columbia or penn. (not typical)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>alright, i dont have a 2400 on the sat or a 4.0, but i was wondering if anyone could help me see if im on the right track at all for either penn or columbia ED. </p>

<p>i have legacy status at columbia, and love the university, but have been discouraged by other people telling me that i have no shot in hell of getting in. i would also love to go to penn, and taking into consideration that it has a higher acceptance rate, would it be smarter to apply there ED instead? how much does legacy help, and is it enough in my case?</p>

<p>Race: Caucasian
ACT: 31 (retaking, hope to get 32-33)
SAT II: taking this October
GPA:3.85? UW
Freshman: 3.6
Sophomore: 3.8
Junior: 3.92
Senior: 4.0?</p>

<p>junior class load:
AP Statistics
AP Spanish
AP Government
Health(requirement)
Hons. Physics
US Literature
Web Design Adv.</p>

<p>Senior class load
AP Calculus
AP Chemistry
AP Literature and Comp
Astronomy
Comparative Religions
US History</p>

<p>ECs:
MUN - founder/president
Peer tutors(math) - volunteer
ASB - senior class prez (huge time commitment)
Work experience (summer 06&07)
Debate (no awards, too much time / money to travel)</p>

<p>possible majors: political sciences/economics (along those lines)</p>

<p>ps, i have a lot of "backup schools" but really want to go to either penn or columbia.</p>

<p>any help/ advice would be greatly appreciated.</p>

2

<p>Columbia: Reject
UPenn: Big Reach</p>

<p>Your grades are solid and your scores are not bad, but they are (relatively) unimpressive for someone applying to those schools. Your ECs are lackluster as well.</p>

3

<p>forgot to add:
Varsity Tennis(1 yr)
Varsity Basketball(1 yr)</p>

<p>possibly: DECA and mock trial for senior year.</p>

<p>Wayward_trojan
with these additions, any different?</p>

4

<p>Class rank and size?</p>

5

<p>Unless you're being recruited for sports or compete at an exceptional level, my opinion remains unchanged.</p>

6

<p>that will be tough to work at penn and columbia, but u still have a chance. can't hurt to try</p>

7

<p>"Class rank and size?"</p>

<p>unranked, and roughly top 5-10% of a 240 person class.</p>

<ul>
<li>stellar recs. (i mean it, i have read them)</li>
</ul>

<p>and, does legacy mean anything? i would have thought that it brought a big reach to a slight reach. was i wrong?</p>

8

<p>ED won't include senior grades, so your GPA is about 3.78 UW.
Legacy will help, but your academics and ECs are not strong.</p>

<p>Competitive high school?</p>

9

<p>currently i am not at a competitive high school. i transferred between sophomore and junior year to a public school. freshman/sophomore year was at one of the top boarding schools in canada. due to financial reasons, transfered to public high school in the states.</p>

10

<p>US citizenship or permanent resident?
If you aren't, it's a REJECT at UPenn and an Unlikely/ Very Unlikely at Columbia.</p>

11

<p>yes, i am a us citizen/resident. i have dual citizenship, and separately living parents(different countries).</p>

12

<p>I think Penn is bigger on legacy than Columbia is, but don't quote me on that.
You don't need SAT IIs if you're using the ACTs at Penn, that I know for sure.</p>

<p>Which AP Calc are you taking and which college do you want to go to in Penn?</p>

13

<p>its calculus AB. and im planning on applying to the college of arts and sciences at penn. (maybe columbia ed tho)
and also, i will try and convey how much time ASB and MUN have taken up the last year or so. (roughly 12hrs a week for MUN and 8 for ASB)</p>

14

<p>if ur doing cas at penn, thats easier than columbia. so i'd say penn</p>

15

<p>ivy hopeful, do i have a chance at either? how small of a shot at columbia?</p>

<p>thanks</p>

16

<p>i'll direct that question at anyone who cares to answer...</p>

17

<p>You seem to be desperate for an Ivy acceptance if your whole focus is on which school you'd get into rather than which school would be best suited to your interests. This is not the best path to college happiness. Columbia and Penn are not interchangeable.</p>

<p>That said, to the extent that you are competitive (and who the heck knows), and all else is equal, you have a better shot at Penn for two reasons. First, the incoming freshman class is much larger than Columbia's, consequently, a much higher acceptance rate (relatively, they are both low enough). Second, Penn really likes legacy candidates and blatantly says that they get more favorably treated in the ED process. One of the ways this happens is that your application is read 2x instead of once.</p>

18

<p>Nimby58
first of all, i only have legacy at columbia.
secondly:
i know that there are tons of kids that are desperate to get into these ivy league schools, and obsess over the name/prestige tied to them, but i am not one of these kids. I don't plan on applying to any other ivies(sp?) because they don't appeal to me as much as many "non prestigious" schools do. I have visited both schools, and am truly in love with them. I have also done my research and narrowed my top two down to these, with around 5 others comprised of matches and backups (and two more reaches). All that i wanted to know was if there was a chance that i could get into either, and how much harder would the other one be. </p>

<p>p.s. in no way am i angry at this misunderstanding, i just hope that no one else confuses me with the people on this site obsessing over the ivy name.</p>

19

<p>and to add to my last post, the only reason that i want to know this, is that i dont want to end up applying early to a school which i have no chance of getting into, when i could have used that higher acceptance rate in applying to the other. </p>

<p>catch my drift?</p>

20

<p>anyone care to add?</p>