<p>Columbia has always been a dream school for me, and it would be great to know how close or far I am from reaching that goal. Here are my stats:</p>
<p>Siblings: Older Brother; Columbia SEAS</p>
<p>Ethnicity: Asian American
State: NJ
Grade:: Junior
GPA:: 4.2 (97)
SAT::
October 2008:
CR - 630; Writing - 670; Math - 800
Total: 2100
January 2009:
CR - 700; Writing - 720; Math - 790
Total: 2210
SATII's: Did not take them yet but will be taking Math II's and US History
(any different advice on what i should take for business would be great as well)
AP's:
No AP's allowed in sophomore year
Junior Yr: AP Writing/Comp; AP US History; AP Stat
Senior Yr: AP Lang (the other one?); AP World History; AP Calculus; AP Psych</p>
<p>Extracurriculars:
Freshman Year:
Key Club (10+ hours)
SMAP (Science Math Awareness Program)
Science Olympiad
Chieftan
Varsity Tennis
St. Peter's Volunteer (50 hrs)
Teacher for my church</p>
<p>Sophomore Year:
Key Club
SMAP (Treasurer)
Science Olympiad (Treasurer)
FBLA
-States #1 Business Plan
-Competitor at National Level
Cheiftan (Sports Co-Editor)
Varsity Tennis (All County Team)
Mock Trial (Witness)
St. Peter's Volunteer (50 hrs)
Teacher for the Church</p>
<p>Junior Year:
Key Club
SMAP (Vice President) President next year
Science Olympiad (Vice President) same
-Won Fifth Place in Junkyard Challenge (basically, creating a weighing device out of pure junk)
FBLA (Historian)
-Regional 1st in Battle of the Chapters
-States not until March
-Co-coordinator for March of Dimes Fundraiser
Varsity Tennis (Junior Captain)
Math League (Main Competitor) - basically varsity
Mock Trial (Witness)
St. Peter's Volunteer</p>
<p>Also, I'm going to the Summer Program for Columbia this summer.</p>
<p>Thanks for taking the time to read it, it is greatly appreciated and I'll chance back if you wish.</p>
<p>looks very solid:
GPA is excellent, classes look great if everything goes according to plan, and your SAT scores show a clear preference for math, which is good. not to say you don't want to bring up your CR, but as a sophomore you have plenty of time. i would study over a summer, or maybe some of the kids you meet at the program this summer will have some strategies for you or will be studying for them too. your extracurrics are awesome, keep it up!</p>
<p>You would want it as close to their median as possible which is about 740. The big issue is that there are tons of math/science high scorers. Especially in the Asian pool of applicants. Columbia, with it's core, and most top schools, want kids equally good at the humanities. So unless you're off the charts with national level achievements in math/science, it will be hard to stand out.</p>
<p>You do have an advantage if your brother will still be at Columbia when you apply. This is a tip factor. But being Asian from an over represented state with sub par CR and writing is an issue.</p>
<p>Instead of a paid for summer program which will not help you there or at any college, you'd be better off doing research or preparing for something like the Intel competition.</p>
<p>and another thing is im applying as undecided rather than economics (my major goal), because i heard that their economics was really prestigious. would it be better for me to say my major as economics because most of my extrac are geared towards it?</p>
<p>I agree with hmom, you should do research instead of a summer program, unless you do something like TASP. . .I think you have a good chance! Good luck. . . I think you should take Physics SAT II, Math IIC, and Chemistry and/or a humanity (for example USH or WH, to show that your well-rounded). . . try your best to score a 760+ in each section on the SAT II</p>
<p>Since you're interested in business, I think there is this five-year-program in Columbia, where you get a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Arts</p>
<p>they focus on you as a whole. After you apply and get all your decisions, you realize you're just one in a crowd. they're not gunna be extremely nit picky, but some things are gunna stand out (in positive or negative ways)</p>