Chance Thread for Columbia University 2018

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
21

<p>Hi there! I’m a rising senior, white, male, and I go to a small public school in PA.</p>

<p>I plan to pursue economics at Columbia. Chances?</p>

<p>Weighted GPA: (only provided as weighted on a 100 scale): 101.678
Class Rank: 3 of ~160
SAT: 730 CR, 790 M, 750 W (total 2270)
APs - US History (test not taken), Euro History (will take senior year), Spanish (will take senior year), Calc AB (will take senior year), English lit. (will take senior year) ----(I am taking all AP classes that my school offers)
SAT II: none yet, but plan to take Math 2, US Hist, Span (maybe, I’ve heard to avoid this), and English. plan to do well in all.</p>

<p>Senior Year Classes:
AP Euro, Spanish 5, AP English, Calc, AP Calc AB, (physics or psychology), Chamber Singers</p>

<p>Junior Year Classes:
Spanish 4, AP US History, Honors English, Advanced Chemistry, Honors Prob/Stats, Honors Trig/PreCalc, Concert Choir, Vocal Jazz, American Musical Theatre</p>

<p>Sophomore Year Classes:
Spanish 2, Spanish 3, Biology, Chemistry, Honors Algebra 2, Honors English, Gov/Econ, Chorus 2</p>

<p>Freshman Year Classes:
Spanish 1, Honors English, Honors Geometry, Earth/Space Science, Gym/Health, Chorus 1, World History</p>

<p>Awards:
School Citizenship Award, Grade 9
Semper Fidelis Award for Musical Excellence, Grade 11
Top 20 Honors Banquet, Grades 9, 10, 11
National Honors Society (probably Vice President)</p>

<p>APPLES Foreign Language Festival (regional language competition) 2012: 1st place in Spanish 3 listening, reading, and speaking proficiency. 2013: 1st place in Advanced Spanish Writing Composition, Spanish 4 Listening. 2nd Place in Spanish 4 Reading</p>

<p>E/Cs:
Student Council, Grades 10-12: Vice-President, Grade 11; President, Grade 12</p>

<p>Forensics Team, Grades 9-12: District/Regional Champion, LD debate, State/National Qualifier, Captian Grade 12, Founding a Middle school team as senior service project </p>

<p>Theatre Club, Grades 9-12: Lead Role in Numerous Productions</p>

<p>Scholastic Quiz, Grades 9-12: Varsity Member of back-to-back Region Champ Team</p>

<p>Volunteering:
Volunteer Organist at my Church. I play up to three Masses per Week, Aug 2011-present</p>

<p>Campaigner for Obama campaign. Was responsible for reaching out to multiple neighborhoods, 200+homes.</p>

<p>Sports:
Varsity Tennis - Grade 9
Varsity Swimming - Grades 9-12 (Lettering in Grades 9-11)</p>

<p>Jobs:
Banquet Server at local Country Club: July 2011-present
Lifeguard at community pool and YMCA, Summer of 2012</p>

<p>Essay will be clever and well done. Recs will be fantastic.</p>

<p>Thanks Everyone!</p>

22

<p>Okay, Columbia seems almost impossible for me now. You guys look like geniuses.</p>

23

<p>As most people do in Pakistan, I attended different high schools from 9-10th grade and 11-12th grade.
Overall grade is A+ at both schools (4.0 GPA?) and class rank is 4/950 in junior and senior high. The school I attended as a freshman and sophomore doesn’t rank.
Teachers still working on two of the three recs. The first one showed me what she wrote and it was pretty good.
Course Load in Freshman and Sophomore years was
Math I and II
Biology I and II
Chemistry I and II
Physics I and II
Urdu
English Lang and Lit
Pakistan Studies
Islamic Studies
Junior and Senior year:
Advanced Biology I and II (Highest level they offer)
Advanced Chemistry Organic and Inorganic
Physics Classical and Modern Advanced
Urdu III and IV
English Literature (Plays and Poems)
Islamic Studies (basic)</p>

<p>Here is where the problem lies…
SAT II Bio M 710 (too low?)
SAT II Chemistry 720 (too low?)
SAT II Physics 790</p>

<p>IELTS 9 Band</p>

<p>ACT (taking in September. I’ve been consistently getting ~34 in Practice tests)</p>

<p>Awards/Honors:
Roll of Honor in Debates
Outstanding Academic Achievement Award</p>

<p>EC’s</p>

<ol>
<li>~800 hours of shadowing under a local general surgeon.</li>
<li>I volunteered in the polio eradication campaign in Nigeria for three months.</li>
<li>I led the healthcare awareness campaign through ASSET, a local NGO.</li>
<li>I led a fundraising campaign that raised more than 1 Million rupees for Neonatal healthcare in South Punjab.</li>
<li>I run a soup kitchen in Anarkali, Lahore.</li>
<li>I led a tree planting campaign in collab with EPD in 2011 (Junior year). 10’000 trees were planted.</li>
<li>I am the co-founder/secretary general of the GCU Environmental Conference.</li>
<li>I was elected representative of my class at the GCU Senior’s club.</li>
<li>I was assistant editor of the GCU Gazette (school’s monthly magazine).</li>
<li>I am the founder/editor of technology at ideas Evolved Publications.</li>
<li>I’ve won 5 best delegate awards at national level Model UN conferences (Security Council).</li>
<li>I was assistant secretary of the GCU Environment Protection Society and Horticultural society.</li>
<li>I am the marketing director of AFWA, a local NGO.</li>
<li>I was press secretary of the GCU Library society.</li>
</ol>

<p>As for my commonapp essay, I’m not even done writing the first draft so nothing on that yet.
I’ll be applying ED…</p>

24

<p>Can I just say that you guys are all amazing?! It would be an honor to go to school with any of you. I’m going to add mine to see what you guys think.</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT: 2370 superscored (770 CR) 2340 one sitting (740 CR)
ACT: 35 Composite (does the breakdown even matter much?)
SAT II: 780 Chem, 780 Lit, 770 Math II, 760 Bio M, 730 US History
Ranking: School doesn’t rank
GPA: 4.0 UW, around 4.5 W but I don’t feel like calculating</p>

<p>AP Tests Taken:
US History 5
Biology 5
Macro Econ 5
Micro Econ 5
European History 5
Chemistry 5
English Lang 5
Calc BC 5 (AB Subscore 5)</p>

<p>Senior Year Schedule:
Calc III, AP Physics, AP Lit, AP Gov, AP World, AP Chinese, TA for my old bio teacher</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (strong commitments in each):
Student Council (secretary in 10th and 11th, president 12th)
Cross Country, varsity 11th and 12th (leadership positions in 11th and 12th)
Asian Culture Club (president 10th and 11th)
National Honor Society</p>

<p>Job Experience:
Babysitting since 8th grade
McDonald’s crew member this year</p>

<p>Volunteer/Community service:
Student Leader in local charity 5K since 9th grade
Freshmen Mentor since 10th grade
Taught a Baking Class for six weeks to elementary kids since 9th grade
Red Cross Blood Drive Volunteer at my school since 10th grade
Student Council is also service based but these are more consistent</p>

<p>Special Awards
-Studied in Shanghai last summer for six weeks through the State Department
-Selected as the one person in my grade to attend a HOBY leadership seminar in 10th grade</p>

<p>Other:
School Type: Medium/large public
Gender: Female
Ethnicity: Black
Income: 70-80k
Recommendations: should be great</p>

<p>I want to apply ED because I’m in love with everything about Columbia. Not sure about a major, but I have a strong interest in Chinese and in politics. I’m really stuck between the sciences and the humanities and I love that at Columbia you can have the best of both worlds.</p>

<p>Thanks guys!</p>

25

<p>You guys make me feel so nervous! I’m going to ED Columbia definitely</p>

<p>Here are my stats if anyone would be nice enough to chance:</p>

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT: Not sending
ACT: 34
SAT II: 710 Chem, 690 US History
Ranking: 4/34 (Small unweighted college prep)
GPA: UW 3.86
AP: Chemistry (5), English Language (4), United States History (5)
Senior Year: AP Stats, AP English Lit, Honors Physics, Calculus AB, AP Psych, and Honors Spanish V
I also did a program at Washington University in St. Louis from which I get full college credit for Microeconomics and Macroeconomics.
Awards: AP Scholar, Straight A’s freshman and sophomore year, 2nd place in state WYSE team, individually 6th place for Chemistry in state.</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Student council (Junior rep)
Model UN (Delegate all 4 years, Crisis councils for 3, President for past 2 years)
National Honor Society
National Spanish Honor Society
Varsity Field hockey freshman, sophomore, and senior year (bad foot injury junior year, got JV credit and JV award)
Junior varsity soccer freshman and sophomore years
WYSE (Academic testing competition) Junior and Senior year (Senior captain) (recognized in state level)</p>

<p>Job/Work Experience: Summer Organizing Fellow for Obama for America last summer. Only high schooler in the state, 10% of applicants accepted. It was 10 hours a week all summer</p>

<p>Volunteer/Community service-
Public Action to Deliver Service (Going to homeless shelters before school to make breakfast and clean) for 4 years
Dominican Republic service trip 1 week for 2 years to teach english and provide medical work
Peer tutoring program
Big Sibling program to mentor elementary school students</p>

<p>Other
State (if domestic applicant): IL
School Type: College Prep
Gender: F
Income Bracket: 250,000
Teacher Recommendation: They really love me and saw how hard I worked in my APs this year (US History and Chemistry).
Counselor Recommendation: I’ve babysat his kids and everything, he loves me. </p>

<p>I’m really hoping on my political science specialization helping me. I’m so in love with the Columbia community!</p>

26

<p>@ambitionfromday1 - Your ACT score is in range - solid but will not stand out. Your SAT II scores are low for Columbia - because the student is allowed to select the tests, scores in the mid-700’s are expected. Only six AP classes sounds low for Columbia, but must be considered in the context of what your high school offers.</p>

<p>You have two strikes against you being from a small school and being outside the top 10%. Unless your school has a record of sending multiple students to highly selective colleges every year, it will be difficult to overcome these facts.</p>

<p>Your EC’s demonstrate that you are invovled outside of the classroom, but nothing jumps out to me as being above average for Columbia applicants.</p>

<p>Finally, your family’s income will also work against you. Adcoms will assume that you have access to private ACT instruction, special tutors and other resources not available to most applicants. Even if you don’t report your family’s income explicitly, the lack of a paid work position, the foreign travel, the expensive summer program and the small private school all point to it.</p>

27

<p>Lol whenever I tell people I’m applying to Columbia, I make sure to add, “but it’s not like I’ll get in though.”</p>

28

<p>You should be fine but remember that Columbia doesn’t have set standards. They have a general idea what they’re looking for but it depends how competitive the applicant list each year is. Their acceptance rate varies from school to school. I remember that Columbia GS was like nearly 60% a few years ago.</p>

<p>As long as your essay is very strong…you should be good.</p>

29

<p>I know several people that have attended Columbia’s numerous schools and levels of degree programs. You would be surprised at the amount of applicants that came from very limited backgrounds and challenging circumstances. Less fortunate individuals that stand out.</p>

30

<p>I am a white male, applying ED to Columbia as a Comparative Literature major. Here are some stats; what are my chances?</p>

<p>GPA:
3.93 unweighted (three Bs)
SAT:
2290 superscore; 2230 single sitting
SAT II:
720 U.S. History, 680 Lit (retaking in October)
APs:
English Lang (5), Calc BC (5) [AB subscore (5)], U.S. History (4)</p>

<p>ECs:
— A&E Editor (senior year), News Editor (junior year) and writer for School Newspaper
— Play four musical instruments (Cello, Mandolin, Piano, Guitar)
— Second-year student in Arabic; taking courses at Levantine Cultural Center
— Co-president of school chapter of Human Rights Watch
— Member of string quartet that plays at homeless shelters during the holidays
— Intern at state assembly campaign (junior year)
— Club soccer and school soccer (freshman and sophomore year)
— Intern writer at local newspaper (senior year)</p>

<p>Awards:
— National Merit Scholarship semi-finalist
— Member of California Orchestra Directors’ honor orchestra
— School newspaper awarded Gold Medal by Columbia Scholastic Press Association
— Semi-finalist for student member of the California Board of Education
— “Superior” cello performance in SCSBOA Solo & Small Ensemble Festival
— AP Scholar</p>

<p>School Type: Large Public
Class Rank: Top 10 percent</p>

<p>Possible connection in Columbia Middle East Studies department…</p>

31

<p>Here are all my stats…I am female, Chinese, bilingual, and a first generation immigrant. I attend a small-ish sized public school in upstate New York, with the graduating class at around 360 students. I plan on majoring in Linguistics, Political Science, or doing the 5-Year Program @ SIPA (if I can get in!) Thanks! </p>

<p>Academics:
Class Rank: unknown
Unweighted GPA: unknown
Weighted GPA: 99.011 (sorry, my school does it out of 100 and I’m not sure of the conversion)
Sophomore Year- World History: 5
Junior Year- US History: 5
Calculus AB (subscore): 5
Calculus BC: 5
English Language: 5
Chemistry: 5
Senior Year-
Politics
Economics (Macro)
Physics B
Chinese
Spanish</p>

<p>Testing:
SAT: 2250-twice, super-scored. I scored a 2240 on my second test, but I’ll probably send both. I’m most worried about my math score…
720 CR / 790 W / 740 M</p>

<p>Subject Tests:
US History- 710
Math II- 750</p>

<p>ACT: 34-once. I winged it and did pretty well. yay!</p>

<p>Extracurriculars and awards:
President of Student Council
Member of Senior Executive Council
Co-Founder and President of Division C Science Olympiad (High School Level)
Alto Section Leader of Jazz Choir
Select Women’s Choir
Aid Through Music (Music Volunteering Club)
Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra
Member of NHS (Mentor Coordinator)
Notre Dame Junior of the Year Finalist
Volunteering in the city to fix houses, serve at soup kitchens, etc (with church)
Worship Leader and Student Leader in Youth Group @ Church
Conference All State as Alto 2 in Women’s Choir (as well as countless All-Counties and Area All-States on both violin and voice)
Mentor at Elementary School
Empire State Games for the Physically Challenged (volunteer)
Wellesley College Book Award
National Spanish Exam Bronze</p>

<p>Work:
Teach violin 2x week
<em>Internship at Governor Cuomo’s Rochester regional office this summer</em> (I’m hoping this will be a plus)</p>

<p>I plan to have a few teacher recommendations as well as a recommendation from the governor’s regional representative, whom I worked under. I hope that will somewhat distinguish me from other applicants. Thanks for taking the time to read this!</p>

32

<p>Wow, I’m doing Columbia ED, and I’m really scared after reading all of these, but here’s my stats:</p>

<p>GPA unweighted: 4.0
GPA weighted: 5.15 (A+= 98.0 or higher: regular class A+: 4.5, honors class A+: 5.5, AP class A+: 6.0)
Rank: 1/435
SAT: 2240 single sitting (680 CR 760 M 800 W - 12 essay) retaking for CR. With luck, I’ll score 740+
Subject Tests: 800 MathIIC; 780 Bio M; 770 US history
AP: (AP scholar with distinction)
Junior year: 5s- Bio, Psych, Calc AB 4s- Lang, US history
Senior year: Calc BC, Stats, Chem, Physics B, Physics E & M (self-study), Enviro. Science (self-study)</p>

<p>ECs:
Marching Band/Concert band (clarinet, mellophone) - soloist on mello. (a huge band that performs at national parades, like The Tournament of Roses, and The Presidential Inauguration)
Jazz Band (trumpet) - soloist
Woodwind Choir (oboe/bassoon) - soloist
Boy Scouts (patrol leader, other leadership; working on Eagle Scout Project, lots of community service with this)
NHS (peer tutoring, other volunteer stuff)
Science honor society
Tri- M music honor society (Vice-President)
World language honor society
Tennis varsity
Swimming varsity (I’ll hopefully be a captain this year)
Math league (only Senior Year)</p>

<p>Major: Molecular Biology/Neuroscience/Biochem./Biophysics - haven’t decided yet (on the pre-med route)</p>

<p>Common app essay: several readers and people have told me it’s very well- written; it’s about my passion for music</p>

<p>Supplemental essays should be nice.</p>

<p>Recs should be good.</p>

<p>No hooks or legacies :(</p>

<p>Male from New Jersey, Income: ~$40,000</p>

33

<p>I know exactly how you’re feeling right now. And it won’t be over for another few very long months. With that being said, I’m here to help. I’m a a current Columbia student, in the College, in the Class of 2017. I’m involved with the Office of Admissions and the Undergraduate Recruitment Committee, so I’m in the throes of the process and definitely can answer in questions you have.</p>

<p>If you have any questions about applying, about me, about the school, or about anything, message me or post and we can talk. If you prefer email, message me and I’ll give you my Columbia email.</p>

<p>Good luck, guys!</p>

34

<p>Hi guys, i’m applying as an International student from Pakistan like @pkteen. First of all, I’d just like to say that all of you have tremendous apps-you guys are truly formidable and for those applying ED (and RD) I want to stay with you guys till the finish line. :)</p>

<p>I’m applying ED and these are my stats:</p>

<p>SAT 1: 2320 (800 CR 770 M 750 W 10 Essay)
Sat 2: Have yet to take-Taking Math 2 and Physics in October
Grades: In the British system, our GPA is basically our O and A-level Grades and there’s a corresponding conversion system from O & A-levels to GPA.
O-Levels: 9 A+ and 1 A out of 10 subjects (Distinction in World History)
AS-Levels: 4 A’s
School grades (Only Mid-Terms and Finals are sent): Very good but not stellar- Consistently A to A+ with one or two B’s.
Class Rank: Came first in my section for nine years :stuck_out_tongue: Don’t have class rank anymore but based on school and O & A-levels top 5%.
Course Load: A-Level History, Physics,Math, Economics. Most rigorous available with A-level Physics and History getting the most credits. Also in an Honors Class called GPR (Global Perspectives and Research) which is only offered to the top 15 students in the grade and is only offered to 2 SCHOOLS in South Asia)
School type: Internationally recognized with national prestige. Consistently sends 10-12 to Oxbridge,Ivies competitive schools every year.</p>

<p>EC’s: Head Boy (Kind of like Valedictorian and Student Council President combined)
Head of the Debate Council- Captain of the School Parliamentary Debate Team
National level debater shortlisted for National team multiple times. Ranked in top 10 speakers nationally multiple times as well. Semi-finalist in U-17 Nationals Championship, Winner of regional Championship. Also organized a national level debate tournament at my school.
100+ hours volunteering at home for special children
Organized and acted in an independent student-run play which donated all proceeds to a fund for victims of a bomb blast (120 hours in that)
Interned at nationally recognized vocational training center in 10th grade
Council Member of the Economics Club (11th and 12th Grade)
Founder of Philosophy Club (12th Grade)
Council Member of History and World Affairs Club (11th and 12th Grade)</p>

<p>Essays: Nonexistent blank space. If ever an inanimate object has been catty and emotionally manipulative, it’s a college essay-Really need to give my all for these.
Teacher Rec’s: I expect one teacher to write me a great one seeing as she’s in charge of debates and knows how much I work for them. The other also likes me and thinks I’m one of the few students actually interested in History (so they should be good)
Counselor Rec: Should be decent, don’t really know her at all, though being Head Boy always helps.</p>

<p>Hooks: Primary legacy. (Parent did undergrad from SEAS)
Financial Aid: Nope.</p>

<p>Aims: I want an interdisciplinary degree with Econ+Phil or Developmental Economics/Public Policy. I want to create my own micro finance initiative in Pakistan and hopefully revolutionize this field in Pakistan.</p>

<p>Columbia has been this monolith for me and as the app and decision process has come progressively closer its made me both parts excited and terrified. I would really appreciate all of your feedback on my app such as where I can improve or what part of it I should emphasize. The applicant pool is always stellar and you guys just go on to underline that. Thanks and good luck everyone!</p>

35

<p>Jesus seeing all of these great stats makes me a little apprehensive now…</p>

<p>TEST SCORES</p>

<p>SAT: 2310 standalone (760 CR, 780 M, 770 W)
SAT II: 800 Math II & Physics, 790 Chem, 750 Math I & 740 Bio M
ACT: 34 composite - 36 M, 35 S, 34 R, 34 E (it rounded down for some reason, should’ve been a 35)</p>

<p>ACADEMICS</p>

<p>Unweighted Average: 95.03
Weighted Average: 97.02
11 APs, several honors classes
No school ranking, but definitely 1-3/500
Skipped a grade, I am a year younger than my peers
2 years accelerated in math since 6th grade, 1 year accelerated in English since 7th grade

  • School directly acknowledged me as the inspiration for a new math program they started in the middle and high school that allows students to ‘pair up’ math courses and advance themselves (take your grade’s math and grade above), along with streamlined transportation between middle and high school for advanced classes</p>

<p>AWARDS</p>

<p>In Math Fair, 1 Gold, 1 Silver and 2 Bronze
Placed first in several SciOly events at Regional level
AP Scholar with Distinction
First Place at Regional Quiz Bowl - JV 2012
Hopefully Intel and Siemens Semifinalists + LISEF winner
2x Winner of local Research Symposium for my grade
Commended scholar for National Merit Scholarship</p>

<p>ECs:</p>

<p>Captain of Quiz Bowl Team

  • Winner of Regional Quiz Bowl
  • Appearances on local TV Show “The Challenge”
  • Semifinalists at several tournaments
  • Used profits in biannual tournaments for our school (my idea) to support local charities
    Officer in Science Olympiad, nationally recognized team (We came 3rd in the NYS Tournament last year)
    Debate - 2 Years of LD
    Research at Medical Institute for 2 years- Helped research in application of specific compound to treat inflammatory diseases
  • Published in paper in Nature with mentor last year, Research from this year being submitted for publication and presented at medical congress.
    Tutor kids and peers at local library
    Volunteer in hospital
    Attended CTY Summer Camp for two years, obtained an A+ in Fast-Paced HS Biology and Physics
    Attendee of the Columbia Science Honors Program
    Level 6 NYSSMA Piano Player with near perfect score (damn you sightreading!) by freshman year
    National Honor Society</p>

<p>Host Beyblade tournaments for children in the NY/NJ area in Central Park on the weekends as part of a NGO.</p>

<p>EXTRA INFO</p>

<p>Applying ED
First-generation Indian with mid/high income, first generation to go to undergraduate in the USA.</p>

36

<p>TEST SCORES</p>

<p>Rank 1/~330
SAT: 2360 standalone (800 CR, 760 M, 800 W)
SAT II: 800 Math II, 800 Physics, 800 Chemistry, 780 Bio M, 760 US History
AP: 5 US History 5 Chemistry</p>

<p>ACADEMICS</p>

<p>Unweighted Average: ?
Weighted Average: 4.8
7 APs, all honors classes</p>

<p>AWARDS</p>

<p>Top 5 in state science league competition-Physics
Top 10% in state science league competition-Biology
1st in several FBLA state-level competitive events
1st in an international essay contest
1st in a regional piano competition
American College of Musicians High School Diploma
National Merit Semifinalist</p>

<p>ECs:</p>

<p>President of FBLA
-Organized special campaign to donate funds to impoverished areas in a “social responsibility” event
Debate - 3 Years
-Organized outreach program
Research at Columbia lab- researched effects of 5HT1A autotransmitters on depession-published
Volunteer at assisted living home
National Honor Society
Intern at national wildlife conservation non-profit organization</p>

<p>EXTRA INFO</p>

<p>Applying ED
First-generation Asian
Mid/High Income</p>

37

<p>Here’re mine for ED. Econ major. </p>

<p>SAT 2130(Superscore)- CR: 730 M: 650 W:750
SAT II: Taking Math 2 and Eng Lit in November
TOEFL(Don’t need it, but sending anyway 'cuz yolo): 111/120</p>

<p>School System: CBSE(India)
9th grade: Math(9), Science(8), English(9), Social Studies(9), Hindi(9)
10th grade: Math(8), Science(9), English(9), SST(9), Hindi(9)
11th grade: Accountancy(88.3%), Business Studies(93.6%), Econ(68.6%), Math(55.6%) and English(70.87%)(My counsellor reckons this is a challenging stream)
12th grade: Accountancy(62%), Business Studies(77.5%), Econ(81.5%), Math(trash. less than 11th grade), English (71%)
Predicted scores(for the standardized entrance exam in India): Math(95-100%), English(85+%), Accountancy(90-95%), BS(90-95), Econ(idk, but I’m guessing 90-95)
Rank: Top 5% overall(counsellor’ll mention that), and in both the subjects whose teachers I’m getting recommendations from, academic system is super-rigorous in my particular school. </p>

<p>Work Experience: 2 week internship at a Venture Capital firm, researching markets and investment inroad opportunities. They don’t usually take kids from HS. </p>

<p>Awards
a. Proficiency in Oratory Skills
b. 3xBest Delegates</p>

<p>EC’s</p>

<p>a. Secretary General of an international MUN with about 400 participants. Also managed the largest extra-curricular student community in school(MUN community with 200+ people and a secretariat of 50-odd). Pretty awesome experience.
b. 15 MUNs since 9th grade, including internationals. Won in 13 of those, including 3xBest Delegate(1 international-ILMUNC Beijing). Chaired 2 committees, and my school was ranked one of the top 25 MUNing schools internationally by Best Delegate.
c. Chief Editor, Business Club newsletter. Also took care of organisational aspects in the club. One of the biggest ones in my school, been involved since 11th grade.
d. Student Council</p>

<p>Community Service
a. Taught slum kids after school in 11th grade
b. Week-long sensitization/learning trip to a remote village in mountainous India, organized by an NGO
c. Taught my grandad’s friends how to use computers in 9th grade(every weekend for some 6 months)
d. Wrote exams for handicapped kids in school in 9th, 10th and 11th grade</p>

<p>Essays
Sweet Jesus, I’ve been fretting over these. On my fourth draft now, and just can’t decide how to frame it.
Question: When it asks to “list the books you’ve read”, do you just list them, or will a paragraph naming a few along with concise reasons be better? </p>

<p>Extra Info</p>

<p>ED
Indian
No Fin Aid needed
Econ Major
$200k+(can’t confirm though)
First gen to go to the US for undergrad</p>

38

<p>All of you seem to be highly qualified, very intelligent individuals with the drive to learn and succeed. My own confidence in my application has tanked, leaving me only with a freezer full of Snickers ice cream bars and a tattered sense of humor as company.</p>

<p>But really, all of the stats here are super-impressive. Between all the shining applications and inevitable caffeine haze, it will be difficult for the adcoms to choose.</p>

39

<p>Yikes you guys are all really competitive applicants. I feel inferior. Anyway,</p>

<p>White, Male
-Studying Mathematics
-I attend a magnet school (The Science and Math Academy) located within another school
-GPA: 4.0 unweighted, 4.2 weighted (4.3 after this year)
-Class Rank: 8/321
-1 AP Sophomore year, 4 Junior year, 5 Senior year
-SAT combined: 2230-730 critical reading, 760 writing, 740 math (taken twice)
-SAT II: Math II: 800, Physics: 750
-AP Tests taken so far: AP World History (4), AP English Language and Comp (5), AP Calculus AB (5), AP Physics B (5), AP U.S. History (5)
ECs:
-Teacher’s assistant at local Hebrew school 4 hours a week since 8th grade
-Varsity Volleyball player
-Varsity Tennis player
-Captain of Latino Dance team
-Spanish National Honors Society
-National Honors Society
-Member of Temple Youth Group
-Communications Vice President for Temple Youth Group
-Weekly tutor for Algebra II, AP Calculus AB, and AP Physics B students
-Academic team
Essays:
Strongest ones are the Columbia College specific question about my major and my CommonApp essay, weakest is probably talking about the most significant book, play, etc.</p>

<p>Applying ED and have a small connection in the admissions office, don’t know how significant it is. No financial aid needed.</p>

40

<p>Really tough group</p>

<p>I’m a first generation American with Turkish parents , am fluent in Turkish and have dual citizenship</p>

<p>Scores
GPA-school has a weird system it is 4.0 unweighted though and top ten percent
SAT 2220 (800 CR, 690 math,730 writing with 11 on essay)
ACT 33 composite ( 34 math, 34 reading, 31 science, 31 English)
SAT 2- 800 World history, 770 Chem, 790 US history
AP exams- 5 on all , World history, Us Gov, Language, Stat, US History, Physics
AP scholar with Distinction</p>

<p>Courses 6 AP classes
Comparative
BC Calc
Literature
Psychology
Chemistry
Spanish</p>

<p>EC
Treasurer Spanish Honor Society ( 2 years member for 3)
Varsity Swim team member (3 years)
Captain of Club swimming team ( captain this year member for 6 years)
National Honor society ( two years)
Volunteer Long Island Pathology (two years)
Research assistant St. Luke’s Roosevelt hospital ( three years)
teaching English to kids in Turkey during Summer( one summer)
member SADD club ( three years)
member of travel soccer team ( two years)</p>

<p>The added up time is well over 1000 hours</p>

<p>Work experience
I worked as lifeguard over this past summer</p>

<p>Essays and supplement
Good but not perfect</p>

<p>Recommendations
Great letters of Rec, from both teachers guidance counselor, and research mentor</p>

<p>Side notes
Fluent in Turkish and English</p>

<p>Was Very ill for the last part of last year but didn’t miss a day of school and took all my exams and did very well on them</p>

<p>Father works at a Columbia affiliated hospital and I did research at that hospital</p>

<p>My parents have very busy schedules so I have to take care of my sister for most of the year and during the entirety of the summer except when we are on vacation</p>

<p>high school is only three year from 10-12 grade</p>