Chances

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
1

<p>I'm a junior from Taiwan, and I'm planning on going to the US for college. I'm a US citizen, but have been educated my whole life in regular Chinese schools. I currently attend the best girls' high school in Taiwan, which is extremely competitive and prestigious, and receive top grades there. Here are my stats and ECs, and I would very much appreciate it if you could give me some suggestions or evaluate, to your best understanding, how my chances for Columbia are. Thanks a lot!! </p>

<p>Stats
SAT I: CR: 800 ;Writing: 780 ;Math: 800
SAT II: Literature: 790 (I plan on taking Math 2 and Physics in June and have confidence in both.)
GPA: 4.0 UW
Rank: 20/1300 </p>

<p>ECs:
Editor and writer of school newspaper (10-11th)
Member of guitar club; in charge of practice and teaching fellow members (10th)
Piano 10 yrs/violin 4 yrs/clarinet 2 yrs/ guitar 1 yr
First place in school-wide English composition competition (10th) ; Third place (11th)
Fifth place in school-wide Chinese composition competition (10th)
Fifth place in school-wide Chinese short story competition (10th)
Second place in school-wide poetry competition (11th)
Third place in school-wide composition competition (10th, 11th)
Qualified for AIME
In charge of classroom decoration for two semesters; won an award for classroom decoration (10th)
Won a prestitious scholarship for English (10th)
Honorary Award A (meaning top three of class in both academic and moral grades) (10th, 11th)
High shool starts from the 10th grade in Taiwan, so I haven't listed anything from the 9th.</p>

<p>I know my ECs are weak but I hope to make up with my SAT scores, school performance, application essay and excellent recs. How are my chances?
Thanks~all information and suggestions would be extremely appreciated.</p>

2

<p>Don't put the classroom decoration thing on your application. That's just weird.</p>

<p>I say you stand an amazing chance.</p>

3

<p>i agree with smithsj. The classroom thing is just too weird. We don't do that kind of stuff here.</p>

<p>I think your chance is fairly good. But b/c you are an international from Taiwan, it kind of lowers your chances somewhat. </p>

<p>BTW, have you thought about FinAid? If you need it, it's going to hurt your chance once again.</p>

<p>However...</p>

<p>Your scores are excellent so if I were you, I won't worry too much.</p>

<p>Good luck1</p>

4

<p>Thanks for replying!
I'm a US citizen; do I still count as an international??
Yes, I'm applying for FinAid; is Columbia's FinAid need-based? If it is, are my chances still affected if I have dual citizenship?
About the classroom decoration thing, I understand you don't do that in the US, but I thought it might be something unique to mention in my essay. If I can't make it sound less weird in my essay, I'll consider ommiting it.
Thanks for the encouragement!</p>

5

<p>I am from China and Germany and lives now in US. So, that doesn't count as international. Harvard told me that it depends on the school you are going to. Since your school is in Taiwan, you will most likely be an international. The competition will be harder, but just try. Believe me, my stats are way worse than yours. And I try. I even applied, although I am just a junior. So, good luck!</p>

<p>p.s. I speak Mandarin too :)</p>

6

<p>No, being a US citizen makes you NOT international, despite living outside the US. You are considered a US citizen in admissions.</p>

7

<p>Whew, thanks, goldenslumber, that's a huge relief.
Schlaraffenland, thanks for your reply anyway:-)
It's nice to meet a fellow Chinese. Good luck to you too!</p>