Chance me for my dream school? (I'm a junior)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
1

<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 also this may look like my previous chance thread, but that was from my sophomore year. I've added some things. Thanks again!</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>To Courtney1996, re your comments on the other thread: I would not mischaracterize or belittle T26E4’s comments. He is one of CC’s most experienced posters and is thoroughly informed on Ivy League admissions. Maybe you do not understand HOW competitive Columbia admissions have become. What seems “impressive” in one applicant becomes much less so in a pool of over 30,000,00 applicants, many of whom are statistically qualified for admissions. And neither you nor the OP of the other thread should OVERESTIMATE the value of “diversity” or URM status. Those things in and of themselves will not guarantee admission. That is T26E4’s advice, from the perspective of Ivy League admissions.</p>

<p>Re, your thread. The whole application package must be outstanding and there is simply no formula that codifies what counts as “outstanding” from the perspective of Columbia. Therefore, “chancing” is UTTERLY useless. You should not NEED permission from anonymous CC posters to apply to the schools of your choice. And the best sources of support are persons you know, such as teachers and guidance counselors at your own high schools. If you want Columbia, go for it. We cannot help you get in. And most of us would URGE you to think for yourself.</p>

<p>All we can advise is that you strive for TRUE EXCELLENCE: in course rigor, school “citizenship,” grades, personally meaningful ecs, essays…If you do that, you will have done ALL that is humanly possible to make yourself a competitive applicant to a competitive school. There can never be guarantees at this level of competition, and NO ONE on CC can or should offer them. Accept that, apply, and hope for the best.</p>

<p>These matter: ambitiousness and true excelllence in the context of your own talents and interests. Those are what you should be striving for. And if Columbia is your first choice, given your strong level of interest apply ED. There are no guarantees, but the purpose of ED is to express to your number one college that it IS your number one college. If Columbia is that for you, apply ED.</p>

<p>By the way, if your mother has a masters, she also obviously has a college degree. Therefore, in answer to your question, you are not a first generation college applicant, or first in family to apply to college. That is not, in short, a viable “hook.” I would worry less about “hooks” and more about achieving true excellence.</p>

<p>Good luck. Go for your dreams. And don’t hector an expererienced poster on another thread just for offering advice that is sound and seasoned by experience, but didn’t meet your expectations. If you don’t want other folks’ opinions, don’t post on CC.</p>

<p>There is NO reason for you NOT to apply. Beyond that, no more can or should be said.</p>

3

<p>swingtime:
Listen, obviously you let your opinion of what I said to that guy/respect for him color what you’re saying here. Do I know how competitive Columbia is? Of course I do, that doesn’t stop me from trying. Did I berate that guy for giving his opinion? No I didn’t. His being a Ivy league admissions officer doesn’t put him above a person’s opinion. Like I said on that thread (obviously you were too busy getting mad on his behalf to see it) I don’t disagree with what he says, nor do I discredit it, but his delivery sure needs some work. Maybe his many many years of experience as an admissions officer has numbed his personality skills, I don’t know, but when talking to a teenager he needs to be kinder and more supportive. That’s all I said, I will never take that back, and I will certainly not feel embarrassed for saying it.</p>

<p>If chancing is utterly useless then stay off chance threads. No point wasting your time is there? I do not need others opinions, I URGE you not to make that assumption. I want it, which is why I posted the thread asking, rather nicely, for it. Do not berate me for doing what so many others have. </p>

<p>I’m going to stop now and ask you a question, does this man that you revere so much need you to fight his battles? No. So I suggest that maybe you try not to blow things out of proportion. Now you took a long time to write your post, so I’m going to thank you for that despite your obvious rudeness. Thanks and have a nice life.</p>

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<p>Good grief, Courtney!!! Seriously, good grief. Yes, the first few sentences of my post to you were suggesting that you not dismiss what T26E4 said to the other poster. That comes under the heading of “posting etiquette.” The rest of my post was offering you advice that is not useless. If you read CC, you will see that on most of the Ivy threads, including Columbia, Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, experienced posters URGE students NOT to be fooled by the offering of chances. Dear, NO ONE KNOWS. That is why experienced, intelligent posters DO NOT offer chances. If you post chance threads, simply be aware that most of those chancing you will be other high school students, whose admissions experience is as limited as your own. If you read CC in depth you will get a sense of who is considered serious and who is respected for their advice by other long-time posters. Those who are, DO NOT give chances. You CANNOT chance at this level of competition.</p>

<p>I gave you the best advice that can be legitimately given to you: continue to be excellent in all that you do. If you are, you will place yourself in a competitive admissions position for Columbia. What more do you want?</p>

<p>My little one is a rising sophomore at Columbia, I am therefore familiar with the school and its admissions policies. I myself have degrees from UChicago and Harvard, where I also taught. The best advice I was EVER given (which I ultimately took), or that I gave to my little one, was this: push yourself to your academic limit in high school and in pursuit of ECs that truly matter to you. That will serve you spectacularly well in the admissions process, though the actual results cannot be predicted. Beyond that, there is no formula and no guarantee. What was wrong with imparting that message to you?</p>

<p>I really did not want to pursue anything with you, given your attitude, but as a woman of color myelf, I don’t want to just turn you off for your rudeness. You ask for kindness to high school students looking for chances. We tell you, from experience in the Ivy League that trumps yours, that NO ONE can legitimately chance you. If that is tough to hear, so be it. It is the truth. But you also need to learn to be respectful to adults. You do not have to agree. But being civil – and thinking before you write – is a skill you might attempt to acquire. </p>

<p>Let me also suggest you go to the Harvard Forum and read Gibby’s pinned post on Chancing. She is also one of the most respected posters on the Ivy Threads. She also tells you what I tell you: no one can chance you. No one. But she also tells you what I attempted to: just continue to be excellent.</p>

<p>You also did not closely read what I wrote, so blinded were you by “righteous” indignation. Close reading is another skill you should cultivate before you go off on a tirade. I encouraged you to continue to be excellent and to go on your gut feeling that Columbia is the right school for you. Meaning, if you do that you could have a chance at Columbia. Could. Not WILL. How rude of me!</p>

<p>If you continue to believe you know more than everyone-- including people who have actual knowledge of Ivy League admissions-- and you continue to be unable to take tough constructive advice – because, of course, you know more than we do – well then, good luck getting into the school of your choice. Sometimes you have to listen, or read closely, and try to understand what others are telling you. You might LEARN something that will help you in your Ivy admissions quest.</p>

<p>You too, have a nice life.</p>

5

<p>generally accepted definition of first gen - neither parent attended college (some say graduated but that is not all that clear), anywhere in the world.</p>

<p>Without scores, the app is highly unpredictable.</p>