Chance me please? Columbia ED and many more

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hey College Confidential. This is my first post. I was wonder if anyone could chance me for my ED school, Columbia, and a lot of other schools.</p>

<p>Age: 17
State: Indiana
Competitive Public School
Ethnicity: White
Major: Economics/ Poli Sci
Financial aid is not a big issue</p>

<p>UW GPA: 3.96/4.0
Weighted GPA: 4.46/5.0
Rank: Top 3% Last I checked 12/396
No grades worse than A-</p>

<p>ACT: Took today, expecting 33-35, practice test 34
SATI: 1470/1600 and 2090/2400 (760 CR, 710 M, 620W 8 Essay)
I am retaking the SAT in October, I am practicing at about a 2250
SATII: 770 USH, 680 Lit (Will retake Lit and Math 2 in November)</p>

<p>APs:
Lang 5, APUSH 5, Calc AB 4 (Junior Year)
Stats 4 (Sophomore year)</p>

<p>Senior Schedule (As rigorous as I can make it, my school offers minimal APs)
AP Bio
AP Lit
AP Calc BC
AP Micro
Honors Government (no AP)
W131 (Introductory level Indiana University writing course)
Spanish 6 (very few make it this far, class size usually around 10)</p>

<p>I also am taking two classes at Indiana University this semester, I was accepted into their program that allows high school upperclassmen to take real classes taught by real professors and earn credit. They are:</p>

<p>H103 Early Modern Europe
D200 Issues in Russian/Eastern European History: Russian History Through Films</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:</p>

<p>Sports:
Ultimate frisbee high school club team founding member and team captain: (10th-12th)
I also have played in the city adult league (9th-12th)</p>

<p>Work:
Line cook/Prep Cook (10th-12th)</p>

<p>Internship:
I worked in an amazing hotel this summer in Beijing, China and studied Mediterranean cooking at one of the best restaurants in the city. I learned about both food and the business of running a hotel and restaurant. (11th summer) </p>

<p>Volunteering:
I work at the local community kitchen preparing, packaging, and serving food for those who are homeless or are unable to afford a good meal.</p>

<p>National Honor Society (11th-12th)
Young Democrats Club (11th-12th)
Chess Club (9th-12th)
JETS competition (10th-11th)</p>

<p>Recommendations should be excellent. (English and Calculus)
Essays should be good too, I'm getting very good advice and help and have had plenty of time so far. </p>

<p>List of Colleges: (Its really long, I know)</p>

<p>Columbia University (ED) (high reach)
Cornell (Hotel School) (match)
Brown (high reach)
Tufts (match)
Vassar (low reach)
Amherst (reach)
Haverford (reach)
Bowdoin (high match)
NYU (low match)
BU (safety)
Ursinus (safety)
University of Virginia (3rd gen legacy, both parents) (safety)
Indiana University (state flagship, super safety)</p>

<p>Thanks a lot for your help! I would be happy to chance back.</p>

2

<p>Bump… 10 char</p>

3

<p>Ok, before I make any chance statements, I’m going to say this: I’m basing everything on your CURRENT test scores, not what you “predict” you will have. If you want that, then come back when you get your scores. Anyway, here’s what I think. </p>

<p>1) Your GPA and rank are great.
2) For schools like Columbia and Cornell, your SAT score is not competitive.
3) Your EC’s are average for top schools.
4) Regarding your internship - how did you get it? Was it through a free program, or a paid one? If it was free, then thats great. If not, then that just means your family is well off and it won’t help much.
5) Cornell is most definitely NOT a match school. The Hotel School is arguably the hardest one at Cornell, too. It is a high reach alongside Columbia and Brown.
6) UVA is NOT a safety. They’re average SAT score is around a 2000. Yes, yours is above that, but the number is deflated by the high volume of instate students. Its much easier to get in if you are instate. Out of state is much more difficult, regardless of whether you have a legacy or not. Just as an anecdote, a student from my high school (who was accepted to Princeton) got rejected from UVA with a 4.2 (out of 4.25) GPA and a 2280 SAT. Oh, and she was a legacy.
7) Your other schools are correctly matched with their level of difficulty of admission.</p>

4

<p>Hey Pixels, thanks a lot. I based my “match” and “reach” schools on my current sat scores.</p>

<p>2) What would it take to become competitive? 2300+ is pretty far out of reach for me but would a 2150-2200 put me in the mix especially with a high ACT?
4) I didn’t get the internship through a program, I got it based on my previous work experience, interest, and a connection I had. No money was exchanged.
5) Would my experience in the field give me an advantage over other candidates who may have high test scores? Also, I have a lot of extended family members who have attended Cornell, one who graduated from the Hotel School, would that give me any kind of advantage? I could ask him to write a letter for me, I know him well. I know a legacy is really just your parents though.
6) Good to know haha, I’ve just heard that UVA really favors legacies when it comes to OOS applicants.</p>

5

<p>2) Getting a 2150-2200 would definitely put you in the mix, and a 2300 would make you very competitive. Try to get as high as possible. If you get a strong ACT score (i.e.: 33-34+), there’s no need to send in the SAT score.</p>

<p>4) See, there is a fine line when dealing with internships you get with a connection. Admissions officers don’t really know how much of an influence the connection was, and whether you got it through your own merit or not.</p>

<p>5) The Hotel School loves applicants with related EC’s and work experiences, BUT that will not make up for low grades or low test scores. There are just too many applicants with great grades, great test scores, AND great, related, EC’s. Also, legacies are only parents or grandparents, so no, I wouldn’t get a rec from an extended family alumni. Its not really a good idea to get a rec from family members anyway.</p>

<p>6) Haha, yeah, didn’t mean to scare you with that story, but I just wanted to let you know the reality for OOS applicants. You definitely have a great shot, but there is always the possibility of being rejected for whatever reason.</p>

<p>Let me know if you have any other questions!</p>