibly even a safety or two.

Make sure to take a look at Barnard College of Columbia University!

That makes your odds even longer. Sticking with last years numbers (there was a 50% increase in applications this year, dropping the admission rate to 3%, which may be an aberration), in the 2019 round 36,000 students applied, 2,222 were accepted, of whom 355 were international students, from 74 countries.

Not trying to squash your dreams! Read this: