<p>i got deferred and besides writing to the adcom on latest achievements, what else can i do to increase my chances in the RD pool? should i request another interview, write another essay?</p>
<p>ohhh TINGYEN TINGYEN TINGYEN! </p>
<p>funny bunnies would recommend u send a pORTFOLIO of WRITTEN WORK, if you wants to be a journalist...MEBE a bunch of ur articles and a COPY OF VISION MAGAZINE...EHHH???</p>
<p>My son did both -- wrote a poem, listed latest achievements, and described who he was in more detail than the essay allowed on the application. He also got an interview for the RD round as he hadn't had one in the ED round.</p>
<p>There's no new interviews if you've already had. IMO writing a new essay is really pointless; mailing them a bribe would be more effective. You can write them a letter on your latest achievements (if they're actually worth something rather than junk) and reiterate your interest in the school.</p>
<p>Stressing your attachment to the school is critical at this stage.</p>
<p>Don't do anything right away. It makes you look desperate. Focus now on finishing your other applications. Talk to your guidance counselor. He/she should be able to get some idea of how the committee saw your application, which could help guide you in what to do. For instance, if you have an improving academic record and they just want to see you do better work through your senior year, you just may need to keep your grades up. If it's a specific weakness, you may be able to do something to address that. If, by the end of January, Columbia remains your first choice school, write a letter saying that, and re-affirming your commitment to attend if admitted. Only do this if it is the truth (another reason to take your time--another option may become more attractive. And you have time; ED derferrals are loked at last in the regular decision cycle). Good luck.</p>
<p>I was deferred and was wondering if sending an additional recommendation would be of any help. My AP Art History teacher is an alum of Columbia's Art History department and mentioned that he could write a letter talking about how he knows that I have what it takes to be successful there from experience and whatnot. Would that help or just annoy the adcom?</p>
<p>Ivyalum's advice is sound, all around.</p>
<p>The art history rec doesn't seem to be to help if it's just "I have what it takes to be successful there from experience and whatnot" because that's speculative, conclusory and can be said about most of the applicants. A great letter tells the adcoms something about you that they don't already know. Why didn't you have him write your letter the first time around? Will he say anything better/different than your other rec writers (besides his conclusions about you having what it takes)?</p>
<p>I didn't have him write my rec originally because i'd only been in his class for a month when i asked my teachers to write recs and i thought that it might seem like his comments weren't particularly valid because i'd known him for such a short period of time. If he praised things like intellectual curiosity, work habits, passion for the subject, and overall achievement do you think it'd help? What other things could he mention to make it most effective?</p>
<p>Let me ask this way: if you had to start over and get two letters today, would he be one of the two teacher you would ask? What I'm asking is whether he'll really say anything better about "intellectual curiosity, work habits, passion" etc. than what the two people who have written for you said.</p>
<p>Yes, I'd certainly have him write a rec, were I to have a second chance, and I will probably have him write an additional letter for me. I'm just wondering if there are certain issues it would be to my benefit to have him address, that would make the letter particularly effective.</p>
<p>"Don't do anything right away. It makes you look desperate."</p>
<p>This isn't dating advice...</p>
<p>Wouldn't responding earlier signify a greater attachment to the college? I'm contemplating visiting Hamilton Hall next week after class (although they probably won't be there)...</p>
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Yes, I'd certainly have him write a rec, were I to have a second chance, and I will probably have him write an additional letter for me. I'm just wondering if there are certain issues it would be to my benefit to have him address, that would make the letter particularly effective.
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<p>You're the one who knows what issues he should address; what I'm asking is what you think your other 2 rec writers DID NOT say well enough such that his supplementary letter will be effective. If you have 2 strong letters saying that you're a great student, smart, curious, mature, etc., just realize that a third strong letter from another teacher who says the exact same thing about you isn't going to make much of a difference.</p>
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Wouldn't responding earlier signify a greater attachment to the college? I'm contemplating visiting Hamilton Hall next week after class (although they probably won't be there)...
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<p>It isn't a race. They won't look at your materials until March. The point of waiting a little bit is to take the time to think though what you want to say, accomplish more things that you can tell them about, spend time putting together some well thought out material, etc.</p>
<p>They already know Columbia is your first choice since you applied there early. The goal now is to convince them why they should take you, why you'd be an asset to Columbia, why you're a better applicant in the RD round than what they read in the ED round, etc.</p>
<p>And I'm not sure what you hope to accomplish by visiting Hamilton. They won't interview you.</p>
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And I'm not sure what you hope to accomplish by visiting Hamilton. They won't interview you.
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<p>you most probably won't get past the front desk attendant and if you are obnoxious about it that won't help you either</p>
<p>Why would you even suggest that he might possibly be obnoxious? I didn't see anywhere in his posts that indicated this might be a possibility.</p>
<p>I'm a parent, and here is a little bit of sobriety:</p>
<p>A few years ago, my daughter applied ED to Columbia. It was a realistic application: high board scores, NMF, not the highest GPA (but top 10% at her school), real depth in her main field of interest with a lot of third-party validation, OK ECs with a lot of community service. Because of schedule mess-ups, she had her interview literally 12 hours before the e-mails were sent out. It was one of the greatest interviews ever: the interviewer, who was the head of the local Columbia alumni association and whom I had never met, called me minutes after she left his office to tell me she was the best candidate for Columbia he had seen in the past 10 years. He was desperately trying to get an admissions person on the phone to tell them that (and he ultimately succeeded).</p>
<p>Anyway, she was deferred -- a decision that had certainly been made before the interview. The interviewer made it a project to make certain she got in RD, and it turned out that someone she had worked for on a regular basis had actually served a term as an alumni rep to the Board of Trustees. (She knew he was a Columbia alumnus, but not that he was so plugged in, and she hadn't bothered to tell him she was applying to Columbia ED.) He got involved, too. Her first semester of 12th grade was her best of high school grade-wise.</p>
<p>The net result? She was rejected RD. I am sure some of the deferred ED kids were accepted, but the RD pool is so big and the percentage accepted so small that it's just really hard to stand out, especially if someone already has the idea that there's something lacking. Her champions (who were really crestfallen about this) also thought that their efforts had probably ticked off the regional admissions person. She knew several kids who got in, and in each case she understood what might have made them more attractive than she; she also knew several kids who didn't get in, some of whom might also have been more attractive than she. An African-American kid who was in the top 1% of my daughter's class and who was accepted at all the other Ivies to which she applied was deferred ED and rejected RD at Columbia.</p>
<p>So, based on this, my advice would be to do what you can but to focus your psychic energy elsewhere. My daughter got into a bunch of good colleges and is attending one that she loves, maybe even more than she would have loved Columbia. In retrospect, she would have preferred to have been rejected by Columbia outright at the ED stage, so that she could have avoided a second kick in the teeth from her first-choice school.</p>
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And I'm not sure what you hope to accomplish by visiting Hamilton. They won't interview you.
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<p>Quite honestly I wasn't sure myself; it was simply one of the few things that flew through my mind after receiving a letter of status quo.</p>
<p>In any case, the fact that Columbia is actually extremely stringent on deferrals (they tend to defer only those that they think stand a strong chance in the regular pool) is heartening. For the most part, what I've seen just supports everything that's been said here- namely, compiling evidence that would make them consider you favorably.</p>
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In any case, the fact that Columbia is actually extremely stringent on deferrals (they tend to defer only those that they think stand a strong chance in the regular pool) is heartening.
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<p>I'm not sure why you think you stand a "strong chance"; reread your deferral letter and you will see that you have a 8-10% chance.</p>
<p>heyheyhey! its still a chance! 10%>0% (aka rejection)</p>