chance me? pretty please...?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
1

<p>I've applied to Columbia College, and I am worried that some of the particularities of my application might jeopardize it...</p>

<p>------------School/GPA--------------</p>

<p>The worst part of my application is my GPA. Officially, as calculated by my school, it's 3.83 (doesn't seem that bad, does it?). This is misleading, really, as it only covers my Gr 11 grades (which were five A's and one B). My grade 10 marks were significantly worse (one B and one C), and my grade 9 grades are abysmal (A are most definitely in the minority). And to clarify, when I say "A", I mean 86 or above and "B" 73 or above, which is the scale used by my school. Therefore, my gr 11 and 12 grades, which are mostly in the high 80's or low 90's, qualifies as "A's". </p>

<p>-------------APs----------------</p>

<p>self-studied 4 in Gr 11: USH(5), Calculus AB (4), Macro (4), Micro (4)</p>

<p>I am taking AP Chem this year</p>

<p>-------- SAT Subject Tests--------</p>

<p>USH 740
Math II 8000</p>

<p>------ SAT Reasoning Tests---------</p>

<p>I took it 3 times, combined high score is 2310 (800W 760R 750M)
Highest single sitting: 2250 (800W 750R 700M)</p>

<p>------------Extra Curriculars----------</p>

<p>~300hr volunteer hours
great reference letter</p>

<p>President of Debate, History, and Economics clubs
Was a remember of various clubs from time to time (chess, science competition, technology, etc...)</p>

<p>Hosted a discussion forum in a Parliamentary election. I was quite involved personally. </p>

<p>------- Others ---------</p>

<p>I'm taking 2 university courses - one 2nd year course in Poli Sci and one 1st year course in Philosophy</p>

<p>International Applicant (Canadian)</p>

2

<p>with a math score of 8000 you are definitely in.</p>

3

<p>An 86% is not an A by most standards in the United States.</p>

4

<p>
[quote]
An 86% is not an A by most standards in the United States.

[/quote]
exactly! that's why I'm worried my GPA may be lower from the admission office's perspective. But all the teachers here think that 86% is good enough and there is no point in giving me more marks....</p>

<p>
[quote]
with a math score of 8000 you are definitely in.

[/quote]
You have to get the ultra important bonus question at the end to get a 7200pt bonus</p>

5

<p>The grade is more important than the underlying %.</p>

<p>In some universities, e.g. British system, an "A" might be 70%+ but this could still be awarded to only say 20% of the class. </p>

<p>Any teacher can mark to any scale, and any scale mainly gives a ranking for conversion to grades.</p>

6

<p>^exactly, well explained, the US has an emphasis on being a perfectionist, in many other systems the emphasis is on understanding more difficult topics, you can value one over the other, but because there is a trade off, the actual percentage doesn't say anything definitively.</p>

7

<p>but would universities see it that way? That is, when they calculate my GPA, do they actually use the scale I sent them or ones they have?</p>

8

<p>if they know your school they'll know what scale to apply. if they only see grade and not score then they'll have nothing to adjust the grades. I think they'll primarily use grades, if they don't know your school rigor then they'll use standardized tests.</p>

9

<p>oh good! in that case, what would you say my chances of getting into Columbia are?</p>

10

<p>^^^anyone?^^^</p>

11

<p>8%</p>

<p>Like everyone else. </p>

<p>Look, your stats make the cut, it's a crapshoot from here on out.</p>

12

<p>don't worry, im from vancouver and we use the same scale</p>

<p>the schools will look at it in the context of your high school. they understand that it is harder to get above 90% in canada. (very few above 90s are given in most classes</p>

13

<p>as April fast approaches, I’m getting quite nervous… anyone care to add a comment? I’d really appreciate it - anything to pass the time. Thanks a lot!</p>

14

<p>Chill out.</p>

15

<p>We’d to put me on Pluto for that</p>