Chances at Columbia

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I'm posting this for my friend chris who was unable to post this, by the way.
Anyway, this is what he wrote, wanting to know his chances at Columbia. He applied RD to Columbia College.</p>

<p>Chris [hispanic last name]</p>

<p>attending competetive school in manhattan</p>

<p>school stuff
classes: every underclassmen year took the hardest classes possible with a military science elective, three years of french; this year: ap euro, ap bio, calculus, philosophy, military science, english honors, spanish 1.
school says were usually limited to 2 aps a year.</p>

<p>Sats: Math = 670, Verbal = 640
Sat2s: Math1c=580, Writing=640, Literature=670
activities: Medical Science Club (vice president), Newspaper (entertainment editor), Literary Magazine (editor), J.R.O.T.C. (battalion staff officer), Dramatics Society, Big Brothers, New York State Honor Society, (<-- all the ones on my application in order), all the other ones : National Honor Society, Science Journal, Writing Club, Choir.
awards: National Hispanic Recognition Program, National Ventures Scholars, Headmaster's Scholarship, Honor Roll every semester, Academix Acheivement Award (rotc), acceptance into both those socities.</p>

<p>job: Cashier/Deliveryman (since 2003, 24 hours a week), Administrative Assistant in my school (since 2002, 2 hours a week)</p>

<p>essay topic: my passion for writing and why i like it so much</p>

<p>recomendations: one from my biology/ap biology teacher who i have known for 4 years shes also the moderator of the science society and the medical club she, my english 9/english 11 honors teacher who i have known for 4 years and is the moderator of the dramatics socierty.</p>

<p>family info:
mom n dad never went to college
lowish income, under 80 grand
full puerto rican, one of my parents was actually born in puerto rico</p>

2

<p>it could happen because URM low income family and the rotc committment - but it'll take luck to get beyond the low standardized test scores</p>

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<p>It's a 4.0 unweighted gpa by the way, i think he forgot to put that.</p>

4

<p>I think he will get rejected</p>

5

<p>who knows, admission is random :S</p>

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<p>I dont believe in this anymore :)</p>

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<p>80 grand is lowish income? This is news to me. A thing to add: I don't know how much the Puerto Rican label adds to an application if the applicant does not speak English. Somehow the applicant must show that he is a cultural addition to the University and that we will bring diversity to the campus. I know a lot of people with Hispanic last names and Latin American heritage who speak no Spanish and have no knowledge whatsoever of any Latin American cultures. WIth that said, if the applicant is a Spanish-speaker and is "bicultural", the Puerto Rican label is valuable.</p>

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<p>wow... no need to be soo offensive pablo.. just cuz u immigrated and think ur colombian and should get better chances at school doesnt mean u should a student being puerto rican to not be "really" puerto rican. we should try helping the guy out.. like if u think he hasnt come across as bi-racial... why is that? its called constructive criticism man... im sure right bout now we could all use some.</p>

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<p>constructive criticism is what I wanted to give him. I don't know why you interpreted it as some kind of competition between me and Chris (the applicant). I wanted to help him out by identifying the situations in which his ethnic background would help his acceptance chances, and when it wouldn't help his application. If I came across as offensive, sorry, but it is offensive for you to label and characterize my intentions. If I were really trying to prove myself superior because of my Colombian background, I would not do it to a perfectly likeable stranger on an online forum. Thanks for your input.</p>

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<p>ahh the sarcatic thank you ... ur quite the witty guy.</p>

<p>goodluck with all you apps im sure that banter of urs will get u somewhere.. if being the best colombian ever doesnt.</p>

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<p>Why do you feel like being so confrontational on the forum? If you feel like insulting strangers for no reason, please do it elsewhere. My sarcasm, as you call it, was simply a response to your baseless defensive attitude regarding an applicant I was actually trying to help. In any case, sarcasm is much more valuable than being confrontational and kissable. I did not even bring up my Colombian background, so thanks for searching through my other posts trying to find something to attack me about, but it was quite a useless effort and a waste of time. It is quite a stretch to say that, because I mentioned I was Colombian, that I now feel superior to a Puerto Rican because of it. If you want to continue making fictional characterizations of people on the forum, please do not do it to me. I assume you wouldn't want people thinking of your "kissability" as your source of pride and arrogance. I wish I could refrain from responding to your lack of maturity but it is hard to ignore a member named "kissableandquite" who searches through my posts to find something to make fun of me for in an attempt to defend a stranger. Best of luck to Chris.</p>

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<p>Pablo your completely right, (dont worry about kissableandquite)</p>

<p>Chris,
Chances to Columbia seem slim to me, GPA is great but you only took two AP course (the people i know applying took atleast 5 most 7), your SATs are on the lower end for columbia. I dont think the minority status will help you all that much since your 2nd generation, both parents went to college, (i feel your not a disadvantaged student) and the fact that Hispanics arent all that underrepresented at columbia coming in at 8% or 9%. (i mean compare to schools like UVA that have 3%)</p>

<p>I feel its a reach but there is always a chance. :-)</p>

13

<p>i think i shall cry no one likes me.</p>

<p>wells "chris" goes to my school and were all rooting for him to go to columbia.. sorry for being an a$$hole... he just finds out in a couple of days and were all lil tense.</p>

<p>just to correct u guys.. his parents have never gone to college.. and our school as a 2 ap a year limit.. hes taken as many aps as he could a year...</p>

<p>ugh.. wish him luck.</p>

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<p>btw pablo under 80 grand might sound like a lot, but in NYC it makes you lower middle class due to the higher cost of living. not to say that that being lower middle class is a hook, just pointing it out.</p>

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<p>yeah i would say thats true seeing how our school cost over 8 grand and his brother goes to cornell u which costs over 40 grand.... neways this thread should be dead soon seeing how all the ivies send results in less than a week... goodluck to all.</p>

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<p>I think your standardized test scores are a bit low.</p>

<p>But! You have some nice leadership positions and you are committed to a job.</p>

17

<p>You raise a good point about the cost of living in NY. </p>

<p>I still feel the same way though: there is little disadvantage in the application, but the Hispanic label carries weight only on paper. I don't know how many people of Hispanic/Latino background are admitted into Columbia, you can look that up on the website, but I know that these minority applicants tend to be particularly weak. My half-brother went to Columbia and hung out with mostly Spanish-speakers and he noticed they were inferior students to the general Columbia population (no surprise there, it is the sad truth). THis could be of some use to Chris simply because Columbia wants to show diversity on paper, which has absolutely nothing to do with the point I made earlier about cultural diversity. </p>

<p>THe test scores, despite being low, fit into the general context of the rest of the application: dedicated/passionate, limited by school policy, hard-working, above-average HIspanic-background applicant. I am not the kind of person to do percentages but I would say roughly (very roughly) 50-50. Anywhere less selective than Columbia should be near a match.</p>

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<p>yea, he got in</p>

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<p>haha, he beat out the valedictorian too</p>