Chance Me for ED Columbia in Poli Sci/Econ + Match Help

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hello! I do not mind if you are brutally honest.

Demographics

  • US Citizen
  • AZ
  • Very Large Public School with ~4K students, semi competitive
  • Gender/Race/Ethnicity: Bangladeshi-Female
  • Other special factors: none

Intended Major(s): Poli Sci + Econ

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 3.95/4.00
  • Weighted HS GPA: 4.75/5.00
  • Class Rank: Doesn’t Rank
  • ACT: 34 composite (only took it once) – 31 Math, 34 English, 34 Science, 35 Reading
  • SAT: Didn’t take

Coursework

  • All Honors – Choir and P.E. are the only regular classes
  • 12 AP Classes Taken (7 5s, 3 4s, 1 3, 1 2), 3 AP Classes Taking currently

Awards

  • Speech and Debate: Harvard Invitational Semifinalist, ASU Southwest Championships Semifinalist, IPPF Debate Top 16, Phoenix Rotary Contest 3rd Place, NSDA Qualifier ('21)
  • Model UN: Best Delegate at statewide conference, Best Runner-Up Diplomat, Best Diplomat, Runner-Up Best Policy Paper
  • Top 5 at a Global Marketing Strategy Competition
  • Golden Rule Student of the Month
  • 2019 English Student of the Year
  • 2020 Chorale Musician of the Year
  • AP Scholar with Distinction

Extracurriculars

  • Speech Captain for Speech and Debate (9-12): only listed my awards
  • Governor’s Youth Commission (11-12): 50 students chosen from whole state, 60 volunteer hours added, Constructed statewide youth mental health study and report that is currently being used by AZ legislators.
  • Publicist and Media Intern at a Local News Station (11-12): Host for LiveGolden, a political student-run news segment, Write monthly articles for the Arizona Republic about LGA initiatives.
  • Project Lead at Finxerunt Policy Institute (11-12): Working with AZ State Senator Christine Marsh & Dep. of Edu. to create a study committee for collecting K-3 class size data in low-income areas.
  • Committee Leader for Model UN (9-11): Led 4th Committee & The Commission on the Status of Women, Was the only freshman to win best delegate in the entire state conference.
  • U.S. Fellow for the Benjamin Franklin Transatlantic Fellowship/Institute at Purdue (11-12): Only 10 students out of U.S., Met with youth reps. from Euro. countries for mock congressional hearings, Nominated to receive a mini grant for service, Did NOT have to pay for anything.
  • Digital Marketing Intern at a Local Social Media Consultation Firm
  • Director of Marketing at a Nonprofit for Financial Literacy
  • Teacher at Bangla School (9-11)
  • In both Concert and Chamber Choir at school for 3 years, which are the highest levels, but I never auditioned for regionals because I always had big national tournaments on audition days.
    *~150 Volunteer Hours

Essays

  • Finished Common App essay because AP Lit Teacher required us to, but it’s a little flimsy. Have not started any supplementals.

LORS

  1. Honors 9 Eng Teacher and Speech Sponsor: I’m currently her TA, and I’ve known her for the last 4 years because she was the sponsor for Speech. She chose me for English Student of the Year, and she writes amazing recs, so I’m set with her.
  2. AP Comparative Gov (10) and AP U.S. Gov/AP Econ (12) Teacher: She recommended me for the Purdue program and wrote my rec for that as well. She is also one of the best gov teachers in the state and won multiple awards, so I hope she pulls through.
  3. School Choir Director (10-12): I love him, and I dropped We The People (which is a very competitive class that you have to apply for) just so I could be in his class.
  4. Counselor: She has like 200 students, but I wrote her a form w all my interests and hobbies.

Schools

  • ED: Columbia
  • Safety: ASU
  • Reach: Yale, Barnard (?), Duke, NYU, UT Austin, UPenn, Princeton, UChicago, Harvard
  • Target & Match : Need help deciding what my best fit target & match schools are
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2

You may want to consider colleges with an available public policy program, since this major relies on the fields of political science and economics (as well as philosophy) for its foundation.

3

What is your estimated HS rank? The colleges can usually figure this out based on other applicants and prior history. If you’re in the top 1-3% that will make things easier. If you’re outside of the top 5-10% then your chances at Columbia are much smaller. Even valedictorians get routinely rejected from Columbia.

I also noticed that you put Poli Sci + Econ. Are you planning on double-major? If so note that double majoring at Columbia is extremely difficult, mainly because of the core. Very few students actually accomplish this. Just be aware that you’ll get very few electives, and extensions to the normal 8 term period to get another major are rarely approved.

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4

I am in the top 3-5% for sure. My graduating class has around 900 people.

Also, Columbia has a specific undergrad major that is focused on both econ and poli sci, which is titled “Economics-Political Science” on their site. For other colleges, I am planning to double major if there is no special concentration in both like Columbia.

5

Thank you so much! I will be sure to look this one over.

Just curious, from the colleges on that list, what would you say are my target and match schools?

6

So your rank is estimated to be between 27-45 out of 900? Is that correct? If so I think it will be tough. During the ED rounds, they tend to scoop up academic superstars, athletes and legacies.

7

In a competitive school of 900 people, there are multiple people who have the same high UW/W GPA, especially when our ranking is based on solely GPA. Even when you have a perfect 4.00/5.00 or something very close like me, it is inevitable that those 27-45 all have competitive GPAs that are around 3.90-4.00/4.8-5.00 (these are the numbers my counselor gave me). I don’t think my ranking alone would hinder the admissions process. Could you elaborate on what you mean by an “academic superstar?”

8

If your only choice is ASU will you cry?

Can you afford all of these schools w/o more than the FAFSA debt (~22K cumulative over 4 years)?

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9

Academic superstar: valedictorian or salutatorian at a very competitive, well known feeder school, along with international or national level academic awards (science fairs, olympiads, writing contests, etc).

At the top schools like Columbia just about everyone applying is 3.8+/1500+/30+ ACT. So you will have a difficult time standing out from the crowd. Its much more difficult at a non-feeder school like yours. Unless your school has a history of sending people to the Ivies, it will be an uphill battle. Not impossible, but things will be difficult.

Your chances will obviously be higher at a lower ranked school. The ED bump is real, so its up to you to decide whether its worth the risk or not. The downside is that if you get deferred or rejected in the early round, your chances during the RD round are much lower.

Are you full pay? Or close to it? If so then Barnard would be a more logical choice. Much higher chance of admission during ED. Plus you take the exact same classes as the students from SEAS, CC and GS.

Also consider ED2 as an option.

10

Very impressive background and being Bangladeshi will stand out.

Columbia is a crapshoot. Could happen but unlikely. ED is good. I’d like to see you take the ACT again to see if you can boost math. Columbia superscores so that can help. Your entire list is but I can see Chicago happening, likely test optional.

ASU is wonderful due to Barrett. I prefer U of A because it’s a truer campus and the Honors dorm is incredible.

You don’t mention costs so I don’t know if you are full pay but you might look at:

W&L as a match, is wonderful in both your areas. As a Bangladeshi female you’d have a shot at the Johnson Scholarship…look it up. Davidson is one to look at too.

Emory (slight reach), BU (slight reach), Tufts, (slight reach), Brandeis, Rochester, Wake Forest, UGA ( strong in your areas), William and Mary would be the match tier in my mind. Wesleyan and Macalester might be two good LACs.

Strong in your subjects but safeties would be Syracuse, Denver, and Indiana.

Good luck.

11

I like ASU and ASU Barrett a lot, and my current instate scholarships mean that my tuition is reduced to around 2k. Any Ivy/T20 school is ridiculously expensive, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to finish debt free.

12

I see what you mean, and it makes sense. I don’t go to a highly ranked feeder school, and I don’t really think I’m an academic superstar. I saw that Columbia is a hit or miss when it comes to ED specifically because it seems so random, but I am considering Barnard. I’m interviewing with them soon to see if I really want to switch to commit to ED.

13

Since Chicago is already on your list, you might try something like this:

  1. Apply by deadline: ED (Columbia or other like Barnard)
  2. Simultaneously apply EA Chicago
  3. If deferred or rejected by ED school then convert Chicago EA app to ED2
  4. By Jan 1 apply to the rest of your schools in the RD round

This gives you three shots on goal during the early round. Getting into Chicago EA is probably harder than Columbia ED. But the EA app shows interest, moreso than just applying ED2 straightaway.

Keep in mind that financial aid is a big factor. Are your parents willing to shell out over $320K for an undergraduate degree? The ASU honors program at only $2k per year sounds like an awfully good deal.

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14

This is very helpful, I literally cannot thank you enough.
I might take the ACT again, but all the testing centers near me have been getting shut down or are already full. I am willing to retake it, maybe later in October.
I have a personal bias towards ASU because all my friends go there, and it’s much closer, so I can just commute and save money.
I never heard of the Johnson Scholarship, but I’m looking at it now, and it gives a good amount. I don’t know if I’m full pay, but I come from a $150k income/5 person household.
I was also considering Wake Forest, mainly because one of my favorite professors from my summer camp worked there.
I’ll do more research for some of the colleges you listed and see what financial aid packages they offer.

15

This is a really good plan, thank you so much for this. Genuinely.
I think converting my EA app to ED2 is very smart, and I didn’t even know that I could do that. I’m going to talk to my parents about deciding to ED to Columbia or Barnard, because I still do like the core curriculum at both schools.
My parents prefer that I go to a t20/ivy, but I do love ASU and consider it a valid option. I will see what schools I get into and compare their financial aid packages. I won’t be mad if I end up going to ASU Barrett, but I really want to consider all options.

16

If you don’t want to go in debt (good call), DO NOT apply anywhere ED until you check the net price calculator to make sure you can afford what it’s going to cost - because your reach schools = no merit aid. Especially if you’re going to grad school.

That’s where something like the Johnson Scholarship at W&L, given to 10% of the class, is a treasure. No debt…no expense…just a top notch, highly respected education. W&L is a highly rated LAC in the mountains of VA - depending on the publication from #3 to 10 - so it’s higher rates than your Colgages, Vassars, Wesleyans. We had a fantastic experience in the recruitment (chose another school). Others will tell you historically there’s been problems but from everything we’ve seen they are inclusive and working hard to be so. The Govt Professor there told us, on a per capita basis, they place the 2nd most people in govt in DC after of all schools Sewanee. Yeah, the Johnson is unreal.

If an LAC is ok and it seems you like the urban/suburban, you might look at Macalester, for example. Or Occidental to stay closer to home.

People will argue on here that W&L isn’t for everyone because it’s got General Lee in the school name and I suppose that’s true of any school - and all your schools are urban, except Duke and Princeton which are more suburban…I don’t know if that’s coincidence or not - but that’s a wonderful opportunity. All the URMs we spoke to had nothing but great things to say - granted that was 2 or 3 people.

Funny story about Wake. We looked. My daughter hated it - that’s the same with a lot of schools - you love or hate. The campus gets ok reviews on niche, etc. What she hated was, each building had a parking lot in front - rather than parking garages at the fringe. So it looked like an office park. It’s not in Winston Salem…at least the city part…but obviously it’s a great school.

SMU another with a full ride. I was talking with a mom from a school my daughter is going to - her daughter was headed to the same. But SMU offered a full ride (she’s hispanic) and she took that.

Back to ED - unless you are willing to pay (at least what the NPC says), steer clear.

As for your bias toward ASU, I understand. But as for commuting to save money, I don’t understand. I understand the concept - but you are applying to some of the best schools in the country and they are residential and yes they have a cost. So at $150k even if you get aid, you’re still going to be paying. So if you can’t afford a dorm, you should only apply to schools with full rides (W&L, SMU) and then ASU - because whatever any school costs will be too much.

But you are a fantastic student and you deserve that experience. Whether ASU, U of A or even University of Wyoming - it doesn’t matter. You lose that living at home. The night time study sessions or just chilling with your BFF, the clubs, the intramurals…whatever.

You should, and I understand there’s a financial angle, but you should work to move on campus and if you can’t, perhaps a community college for two years is a better angle.

Good luck.

17

You really, really need to sort out the affordability question. Have your parents run the NPCs and see what the cost is going to be. No point getting into Columbia (etc) if you can’t pay for it. UT-A (you are OOS) and NYU are unlikely to be affordable- and they are not so great that they are worth extra debt.

Depending on what you want to do with your PoliSci UG, you are likely to need (expensive) grad school 1-3 years after graduation. Most of the jobs that your PoliSci degree will get you will pay very poorly in the early years (possibly all the years). As you genuinely like your Safety, targeting a small number of reaches where the prestige of the name / quality of the network could make a meaningful difference is a reasonable strategy.

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18

With your unweighted GPA and ACT scores you have as good a chance as anyone else at Barnard - which means a 90% chance of not being admitted. That does not mean you shouldn’t try, it’s just how selective those schools are.

Your class rank within the top decile is not a concern. Barnard looks at many factors, and many top ranked student lose out against other students who look like a better match to them.

There is no rigid “core” at Barnard, so it is quite feasible to take classes that fulfill their requirements that will also apply to a second major, or at least a minor.

19

Agreed! Once you’re in the 1st decile or better - in your case even the top 5% - the detailed numeric standing means very little, in my opinion.

The same person, taking the same classes, can be #1 in one year, or #4 in another year - just based on whoever else happened to be in the same grade. That doesn’t change who YOU are and how well you might be a good fit for a certain college.

Also, high schools typically use the entire transcript from 4 years to calculate rank - including A+ received in all kind of elective and other “filler” classes. The resulting ranking is of little relevance to colleges because there’s no way to compare against other high schools.

So they likely will pick out various core subjects, consider the rigor of those courses, and the results there, to assess how well a student did academically, compared with applicants attending similar competitive high schools.

You just need to realize how “thin” the air is at the top. Everyone else applying will have comparable grades, scores, ranks etc. and the admissions may often seem more like the result of rolling dice (not that they are), because there a plenty of cases every year where the numerically top students are not admitted, while seemingly “long shot” applicants are offered admission.

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20

You seem to be seeking an intensely urban environment, which makes it somewhat challenging to suggest suitable matches from that list. Nonetheless, you would be a good admission candidate for several of the included schools. If you might want to study in a purely undergraduate-focused environment, look into Hamilton (14% acceptance rate), which offers term-length programs in NYC and D.C. Of possible interest, note that Hamilton appears adjacent to your potential ED choice in this Forbes article from a few years ago:

This site will help you compare costs across a variety of colleges: