<p>How does the admissions office actually process and review all the applications? My counselor said something about reviewing in committee but I still don't understand this completely. Anyone have any information on the procedure?</p>
<p>most selective colleges work this way:</p>
<p>your application is read in its entirety by your region’s admissions rep…for columbia, each state has its own rep, plus there are more for international regions. your rep will select the candidates he or she thinks fit the bill for CU, and then the committee at large discusses each. essentially, it is important to impress your admissions rep, because they are the one arguing your case in committee</p>
<p>Where have you heard this information? So what you are saying is that if you don’t impress the admissions representative your application won’t even reach the University committee. I can’t believe that, because it is never fair a single person, no matter how experienced he/she is, to judge your admission. Moreover, consider the following example. Lets suppose that some person is has been rejected from his representative and that after a while (and before the decision day passes) he submits improved grades and test scores. Then what will happen? Is the represenative going to examine the application again.</p>
<p>Yeah, somehow I find it strange that one regional rep can make or break your chances at Columbia. Makes me a lot more scared too =/</p>
<p>I think ColumbiaHopeful1 is right, at least from what I’ve heard (many colleges definitely use committees). That’s why it’s so important to have good essays with great, compelling hooks: If the admissions reps really like your essay, they’re more likely to bring it up to be reviewed by the AdCom.
However, I have no idea. I know Admissions reps, even at selective colleges like Stanford, Yale, and Northwestern, that have massive regions to review. The admissions rep from Stanford that came to my school said her region covers most of New York, Connecticut, and parts of Texas, which is pretty amazing. Don’t dwell on this stuff though. Just stand by your App and hope for the best.</p>
<p>yeah brickhouse…stanford is where i got my info…the admissions rep who did our info session described the process to us. i can’t confirm that columbia does it the same way, but it is in the same tier of selectivity, so i think its safe to assume the process is similar</p>
<p>COlumbiaHopeful is correct. An admissions rep told me this is how they review applications</p>
<p>Really? Wow. I e-mailed my rep. talking of a typo I had and he said he “made a note on my application.” I wonder if this is a good or bad thing now, since I pretty much magnified my own app. to him… =(</p>
<p>OK, but noone has answered my question yet. So, I repeat:</p>
<p>Lets suppose that some person is has been rejected from his representative and that after a while (and before the decision day passes) he submits improved grades and test scores. Then what will happen? Is the represenative going to examine the application again.</p>
<p>I would say yes, but nobody on this forum could say for sure. That’s why they’re paid the bug bucks.</p>
<p>Big bucks*</p>
<p>in my email with c00 code: “Please note that we reserve the right to review an application even if all application materials have not been received.” </p>
<p>i think this means that if they have not yet received your SAT retake scores, for example, they can still review your application and make a decision</p>
<p>kapoios001, applicants are required to submit all their materials by the due date. After that there’s no guarantee that additional materials will be looked at.</p>
<p>@NWdivisionCHAMPS, How do you know who is your regional rep?? How were you able to contact her or him?</p>
<p>^ He had a columbia presentation event thing that I went to. Honestly, I had no idea of his importance. Though I did let him know who I was and asked a lot of “intellectual” questions about Columbia, I doubt he remembers who I am.</p>
<p>Do you think telling the rep about a spelling error, a word missing would help?
cuz I made a same exact mistake and I have been stressing over about it but decided
to forget about them. But do you think it would help if I tell my rep about my mistake?</p>
<p>in my opinion, i would just let it be. they are spending no more than 10-20 minutes on your application and most likely will overlook a mistake. i dont think its such a big deal.</p>
<p>do they read the application first or the essays/recommendations? i think the former but if anyone is sure i’d like to know.</p>
<p>check this link…it lists all of the officers and the regions they each represent, with email addresses.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.studentaffairs.columbia.edu/admissions/sites/admissions/files/webfm/counselor_newsletter.pdf[/url]”>http://www.studentaffairs.columbia.edu/admissions/sites/admissions/files/webfm/counselor_newsletter.pdf</a></p>
<p>you think its aright if applicants e-mail them? or you think they’d see it as annoying</p>