<p>i applied ED elsewhere but it was a really tough choice between it and columbia. I'm applyingfrom, istanbul, turkey (US citizen) from a pretty small international school. I'm top of the class (no schl rank tho) with 97% gpa and am predicted about a 39/42 for the IB (including a 5 for french A2 which apparently only 250 ppl take worldwide). mid-range SAT scores (630V 660M 730W / IIC-660 French-680). My essay was kinda personal and i was going through a really rough time when i wrote it so i'd call it above-average. great recs from what i hear.</p>
<p>Varsity team captain for soccer 2 years running, lead roles in plays and many leadership activities (MUN coordinator/participant, Student Council Vice- Pres, charity fundraisers, Part of a team that created a one of a kind EU conference-simulation design that's being reworked right now to be submitted to the EU ministry of education- SOCRATES)</p>
<p>took advanced intro to Comp Sci and algroithms and data structures courses at Harvard summer school with B+ (i got the recommendation of the asst dean who was my professor) . Internship last summer at a start-up company (minor thing tho.)</p>
<p>I've lived in four countries and am proficient in 5 languages - english, turkish, dutch, german, french.</p>
<p>"french A2 which apparently only 250 ppl take worldwide"</p>
<p>not true.. ther are ALOT of french A2 in canada since we are bilingual, there are 2 classes of french A2 in my school alone
(about 50 people) and 2 classes in another big IB school in a nearby city.</p>
<p>that's interesting... a teacher of ours received that stat from the IB. We saw the letter. maybe it was missing a zero. who knows. i'd be applying to CC for economics</p>
<p>SATs are very low for Columbia. Your ECs aren't particularly noteworthy. If you think your essay is merely "above-average," it probably isn't all that. Most people think their essays are amazing, when they really aren't</p>
<p>What if someone has SATs in the 1200s (530 verbal) out of 1600, and SAT 2s of 600s. Can the person get in with "good" ECs? Columbia2002 how would you define "good" ECs for Columbia?</p>
<p>footballer it all depends whether you will need finicial aid, if you do, then yeah...it'll be very very hard for you to get in, however, on the other hand, if you don't i would say your chances for getting in is probably as good as any other applicants but Columbia's Need-Aware admissions policy for Internationals is really a big turn off :(</p>
<p>IvyLeague--With a 1200s SAT score, you're fighting a major uphill battle. You'd need to be stellar in most other areas (essays, EC, GPA) or even have a "hook." I think someone has good ECs when their ECs don't sound like most everyone else's ECs. Most people play a varsity sport, join many clubs, become an officer of several, do some volunteering, etc. Those aren't "bad" ECs, but nothing distinguishing.</p>
<p>DowJones--I don't see how you could possibly say his chances of getting in are "probably as good as any other applicants." He has very low scores, and no hook.</p>
<p>we have no idea how his Essays or Recs or any of those intangibles look? so how can we pass final judgement on him expect say he has as good a change as any other ** applicant ** afterall columbia does recieve a lot of subpar applicants simply because kids want to go learn (party?) in the city :P</p>
<p>Are any of you admissions officers? The answer is no, so no one really knows anything about this whole process. Footballer, considering you are probably the only person in here who is fluent in 5 languages I would say that you have about as good of a chance as anyone who applies to Columbia. IB French is the worst class ever.</p>
<p>DowJones--Of course you can say that someone's has a better/worse chance than someone else on the basis of grades and scores, grades, and ECs. It is clear that someone with a 1290 SAT -- significantly below Columbia's 25th percentile -- does not have as good a chance as any other applicant. I don't know what basis you have for claiming that <em>other</em> applicants are subpar.</p>
<p>Funerube--I'm an alumni interviewer, know most of the admissions staff, and know quite a bit about the process. In college, I knew several international students, many of whom spoke several languages. Speaking 5 languages isn't exactly going to distinguish him from other int'l students.</p>