Chances + International Studies question?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
1

<p>I visited Columbia U last weekend and I absolutely loved it. That combined with their generous financial aid (my family makes 65k a year), and their awesome programs in what I want to do has piqued my curiosity. Hence this thread. Soooooooooo...</p>

<p>Stats:</p>

<p>Grade: Class of 09
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
School: Large public high school (Glenbard West HS in Glen Ellyn for those who care), has a good reputation (...for some reason).
State: Illinois</p>

<p>Stats:
- 35 on ACT (36 math, 33 combined writing, 35 science/reading)
- 2200 on SAT (750 reading/math, 700 writing)
- 800s on US History and Math II SAT II's (54th percentile on spanish but Columbia only looks at two highest SO HEY. That's pretty nice :D).
- 4.0 UGPA, all honors/AP material except for requirements (including gym, stupid Illinois government), and like two slots of non honors AP. My school runs on a 5 point system so my weighted GPA is like a 5.8 but I don't know how that translates to the 4 point scale and that involves far too much math for the summer.
- Took AP US History and AP Stats this year, don't have scores yet. Senior schedule includes Calc BC, both Government APs, both Econ APs, Spanish AP, and English AP.</p>

<p>ECs:
- Lots of little stuff Freshman year that I didn't continue.
- Sophomore year (and junior high but no one cares): Science Olympiad
- Soph/Junior - Forensics (speech).
- Junior Year - Model UN.
- Junior Year - Scholastic Bowl.
- Junior Year - Amnesty International
- Various choirs stretching from 4th grade to present, some school-related and some not.
- Soph/Junior - Spanish Honors Society.
- Junior Year - National Honors Society.</p>

<p>EC Awards-y...things:
- 97th percentile (Gold Medal) on National Spanish Exam
- National Forensics League Degree of Special Distinction
- State Finalist in Performance in the Round, 2007 Forensics.
- Outstanding Delegate at U of Illinois' Model UN Conference as Cameroon (African Union).
- 2nd and 3rd in Division II at State Science Olympiad tournament in two events.
- Lots of regional tournament results for Forensics that no one really cares about.</p>

<p>Leadership stuff:
- Board Member for Forensics (NFL Pointkeeper)
- Possibly/probably will be Co-Captain of Scholastic Bowl next year.
- Probably will have leadership position in Spanish Honors Society.
- Might have leadership position in Amnesty International.</p>

<p>(sorry for the obnoxious projections into the future :X)</p>

<p>Volunteer work is grim: went on two mission trips to rural Mexico, and some Amnesty International stuff sorta counts, but other than that its not so good.</p>

<p>First off, thanks to anyone who bothered reading all of my crap. To summarize, my test scores rock, my transcript rocks, my ECs sucked until Junior Year and are only average now, and my leadership/volunteer work are both atrocious. Anyone want to give me an idea of my chances...?</p>

<p>Also on the International Studies front, can someone tell me a bit about Columbia's undergrad program? I've looked at stuff but it seems sorta strange to me - does it have to be a 5 year degree? More importantly, if I chose another major, I could still minor/concentrate in IS, right? </p>

<p>Thanks again to anyone who bothered reading all of my gobbledygook. Also I apologize if I came off as being a pretentious prick because I swear in real life I am not :(</p>

2

<p>What would your essay be about? Recommendation letters?</p>

3

<p>In terms of essays, my "Why Columbia?" essay would probably be about how the atmosphere at Columbia made me feel at home and at ease with myself intellectually while not being pretencious or snotty, which is what I was a bit afraid it would be. I don't really remember what other essays there are (Columbia does common ap + supplement, right?), but I'm assuming there's some sort of a "pick your own"/"random" one, which is the one that would showcase my personality best. </p>

<p>For that, I wrote one earlier this year about how I get annoyed with high school students who try really hard to be miserable, and how when I was working at my local grocery store the customers would act the same way. The real point of the essay is how much some random woman at the grocery who told me she was "simply MARVELOUS" when I asked her how she was, inspired me, and how I try to not be ashamed of being happy or, as she put it, marvelous. It's sorta in the style of a NPR "This I Believe" essay, and its a bit more casual than the average essay, but I think it showcases me well, and it's something that I DO believe strongly in.</p>

<p>In terms of rec letters, I think they'll be good? I can think of a mix of teachers that I have pretty strong personal relations with that I had junior year, so I'll probably get them to write me one. I'd like to get my speech coach to write one as well, but he's not a teacher at my school, so I'm not entirely sure how that'll go.</p>

<p>I have no idea how this post became so long-winded :x sorry bout that.</p>

4

<p>I thnk your essay could be interesting, assuming they do have a 'random' topic. But....don't portray yourself as 'annoyed' by the aforementioned HS students--I think quizzical, or puzzled would be a better portrayal of your reaction because you don't want to be perceived as a negative person writing about negative people.</p>

<p>Just my two bits :)</p>