<p>Hey all! I'm a former CC poster and I'm back again -- now to take questions!</p>
<p>I'm a first-year working in the Columbia admissions office right now for the Federal Work-Study Program. Yes, I was exaggerating a bit in the title of the thread (I'm not an adcom or anything and I do NOT have a hand in the decision making), but I AM exposed to some of the inner workings of the admissions office and hope that I can answer some questions. My job is mainly data entry and sorting through the HUGE database (I don't work in the mailroom -- I'm an administrative asst.), but I am thus able to see what is done with each piece of the application (I'm one of those people who updates the status of your app hehe). </p>
<p>For starters, to answer a common question -- once the SAT I scores are entered into Columbia's computer system, the system automatically takes the best scores of all the retakes and displays only the highest combined score on the applicant's profile (which I assume is the only number the actual adcoms will pay attention to). I hope that eases some of your anxieties. Still, I personally would not recommend taking an SAT more than 3 times...</p>
<p>Feel free to ask me q's about Columbia as well. </p>
<p>(I really hope I'm not breaking some workplace rule, but no one mentioned anything -- our only rule is not to discuss people's confidential applications to the outside world. I really don't think I'm doing anything wrong, but it suddenly struck me as odd that there hasn't been a thread like this before...I might check with my superiors tommorrow...--> scared of getting into trouble, lol)</p>
<p>Oh, and another thing I find amusing is that the new SAT is causing some confusion (especially since many students have taken both). In the computer system, they still continue to display a score out of 1600 (they still treat the writing as an SAT II in writing, it seems...). The combined score can consist of an old and new (I'm pretty sure, I'll doublecheck that fact tomorrow).</p>
<p>i sent my scores yesterday, since i had to wait for my october scores to be released. collegeboard said it wont reach columbia for 3-5 weeks, but that is the paper form, which columbia says they cannot process. so, how will columbia get my scores? will it be ok for ED</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Not sure yet, but I'll tell you when we get to that phase. Honestly, all we're doing now is creating a file on each applicant and making sure all their required documents have been received. I can tell you though that they don't interview based on if you're especially strong/weak/or borderline -- it depends on the availability of the alumni interviewers in your region. Don't fret if someone you know gets contacted before you.</p></li>
<li><p>Yes, they will make it in in time to be considered (I'm 99% sure, but I can even doublecheck). DO NOT RUSH THE SCORES! Columbia does everything on computer and rushing will come in paper form.</p></li>
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<p>I'm pretty sure the admissions committee won't even convene until mid to late November -- I'll give an update when it enters that stage.</p>
<p>^ no clue, sorry (if I get a better idea in the future, I'll tell you)</p>
<p>Oh and another interesting tidbit:</p>
<p>They keep very detailed records on every instance of communication between an admissions rep and a student (another one of my jobs is updating these contacts). Some students don't have any at all, while some have more than a dozen (I swear, some people are like, Columbia groupies, going to 5 different info sessions in their area). I don't know what these records are used for (if at all), but recognize that every time you put down your name on a list, it is taken back here and recorded. Please don't analyze this too much, but just keep in mind if an info session is offered in your area, attending might be somewhat beneficial. If you live in an area where nothing's offered, don't stress out.</p>
<p>And for legacies: only parents really matter, although they look at siblings, too. We're told to remove cousins, aunts, grandparents, etc. They also doublecheck these things closely, so don't exaggerate or anything.</p>
<p>I live 45 minutes away from Columbia.. Should I still put if I would like to reside on campus? It really doesn't matter to me... should I put dorm or no dorm. With which will I have a better chance for acceptance ED to Columbia?</p>
<p>Ivyleague (I'm not the OP, but I can answer your last question.) We also live about 45 minutes from campus, and there was never any qusetion that my son would put down that he would live on campus. Nearly every frosh does, even the many who actually live in the city--they really would rather you did. Anyway, he got accepted ED, so it's definitely not a problem.</p>
<p>IvyLeague, as Garland said, I seriously doubt that would affect your chances. Don't stress out too much about those things. </p>
<p>Lynda - as far as I know, the only "initial read" that is done is to check for people who might be fall into the GS school category more, and they then proceed to send them letters urging them to apply there instead. We're not into the actual decisions stage yet, but I highly, HIGHLY doubt they just "throw away" apps.</p>
<p>On what you said about SAT I's: Does this mean that the new scores will not be looked at at all as out of 2400? Is writing considered to be an extra SAT II then? And also, thank you so much for doing this, it's really helpful at this crazy time of the year :].</p>
<p>xsamantha - My personal opinion (based on the fact that the computer is automatically breaking the scores apart) is that they're pretty much ignoring the 2400 scale. I mean really, even in the past, they probably looked at M, V, and W separately anyway to examine either a) balance or b) strength/weakness in a particular area. </p>
<p>I suppose Writing is considered to be an "extra SAT II" as you put it. Last year, I recall having to take 3 -- writing + 2 more. This year, you only need to take 2 SAT II's of your choice, b/c writing's obviously already covered. (If you only took the old SAT I though, they would then need SAT II writing + 2 more)</p>
<p>Oh, and I'm noticing all those complaints about the un-user friendly nature of the online app (I agree with you guys). I might ask the ppl there what the deal is with that when I work next week...hehe</p>
<p>how heavily are SAT II scores weighted? and what about the part of the application where it asks what is most appealing? i just decided that mine was way off!
thanks so much! hope to meet you next year.</p>
<p>Please refrain from sending me "What Are My Chances?" though...I really don't think I can tell you more than what you already know. No one is ever a shoo-in for admission, and the majority of people who apply are qualified for admission. IMHO, it all boils down to luck at some point.</p>
<p>My interviewer yesterday was talking about how his daughter is having some problems adjusting to the dorm life at Columbia. So like, I just want to know some generalities about dorm life at Columbia. He made it seem kind of not fun at all.</p>