***COLUMBIA CLASS OF 2019 E.D. RESULTS ONLY***

Colleges & Universities A-Z Columbia University
21

<p>Decision: Accepted - CC</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2000
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: 650 Bio E, 700 Math II
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.5
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): 4 Stat, 3 BC, 3 Compsci, 3 Chem
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load:
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): 43rd in School AMC 10</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Math Team
Job/Work Experience: Lifeguard for one summer
Volunteer/Community service: N/A
Summer Activities: Lifeguard
Essays (rating 1-10, details): I’d say about a 7. My Honors English teacher and my counselor says that my essay was passable but could still use some work?
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):</p>

<p>Teacher Rec #1: Didn’t know the teacher too well, probably an 8
Teacher Rec #2: 6 or 7, I disrupted her classroom alot but she said yes to write me a rec anyways.
Counselor Rec: Don’t know, counselor writes alot of recs, probably generic.
Additional Rec:
Interview: Don’t remember</p>

<p>Other</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Biology
State (if domestic applicant): NY
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: M
Income Bracket: Highish (250K)
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): In my first essay I talked about the first time I kissed a girl.</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths: Essays
Weaknesses: Recs
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I think they saw me as a well balanced person with my achievements in math and my lifeguarding. I feel so blessed!
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Only applied to Columbia ED.</p>

<p>General Comments:
I’m so happy I got into my top choice! And if you didn’t get in, don’t be discouraged, I’m sure you’ll get into where you belong!</p>

22

<p>Decision: Rejected - CC</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2100 didn’t send
ACT (breakdown): 35: 36 math 34 eng 34 read 34 sci 9 wri
SAT II: 800 Math II 760 Chem 770 Phys
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0 unweighted 4.953 weighted
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):1/512
AP (place score in parenthesis):
(5) Physics C Mech
(5) Physics C E+M
(5) Psychology
(5) Statistics
(5) Compsci
(5) US Government
(5) Comparative Government
(5) Calc BC
(5) Environmental Science
(5) Chemistry
(5) Macroeconomics (not reported)
(4) Biology (not reported)
(4) US History (not reported)
(3) World History (not reported)
(3) English Language (not reported)
(2) French (not reported)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Microeconomics, AP Art (Drawing), AP Human Geography, Student Government, AP English Lit, Sets and Logic (college level class), and “The Meat We Eat” (animal science college level class)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AMC Distinguished Honor Roll (top 1% in nation for AMC test), qualifying for AIME 2 years (does this count??), National AP Scholar (does this count??)</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Student Government (Student Body Secretary), Math Team (5 years, joined in 8th grade), FBLA, Taekwondo Blackbelt and Assistant Instructor
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service: Taught competitive math to elementary school student and middle school students all 4 years
Summer Activities: National MAO competition (school has won for 8 consecutive years), attending China’s largest martial arts school for 7 weeks, assisting my Taekwondo classes
Essays (rating 1-10, details):8.5/10 some points could be stronger; overall has effect in my opinion
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): </p>

<p>Teacher Rec #1:10/10, had him for all 4 years of high school (math team coach)
Teacher Rec #2: 8/10, Psychology teacher who was pretty close with me
Counselor Rec: 7/10? I didn’t really get to see any of these. I’ve been in contact with her for all 4 years, so she knows my name I guess? She considered me one of her “actually engaged individuals”
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: No interview offered </p>

<p>Other</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: no
Intended Major: Biochemistry, Visual Arts, East Asian Studies
State (if domestic applicant): FL
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: large public (~2000 students)
Ethnicity: ASIAN (Chinese) aww yeah
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: not eligible for any financial aid (very privileged to have parents who can pay for college without a problem)
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Visual arts supplement was pretty good I guess? </p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths: GPA, Rank, Scores (to an extent…), close relations with teacher recs, unique art supplement?
Weaknesses: lack of stellar extracurricular, overall not exceptional to stand out
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Columbia has been a dream of mine. I simply wasn’t special enough, and that’s okay ; u ;
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: N/A Still applying to Harvard, Yale, MIT, Duke, UPenn, Johns Hopkins, Brown, Rice, Georgetown, and NYU Hopefully one of them will accept me</p>

<p>General Comments: I’ve realized that rejections are okay. Originally I was quite sad and frustrated, but hey they rejected me for a reason. I’ve moved on to applying elsewhere. CONGRATULATIONS TO THOSE WHO HAVE GOTTEN INTO THEIR DREAM SCHOOL!!</p>

23

<p>Decision: Accepted - CC</p>

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): 2300 (730R / 770M / 800W)
ACT (breakdown): 35 (36E / 35M / 35R / 34S)
SAT II: Didn’t send (they weren’t too stellar)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School technically doesn’t rank. If it did, 2/116.
AP (place score in parenthesis): Art History (5), English Lit (5), Environmental Science (5), Psychology (5), US History (5), World History (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP English Lang, AP Comparative Gov & Pol, AP Statistics, AP Physics 1, Calculus Honors, Digital Journalism
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Semifinalist</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): School theatre, community theatre, varsity swimming & water polo, school website editor/contributor & content manager for school website reconstruction, teacher’s assistant for AP Art History & English 9 classes, leader of the Body Image Project (workshop for underclassmen to promote positive body image/etc), president of college counseling club & school literary magazine club
Job/Work Experience: Endless babysitting, waitressing at Indian restaurant over summers, farm hand on weekends
Volunteer/Community service: 200+ hours cleaning/restoring local theater
Summer Activities: Working, mainly, but I lived in Brooklyn this last summer with college friends and interned at Wicked
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common app essay 7/10. Wrote about being in the Vagina Monologues in a small Hawaii town. Supplements maybe also 7/10…a little witty, which I kinda thought would be taken the wrong way, but I guess it worked…
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: Sophomore year art history teacher…reputed to get kids into college because of her recs. 10/10
Teacher Rec #2: Junior year English teacher…new-age hippy, super into Yeats. That kinda guy. I babysit & TA for him, write for his comedy show, et cetera, so we’re buds. Probably also pretty good. 9/10
Counselor Rec: Our senior class is pretty small so probably all right. 7/10
Additional Rec: I’m not too stellar at math, so I got my math teacher (I don’t even think she likes me very much) to write my third rec. It was kinda risky but I thought her perspective would be interesting. ?/10
Interview: Super last minute. Got an email from a CC '14 girl who lives on the other side of the island. Met her at Starbucks, talked for an hour - she was super cool. Couldn’t have hurt, I suppose!</p>

<p>Other:</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes! So much financial aid needed.
Intended Major: Undeclared. English? Education? Existentialist comas? Who knows?
State (if domestic applicant): Hawai’i
Country (if international applicant): (Hawai’i is in the US…apparently some people on the mainland don’t know this?)
School Type: Small private boarding & day
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: <50,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Parents didn’t go to college. Maybe being from Hawai’i? There aren’t a ton of Ivy applicants from the state or the island I live on</p>

<p>Reflection:</p>

<p>Strengths: Right-brain stuff (theatre, writing, English bits), test scores, recs & essays
Weaknesses: Not super athletic, being white, being shit-ass poor, lacking in awards & leadership, overusing the ampersand
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I really couldn’t tell you…I was hoping to get deferred at the very most.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
General Comments:
So shocked & surprised. Definitely didn’t expect this. Our school had acceptances at Duke, Brown, Bowdoin, and Cal Poly today, so our college counselors are basically on cloud nine (being in a tiny school in Hawai’i makes this stuff a big deal). I finally get to write one of those cheesy “so excited to meet the rest of my class!” comments on here that I’ve been reading for years…</p>

24

<p>Decision: Accepted - SEAS
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2150(did not send)
ACT (breakdown): 34 (34 M 34 S 34 CR 34 W)
SAT II: did not send
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98 Weighted: 4.93
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 30/640
AP (place score in parenthesis): Stats(5) Chem(4) Human(5) World(5) English Comp(4) APUSH(4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP English Literature AP Computer Science AP German IV AP Physics C AP Calculus BC AP Economics/AP Government Drill Team IV
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
National Merit Commended Scholar
AP Scholar with Distinction</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Destination Imagination(10-12) Went to Globals sophomore and junior year
Junior State of America(Chapter Vice President, State Cabinet Position)
German Club(President Junior and Senior Year, Secretary Sophomore year)
A Community Serviced Club(Director of Fundraising) Community Service organization 200+ hours
Dance Team Member for four years
NHS, GermanNHS, NEHS
Job/Work Experience:
Interned for an internet start up this summer programming user interface and design
Volunteer/Community service: Volunteered in community for 200+ hours with leo club.
Summer Activities: Keystone Youth Policy Summit in Colorado, studied water issues and sustainability
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
-Common App(7/10): Did the “tell a story” prompt and talked about overcoming a family circumstance, really personal
-Why Columbia(7/10): Showed passion, talked about the core and how it would supplement my major but not the best writer so somewhat generic
-Why my Major(8/10): My english teacher liked it.
-Extra Curricular Essay(10/10): wrote about JSA and how it changed me
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1:Solid 10. Written by my computer science teacher who has known me for five years and also happens to be my DI coach and sponsor LEO club. She said she cried while writing it because she didnt know what she was going to do without me next year.
Teacher Rec #2: 9/10 Written by my german teacher who knows me very well and thinks highly of me. She has taught me for four years in a small class setting.
Counselor Rec: 5/10 I got to a large public school and we got new counselors this year. she has never met me.
Additional Rec: n/a
Interview: 9/10 My interviewer and I talked for over two hours and found a lot of common ground. </p>

<p>Other</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: 1st Choice: Earth and Environmental Engineering 2nd Choice: Computer Science
State (if domestic applicant): TEXAS!
Country (if international applicant):n/a
School Type: 6A Public School
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: <80,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First Generation, overcame family circumstances</p>

<p>Reflection: </p>

<p>Strengths: Made my application showcase who I was and why I fit columbia
Weaknesses: Not a natural writer so my essays dont really blow you away
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: 1st gen girl applying to engineering
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted to UT because Auto Admit</p>

<p>General Comments: No matter where you end up I’m sure you’ll do great!</p>

<hr>

25

<p>Rejected :o </p>

<p>SAT I: 2320 (Single sitting, higher when superscored)
SAT II: 780 & 800
National Merit Semifinalist, AP Scholar w/ Distinction, salutatorian etc, etc
Solid school extracurriculars w/ leadership plus one I made outside of school that’s probably very unique and my greatest accomplishment lol</p>

<p>General Comments:</p>

<p>Congrats to the ED Class of 2019, you’ve earned it you lucky bastards :wink: (seriously though, congratulations, you have every right to be on cloud nine right now). To the deferred, good luck. To future applicants, I’m only putting up my info for you all haha, please learn from my tragic mistakes (make sure you don’t mess up on the number of hours you input into your biggest EC) and realize sometimes it really is just a game of chance</p>

<p>Personally, this was a really good experience for me, being my first major application. I’ve learned a lot since the deadline for Columbia’s ED and my applications come Regular Decision season will be sure to reflect that. I feel a little regret about not optimizing my app sooner, but there are some things in life that can only be learned through trial-and-error and, for me, this was one of those things. </p>

<p>To fellow rejects, the decisions that came out today may hurt and for some they will hurt more than for others. Learn from your mistakes and polish your apps for RD season. You will, I am sure, find incredible success and somewhere you will be happy that is not Columbia. Take a day or two to collect yourself (I would like to prescribe Netflix and chocolate, but you may wish to speak with your doctor before trying this treatment; side effects include rotten teeth and acute binge-watching syndrome in the middle of finals week). And who knows, maybe some of you will transfer into Columbia later on or even stand in front of Alma Mater or in Butler as a grad student. Whatever the case, what’s done is done and we must adjust accordingly to reality. I wish you all the very best and hope to perhaps meet some of you at another top institution this coming fall. Live life and make Columbia regret sending you that rejection :slight_smile: C’est la vie mes amis. </p>

26

<p>Rejected - CC</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2360 superscore (760 CR, 800 M, 800 W, 10 E)
ACT (breakdown): 35 single sitting (35 E, 36 M, 33 R, 35 S)
SAT II: 800 Math II, 740 Chem, 740 Bio E
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.3 W
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3%
AP (place score in parenthesis): Did not report any
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: APES,
AP Stats, AP Eng, AP Gov, AP Chinese, AP Comparative Gov, AP Physics C
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): USABO semis, AIME, Published 8 papers/abstracts, Many state science fair awards, many other semi-major awards in business, academics, and science (PM me for specifics)</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Science/Robotics Club (Pres), Math Club (Secretary), CSUN Youth Orch (Principal), Marching Band (Section Leader), NHS (VP), local Community volunteer group (VP)
Job/Work Experience: Wrote for 2 football journalism websites, Research internship every summer (part of SIMR this past summer)
Volunteer/Community service: over 500 hours at a variety of venues
Summer Activities: Research internship every summer, SIMR, Writing football articles
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 9/10 or 6/10 CommonApp (a hit or miss, one big extended metaphor that the adcoms may or may not have gotten), 8.5/10 Why Columbia (kinda personalized, could be better), 7/10 Major (think this is what killed me, could be way more personal and specific), 8/10 EC (nothing special), 10/10 List of books (varied and shows what I like to do)
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):</p>

<p>Teacher Rec #1: 8/10 generic glowing rec from english teacher
Teacher Rec #2: 7/10 didn’t do that well in math class, but seemed like he liked me
Counselor Rec: 9/10 constantly visited her and got to know her well
Additional Rec: 6-9/10 from SIMR lab PI, never really talked to me but i know my mentor gave him good reviews of my work ethic and passion
Interview: wasn’t offered</p>

<p>Other</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: ya
Intended Major: Biochemistry
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Large competitive public
Ethnicity: Asian (gg…)
Gender: Male (gg…)
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): nada</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths: clear focus and strength in STEM (many awards and activities),
Weaknesses: shoddy grades (had many Bs despite my decent rank), ethnicity and gender, probably generic recs
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: didn’t complete the app to best of my abilities, didn’t include all of my accomplishments when i submitted (didn’t know additional info was for that purpose), bad writer
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Honors program in a state school, waiting on impending deferral/rejection from UChicago
General Comments:</p>

<p>Put a LOT of time in your essays. Seriously. Not trying to bash or hate, but I really feel like I’m just as qualified on paper as any of the people who got accepted on this thread were. But, being in the frantic and overworried state that I was in, my essays turned out not as well as they could’ve been and are items I am certain to improve on during the RD round. Also, don’t panic too much in the days leading up to results (aka don’t spend every other second checking CC for any updates) or else you’ll get significantly let-down like I did after I found out my rejection. But, with all that said, to all the rejects, work hard and make Columbia regret for turning you down! </p>

27

<p>Decision: Accepted - CC</p>

<p>Objective:
•SAT I (breakdown): 640 W 670 CR 660 M (Didn’t submit)
•ACT (Breakdown): 33 composite, (30 W 33 M 34 S 34 R)
•SAT II: Didn’t Take
•Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA: 4.67
•Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 4/880
•AP (place score in parenthesis): Us Hist.(5), English Language and Comp (5), Euro History (5), Psychology (4), Biology (4), English Literature and Composition (4) BC Calc (4)
•IB (place score in parenthesis): SL French (6)
•Senior Year Course Load: HL Biology, HL English, HL History, HL Theatre, SL Math, SL Music
•Major Awards : Student of the month, NHS, Academic Letter</p>

<p>Subjective:
•Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): NHS, Theatre (President), Literary Arts Magazine (President), IB mentors (President), Improv Troupe (Varsity), Beach Volleyball (Captain), Swing Club(president/Choreographer), Musical theatre (Assistant choreographer)
•Job/Work Experience: Nope, no time with IB and theatre
•Volunteer/Community service: run Essay workshops for IB Juniors, theatre productions, organizing fundraisers for litmag, beach cleanups, etc.
•Summer Activities: sleep for once, theatre
•Essays: 10./10
•Teacher Recommendation: Haven’t seen them but I know they were good
•Counselor Rec: 10/10
•Additional Rec: N/A
•Interview: 7/10
Supplement: Acting Resume: 10/10</p>

<p>Other
Applied for financial aid: Yes
•Major: Theatre Studies/Creative Writing
•State (if domestic applicant): CA
•Country (if international applicant):
•School Type: Public
•Ethnicity: 75% White, 25% Black
•Gender: M
•Income Bracket: Low
•Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): N/a</p>

<p>Reflection
•Strengths: Lots of Extracurriculars, courseload and achievement is high, and essays are good
•Weaknesses: I could have been more talkative in my interview, and not awkwardly laughed so many times, didn’ttake SAT II’s or send an SAT I score
•Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I think that I was a storng candidate, and my passion for theatre really came out in my application, and my academics added to it
•Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Waiting on uchicago EA, just to see because I loved my essays but will have to turn down, Several UC’s, will be withdrawn
General Comments: Columbia is the school of my dreams, and I’m so ecstatic to be going to NYC to study at one of the best colleges in the world. Good luck to all those still applying or planning to apply.</p>

28

<p>Decision: Rejected - CC
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): n/a
ACT (breakdown): 35, 35 Eng, 33 Math, 36 Reading, 36 Science
SAT II: n/a
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.7, 4.4 weighted
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
AP (place score in parenthesis): H. Geo, World, Stats, Lang, MicroEcon (All 5s), this year taking APUSH, CalcBC, Physics, Lit
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: Very difficult, see above
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Semifinalist
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): We the People Constitutional Studies team won state competition and placed 6th in national competition in DC, my ‘unit’ got 2nd. Student council three years. National Honors Society. 4 years of crew.
Job/Work Experience: Worked as an intern for a software company this summer, then hired for part-time this fall/winter
Summer Activities: my job
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
CA: Wrote about my WTP team and my passion for law and civil rights, 9/10
Why Major: Wrote about my job and combining CS with Law down the line, probably 8.5/10
Why Columbia: This one was kind of controversial, if they read it in the wrong way it could have pissed them off, which I fear is what happened.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):</p>

<p>Teacher Rec #1: 9.5/10 - Teacher who leads WTP team, she said my performance may have been the best she’d seen in her ten years of leading the program.
Teacher Rec #2: 8/10 - Teacher who I loved and I think liked me, but she did a lot of kids’ rec letters so I fear it may have been a bit generic.
Counselor Rec: 9/10 - I’ve talked with her a lot over the years, especially after the first term of Sophomore year where my grades dipped, which is why my GPA is kind of low.
Additional Rec: 8/10 - I had my boss write one, he’s not the best writer so I fear it may have not been that good, but he really likes the work I’ve done for his company.
Interview: 9/10 - I thought it went really well, we had a nice conversation for more than an hour, and she seemed to understand what I was saying and said I’d be a good fit for Columbia</p>

<p>Other</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: nope
Intended Major: CS
State (if domestic applicant): MI
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: somewhat high
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none really</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths: My essays and recs were pretty strong, and I think I had somewhat unique ECs
Weaknesses: Low GPA, lack of volunteering, no real hooks to speak of.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Low GPA, and my Why Columbia essay may have turned them off.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Only MSU so far, waiting on a few others.</p>

<p>General Comments: I always knew that Columbia was a long shot with me, especially with my GPA, so I’m not surprised, but I’m still pretty disappointed. Congrats to all that got in, I’m sure your apps made mine look awful by comparison!</p>

29

<p>Decision: Accepted - CC</p>

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 29
SAT II: N/A
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 20%
AP (place score in parenthesis): N/A
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP English and Composition 12, German 1 H, Film Making, AP Physics B, Statistics, AP European History, Marketing Media, Advertising
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Ambassador of the Valerie Fund at the annual Thanksgiving Gala</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): I filled my time with personal electives, some of which included: Cosmology, The Political History of the World, MMORPG Development & Programming, History of Psychoanalysis and Public Relations, Web Design and Development, etc.
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: Besides volunteering at the Valerie Fund where I was treated, I worked with the Grassroots Community Foundation, Connie Dwyer Breast Cancer Center, Alzheimer’s Association of America, and FREE the Children.
Summer Activities: N/A
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 10, I worked incredibly hard on all of my essays. They were a flawless representation of myself and my ideas.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):</p>

<p>Teacher Rec #1: 10, I could not have written a better recommendation if allowed. I have a close personal relationship with this teacher.
Teacher Rec #2: ?, This teacher is known to write amazing recommendations; however, I have not asked to see what he has written.
Counselor Rec: ?, I haven’t the slightest idea.
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: No</p>

<p>Other</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: History
State (if domestic applicant): New Jersey
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: <50000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): </p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths: My essays were magnificent. I would be happy to share them and help others write theirs.
Weaknesses: My scores and ECs.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I believe I was accepted for my unique world view and circumstances. Columbia doesn’t merely look for a student whose grades and scores are flawless along with an endless list of activities. Columbia searches for those who are thirsty for knowledge and grow from every experience. Columbia searches for individuals who comprehend the value of education.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Only applied to Columbia ED.</p>

<p>General Comments:</p>

<p>Message me for further details.</p>

30

<p>Decision: Accepted - CC</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1930 (Math 620 Reading 670 and Writing 640)
ACT (breakdown): 30 (I don’t remember the specifics)
SAT II: Chemistry 680 and Literature 740
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1 of 375
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Euro (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): IB Psychology SL (5)
Senior Year Course Load: IB Chemistry HL, IB Mathematical Studies SL, AP Literature, Honors Earth Science, Honors Spanish 3, Ceramics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): nothing major</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Women’s Rights Club (Co-founder and president), Key Club (treasurer), Creative Writiing Club (editor), Science Club (team captain), NHS
Job/Work Experience: Working last year and a half for about 20 hrs a week
Volunteer/Community service: very little about 20 hrs total
Summer Activities: work
Essays (rating 1-10, details):10/10 best essays I’ve ever written. Focused mostly on my growing up in a meth lab and how education has always been my saving grace
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):</p>

<p>Teacher Rec #1: 10/10 (this teacher has been with me for all of high school and calls me her surrogate daughter)
Teacher Rec #2: 10/10 (been with me three years of high school and we’re basically best friends)
Counselor Rec: 8/10 (we don’t know each other very well but he grew up in that area and had a lot to say about me and how I would fit in with Columbia from a locals pov)
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: 10/10 (she wrote articles about Inter-sectional Feminism for the Columbia Spectator and I founded a Women’s Rights Club, we hit it off immediately)</p>

<p>Other</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Undecided
State (if domestic applicant): Colorado
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: $20,000-$25,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First generation college, outstanding adversity, URM</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths: Essays, interview, GPA, Class Rank, Extracurriculars with leadership positions
Weaknesses: My test scores are pretty low for an Ivy
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I think I got accepted based off my essays and their content as well as my rigorous course load throughout high school
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: No other applications were submitted</p>

<p>General Comments:
I’m honestly in complete shock still. I think my application can be used as proof that Columbia definitely takes a holistic approach to their admissions! Beyond thrilled and excited to be a part of the Class of 2019~</p>

<hr>

31

<p>Decision: Accepted - CC</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 730, 800(12), 800MA
ACT (breakdown): Didn’t take
SAT II: 780(phys), 800math2, 800chem(took in Nov, did not send), lit760(did not send)
TOEFL: full score
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): NA
AP (place score in parenthesis): School does not offer AP
IB (place score in parenthesis): School does not offer IB
Senior Year Course Load: English, Chinese, advanced math, history, politics, geography (they are pretty hard… you know how Chinese people train their athletes? Same happens here in my school. lol)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): star of literature (1 of 3 nationally), BD YaleMUN, public policy debate national championship, Xinghai piano national contest first prize, China Daily Teens best student journalist</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): activism NGO cofounder; freelance writer (published novels when younger, but they were lame lol); president of literature and philosophy society; president of Hangzhou Student Activity Center; launched Anti-Firework protest by submitting a policy proposal to government and Westlake Annual City Firework Show no longer existed ever after; digital news website founder and editor in chief
Job/Work Experience: China Daily and Teens Newspaper hired columnist, marketing researcher at Alibaba Group
Volunteer/Community service: None
Summer Activities: Columbia University Summer Program for high school students 2013; Yale Summer Session (earned 2 college credits and rec letters and all)
Essays (rating 1-10, details): I’d score 9. Wrote about a cyber censorship experience and my reflection on rhetoric and reason, social change, regime types, cultural difference, epistemology and responsibility of media
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): Didn’t read any of them, guess 9 regarding… quantity?</p>

<p>Teacher Rec #1: Didn’t read, but must be stella–history teacher knows me too well to write ordinary letters.
Teacher Rec #2: Didn’t read, but from an English teacher and I’m her teaching assistant
Counselor Rec: Didn’t read, but she said it was stella
Additional Rec: 3 of them: from instructor at Columbia; Yale journalism professor and government appointee; Yale poli phil professor (he is … an intellectual partner so he knows me well)
Interview: Stella</p>

<p>Other</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: political science, English, east asian studies
State (if domestic applicant): /
Country (if international applicant): China
School Type: public and Chinese
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: ?? I’m not gonna tell you that :expressionless: lol
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None.</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths: main essay, ECs, summer experience, fit, probably a full score TOEFL and SAT essay?
Weaknesses: SATII, no AP, from China (it’s NOTHING ABOUT ETHNICITY, but objectively speaking competition is just excessively intense here)
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: being myself; the fit between me and CC; luck
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: nowhere else yet and I withdrew all others (but yes if Rutgers counts, applied 7 safeties on 11.11 single’s day in China because I was too depressed lol)</p>

<p>General Comments: 2020ers, be yourself, and you’ll get in if you’re truly awesome. I’m not trying to comfort but it’s really the best mindset to have. To those who did not get in, first wish you all best of luck in RD, second be positive and do reflect on the parts you need to improve. One last thing: Regardless of results, you will all end up somewhere you’re meant to be!</p>

32

<p>Decision: Accepted - CC</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2040 (710CR 630M 700W single sittng)
SAT II: 720 Lit, 800 Chinese
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.75
IB (place score in parenthesis): 43/45
Senior Year Course Load: IB Math SL, History SL, Biology SL, English HL, Chinese HL, Psychology HL</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

  • Internship at a magazine for the summer
  • Oxbridge NYC Experience
  • ISY MicroLoans (Founder/President)
  • ISY ROAR MAGAZINE (Founder/Art Director)
  • Stage Manager for 4 theatre productions
  • Left Wing Defense for Varsity Touch Rugby
  • Studio Amber (Founder/Photographer)
  • Humans of Yangon (Founder/Photographer)
  • Intern at TS1 Gallery
  • Operation Smile (VP)
  • MUN (13 conferences, 4 chair experiences)
  • Global Issues Network (Organised 3 conferences, attended 6) </p>

<p>Essays (rating 1-10, details): best work
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: 9, knows me really well
Teacher Rec #2: 9, knows me really well
Counselor Rec: 9
Interview: didn’t get one </p>

<p>Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Political Science / Comparative Lit
Country (if international applicant): Myanmar
School Type: international school, highly competitive
Ethnicity: Burmese
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: </p>

<p>Reflection
Strengths: subjective fields, clear upward GPA trend
Weaknesses: average SAT/GPA
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: </p>

<p>General Comments:
<em>hyperventilates</em> <em>heavy breathing</em></p>

33

<p>Decision: Deferred</p>

<p>GPA: 3.75 (considered high at my school, which is a very academically rigorous prep school. In or near the top 10%). </p>

<p>SAT: 2310</p>

<p>SAT Subject tests: 790, 760, 720</p>

<p>National Merit Semi-Finalist.</p>

<p>–Editor-in-Chief of School Newspaper
– Lab Assistant at UCSF, where I co-authored a research paper on bone microtechnology.
–Cell Culture Technician at UC Berkeley for 2 years. I am sending a recommendation from my mentor. Others who read it said that his recommendation was “perfect” (I myself did not read it).
–Co-founder and president of French Club for 2 years
–Softball Team Captain
–I coach debaters at my school and judge local debate tournaments. I was a debater myself in previous years (and won 5 local-- rather unimpressive to be honest (but they don’t know that)–trophies, but quit because of personal reasons)
–Ski Team member/racer. Won medals.
–Tutor for children with learning disabilities. I built a computer game that I’m currently testing on my tutees that attempts to induce shifts in the neurological makeup of students with dyslexia. </p>

<p>My college counselor recommendation, I think, is great. Same with my teacher recommendations, but I specifically chose teachers in classes that I had initially struggled and then worked my ass off, eventually excelling. I hope the fact that I wasn’t “perfect” and excelling from the get-go doesn’t count against me.</p>

<p>Common App Essay: Excellent if not amazing-- at least, as I’ve been told. Answers the question “where do you feel most comfortable”. I talked about my experience in the UCB lab. Gets across my interest in science, as do my writing supplements, which also talk about my interest in science.</p>

<p>Essay: 10/10
Supplements: 8 or 9/10</p>

<p>My interview, I think, was good, potentially great, but the dude was hard to read.</p>

<p>Hook: Not really anything. I am 100% Romanian and speak 5 languages fluently. Does that count?</p>

34

<p>DECISION: ACCEPTED!</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2350 (750M, 800R, 800W)
ACT (breakdown): 33-didn’t submit
SAT II: 760 World History, 800 BioE, 790 Math II
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): no rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): All 5s
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: difficult All APs
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): hahaha nothing </p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): model UN, music (cello), EIC of newspaper, local speech competitions, research
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: local nursing home, tutoring, hospital, etc.
Summer Activities: research, camp for an area of study I find interesting, volunteering
Essays (rating 1-10, details): My common app essay was definitely like a 9 or 10. My Columbia-specific essays were probably 7-8. </p>

<p>Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):</p>

<p>Teacher Rec #1: biology teacher-definitely excellent
Teacher Rec #2: english teacher-excellent
Counselor Rec: She knows my name without looking it up (no small thing in my big school) and really likes me.
Additional Rec: research professor-extremely strong
Interview: Only 20 minutes long, but she went to my high school three years before I did and we had a nice chat. We both have an interest in the same semi-obscure subject and sort of bonded over that. </p>

<p>Other</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: French/linguistics but a premed student
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: large public that sends ~3 students to Columbia every year
Ethnicity: white
Gender: female
Income Bracket: too much to get a significant amount of financial aid
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): nothing?</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths: Essays? Recs?
Weaknesses: extracurriculars/awards for sure
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: my research professor’s letter was so good that I was asked to confirm that I wasn’t a grad school applicant. Tbh it was probably that letter that got me in. Everything else about me is generic.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: MIT (deferred lol)</p>

<p>General Comments:
I actually don’t know why I got in. I feel very unworthy haha. Columbia has been my dream school for as long as I can remember, and I have longed to move to NYC since I was about 5 years old. I am beyond ecstatic. I look forward to meeting everyone next fall!</p>

35

<p>Decision: Accepted - CC</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): took twice, but ended up not submitting
ACT: 34
SAT II: Math IIC, 780
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.81
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a, idk the percentile either
AP (place score in parenthesis): Music Theory (5, and all subscores 5) Calculus AB (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): Haven’t taken tests yet: IB Language and Literature HL, IB Spanish SL
Senior Year Course Load: IB Language and Literature II HL, IB Spanish V SL, AP Psychology, Advanced Problems in Music Theory, Linear Algebra and Differential Equations (LADE), and miscellaneous electives
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Commended Scholar, bunch of smaller awards with music, technology, and creative writing</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Student Council (Class Liaison), Class Council (Vice President), Music Cabinet (Technology, Logistics, and Publicist Supervisor), Manhattan School of Music Precollege (Assistant Principal Clarinetist of the Philharmonic Orchestra), Basically every music activity at school (I play 6 instruments), Church Youth Group (Leader), Church Youth Group (Praise Team Leader)
Job/Work Experience: Intern at Metropolitan Opera Guild
Volunteer/Community service: Church, NHS, Missionary work in Honduras and Harlem
Summer Activities: Missions, president of own non-profit organization called Music Madness, Music camps- New York Summer Music Festival, Boston University Tanglewood Institute
Essays: Awesome! I worked on them for a very long time and showed them to people who I trusted, including a few Columbia alum such as my dad and family friend. I also got a lot of help from the guidance counselors at school. My Common App essay was certainly above average, but I was particularly proud of my supplement, specifically my “Why Columbia?” essay. (Common App, 8.5, Supplement, 10)
Teacher Recommendation: I wasn’t allowed to read them, but both my teachers were very proud of theirs; one even said it was the best letter she had ever written! (Both 10)
Counselor Rec: Haha, I may as well quote her— “I wrote you a killer rec!” (9.5?)
Additional Rec: My music teacher who I worked really close with during high school, went to Columbia Teacher’s College (though that doesn’t actually mean much). Again, I wasn’t allowed to read it but he seemed happy with it so I trust his judgment. (9)
Interview: Good—not spectacular, but good. (8.5)</p>

<p>Other:
State (if domestic applicant): NJ
Country (if international applicant): n/a
Intended Major: Music
School Type: Public magnet (VERY competitive—about a fifth of our grade ends up going to Ivies each year)
Ethnicity: Asian (Korean)
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: $200,000+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Legacy kid
Reflection
Strengths: Legacy, really focused ECs, cool work experience, solid essays, good recs
Weaknesses: Not so spectacular GPA, SAT/ACT, etc. Also, race and gender???
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Since I’ve wanted this for such a long time, I started really gearing myself up for Columbia around the end of my sophomore year. I really went out of my comfort zone to make my own connections and I think that in the end, it was my determination and just pure love for the school that got me in.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted to: Rutgers, Temple, and BU (My safeties)</p>

<p>I’m really looking forward to meeting all of you guys! :slight_smile: Go Lions!</p>

36

<p>[aB][asize=4][acolor=#008000]Decision:Accepted-CC[/color][/size]**</p>

37

<p>Decision: Accepted - CC</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): Didn’t send
ACT (breakdown): 35 Composite, 35 English, 32 Math, 36 Reading, 35 Science
SAT II: 720 Lit, 710 U.S. History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2/400
AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc AB (5), APUSH (5), Psych (5), Lang (5), Euro History (4), World History (4), Environmental (4), Human Geo (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP Gov, AP Calc BC, AICE Thinking Skills 2, Theatre 4 Hon, AP Physics 1, Spanish 2 (dual enrollment)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National AP Scholar</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Young Democrats of America (President), Florida State Thespians (District 1 Representative), Gay-Straight Alliance (Founder & President), Intern for Democratic HQ of my county, political columnist on a website (unpaid), School Advisory Council Representative (Class Officer/SGA officer), Mathletes (VP), NHS (Secretary), school mascot
Job/Work Experience: Donut Hole Cashier (2013), Winterfest Actress (2013), Old Navy Sales Associate (Current), Tutor (Current)
Volunteer/Community service: Raising money for Broadway Cares: Equity Fights AIDs, nothing else of significance
Summer Activities: Girls State, Summer classes at local college, interning with Democratic HQ
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Personal Statement was 10/10 in my opinion. It was about growing up in a difficult environment, pretty well-written. I worked hard on it. Supplements were okay. Not amazing, but not bad. 7/10 maybe.</p>

<p>Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):</p>

<p>Teacher Rec #1: 10/10 Great; science teacher
Teacher Rec #2: 10/10 Great; English teacher
Counselor Rec: 8/10 Great, but a little generic</p>

<p>Interview: N/A</p>

<p>Other</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: Yep
Intended Major: Political Science
State (if domestic applicant): Florida
Country (if international applicant): N/A
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: About $60,000/year
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None.</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths: ECs, Personal Statement
Weaknesses: SAT IIs, Lack of national awards
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: My EC’s were strong, I think my personal statement gave me a leg up, I think I was just a fit for Columbia. I’m so excited!
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Nowhere else yet, I have to withdraw other applications.</p>

<p>General Comments:
If you did not get accepted, don’t fret! It becomes a game of chance when there are so many qualified applicants that they have to turn away.
Also, if you’re still applying, don’t worry about submitting the ACT instead of SAT. I had some dumb idea that people who submit ACT don’t get accepted as often as people who submit SAT. Not true.</p>

38

<p>Rejected - CC
Objective: in da rejection boat
SAT I (breakdown): 1960
ACT (breakdown): n/a
SAT II: french (660) chemistry (650)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
AP (place score in parenthesis): french (5) lang (3) ush (4) chem (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP English Lit and Comp, AP Biology, AP US Government, AP Calc AB, AP Statistics, Contemporary Issues (MG) African-American Studies (MG), French (at Upenn), Sleep psychology (upenn)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP scholar, Brown University Dean Scholar, Honor Roll (every semester), Barnwell Honors(school jawn), National Honors Society, French Merit Scholar</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
-Founder and President of French Club (4 years)
-President of National Honor Society/Spearhead of tutoring program that acts in impoverished elementary schools in the school district (2 years)
-Varsity Tennis (3 years) - district/city champs
-Science Editor of school newspaper
-Math and French tutor (4 years) - in and out of school
-Acting at local theater (4 years)
-Organic Chemistry Research at UPenn lab (250+ hours) with a Journal of American Chemical Society publication + ranked at PJAS
-Young Scholars Program (2 years)
-Global Youth United - Secretary/PR manager/yeah - it’s a non-profit organization that deals with youth activism around the city, tackling like, global and domestic issues</p>

<p>Job/Work Experience:
-Every summer I teach French to kids ages 3-10 at a local summer enrichment program
Volunteer/Community service: Various things - TA, Animal shelter, aids thrift shop, tutoring, etc 410+ hours
Summer Activities:
-Working at Camp
-Neuroscience class at Summer@Brown </p>

<p>Essays (rating 1-10, details):
-Common App 9/10 at least. I wouldn’t give myself a ten because it’s definitely not as good as some that i’ve read, but I thought it was extremely genuine and said a lot about me. Came from the heart lmao
-Why Columbia 10/10 - I have loved columbia for like 3 years. i structured it through the eyes of first walking around the campus and my love for the details (e.g. talked about lit humanities when i first saw the names on Butler)
-Activity - talked about lab work and how i gained endurance from working so many hours
-books/entertainment - pretty genuine, idk how that can be impressive
-why major - i talked about my combined love for science and french and how i got those interests; my sisters were premature so i spent a lot of time watching doctors do their thing as a little kid</p>

<p>Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):</p>

<p>Teacher Rec #1: my AP french teacher; still great friends now. 10/10 (she read it to me)
Teacher Rec #2: AP english teacher - great relationship as well. I’d assume pretty great
Counselor Rec: Great relationship with my counselor! I am the student ambassador of a college mentorship program that she founded at my school.
Additional Rec: From the PhD lady who runs my lab! Hopefully good.
Interview: I thought it went really well! Hit it off, got talking, etc.</p>

<p>Other</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: hella
Intended Major: French & Francophone studies + Evo Devo Bio
State (if domestic applicant): PA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: #1 in the city, very competitive/magnet public school
Ethnicity: blanche
Gender: gender is fluid, yo; but currently identify as XX
Income Bracket: idk but it’s less than 60k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): hella no</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths: GPA, course load, ECs, awards? probs not
Weaknesses: test scores obviously, sigh. probably other things that i’m just not seeing
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: no where yet. plan to apply to Yale to show columbia </p>

<p>General Comments:
I wish I spent more time focusing on tests. The most excruciating part is that I brought all of my scores up across the board since applying to Columbia and I don’t even have the chance to show them. le sigh. drained.
It’s not the end of the road for me yet! Congrats to the accepted, and good luck to the deferred/rejected.</p>

<hr>

39

<p>Decision: Accepted - CC</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2200 - superscore (750 CR, 730 W, 720 M)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: Math I:730, US History:730, Physics:700
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): not completely sure, I think it is 3.89-ish
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2/287
AP (place score in parenthesis): European History (3), Physics B (3), English Language and Composition (5), US History (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc BC, AP Spanish, AP English Lit, AP US Gov/Pol, AP Chem
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): School Nominee for New Jersey Governor’s School of the Sciences, AP Scholar with Honor, Spartan Scholar (similar to a Dean’s List), NJ DECA State Finalist, National Honor Society
Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): DECA, Science Club, Spanish Club (treasurer), Academic Team (president), NHS
Job/Work Experience: tutor for Algebra I student, caddied one summer, have a computer-tutoring service for senior citizens
Volunteer/Community service: Co-founder and Vice President of Generations Eldercare, a 501©3 - certified charity; volunteered at a nursing home
Summer Activities: did some work, took a Biochemistry course at Rutgers University, attended Columbia’s Summer Program for High School Students
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App: 10/10, wrote about my father’s cancer scare
Why Columbia: 9.5/10, wrote about how familiar I am with the campus, lauded the Core Curriculum, etc.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):</p>

<p>Teacher Rec #1: probably 10/10, she loved me and had me for 2 years
Teacher Rec #2: I couldn’t be sure, but I did very well in her class and in the previous year wrote a letter for someone who got into Princeton, so I thought that she must have pretty good letters
Counselor Rec: Probably above average
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: It went pretty well. I was assigned to him. He could tell that I knew a lot about the campus and had a passion for Columbia. It was his first phone interview, and he said, “It went pretty well.”</p>

<p>Other</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: no
Intended Major: undecided, but I want to go premed
State (if domestic applicant): NJ
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public, sometimes sends a few students to Ivies
Ethnicity: white
Gender: male
Income Bracket: > 200,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Legacy</p>

<p>Reflection:
I am so glad that I got in! I would have liked if the UChicago decision came out before this (I took a huge risk in the essay - I wrote a rap battle between an apple and an orange). But I probably wouldn’t have gone there, anyway. The Summer Program was an amazing way to get to know the campus (but be cautioned: it is extremely expensive). I’m sure that the fact that I am legacy helped a lot.</p>

<p>Strengths: Class rank, fact that I have a charity, legacy
Weaknesses: SAT, maybe lack of leadership positions in extracurricular activities
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: The fact that I was legacy really helped, though I also displayed a passion for the school, and my charity and class rank helped, as well.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Rutgers (had to decline their acceptance)</p>

<p>General Comments:
I honestly thought that I would be deferred or rejected, but I suppose I got lucky! I cannot wait to meet everyone who got in next year! As for those people who got rejected/deferred, do not give up hope. I am sure that you will get into somewhere great.</p>

40

<p>Decision: Accepted - SEAS</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): didn’t send
ACT (breakdown): 32 (English 32, Math 30, Reading 33, Science 34)
SAT II: US History 700, Biology 650, Math II 650, Physics 560 (didn’t send)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.81 (weighted = 4.21)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): Biology (4), Language & Comp (4), US History (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc BC, AP Physics C (Mechanics and E&M), AP Literature & Comp, AP Computer Science, Theology, Digital Forensics, Independent Study Computer Programming, Independent Study Ceramics, Intro to Acting
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): QuestBridge College Prep Scholar, QuestBridge National College Match Finalist/Recipient, NCWIT Aspirations in Computing Regional Winner & National Runner Up, National Achievement Outstanding Participant</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Varsity Track, Calculus Club (Secretary), Blue Crew (school spirit group) (Co-President), Girls Have IT Day/Camp (big events for girls in STEM) (Co-Chair), Mu Alpha Theta, NHS, NSHS
Job/Work Experience: babysitting, tutoring
Volunteer/Community service: 50+ hours of Christian Service Project, immersion/mission trip to Quito, Ecuador
Summer Activities: Girls Have IT Day Camp Counselor
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 9; I thought they were pretty stellar. I worked for weeks on Why Columbia and the Engineering essay, after receiving great pointers and peer edits
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: 10; comp sci/forensics teacher who I’ve had an EXTREMELY great relationship with all four years through Girls Have IT Day.
Teacher Rec #2: unsure; US History teacher; It was probably strong because I did well in her class and she knows about my leadership positions.
Counselor Rec: 10; I am always in his office bugging him, but I know he really likes me as a student/person.
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: N/A</p>

<p>Other</p>

<p>Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Computer Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): AZ
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: African-American/Hispanic (Spain)
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: <$60,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, first generation</p>

<p>Reflection</p>

<p>Strengths: Recs, Essays, ECs,
Weaknesses: Test Scores, GPA
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I attended the Columbia Engineering Experience (great way to learn about Columbia AND get to know your Admissions Officers); definitely my strengths listed above
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: N/A</p>

<p>General Comments:
I was accepted through QuestBridge, which I consider ED; Advice for future students…it’s not all about the grades and test scores. Flourish in your ECs and that will be noticed. Don’t freak out if you didn’t a 4.0 or National Merit. Be proud of your accomplishments so far. Also, DO NOT procrastinate on your applications (you’ll regret it big time)!!!</p>