Chance me?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
1

<p>Gender: F
Race: Caucasian
State: Maryland
High School: Large public
Major: Undecided as of now, though I'm interested in the extremely unrelated fields of biology (particularily genetics), sociology, and economics.</p>

<p>SAT: 2300 (CR: 770, M: 740, W: 790)
ACT: 35
GPA: 3.6 UW (not very impressive, I know), 4.56 W
Rank: Top 10%</p>

<p>Sports:
JV Indoor Track & Field (9)
Varsity Indoor Track & Field (10-12)
JV Softball (9)
Travel Softball Team (9-12)
Varsity Tennis (10-12)</p>

<p>Music/Arts:
Drama (9-12), lead roles in 11 and 12
Vocal Ensemble (9-12)
Concert Choir (9-12)
Women's Choir (10-12)
A Capella Pop Choir (10-12)
All-County Chorus (9-12)
All-State Chorus (10-12)
Piano (9-12)</p>

<p>Honors:
National Honor Society (11-12)
Thespian Honor Society (10-12)
Music Honor Society (10-12)
Foreign Language Honor Society (12)
AP Scholar
National Merit Scholar Commended
Superior rankings at County and State Solo and Ensemble festivals</p>

<p>Leadership Positions:
Varsity Tennis Captain
Varsity Indoor Track & Field Captain
Class Secretary (9-12)
Student Government Association (9-12)
Treasurer of Music Honor Society (11) and President (12)
Clerk of Thespian Honor Society (11) and Treasurer (12)
Secretary of National Honor Society (12)
VP of Foreign Language Honor Society (12)
Key Club VP (11) and President (12)</p>

<p>Work:
Part-time job (11, 12)</p>

<p>Volunteer:
Summer camp for underprivileged children (9, 10, 11, 12)
Medical center volunteer (10, 11, 12)
Key Club (10, 11, 12)
Students Against Destructive Decisions (10, 11, 12)</p>

<p>APs:
Music Theory (5)
US History (5)
Chemistry (4)
Calc AB (4)
World History (5)
Human Geography (5)
Lang (5)
Lit (5)
Biology (4)
French (5)</p>

<p>Misc.:
High demonstrated interest
Strong essays
Great recs
I usually do well in interviews</p>

2

<p>Pretty low chance. I would say no at Columbia.</p>

3

<p>“Chancing” is really pointless. However, I see no reason not to apply if you really want to attend Columbia. But note the following. </p>

<p>Your GPA is low, though your test scores and rank might possibly offset it somewhat. ECs aren’t particularly impressive, as there are simply too many of them with no demonstrated passionate focus on one or two. You really need focus and passionate involvement to set yourself apart. Otherwise, you could come across as seeming too generic an applicant. Ask yourself: as an applicant what will set you apart from the well over thirty thousand other applicants that Columbia will likely have to assess next admission season? In other words, what is special about you? And will you be able to convey that to the admissions committee? Other notes. Your interviewing skills are not very relevant to this process. And, finally, what do you mean by “high demonstrated interest”?</p>