<p>Your AI is 221.5 which is good for Ivy league, but applying to Columbia makes zero sense, because like suze said, everybody in NYC that has decent grades will be applying there and your ECs are not very good.</p>
<p>To get into an Ivy, you need to apply to Penn--and to either Brown or Dartmouth, or both. </p>
<p>Speaking of your essay--it will set you apart at the three schools above--but it's unlikely to do so at Columbia--since 3,000 people living in NYC were lost that day.</p>
<p>As far as how to improve your score--yes, I know you probably hate having to retake the SAT I, but the easiest (in fact, probably only way) to boost that AI number is to get that 680 score up to around 710 to 720. A jump like this would move your number from 221.5 up to around 223-224--and you need something like 220 to 228 to get into an Ivy school in my opinion. (Averages were 211 this year, but with your EC, you're not average--and since you can't boost the ECs, you have to boost the test score).</p>
<p>Also, I think you'll have no problem with getting accepted at John Hopkins and NYU--but just in case, make sure you have at least one other safety.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>aay... ok... this EC crap is all track's fault anyway... frikkin stayin until 5 or 6... everyday.... even in the summer....
so, now if i retake it,... there is more of a chance my math will go down, since i only got one wrong this time... and its hard to get CR up by much. NOw, my question is, if i retake and do worse on math, and CR goes up, wont my score just even out anyway... AND, if i go down... which there is also a good chance, since im gonna laze out all summer (i mean, ill try to study, but im a huge procrastinator....) wont it look even worse.. if i go DOWN in score!!! i kno the colleges look, and ur supposed to go UP in score. I heard that if u go down, they'll prolly look at it as if ur not gonna do as well in college... slackin off.... =/</p>
<p>I think the question you really have to ask yourself is, "Is this score an accurate representation of my intelligence?" If it's not then by all mean retake it, but from your posts it seems like you're just as well sticking with your current score.</p>
<p>Don't worry about suze, she's annoyingly harsh to almost everyone.</p>
<p>I'm about in the same boat as you, actually.</p>
<p>Slightly better grades/scores (97/98 average unweighted, 2240 (perfect Math + Writing, will retake to boost CR))
Mediocre/Poor ECs (three leadership positions in school, ~300 volunteer hrs outside of school, some county-wide + school awards)
Plus I'm from NY (Long Island).</p>
<p>I think I can do a really great job on the essays though. According to CollegeBoard, Columbia places more emphasis on essays that ECs.. I don't know how true that is, but just the fact that the essay is considered a "very important factor" must mean that it plays a considerable role.</p>
<p>I may apply ED to Columbia, because I absolutely love it, and I think ED would be advantageous for me.. Possibly give me that little extra push. Plus the prestige of my school could play a factor, so hopefully if Columbia sees an applicant from my school in the ED round, they'll be more inclined to except them.
Eh, who knows. 5 kids from my class this year are going to Columbia (although most are top athletes). NYU is my New York City backup in case.</p>
<p>yep... same exact boat as u bud.. in from Staten island, dont kno if i mentioned yet... and i LUV the city... but unlike you, im not sure about ED, i mean, i definitely wanna go there more than any other school... but im afraid if im accepted that ill be legally bound to go there. I mean, what if i get a scholarship from another decent school... like NYU. my friend got a 1500(me 1470) on old SAT, got half scholar, he didnt have much EC's... :-/
i just hate the idea of legally bound....
yea... NYU is also my NYC backup... i have a feeling im gonna end up there tho... Columbia is just... Columbia..... lol</p>
<p>Doodl3s, my understanding is the Ivies let you take the highest score from multiple sittings. That means you don't have to worry about your math score going down--you just have to worrry about your verbal (CR) score going up.</p>
<p>I never would suggest retaking if the Ivies are like the Univ of Californias and only take the best single sittings.</p>
<p>Can anyone confirm this for Doodl3s and myself--isn't it true that the Ivies take best multiple scores?</p>
<p>no.. see thats diff from wat i heard... yes, most take best per section... but i heard top school usually take best in one sitting.... i dunno now....</p>
<p>No, it's highest in each section, even for the Ivies.</p>