<p>My mother, and her two sisters are all undergrads from Columbia University. Will this help me get into this school?
Do Ivy League give any preference to students whose parents or close relatives have studied from them?</p>
<p>Here's my profile:
Gender: M
Location: India
College Class Year: 2015
High School: Private
High School Type: sends some grads to top schools
Will apply for financial aid: Yes</p>
<p>Academics:</p>
<p>GPA - Unweighted: 3.9
GPA - Weighted: 4.13
Class Rank: top 5%
Class Size: 150</p>
<p>Scores:</p>
<p>SAT I Math: 760
SAT I Critical Reading: 710
SAT I Writing: 750
SAT II Literature: 800
SAT II Math Level 2 (IIC): 800
SAT II Chemistry: 800</p>
<p>Extracurriculars:</p>
<p>Significant Extracurriculars:
Music:
Play the Piano. Part of the school band. Have released two Albums for private circulation.
Pursuing music for the last 7 years. Won various competitions inter-school, as a band.</p>
<p>Debate:
National Level Debater. I have won several debate competitions.
2ND Prize in a national debate, where I competed with the best debaters through out the country</p>
<p>Leadership positions: 1)Vice Captain of my School.
I was responsible for organizing events and managing them, all the while encouraging other kids for participation.</p>
<p>2)Member of the SRC (School Representative Council)</p>
<p>Volunteer/Service Work:
1)Volunteered for an organization that promotes road safety.
2)Co-founded an organization that helps in the nourishment of very poor children.</p>
<p>Honors and Awards: Lots in Music and Debating.</p>
<p>PS: I am an international student.</p>
<p>Your test scores are pretty good and the overall academic profile is certainly very impressive. your ECs, however, are kinda weak. Try to stress passion and commitment (in a unique manner) to at least one of them and that might make up for it. Legacies help a lot for most ivies btw. Columbia isn’t need-blind for Indians so that might hurt your chances. My advice: apply ED, (it really helps) and you’ll most likely (it’s still a crapshoot though) be accepted! </p>
<p>Good luck! </p>
<p>P.S: I am considering Columbia for ED too :)</p>
<p>How the heck is this weak?</p>
<p>Debate:
National Level Debater. I have won several debate competitions.
2ND Prize in a national debate, where I competed with the best debaters through out the country.</p>
<p>The level of competition is intense. National awards in one area are simply too common to make a significant difference to an app. That’s just my personal opinion though.</p>
<p>Oh, and several students compete in World MUNs and other International debate competitions. It’s just too common in South Asia.</p>
<p>Your mother makes you a legacy which helps a lot. But needing aid as an intertnational hurts a lot. I would retake SATs and write an excellent application.</p>
<p>PrincetonDreams
Thanks for your input! I agree with you when you say my ECs aren’t exceptional. They are rather ordinary. And you couldn’t be more right about the MUNs and Asians! Ha.</p>
<p>Redroses
Thanks. And I have registered for the october SAT. Let’s see how well I do this time.</p>
<p>I had a couple more questions.
- Is it absolutely necessary that I apply to one and only one college for ED? Or can I apply to multiply colleges for ED?
- I am also applying to Stanford, Cornell and Berkeley. So out of all four colleges which one gives me the best chance to get into? And which is most favourable in terms of finaid, considering I am an international student? Will it be prudent of me to apply to Stanford and Berkeley without Aid, since they are not need-based for intl. Students?</p>
<p>If you can afford to pay appply to all without asking as none of your schools are need blind for internationals and it will severley impact your chances. The competition from India is unbelievably brutal.</p>
<p>You can only apply ED to one school.</p>
<p>@ptlazarus: Out of all the colleges you’ve listed, none are particularly favourable to Internationals asking for aid. If you really need aid and intend to apply EA, I’d recommend Yale. Their aid packages are usually very comprehensive. Although, since the EA plan is non-binding, it’s not as much of a boost in chances as ED is. Still, students at my school have almost always been ONLY accepted when applying EA to Yale.
Some other options (if aid is very important to you) could be Dartmouth, Amherst or MIT.</p>
<p>I’d reiterate Redroses’ recommendation of retaking the SATs. A 2250+ would certainly help your chances!</p>
<p>Well yeah, we South Asians love debating lol. Haha I am not even good at it and I still go to nearly every MUN event in the world.</p>
<p>Good luck with your app!</p>
<p>Redroses
Thanks for the reality check. Competition from India must be cutthroat. I know that Stanford and Berkeley aren’t need blind for Internationals, but what about Cornell? They have a Tata Scholarship For Indians. Any idea how that works?</p>
<p>PrincetonDreams
I don’t think internationals are eligible for EA. Sigh.
2250, is hmm, possible but hard. I am gonna try my best! You must be apply for colleges for the session 2011-2012? Which colleges are you looking at? And how are your scores?</p>
<p>What about Princeton and Harvard? I think they are need-blind for internationals? Though my chances their are pretty bleak, should I consider them?</p>
<p>If none of these, could you tell me some which are need-blind for internationals? Ivy-status doesn’t matter much. I want to take up computer/electrical engineering from a good college.</p>
<p>Internationals are eligible for EA. Every applicant is allowed to apply EA/ED. Some universities like UChicago, discourage but still accept international EA applications asking for Fin Aid. Columbia certainly encourages ED applications from international and domestic students alike.</p>
<p>Yes, I am applying this Fall/Winter. I really like Columbia but Brown and Williams have also started to interest me lately. My scores… are decent, nothing too exceptional lol.</p>
<p>Need-blind colleges in the U.S:</p>
<p>Amherst College
Dartmouth College
Harvard University
MIT
Princeton University
Yale University</p>
<p>The students from India who get into Harvard and Princeton typically have national standing/awards in something or are children of the very powerful. What you really have going for you is the Columbia legacy. In my opinion your best shot by far at a top US school would be to apply ED to Columbia not asking for aid. You will get in over Indians with much higher stats.</p>
<p>Being “powerful” doesn’t provide a signifiant boost in chances, trust me! Harvard is looking for unique and passionate people. I have a sibling there so I know a little bit.</p>
<p>Judging by your previous posts, you’re a ■■■■■. Find something better to do and stop wasting everyone’s time.</p>
<p>Ah youth, you’re just wrong Princetondreams. And they do, like all schools, have a defense for taking children of the powerful from all over the world–they bring interesting perspective and access to interesting speakers and participants on campus as well as to jobs/contacts.</p>
<p>Lol, seriously I used to think just like you until my friend, who’s father is currently Prime-Minister, was rejected by Stanford and Cornell this year (accepted to Cambridge however). His academics were pretty good but his essays were extremely generic.
On the other hand, my family’s name is unknown outside my country (semi-famous within the country though) and yet my sister was still accepted to Harvard with relatively SUB-PAR academic scores!</p>
<p>Anecdotes do not tell the story, the top US schools have a long history of educating ‘qualified’ children of the powerful and it will never change.</p>
<p>Haha, at least I am more famous than you. 200 million people isn’t so bad :p</p>