Chances

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
1

<p>I am a junior in high school. I will be graduating in the class of '09. knowing Columbia's highly selectiveness, I would like to know how good my chances of admission are.</p>

<p>Ethnicity: Hispanic, I moved from Guatemala when I was 10 years old and have been living in the U.S. for 7 yrs. now (Fluent Spanish-speaker)
School Type: The only high school in my town, with approximately 2,000 students.</p>

<p>Currently: GPA- 4.0 unweighted for semester 1. Have gotten straight A's for the entire school yr. except an 88% in Honors Pre-Calc. during quarter 2 (would that hurt me?)
Class Rank- # 2 in my class (out of about 500 students) and battling for the #1 spot.
Will take SAT's in March (what's the minimum score that will still make me competitive?)</p>

<p>Freshman Yr.
Italian I Honors- A all yr
Algebra II Honors-A all quarters and second semester, but 87% for first semester (again, detrimental for chances?)
English 9 Honors- A all yr
PE -A all yr
Workplace Basic Skills- A all yr
Leadership (Student Council class)- A all yr
Biology (Regulars, got out of Honors because of terrible teacher)- A all yr</p>

<p>Sophomore Yr.
Geometry Honors- A all yr
French I Honors- A all yr
Renaissance (another leadership-type class)- A all yr
Astronomy/Geology- A all yr
English 10 Honors- A all yr
World History Honors- A all yr
Italian II Honors- A all yr</p>

<p>Junior Yr.
American Literature Honors- A all yr<br>
AP U.S. History- A all yr
Chemistry Honors- A all yr<br>
French II- A all yr
Leadership- A all yr
Pre Calculus A all yr (except for the 88% for 2nd quarter)
Yearbook- A all yr</p>

<p>Senior Yr. will take:
A.P. Biology
A.P. U.S. Gov
A.P. Calculus
A.P. English
College English 101
French III (if the offer it)
Health/PE </p>

<p>EC's
Freshman Class President (05-06)
Renaissance Leadership Class member (06-07)
Honor Society President (07-08; 08-09 president elect)
Student Body Vice President (07-08)
Interact Club (06-07 as member; 07-08 as Vice President, 08-09 as President elect)
Student Body President? (08-09 elections Feb. 20th)
Soccer Manager (06-07 played but got hurt so just managed for the rest of the season)
Monte Carlo Club (07-08 one of only 6 members allowed for the French and Italian Students)
Community Service and also translate for church</p>

<p>Please assess my chances! i would appreciate it tremendously and also please give me any advice. Thank you!</p>

2

<p>In terms of academics, you look like a very competitive candidate.</p>

<p>Don't worry about the 88 in Precalculus.
I did terribly in that area of math as well--
you could easily make it up by excelling in Calculus,
which is not only easier, but also more impressive.</p>

<p>As a URM, standards for testing are different for you (Hernandez, 1999).
However, a score of 2100+ would be highly desirable, and a score of 2300+ would practically secure you a seat.</p>

<p>You should work on taking Subject Tests as well, in mathematics, science, language, history, et cetera. Columbia requires only two.</p>

<p>You have solid positions in terms of extracurriculars.</p>

<p>Your essays will be very important, however.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

3

<p>very impressive in terms of leadership and academics</p>

<p>now comes the SAT score taking part... those few months of hardwork in preparation would definitely be worth it... wouldn't want to put all your four years of hardwork to waste because of some standardized test would you? really try to get some 800s on the SAT IIs and 2300+would be deseriable
doesnt have to be in one sitting dont be discouraged if you don't succeed at first</p>