****COLUMBIA CLASS OF 2020 ED RESULTS*****

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
21

Decision: Deferred - CC

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 32 (Reading: 36, English: 35, Science: 30 Math: 27) Superscore: 34, perfect score on essay
SAT II: N/A
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): second decile
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP US History (5) AP Environmental Sci (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: Physics, Calc, AP Spanish, AP Euro, Latin 4 honors, AP English, Economics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Latin and Spanish awards and a history department award from my school

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Captain of debate team, stage manager of tech crew, environmental club, consul (pres) of classics club, chorus, tennis, cross country, indoor track, chair of model un club
Job/Work Experience: not significant enough to add to app
Volunteer/Community service: Midnight runs, served meals to homeless, habitat for humanity, volunteered at Organic farm
Summer Activities: volunteering at organic farm, harvard debate camp
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 9/10
wrote about how in 9th grade in the mandatory mile run I was last to finish/barely passed and I went to cry in the bathroom but went on to make huge lifestyle changes and lost 60 lbs, became an activist for organic/healthy food and started running road races, cross country and track during senior year, supplements were strong too (many drafts and I thought about all of them thoroughly)
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: english teacher who liked me enough that he once saw my dad in the post office on the weekend and told him he loved me and I was his favorite student
Teacher Rec #2: environmental sci teacher who loves me, I got the highest scores of the class on midterm and final and she is mentor of the enviro club so she knows me well
Counselor Rec: probably weakest of the bunch, she doesn’t know me very well/understand me but I’m sure she only wrote good things (no animosity or anything)
Additional Rec: n/A
Interview: went well in my opinion. told me at the end she hoped I got everything I wanted and asked me what I wanted her to emphasize on the form she submitted

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: classics
State (if domestic applicant): NY
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: very small and competitive suburban public school
Ethnicity: white
Gender: female
Income Bracket: ~160,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): legacy (grandpa, father, two uncles, mother, grandmother)

Reflection

Strengths: essays, extracurriculars, steady improvement of grades over high school
Weaknesses: all my first qrtr grades were 98-100 range except an 81 in english because my teacher is satan, test scores, class rank because my school is so competitive
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: weak first quarter grade and test scores/rank
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: nowhere yet

General Comments: it stings right now but it’ll motivate me to keep working hard and hopefully get some good news in march. It’s just disgusting to imagine working for another 4 months though… congrats to all accepted and good luck to those who were deferred/rejected

22

Decision: Rejected - CC

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): Didn’t Report (2000)
ACT (breakdown): C: 32 (E: 33 CR: 34 M: 29 S: 30 CR+W: 29)
SAT II: 710, 720 Lit
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): UW:3.7 W: 4.2
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): na/80
AP (place score in parenthesis): APWH (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): Exams in 2016!!!
Senior Year Course Load:
IB Biology/Spanish/Economics HL
IB Math/English SL
Physics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

National Spanish Exam Level III Premio del Oro 95%
HOSA Pharmacology 1st in Region, 4th in State

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): HOSA (Vice President, Co-President), Varsity Golf (Co-Captain), Robotics Club (Director of Social Media), Tutoring Club (Founder, President), Model UN
Job/Work Experience: n/a
Volunteer/Community service: 300+ hours of service to local organizations and a week of service in Spain as part of a study abroad/language/homestay program
Summer Activities:
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8 for Common App and areas of study essay, both talked about my growth as a spanish student, and how I skipped a level to do the highest offered at my school. 7.5 for why columbia one, because I thought it was pretty good, but I looked back and realized I forgot to put a word in
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: Spanish Teacher: Writing my Extended Es(atan)say with her, and she has also been my teacher for two years, and has helped me a lot with getting adjusted to the fast pace of her class
Teacher Rec #2: Math Teacher: he was my homeroom teacher, and I’ve been in his class for 2 years so I think it wouldve been pretty decent
Counselor Rec: 8?? I hang out in his office all the time, and we’re pretty friendly
Additional Rec:
Interview: Lol I didnt get one, so I guess I shouldve seen the signs

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yup
Intended Major: Hispanic Studies
State (if domestic applicant): TN
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: African-American/Nigerian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: >150 K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM

Reflection

Strengths: Essays were good, and so were recs
Weaknesses: Test scores and GPA. Test scores are average for Columbia, and GPA is also kind of gross lol
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I guess I couldn’t make up for my slaw stats, with really good essays and recs
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Accepted: Tulane, Butler, and HS-C

General Comments:
Lol I did a good job of keeping myself neutral during the whole process, so getting rejected didn’t hurt as much as I thought it would. Congratulations to all of the people who were accepted! and to all my deferred and rejected people don’t stress out about it, see this as an opportunity to explore other options. All of you are talented as hell, and my vision may not be 20/20, but I can definitely see all of you doing amazing things in the future <3

23

Decision: Accepted - SEAS

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2300 - M800 CR730 W770
ACT (breakdown): 34
SAT II: 800 Math 2/ 780 Chem / 760 US History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.61
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): ~15/230
AP (place score in parenthesis): 9 Aps - Calc AB (5) Stat (5) Lit (4) Chem (4) APush (4) Physics 1 (4) Physics 2 (4) Gov (4) Comparative Politics (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): lol
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics C Mech, AP Physics C Electrical, Biomedical Science 4 H, AP Calc BC, AP Lang, AP Macro, AP Micro, Chinese 4 H
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): DECA State Runner Up, cum laude, National AP Scholar

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Health Information Project (HIP) President, Varsity Lacrosse captain (I spent a lot of time going to showcases and got recruited to other schools), DECA
Job/Work Experience: NA
Volunteer/Community service: HIP, volunteer at Biomedical Research Department Stem Cell sect @ University of Miami
Summer Activities:Volunteer @ UM, 1 summer course
Essays (rating 1-10, details): See below
Common App: 10/10 (Topic 4)
Additonal Information 9.5/10 (wrote about how I ran away and was homeless and had no parents for over a year)
Why CU: 8.5/10
Why SEAS: 9/10
EC activity: 9.5/10

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: Math 9/10
Teacher Rec #2: English 9.5/10
Counselor Rec: 9/10
Additional Rec:
Interview: 10/10 She told me she’d be shocked if I didn’t get in. Said I produced some of the best writing she’d seen in her year and we connected on a philosophical level. Our favorite quotes were about the same theme. I was incredibly deep and broke down her initial view of me as an athlete.

Other: I originally had my Additional information as my CA essay but sent an email to ugrad confirm and added the Topic 4 essay.

Applied for Financial Aid?:
Intended Major: Biomedical Engineer
State (if domestic applicant): FL
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: SEAS
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: High
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Hispanic

Reflection

Strengths: Essays, SAT, SAT2
Weaknesses: GPA

Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I believe my philosophical thinking played a big part in my app since a lot of it was spread throughout my essays. They all tied in together very well. Additional Information essay also made me very unique.

Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Didn’t apply anywhere else

General Comments: Glo

24

Decision: Accepted - CC

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): Didn’t Report
ACT (breakdown): 31(29E, 28M, 33R, 32S, 10W)
SAT II: Didn’t Take
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/119
AP (place score in parenthesis): Not offered
IB (place score in parenthesis):Not offered
Senior Year Course Load: Honors Calc, Government, Stats, Spanish V
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Academic Decathlon, Academic Bowl, Math Tutor, Outdoor Track (School record holder and state qualifier), and Cross Country
Job/Work Experience: Lifeguard from summer of Sophomore year to current
Volunteer/Community service: Running Club Leader, Swimming Lessons Instructor, Parks and Rec. Class Instructor
Summer Activities: Working, Running, Volunteering at above
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 7-8/10, I am a pretty strong writer, I wrote most of them about my experiences with track and the small town feel Columbia campus has. Only spent 1 day writing them.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 7/10 Biology Teacher
Teacher Rec #2: 8/10 Pre-Calc Teacher
Counselor Rec: 10/10 also my track coach
Additional Rec:
Interview: Did not have one, doubt there were any alumni in my area

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: Biology (pre-med or education)
State (if domestic applicant):Wisconsin
Country (if international applicant):USA
School Type:Public
Ethnicity:White
Gender:Male
Income Bracket:<70,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Recruited Athlete

Reflection

Strengths: Being a decent runner, my personality with the coaches, and my work ethic both on the track and during my summers. High gpa and number one in my class.
Weaknesses: Low ACT score, had to take it twice
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Good overall person, I can run fast, and Columbia was my dream school.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:

General Comments: Congratulations to all that I will see next year! Go Lions 2020! Come to Baker’s field and watch some track and field while you are there!

25

Decision: Accepted - CC

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): Didn’t Send
ACT (breakdown): 33/34 superscore
SAT II: 790 SAT Math 2
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.86
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Calculus AB (5), AP Music Theory (5), AP Psychology (yet to take)
IB (place score in parenthesis): IB Español V SL (yet to take), IB LiteratureLanguage II HL (yet to take)
Senior Year Course Load: IB Español V SL, IB LiteratureLanguage II HL, AP Psychology, LADE (Linear Algebra and Differential Equations), Advanced Theory, Music Seminar Course
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Bunch of music awards

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): NYYS, community service orchestra, MSM Pre-College, NSHS President, Biology Club Co-President, Metropolitan Opera Guild Internship, Spanish Club President, Regions, States, and Eastern Orchestras, Music Competitions, fundraising ensemble co-chair/founder, Varsity Swim Team Co-Captain, Cello Teacher
Job/Work Experience: Cello Teacher, Metropolitan Opera Guild
Volunteer/Community service: community service orchestra, NHS
Summer Activities: Travelled to Buenos Aires, began internship, performed at local nursing homes, performed The Odyssey in Central Park, Summit Music Festival.
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8.5; Everyone I showed my essay too told me that I had solid pieces of writing!
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 8.5; I performed well during class but I wasn’t someone too extraordinary since everyone asked her for recs.
Teacher Rec #2: 9; I really bonded with my teacher through our love for music!
Counselor Rec: 9; I really formed a great relationship with her!
Additional Rec: 10; he told me I was one of his best students!
Interview: Didn’t receive one

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Music
State (if domestic applicant): NJ
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public Magnet
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: F
Income Bracket: i really dont know lol
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Strength in music???

Reflection
I still cannot believe this… It’s still so surreal but I am so grateful!

Strengths: EC’s, recs, essays
Weaknesses: Not the highest GPA, average standardized test scores
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: EC’s lol
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:

General Comments:

Looking forward to meet the class of 2020! Go Lions!

26

Decision: Accepted - CC

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2270; 780 CR, 730 M, 760 W
ACT (breakdown): Didn’t take
SAT II: Lit 780, Spanish 710, French 700
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98 (school doesn’t do unweighted)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5s in French and Lang (didn’t send)
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: Women’s Studies, Precalculus, SUPA Forensics, AP Literature, Existential Literature, AP European History, AP Psych, AP Spanish, Chorus, Chorale
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NSLI-Y Scholarship Winner

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Language stuff, Singing awards, Soccer and stuff, Mock Trial (Captain), Feminism Club (VP), Music in the Community Club (President), etc…
Job/Work Experience: lol
Volunteer/Community service: Taught primary school kids how to read for a while.
Summer Activities: Moved country, Harvard SS
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App 10/10 about languages, Supplements (9/10)
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): ), Principal from High School in England (10/10), Harvard Professor (10/10)

Teacher Rec #1: English teacher (10/10)
Teacher Rec #2: Psych/Euro/Mock Trial Coach (9/10)
Counselor Rec: 10/10, she helped me through moving country
Additional Rec: Old headmaster from England (10/10), Harvard Professor (10/10)
Interview: 9/10, we got on really well

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Russian Language and Culture
State (if domestic applicant): NY
Country (if international applicant): n/a
School Type: Suburban Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: +200k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): n/a

Reflection

Strengths: Really interesting story, great essays, great recommendations
Weaknesses: GPA, C+ in AP Chemistry…
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Strengths
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: For a laugh

General Comments:

Congrats Class of 2020!

27

Decision: Accepted - SEAS

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2400 (800, 800, 800)

ACT (breakdown): Never took

SAT II: Math II (800), Biology M (800), Chemistry (780), Literature (770)

Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): Unavailable, but all As except one C+, B, and B-

Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Unofficially top 3%

AP (place score in parenthesis): Human (5), World (5), Biology (5), Calculus AB (5), Chemistry (5), APUSH (4), Lang & Comp (5), Physics 1 (4).

IB (place score in parenthesis): none

Senior Year Course Load: AP Gov, AP Calc BC, AP Econ, AP Physics C: Mechanics, AP Physics C: E&M, AP English LIt & Comp

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

USABO Semifinalist, National Merit Semifinalist, National AP Scholar

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

Key Club (10th, class director, 11-12, president)
Nonprofit Organization (11th-12th, Cofounder/President)
Eagle Scout (Senior Patrol Leader, Assistant Senior Patrol Leader)
Honors Societies
FRC (Officer for 3 years)
Track & Field/Cross Country 9th & 10th

Job/Work Experience:

Internship at Biomed Company
Research at University nearby

Volunteer/Community service:

See ECs
Hospital Volunteer

Summer Activities:

Operation CATAPULT

Essays (rating 1-10, details):

Common App (9) - multiple people said it was extremely good
Why Columbia (9) - I put a lot of work into this and I think it shows
Most proud activity (8) - I was a bit iffy on this, but I was running out of time
Why Engineering/Fu (10) - Probably one of my best essays. Really explored myself and why I enjoyed engineering

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 9 - we are very close and I have had her for 2 years in a subject I excel at
Teacher Rec #2: 9 - same as above
Counselor Rec: 8 - we are close, but obviously she has a lot of students
Additional Rec: 8 - was going to be one of the teacher recs, but my guidance counselor said it wasn’t amazing so I got another teacher rec and had this moved to additional
Interview: 10 - We talked about Columbia for an hour, then just about traveling for half an hour when he said the interview wouldn’t take longer than 45 mins max. I’m generally personable and feel I left a great impression

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Bioengineering
State (if domestic applicant): FL
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $250k+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Founded a non-profit, I’m not sure if this counts

Reflection

Strengths: Leadership, engineering experience, testing
Weaknesses: A few bad grades, Asian Male applying for engineering
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I think my essays pushed me over the edge to accepted.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Nowhere as this was the earliest application decision for the schools I applied to

General Comments:

I honestly feel I had the stats to be right between accepted/deferred so I’m glad it swung to accepted. I feel the amount of heart in my why columbia and why engineering/Fu essay secured my spot.

28

Decision: Rejected - SEAS

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2210 (800W 780M 630R)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: 730 Math 1, 780 Chemistry
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): N/A
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2
AP (place score in parenthesis): N/A
IB (place score in parenthesis): 40/42 Year 1, 39/42 Year 2
Senior Year Course Load: IB Math SL, IB English SL, IB French abinitio, IB Chemistry HL, IB Economics HL, IB Biology HL
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): A few awards in school for good research and good grades, but nothing too crazy

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Math Club (Activist), Soccer, Athletics, TEDx Speaker, Band Club (Co founder). Can’t remember what else I put but they were good
Job/Work Experience: Job Shadowing at Sloan Kettering Memorial Cancer Institute in New York, Lab Technician Shadow at a famous lab in NYC, Tutoring younger kids math and science (paid)
Volunteer/Community service: Did some community service but thought the other activities were more important and didn’t have space for them
Summer Activities: Intern at an IT firm for computer engineering
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 10. Showed my Common App one to a couple people and they said that it almost moved them to tears and it was the best essay they had ever read, and the Columbia ones showed I did my research and that I was passionate.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): 10.

Teacher Rec #1: Math 10. Teacher liked me a lot, was in his Math extracurricular activity.
Teacher Rec #2: French 10. Teacher always said I was the best in the class and was extremely happy to write me a reference.
Counselor Rec: 10. Really great rec counselor liked me a lot.
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: N/A (I’m in International Student with an American passport - I live in Dubai - maybe that’s why? Not sure.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Chemical Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): N/A
Country (if international applicant): UAE (Dubai)
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Asian (Indian) - Probably what got me
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $200,000+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None.

Reflection

Strengths: IB Score, recs, possibly extracurriculars, essays, writing math chemistry scores
Weaknesses: Reading score, Math 1 score, I didn’t get the best grades in grades 9 and 10, got a few A’s, B’s and C’s but I had a very strong upward trend like EXTREMELY strong went from A’s B’s and C’s in one year to straight A’s the next.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Bad grades in 9th and 10th grade I guess
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Didn’t apply anywhere else for Early.

General Comments
This really sucks :(:

29

Decision: Accepted - SEAS

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown):
ACT (breakdown): 35C (36E,34M,34R,35S)
SAT II: 800 Maths II, 770 Chem
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/60
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load:
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): swimming, guitar, year president
Job/Work Experience: 3 months engineering work experience
Volunteer/Community service: red cross volunteer and worked in an orphanage
Summer Activities:
Essays (rating 1-10, details): why columbia 9/10; common app 8/10, why engineering 8/10
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): didn’t read but assuming they were very good, chemistry teacher loves me!

Teacher Rec #1:
Teacher Rec #2:
Counselor Rec:
Additional Rec:
Interview: went very well! lasted over 2 hours…

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: no
Intended Major: undecided
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): UK
School Type: private school in London
Ethnicity: white
Gender: male
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

Reflection

Strengths: Grades, swimming and essays
Weaknesses: didn’t have a lot of EC’s
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I have no idea!!!
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:

General Comments: Still completely in shock and can’t wait to live in NEW YORK CITY!!!

30

Decision: Accepted - CC

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2310. 730CR 780M 800W (second sitting)
SAT II: Math 2 800; Physics 800; Chemistry 790.
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10% (estimate)
AP (place score in parenthesis): Self studied. Calc BC (5), Biology (4), Comp Sci A (4), Physics:E&M (4), Physics:Mech (3).
Senior Year Course Load: Cambridge A-Level Math, Physics, Chemistry, English, Biology
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nothing.

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Wrote two research papers relating to my desired field of study.
Piano, 7 years.
Varsity soccer, 4 years.
Physics club (founder).
Developed app related to my desired field of study.

Job/Work Experience:
Research internship at esteemed university.
Internship at hospital.
Volunteer/Community service: Tutored underprivileged kids, painted schools, etc.
Summer Activities: Research.
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common app, 9. About math.
The rest, 8.
Lengthy and diverse reading (for pleasure) list may have helped.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): I’d expect them to be good.
Teacher Rec #1: Physics teacher
Teacher Rec #2: Biology teacher
Additional Rec: English teacher
Interview: 9. Was about an hour.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Neuroscience and Behavior. (2nd choice: Physics, 3rd choice: Mathematics)
Country (if international applicant): India
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Asian Indian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $150,000+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Thoroughly unhooked.

Reflection

Strengths: SAT score, research
Weaknesses: International, not too many significant ECs, some AP scores.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Not too sure…
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Doesn’t matter but waiting on MIT.

General Comments: !

31

Decision: Accepted - CC

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): Did not take
ACT (breakdown): 32 (35 English, 34 Science, 30 Reading, 29 Math)
SAT II: Did not take
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2/360
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Euro (3), AP Chem (3), AP Comp Sci (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Calc AB, AP Gov, Android app dev. class, College English, AP Bio, AP Physics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nothing major, just some local ones

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Varsity football 4 years (captain), Varsity track 4 years (captain), DECA (chapter president and president of district), FBLA (chapter VP), StuCo 4 years (Committee chair), French NHS 3 years
Job/Work Experience: Yes, I work
Volunteer/Community service: Around 50 hours at a children’s fun-house
Summer Activities: No summer programs at any colleges or anything. Usually filled with football and work
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App - 9/10 I wrote this about two weeks before application was due. Not very quirky or witty but it did embody my identity pretty well, which is what the question asked for.

EC supplement - wrote about DECA and how being elected to a high position showed the progress I have made as a person

Why Columbia - 8/10 wrote about the Core and how certain courses will help to explore myself

Why Major - 8/10 wrote the night before about how my Algebra 2 teacher convinced me to take AP CS and how I became obsessed with programming

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 9/10 didn’t read it, but my Comp Sci teacher and track coach. Amazing individual to whom I’m very close
Teacher Rec #2: 8/10 Junior year English teacher who I volunteer for during a free period.
Counselor Rec: No idea, my counselor is new this year and I barely have spoken to her
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: Didn’t get one

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Computer Science
State (if domestic applicant): MO
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Large public
Ethnicity: Middle Eastern? (from Central Asia)
Gender: M
Income Bracket: <60,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, first generation in US

Reflection

Strengths: GPA, hook, well-roundedness, essays?
Weaknesses: ACT, lack of SAT II, no major awards,
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Really have no idea. So grateful that I got accepted but I was honestly not expecting to because I thought my application was pretty average and nothing jumped off the page
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: accepted to a couple of state schools

General Comments: So grateful that I got accepted into the school of my dreams. The stress is all over. Advice to future years: Yes, you are good enough. It does not matter if you don’t have the perfect test scores – I did not, believe me. Heck, I didn’t even take an SAT II. But do keep your GPA up, do work hard on your essays (I did mine pretty quickly and did not think they were very stellar). And most importantly: try to present yourself as someone who can handle being in a vibrant city like NYC in terms of being social and outgoing and enjoying life rather than just someone who is all about the books. Grades and test scores and important, believe me, but if your application is full of activities and essays written about the same subjects like the other 30,000 applicants, admissions officers have no way to differentiate between those people. Good luck to everyone who was not accepted, I am confident that with the stats and applications I have seen on this thread, you WILL get into a great school and have a great college experience. This is only the beginning.

32

Decision: Rejected - SEAS

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2200 (780 M, 700 CR, 720 W/10 Essay)
ACT (breakdown): 34 (32 M, 35 E, 34 S, 34 R)
SAT II: -
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): Not computed by school
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Not computed by school
AP (place score in parenthesis): None
IB (place score in parenthesis): Year 1 40/42, Year 2 Predicted 40/42
Senior Year Course Load: IB HL Math, Physics, Literature; IB SL Chemistry, Business Management, Spanish
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): School awards for academic proficiency, nothing major

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
App company with app on the iOS app store (Co founder, Design head)
School Debate team (Won a few individual awards, 5th in State Championship)
Graphic Designing (Posters, Banners, etc) for school events
Duke of Edinburgh Bronze award
Yearbook team (Editor) (Grades 10 and 11)
Taught myself Swift, Photoshop and Sketch 3 off the internet for app development

Job/Work Experience:
Interned at Vodafone India for a month

Volunteer/Community service:
Set up an NGO (Non Government Organization) to clean Bangalore’s streets. Gained local media recognition and conducted multiple drives, increasing organization size to 60 members

Summer Activities:
Mostly App Development, the NGO

Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App: Don’t know how to rate this, but people who read it said it was good.
Supplement:
Why Columbia: Was a bit boring but focused on my love for existential and absurdist literature, Entrepreneurial spirit and why the intersection between humanities and sciences is essential.
Why Engineering: Talked about how I gave up java at 11 because it was too hard and how I hope to develop a language that will make sure that nobody stops coding because of esoteric syntax.
Most Proud activity: Talked about the NGO

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: 10/10 English teacher, best teacher I’ve had, she loves me.
Teacher Rec #2: Physics teacher. No idea, didn’t read, expecting a generic one because he wrote 4 recs in 1.5 hours.
Counselor Rec: 8/10. Didn’t know me much at the start because of how big the school is, eventually got to know me well.
Additional Rec: NA
Interview: Normal. Not amazing, not terrible. Talked about standard stuff. Weirdly, my interviewer seemed more nervous than I was.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Computer Science (lol Indian male + computer science = rejection)
State (if domestic applicant): NA
Country (if international applicant): Indian studying in Dubai
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Indian (Asian) - pretty sure it played a big role in the rejection.
Gender: Male - again, Indian male for Engineering: too many of us already there.
Income Bracket: $110,000-$120,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection

Strengths:
Essays, consistently in the top 5% in high school, Recs, SAT 1 Math score.

Weaknesses:
Average Testing scores, Average ECs, No sport/music ECs

Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Rejected - Average test scores - No incredible ECs - but most of all, ETHNICITY + major choice combination.

General Comments:
Absolutely gutted. Columbia was my dream uni. Really don’t know what went wrong, totally demoralized for RD. Congrats to those who got in.

33

Objective: Rejected
SAT I (breakdown):
ACT (breakdown): 36 (36 Math, Reading, English; 35 Science)
SAT II: Math II 800, US History 760
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5’s in English Comp., US Hist, Stats, and Physics
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: As challenging as possible
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Soccer, leader of several clubs
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service: Very active, won several awards for it
Summer Activities:
Essays (rating 1-10, details): I feel like they were very very good
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: English Teacher
Teacher Rec #2: Stats Teacher
Counselor Rec:
Additional Rec:
Interview: none

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: no
Intended Major: Undecided
State (if domestic applicant): IL
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Catholic
Ethnicity: white
Gender: male
Income Bracket: >200,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflection

Strengths: Smart and involved
Weaknesses: PR guy for the straight white male sucks
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: See above
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: none

General Comments: I’m not bitter. Really.

34

Decision: Rejected - CC

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2180 (790M 710W 680R)
ACT (breakdown): didn’t take
SAT II: 770 math II, 620 chem (I know its bad)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.7, weighted: 4.92
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesnt rank
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: ap calc bc, ap chem, ap physics, ap eng, ap econ, ap language
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): second place at a state independent research competition
Other awards at state college research competitions

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
President of a club, officer for two other clubs
Job/Work Experience: teaching elementary school kids at an academy
Volunteer/Community service: volunteer at a hospital
Summer Activities: internship at UPenn and another hospital
Essays (rating 1-10, details): CA essay 10/10 (best essay I ever wrote)
Columbia essays: 8/10 (rushed near due date)
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 8/10 (i didnt do well in her class, but she liked me because I tried)
Teacher Rec #2: 8/10 (i have no idea)
Counselor Rec: 10/10 (she loves me and when I told her today that I got rejected, she said she has faith in me and she supports me)
Additional Rec: n/a
Interview: didnt get one ( was kind of expecting rejection by this point because my friend at my school got an interview)

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: medicine, literature, and society
State (if domestic applicant): PA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: public (about 500 students)
Ethnicity: asian american
Gender: F
Income Bracket: around 60k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflection: so my gpa for junior year was not great due to a death of family member. But I honestly believe that I did the best I could in the situation I was in. But no one from my school who applied to Columbia in the past 5 years got in. So im not surprised. My friend from my school who has perfect GPA and SAT scores of 2300 range also did not get in. I kept reminding myself that I prob got rejected before I found out, so I was surprised at how affected I was when I found out that I was rejected. But overall, I think it was a good experience.

Strengths: essay, also submitted an art supplement
Weaknesses: gpa, test scores were not super
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: competitive pool. Weaknesses were not enough to be covered by my strengths i guess
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Applied to NYU regular decision already (didnt hear back yet), time to write my supplements for my other schools!

35

Decision: ACCEPTED - CC

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): never took
ACT (breakdown): 32 (35 English, 28 Math, 33 Reading, 32 Science, 36 Writing)
SAT II: 660 on Literature and US History (lol didn’t send)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.58/5.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 10%
AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH (5), self studied AP Gov (4) and AP Lang (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: H English, H Calculus, H German 1, AP French, AP Psychology, Intensive Acting, Intensive Yearbook, Chorus
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Hispanic Scholar, AP Scholar; at school: Honor Role, NHS, Mount Holyoke Book Award

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): JSA (Elected Vice Mayor and Chapter President/Founder), Student Congress (appointed representative by Principal on Student Council), Yearbook (Editor in Chief for 2 years), Theater (Spring Musical Senior Student Director), A Cappella (Student-run group business leader), Model UN (President - expended club from 5 to 30 people), various peer mentor programs

Job/Work Experience: Massachusetts State House Tour Guide, Hostess at a restaurant during Junior Year
Volunteer/Community service: Key Club/NHS community service
Summer Activities: Did summer programs through JSA, Northwestern’s Center for Talent Development, also State House Tour Guide

Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App - 9.5 (loved what I wrote, and was completely and honestly me)
Why Columbia - 10 (my strongest essay. Columbia has been a dream for me for some key, specific reasons, and I think I articulated that very well)
Major - 8 (I wrote this one last, and maybe still could have tweaked it more. Still very “me” and honest.)
Extra Curricular - 9 (quaint and too the point, showed a different side of me)

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: English Teacher (9, I did very well in his class, and he had already written me a recc before)
Teacher Rec #2: Math Teacher (7ish, we got along very well, but her class was very easy for me so I don’t know how much I proved myself as a leader or a good student in her class)
Counselor Rec: 10+ (my guidance counselor and I are super close. She knows a lot about me and my personal life, so I bet this was glowing)
Additional Rec: From my school Principal (8-9, he spoke a lot about me as a leader in my community. He doesn’t write recommendations for many students, so it probably stood out)
Interview: 8 – I was so nervous! The conversation flowed pretty easily for a full hour, but I felt like I was getting rambly and unsure of my self. Honestly not my best.

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Political Science/Urban Studies
State (if domestic applicant): MA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public, competitive - ranked high in state
Ethnicity: Hispanic and White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: >150,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, Parents attended public universities in Illinois

Reflection
Strengths: I think I truly articulated honestly and completely how well I would fit into the Columbia community and take advantage of all of the resources offered to me there. I spent countless hours perfecting my essays until they were not forced, not over-edited, but purely and uniquely me. I presented myself accurately, and didn’t fabricate or overanalyze or exaggerate – I was very honest, very myself. I think they might have appreciated that.

Weaknesses: My grades and scores for sure. Not gonna lie I got several Bs in high school.

Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I worked very hard first term and got straight As in all of my classes. I also think I presented myself well – I made it a priority to make sure to show myself as multi-dimensional of a person as possible, but still made sure to keep a general trend throughout, in order to connect the dots. I am by no means Columbia’s strongest academic applicant, but I think my immense introspection throughout my application showed that I am capable of so much more than just numbers on a transcript or a standardized test score.

Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Applied to UMich, UChicago, and Fordham. Withdrew all my apps today :’)

General Comments: I’m so shocked. I told myself that if I didn’t get in, it would be because of my scores and therefore Columbia wouldn’t be right for me. I wanted to go somewhere that valued me as a person with dreams and ideas and accomplishments outside of just straight numbers – and I’m so happy that the admissions officers did. Columbia has been my dream school since the first moment I found out what it was, and my love has only grown from there. This is such a great “HAH” in the face to anyone who told me I was too “ambitious” to apply to a school that was way “out of my league”. #ROAR2020 can’t wait to meet the rest of you future Lions!

36

Decision: REJECTED - CC

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2100 (CR:690, Math:800, Writing: 630, ESL but no TOEFL scores)
ACT (breakdown): Did not take
SAT II: Math I: 770 Math II: 710 US History: 630
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 88 out of 100
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): none available
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Psych, AP Calc AB&BC (All 5s)
IB (place score in parenthesis): None
Senior Year Course Load: Facing History (a humanity triple-period course with heavy research that covers sociology, English and internship) Forensics, Criminology, BC Calc, Economy, Digital Darkroom and ceramics
Major Awards: None since I’m a recent immigrant

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Member of three culture-related clubs. Pseudo-leader in one of them.
Job/Work Experience: Interned for a doctor for some months until he flew with his wife for a vacation and never came back.
Volunteer/Community service: Monthly Cloth drive to the city and a fund raiser to rebuilding infrastructure in Africa.
Summer Activities: Translator at a annual international business convention that my dad was involved. Mostly summer school and travelling with some friends.
Sports: missed every single sports try-outs that I wanted to go. stupid school never noticed people of the deadlines.

Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8 (not satisfied)
Common App - 9 (I don’t know how to get better)
Why Columbia - 8 (l don’t think I fully explained why I love Columbia)
Major - 10 (I spent most time on this. Really showed my dedication.)
Extra Curricular - 8 (Pretty well but not as appealing for cultural reasons)

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: English Teacher (9, did well in his class with an awesome research paper, definitely the best student in that class)
Teacher Rec #2: Psych Teacher (8 I always get A’s in his class and asked crucial questions but wasn’t close to that teacher since he is a bitchmagnet. I think he is well aware of that fact)
Counselor Rec: 5 (my guidance counselor didn’t even check in on me when I get 2 C’s in a quarter bcz I started living alone.)
Additional Rec: None
Interview: 6 – Was pretty awkward. The interviewer had little interest in listening to my point and kinda rushed me to end it. I didn’t fully show my enthusiasm for Columbia and didn’t ask valuable questions.

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Psychology Second major: Political science.
State (if domestic applicant): NY
Country (if international applicant): China but spent 3 years in US.
School Type: Public, ranked top 100 nationwide
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: >150,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First gen college.

Reflection
Strengths: Nonjudgmental, compassionate, hardworking, strong in defending my belief, self-conscious.

Weaknesses: Average grades while Asian(not saying ethnicity is the major reason I got rejected, but definitely a part of the reason). Not a lot of EC and award (bcz recent immigration) I became an introvert FOB as soon as I learned that Asian Americans have this stereotype of being shy and quiet(later I learned self-fullfilling prophecies and this thing called “culture shock”), resulting in my lack of participation, although I was loud and active before coming to US and somewhat loud now. Didn’t express well in my essays bcz language.

Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: REALLY average scores.I fit the negative Asian FOB stereotype in every way on paper(few EC, few awards, no sports). No spectacular achievements in this stupidly competitive pool. And also affirmative action. I know the necessity of AA for many disadvantaged minorities, but ffs I had to worry about the next meal instead of the next schoolwork at home. Now my grades dropped sharply in Junior but my cooking skills skyrocketed. Maybe I should find a job in a restaurant in Chinatown instead of trying to go to college.

Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Applied to UMich (oh god please don’t reject me or I will join Scientology)

37

Decision: Accepted - CC

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2200 (CR 700, M 800, W 700)
ACT (breakdown): 35 (E 35, M 35, R, 35, S 35)
SAT II: None
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.93
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School does not rank
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis): Predicted 42/45- HL History (6), HL English (6), HL Biology (7), Economics (6), Math (7), Japanese (7), Theory of Knowledge+Extended Essay (2)
Senior Year Course Load: IB HL History, English, Biology; IB SL Economics, Math, Japanese; Multi-Faith Religion, Theory of Knowledge
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Journalism (executive editor)
Speech- performed at Tedx (multiple speech leader)
Varsity debate
Varisty swimming-nationally ranked (captain)
House Captain
Girls Athletic Association (executive)
Job/Work Experience: Internship at New York State Senator’s office
Volunteer/Community service: Hands on Tokyo (Working with mentally disabled children, retirement home, etc), Adventurers (Making food for the homeless)
Summer Activities: Brown Pre-college Program (scholarship), Oxford University Kingdom Education Program (scholarship), Global Business Program, NYU classes
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App: 9/10- I started brainstorming for this from before the summer, and I wrote about 10+ different ones before narrowing it down to 1
Supplement: 9/10- Made it really personal

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): I never read them, but the teachers I asked to write my recommendations know me very well.

Teacher Rec #1: He was my biology teacher and I’ve known him since I was in 7th grade. He’s known to write really good recommendation letters.
Teacher Rec #2: He is my history and theory of knowledge teacher. History is my strongest subject, and he said that the only thing he could do more is to beg the admissions office to accept me.

Counselor Rec: I was one of the few who did early decision, so he had time to work on it a lot.
Additional Rec: State senator. He represents the district that Columbia is in, and has done some things to help Columbia. I sent a legislative proposal that I wrote as additional material.
Interview: My interviewer said that the interview is normally 30-45 minutes, but we ended up talking for nearly 2 hours. He was super cool and the interview was so much fun!

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Political Science
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): Japan
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: Too much to qualify for financial aid
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection

Strengths: ACT, essays
Weaknesses: Extracurriculars and honors- There aren’t many opportunities in Japan for high schoolers to join traditionally “impressive” activities, and to participate, let alone win, any big awards
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I appealed to the spirit of Columbia in my supplements and my common app. Because it was the first university I applied to, all my essays fit together to mold an image of me that I wanted Columbia to see.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:

General Comments: It still feels like I’m dreaming!

38

Decision: Accepted - CC

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): didn’t sent
ACT (breakdown): 34C - 35 Math, 35 Reading, 34 Science, 31 English
SAT II: 800 MathII, 730 Physics
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.92 UW, 4.76 W
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5’s on APUSH, BC Calc, Spanish, Lit, Stat 4’s on Gov’t, Physics C Mech
IB (place score in parenthesis): 5 IB Music SL, 6 IB Spanish SL
Senior Year Course Load: IB HL Math, Multivariable Calc, IB English, IB Spanish 6, IB History, Theory of Knowledge, IB Physics HL
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NCTE Nomination (English competition), Nat’l Merit Commended, AP Scholar, nothing major…

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

-President of a tutoring organization that reaches 400 kids each semester, manage three high schools, and run a summer camp entirely by kids
-Internship with engineering company, with research probably being published
-Piano 14 years
-Track and Field 4yrs (indoor/outdoor) – hurdles
-Model Congress – honorable mention Princeton Model Congress
-VP of NHS

Job/Work Experience: none paid
Volunteer/Community service: basically my biggest EC was all about volunteering
Summer Activities: Internship, running the summer camp
Essays (rating 1-10, details):

I really worked on these essays for so long…I really think they were the best they could be
Common App: 10/10 (lol I had a typo too, I guess they overlooked it)
Why Columbia: 10/10 it was one of my best essays! I loved it
EC Essay: 9/10
Major Essay: 10/10

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: Physics teacher, also club sponsor, think he really liked me 9/10
Teacher Rec #2: English teacher, nominated me for the NCTE award, 9/10
Counselor Rec: Think she understood where I was coming from and my educational intentions, didn’t have too many interactions with her 8-9/10
Additional Rec: English teacher from ninth grade, she loves me, 10/10
Interview: It went pretty well, I think she understood why I LOVED columbia and why I wanted to be there

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Physics and Philosophy
State (if domestic applicant): MD
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Competitive Magnet Public
Ethnicity: Indian
Gender: M
Income Bracket: 100k+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

Reflection

Strengths: my essays were really good, and they reflected the best side of me. I think my interests also came across in my recs and it really fit with Columbia’s core
Weaknesses: standardized test scores, that typo
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Showed a good fit for the school
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: nowhere yet

General Comments: REALLY EXCITED TO BE A LION! To everyone who didn’t get in, don’t worry, you’re going to be a great student somewhere else!

39

Decision: Rejected - CC

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown):
ACT (breakdown): 36 C 35 E 36 M 35 W 36 S
SAT II: 790 Math II 750 Biology M 780 Physics 710 Spanish
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.95
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
AP (place score in parenthesis): World History (5), English Language (5) US History (4) Biology (5) Physics B (5)
Calculus BC (5) Physics C mechanics (5) Chemistry (4) US Government/politics (5) English Lit (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): HL Math (6) HL Physics (6) HL English (6) HL History (6) SL Bio (6) SL Spanish (7)
Senior Year Course Load: College English, College History, IB Further Math, AP Computer Science, Metal Tech, Internship
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National AP scholar (not particularly major)

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Politics club (founder, president), nonprofit business (founder, president), DECA international qualifier, internship conducting economic analysis of energy policy at city government, economic research with local university professors, piano (just local competitions)
Job/Work Experience: Ski instruction
Volunteer/Community service: Nonprofit business (funds donated to local heart-health initiative), political campaign volunteering
Summer Activities: Research, political campaigns, jewelry business
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Rating is difficult. Well-written but not unusual so unlikely to stand out.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: English, didn’t read, she said it was ‘hyperbolic’
Teacher Rec #2: Physics, didn’t read
Counselor Rec:
Additional Rec:
Interview:

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Econ/poli sci
State (if domestic applicant): WA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Large public
Ethnicity: South asian
Gender: F
Income Bracket: Too high for financial aid
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection

Strengths: Academics, test scores, some unusual extracurriculars
Weaknesses: No national awards, less than outstanding essays
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Essays were not noteworthy, especially the why columbia one, and it’s hard to stand out from a fairly uniformly exemplary group
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: No other results have been released yet

General Comments: Best of luck to all of you in university!

40

Decision: Accepted - CC

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2310, composite. 780:CR, 760:Math, 770:Writing
ACT (breakdown): Didn’t take
SAT II: Bio: 720, World History: 730
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.96
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/430
AP (place score in parenthesis): Comparative Gov’t: 5, Euro: 5, BC Calc: Pending
IB (place score in parenthesis): Math Sl: 6, Pending on French, English, History, Art, Physics, Biology, and TOK
Senior Year Course Load: All IB except math, which is an online BC Calc class.
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nat. Merit Commended, National Latin Exam. Regional awards.

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Scholastic Bowl (Captain), French Club (VP), Debate, Literary Mag (Editor), NHS (Historian), Temple Youth Group (VP), Philosophy Club (Founder and Chairman).
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: NHS, SPCA, local hospital, started a mural for local food pantry, library volunteering
Summer Activities: hospital volunteer program, mural
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8-9. I think it showcased my personality really well, and I guess the Columbia admissions officers responded well to it. It was on art and how it impacted my life.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): 10, my teachers loved me.

Teacher Rec #1: really strong, I think this is the reason I got in. (I never read it though, I just know that she knew some of the things I did outside school, like join protests and speak and school board meetings)
Teacher Rec #2: pretty strong. She had me for 2 years and is scholastic bowl coach.
Counselor Rec: Eh.
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: It went medium to poorly

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: Philospphy
State (if domestic applicant): VA
Country (if international applicant): US
School Type: public
Ethnicity: white
Gender: male
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflection

Strengths: Art. I sent in an arts supplement, I wrote my personal statement on art, and one of my Columbia-specific essays was about the mural I was working on.
Weaknesses: My interview, SAT IIs, and my lack of award recognition.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I think they responded well to my essays and art portfolio.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Haha this was the only school I applied (I had all my other applications on hold to get submitted after my Columbia decision)

General Comments:
TBH I think I got in on accident, but I’m super excited to go meet all of you who got in. To those who didn’t, good luck elsewhere, and I’m sure you’ll end up somewhere amazing! And finally, for those who haven’t applied yet: applying to college sucks, but we all have to do it.