Chances at my dream college?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
1

<p>I would like to know my chances for getting into Columbia University. I live in Austin, Texas. If it matters, my school is ranked #550 in the country :/ </p>

<p>I take all IB classes. I'm a junior, currently in IB chemistry, biology and physics (same time), as well as IB English, Spanish 4, IB math 1 and history of the Americas 1. Im focused on medicine, thus I'm in "anatomy & physiology" and "health science" (they count as state credits). Next year I'm taking all the same classes (chem 2, bio 2, etc), as well as "anatomy & physiology". Although it's just a state credit, health science 2 involves extensive rotations at a rather large hospital near me. </p>

<p>In regards to HL and SL, I'm taking as many HL as possible. I also plan on getting 6/7 on all my IB exams (such as one might plan on breathing air).</p>

<p>As for extra curricular, I'm in HOSA (health occupation services of America), spanish national honors society, (regular) national honor society and deca (a business thing). On top of everything, I do a lot of community service. </p>

<p>I'm 5th in my class (always room for improvement) and plan on at least a 5.5 weighted gpa and 3.9+ unweighted gpa.</p>

<p>This summer I also plan on taking a few medical classes, such as medical microbiology, at the Austin community college. I've been studying like crazy and feel confident I'll get 2300+ on the SAT. </p>

<p>So what do you think? Do I have a chance? Any room for improvement?</p>

2

<p>You should try to do one or two more extracurriculars (I’m not sure the honor societies count…what do you do in them?). Your high school’s rank doesn’t matter because Columbia considers you in the context of the opportunities that you had. </p>

<p>Honestly, I think the most impactful thing you can do as a junior is practice writing. Write lots and lots of essays, to the common app prompts (or anything else if you like). Beyond that, you should look for an internship in science/medicine for summer 2014 if that stuff interests you. The NIH has a program called SIP that you might want to apply to. An internship is much better than taking more classes over the summer - they already know that you are academically capable.</p>

<p>Edit: Oh, right: chances. It’s hard to say: as with any top university, there’s a lot of randomness in who they admit and who they reject. Your best bet is to have a few schools that you would be fine with attending (don’t get too attached to any one school). In the end, if you get into Columbia, great! Otherwise, you should have plenty of other options.</p>