Chances in Chemistry or Creative Writing

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
1

<p>Asian Female looking for some feedback. Not sure where my numbers/ECs/etc. put me...</p>

<p>Small, very competitive high school. Typically places students at top colleges.</p>

<p>GPA (UW) - 3.90/4.0 unweighted
GPA (W) - 4.4/4.0 weighted.</p>

<p>Class Rank - Top 15%. (One B and you're out of the top 10%)</p>

<p>SAT
Critical Reading - 770
Math - 710
Writing - 770 (12/12 on the essay)</p>

<p>SAT II
Chemistry - 750
Math I - 670</p>

<p>ACT - 31</p>

<p>Extracurricular Activities
Newspaper - News editor (11th), Co-Managing editor (12th)
Literary Magazine - Editor (12th), Staff and Contributor (9th, 10th, 11th)
Tae Kwon Do (high blue belt)
National Honor Society (9th, 10th, 11th, 12th) (does this even matter?)
State Science Fair (12th) (Got 4th place in 8th grade and Won States in 5th grade - should I even mention those? They were great wins but irrelevant to high school. But the were great wins! Sad...)
Latin Forum (9th, 10th, 11th)
Journalism Conference (11th and 12th)</p>

<p>Community Service - 100 hours
- Library - Conducted children's summer reading program
- Thrift Store - Organized merchandise, cashier
- Church - Ran booths at carnivals for church fund raisers</p>

<p>Talents and Awards
- National Merit Scholarship Qualifier (Anticipated Finalist based on last year's scores)
- Journalism awards (several 1st place awards for team and individual layout and writing)
- National Latin Exam - Cum Laude
- Latin awards - Several 1st and 2nd place awards at Latin Forums
- Writing - Won countywide Short Story competition
- Art - Won 1st place nationally in DAR stamp design contest</p>

<p>Other
- Duke TIP Program (I figure a lot of people have this)
- Attended the Duke Young Writers Camp</p>

<p>AP Coursework
- US History (3 on AP exam)
- Chemistry and Lab (4 on AP exam)
- English Composition (5 on AP exam)
- Psychology (12th)
- English Literature (12th)
(Our school doesn't offer a lot of AP courses.)</p>

<p>Essay - Writing in my strength. It's shaping up nicely.</p>

<p>References - I expect very strong references from my chemistry and journalism teachers.</p>

<p>ECs - I couldn't care less about spreading myself across every activity in the school, but I have great depth in Journalism and Lit Mag that I can put on the application.</p>

<p>So here's my question...</p>

<p>My strength is writing. Would I have a better change getting into Columbia pursuing writing?</p>

2

<p>Probably not. You can certainly demonstrate your strong interest in writing with your test scores, ECs and essays to focus your application. This is a good thing.</p>

<p>However you apply to an undergraduate school as a whole (CC, SEAS) rather than a specific major or program.</p>

<p>But I don’t think this changes your strategy that much; I’m (hopefully) just clarifying the process a bit rather than pointing out a serious flaw in your strategy.</p>

<p>One thing that is holding you back is your low(er) Math subject test score. Try taking the Math 2C test. It’s slightly more difficult but has a much more generous curve.</p>

3

<p>You may have great strengths in writing and journalism, but your stats are a little weak, especially since you come from a competitive HS. I would try to raise the SAT 2 scores (like what karot suggested) and, if you plan on submitting the ACT, retake that test as well.</p>

4

<p>List the state science fair only if you actually get an award this year. Otherwise, since your strength lies in writing, it doesn’t make too much sense to throw that on there (it doesn’t have to do with anything else on your EC list). </p>

<p>While your intended major doesn’t really matter, it should still be a reasonable choice within the context of the application. Chemistry seems to come out of left field, since the only relevant chemistry activity you have is your AP test (on which you received a 4 when one would expect a 5 from a prospective major).</p>

5

<p>Regarding the Chemistry AP, I’m not sure what happened there. You see that I got a 750 on the SAT Subject Test, so it’s not like I couldn’t have gotten the 5.</p>

<p>I’m considering re-taking the Math (will consider 2C) and may take the AP Lang as well.</p>

6

<p>Sorry, I missed the chemistry SAT subject test part. Also, I think most prospective science majors take the math 2C subject test.</p>

7

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<p>Yeah, but be careful that you don’t compare apples to oranges. The AP tests on more content than the SAT and is an entirely different format. I got a 740 on my Chem SAT and a 4 on my AP and I don’t think that your SAT indicates that you should’ve scored higher on the AP.</p>

<p>In general, I think demeter’s right when he/she says that the Chemistry thing is a bit out of the blue. Writing really crowds out chemistry on your app and a high score on the subject test doesn’t make chemistry a strength.</p>

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<p>Yeah, but I think that there are other benefits for non-science applicants. (see above)</p>

8

<p>B-b-b-BUMP!?</p>

<p>Any other chances/info/insight?</p>