Columbia ED- What are my chances?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hey guys- I’m a rising senior and I have no idea what to expect from this whole process. Please help me out and tell me what you think.

Thinking about music major but to still do the pre-reqs for med school (acceptance rate into med school is higher for music majors than for bio majors! Look it up!) Also might apply HPYS, Brown, UChicago, Penn if Columbia doesn’t work out.

Academics:
•2390 SAT with 11 essay (790 math)
•SAT IIs - Bio (760), MathII (770)
•GPA: 3.93 UW. No ranking at school. Got two B+ freshman year. All As since then plus three A-s

Classes: (most rigorous at school although this year I had to make room for being in lots of music groups)
Freshman:
•English 9H, Spanish IIIH, H Earth science, modern world history (req), H geometry
Sophomore:
•English 10H, AP Biology (5), AP Gov. (5), Algebra IIH, Spanish IV H
Junior:
•AP Lang (5), AP Physics I (5), Honors Pre-calculus, AP Psych (5), AP Spanish (5), AP Music Theory (after school) (5) Senior: (Planned)
•AP Lit, Standard US (schedule didn’t permit AP darn), AP Calc BC, AP Chemistry, Concert band, jazz band, choir

ECs:
-4 Years jazz band, president of jazz combo (plays semi-professionally) this is what I do with most of my time- see awards section
-Jazz at Lincoln Center Youth Orchestra (premier regional youth jazz band)
-Founder and President current events discussion club, made front page of town newspaper
-President of select A Capella group
-Student conductor of concert band (play the tuba)
-Assistant music director at my synagogue religious school each Sunday
-Religious and Cultural Vice president of Temple Youth Group
-Camp counselor at sleepaway camp, rated number 1 in the country- very selective and rigorous
-Volunteered over 400 hours through YMCA running camps in MA and SD on an American Indian reservation
-volunteered for local candidate for state congress
-president of spanish honors society
-write and record original music with a rock band and by myself- planning on sending video of me playing all instruments in an original song as part of arts supplement

Awards:
NAfME All-National Honors jazz band- guitar. Technically ranks me #1 high school jazz guitarist in US and A.
All-state jazz band

Other notes:
-white male from CT
-parents are divorced
-sort-of legacy at columbia- mom graduated for teacher’s college, dad went to school of general studies to fulfill prereqs, great uncle (grandfather figure) went to CC.

2

I think you’re in a really good position. The all national will really help (Im all state trombone in NY and it helps a lot). Moreover, your sat and sat2 scores are amazing. I think you have a solid chance, all the best!!

3

Thanks dude- congrats on all state. Glad to hear even just that helps (although that’s a huge accomplishment. I’m lucky I even made regionals. I think god has been in the mix here)

4

@jguitar

I’m having difficulty understanding what you mean by this-are there actually rankings of sleepaway camps?

What’s next? National rankings of book clubs? Some magazine picking the country’s best pickup basketball teams?

5

The whole ranking thing is not very official- I believe it’s just one user review-based site- but the counselors at camp like to joke about it, of course knowing that the ranking means nothing to us, if not to anyone at all.

I include it here only to say quite succinctly that any old schlump off the street can’t just come and work here- a staff position is extremely competetive to get and the effort and creativity put into the 9 weeks of counseling is strenuous. This is why camp is already 65% full for next summer.

Of course not many want/can hear me elaborate on this like i just did- thus, a simple, quantifiable, objective statistic to relay the point that my summers were spent utilizing my leadership, creativity, and morality, and not just watching some kids play dodgeball while I smoke pot with other lazy counselors- because that couldn’t happen at such a highly regarded camp. You get my drift?

6

@jguitar Yes, that clears things up a bit. A lot of what you outlined is lost in the briefer description, and I’ve developed a quasi-allergy to iffy rankings of anything and everything under the sun, more or less in proportion to their recent proliferation.