<p>With typical Ivy applicant GPA, SATs, ECs, APs, recs, and good essays, how much do these following factors influence, specifically, Columbia's decisions?</p>
<p>-->Legacy (in my case, father went undergrad & grad, maternal grandfather went grad)
-->Participation in Columbia Science Honors Program
-->Race
-->Interview</p>
<p>A few extracurriculars falling under the same umbrella would give them an impression that you’re actually committed to a specific area whether it be music,arts,sciences, etc.</p>
<p>the sum is greater than its parts -
each of those things are marginally helpful - by themselves they might help push you over the top. but when you add them with your good gpa, your sats, your ecs, etc (supposing its true). you end up having a compelling profile.</p>
<p>that’s how admissions works, no one “factor” influences admission. some factors are critical (you have to have the grades/smarts for them to believe you can do the work), but you can’t even say grades ultimately lead to your admission by themselves.</p>
<p>I was curious too. This from collegeboard:
</p>
<p>The Collegeboard list is BS because these things aren’t independent. Character and personal qualities is important, but being a minority / first one in family to go to college / from an underrepresented state are “considered”? Those latter things factor into Columbia’s evaluation of your personal qualities.</p>
<p>^^^it’s just a starting point! </p>
<p>and you’re right, they can’t politically say URM is most important factor, nor could they say they want a oboe player who’d like to studying cognitive psychology.</p>
<p>lima - the collegeboard list is notoriously unreliable and frankly unempirical when it comes to their admissions section.</p>
<p>ultimately - a list is incapable of explaining how adcoms make decisions. because they don’t go down a list and make checkmarks.</p>
<p>Rank isn’t important if the school doesn’t rank or doesn’t disclose rank. Right?</p>
<p>Columbia leads the top universities in diversity. Race is important. An underrepresented minority from a strong high school, at the top of his or her class, with respectable SAT scores, has an advantage in admissions.</p>
<p>Double legacy status, where both of one’s parents are alumni of the College/SEAS is helpful.</p>
<p>^ I would argue that Columbia doesn’t necessarily advantage minorities more than peer schools, because our application pool is likely more diverse, by virtue of being in new york. Assuming each college gets a heavier share of applicants from near by, i.e. the proportion of new york city applicants to Columbia is greater than the proportion of new york city applicants to MIT, and the proportion of cambridge/boston applicants to MIT is higher than the proportion of cambridge/boston applicants to Columbia. It is conceivable that Columbia applicant pool is more diverse.</p>
<p>[Admission</a> Statistics | Columbia University Office of Undergraduate Admissions](<a href=“http://www.studentaffairs.columbia.edu/admissions/applications/stats.php]Admission”>http://www.studentaffairs.columbia.edu/admissions/applications/stats.php)</p>
<p>13% of the admitted class was African American, which is ~= national proportion, higher than most peer schools (which have ~10%) and significantly lower than the proportion of African Americans in NYC - ~25%</p>
<p>Likewise 16% of the admitted class was Latino, which is higher than the national proportion (12%), higher than most peer schools (which have ~10-12%) and significantly lower than the proportion of Hispanics in NYC - ~27%</p>
<p>Columbia definitely practices affirmative action, but you cannot say that minorities are more advantaged in columbia’s admissions process (compared to peer schools), merely by looking at % of undergrad minorities.</p>
<p>When you say that it’s good to have extracurriculars fall under the same umbrella, would you consider these as that?</p>
<p>-Academic team
-Math Honor Society
-National Honor Society
-Robotics team
-Tutoring
-Varsity Swimming</p>
<p>@cookster</p>
<p>not exactly. The activities you just listed flip flop all over the place. varsity swimming does not fall under the same umbrella as academic team, or math honor society. I was referring to activites that are specific to a certain area. heres an example: a person who has a passion for lets say swimming will have a majority of EC’s related to swimming. he can be the varsity swimming captain, teach swimming, be a lifeguard, compete in swimming competitions, win awards etc. </p>
<p>This specific passion for swimming will be more likely to impress the adcoms than just having activitiies that flip flop all over the place. They will know that you actually had an interest and were not just participating to make your resume look good.</p>
<p>“Columbia definitely practices affirmative action, but you cannot say that minorities are more advantaged in columbia’s admissions process (compared to peer schools), merely by looking at % of undergrad minorities.”</p>
<p>Indeed–which was why I added the stipulations “from a strong high school, at the top of his or her class, with respectable SAT scores.”</p>
<p>What about legacy and participation in the Columbia Science Honors Program?!?!</p>
<p>okay, so well check out columbia’s faq. two good answers to your questions.</p>
<p>Does Columbia give preference in the admission process to applicants whose parents attended Columbia?
We are always pleased to receive applications from students whose family members have graduated from Columbia. When an applicant is extremely competitive and compares favorably with other similarly talented candidates, being the daughter or son of a Columbia University graduate (from any Columbia school or college) may be a slight advantage in the admission process. This advantage may especially apply for “legacy” candidates.</p>
<p>Please note: applicants are considered to be “legacies” of Columbia only if they are the children of Columbia College or the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science graduates. </p>
<p>(operates to bump a student that is otherwise admissible - who might not be a sure admit, but admission is not guaranteed.)</p>
<p>and:</p>
<p>Are my chances for admission greater if I attend a summer program or program for high school students on the Columbia campus?
Not necessarily. Although we recommend that all applicants spend some time on campus before applying, applicants who have attended a program on the Columbia campus are not given automatic preference in the admissions process.</p>
<p>For more information on summer programs at Columbia, please visit the High School Programs Website. </p>
<p>(key word in the second is automatic preference - in the end, someone who knows columbia over someone who does not, most likely is a better student to admit, further the SHP program is competitive and rigorous v. summer programs that are less so; so doing SHP is a way to prove that you can do the work academically, and maybe have support from the director or a faculty member will help - though just participating doesn’t automatically help you.)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>You mean caveats. Stipulations are agreements.</p>
<p>@Cookster
No. Those don’t fall under the same umbrella because they don’t really have anything in common with one another. Unless you can show a strong passion or two, you’ll just look like a dabbler. You can do a lot, but each activity can’t be your primary passion. If, say, you’re a science/tech guy and you’ve devoted your life to the Robotics Club, but you also swim on the side, don’t try to present yourself as equally committed to both. On the other hand, if you’re the next Michael Phelps and Robotics Club is a hobby of yours you use to unwind, then make sure to emphasize your talent but maybe write your essay about how painstakingly building a robot from scratch is both similar and very different from your intense swimming practice routine and the lightning fast swimming matches themselves. You want to present a narrative that says something about you and ideally relates to your interests and extracurriculars. But don’t force it; just let it marinate for a while and you’ll come up with something.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I know what I mean.</p>
<p>[Stipulation</a> | Define Stipulation at Dictionary.com](<a href=“STIPULATION Definition & Usage Examples | Dictionary.com”>STIPULATION Definition & Usage Examples | Dictionary.com)
“a condition, demand, or promise in an agreement or contract.”
[Stipulation</a> - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary](<a href=“http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stipulation]Stipulation”>Stipulation Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster)
“a condition, requirement, or item specified in a legal instrument.”</p>
<p>i.e., the conditions/demands/requirements to be met in order to bring about an agreement/a contract between Columbia and applicant X.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>You’re digging this grave deeper… I think know why you’re wrong.</p>
<p>haha lol. Freaky.</p>
<p>“… I think you know why you’re wrong.”</p>