<p>Hi guys!</p>
<p>I plan to apply to Columbia early (decision) this fall, and I had a few questions.</p>
<li><p>Does anyone know if applying ED to Columbia increases the chances of admission? I’ve heard it said both ways but vaguely each time.</p></li>
<li><p>Would you consider it proper “etiquette” if I gave my admissions counselor a call and explained some of the reasons for my lower grades outside of the application?</p></li>
<li><p>What would you say my chances are?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Female, Caucasian, Polish</p>
<p>GPA: 3.65 UW
My high school doesn’t weigh GPAs, but I’ve taken EVERY AP/Honors/Advanced class that I have been offered, and my senior schedule for next year is very difficult.</p>
<p>CLASS RANK: 156/587 overall; 90/587 Honors; top 25%</p>
<p>ACT: 32 composite, 11 writing
- Should I retake it? I think I have good chances at getting a 33/34.</p>
<p>SAT: I plan on taking it this fall.
- What should I aim for?</p>
<p>AP: I got a 3 on the U.S. History last year, and I took the Statistics, Euro History, and will take the Language this year. I plan on getting a 5 on the Language, and then a 4 on Stats and Euro.</p>
<p>SAT IIs: I will take Literature, Math 2, and Chemistry this year.
- What should I aim for? Columbia asks specifically for two SAT IIs!</p>
<p>ESSAYS: I’ll write very good essays. I love writing.</p>
<p>RECS: I’ll have excellent recommendations.</p>
<p>COCURRICULARS:
- Editor-in-Chief of newspaper
- Co-Captain of Student Congress team
- participant on Varsity Speech/Debate team
- inkTank Literary Council member (the Loft, The Loft Literary Center:)
- Polish Saturday School volunteer teacher & web designer
- writer for literary journal
- Student Ambassadors
- Student Government
- peer tutor</p>
<ul>
<li>work experience at autism camp</li>
<li>work experience in retail</li>
<li><p>80+ hours internship at fiction publishing company</p></li>
<li><p>published huge amount of short stories, poems, articles</p></li>
<li><p>self-published novel, 6th grade</p></li>
</ul>
<p>NOTES
My parents are immigrants from Europe, and I’m the first person to go to college in the U.S. My family honestly didn’t know how radically different the college application system is here until the beginning of junior year (there’s a much larger focus on grades/GPA/class rank in the US than there is in Poland). That’s one of the main reasons that I didn’t care completely about my grades freshman/sophomore year.</p>
<p>Every single one of my Bs is in a math/science class (I’m taking the toughest courses and doubled up on math this past year). No Cs. I want to major in Creative Writing, which is also the reason that Columbia is my top choice by a mile. How much do you think this will affect me?</p>
<p>My senior year schedule will yield, hopefully, a lot of As. I’m taking three English courses per trimester and have an internship scheduled, plus AP Art History (which I love!) and AP Government (which I love!).</p>
<p>Should I call my admissions counselor to talk? Or should I just let it go and hope for the best?</p>
<p>Thanks for any insight!</p>