<p>As I've been perusing the boards here, I've seen alot of mixed signals regarding the Columbia humanities school and the Engineering school in terms of difficulty of acceptance..i understand they(Engineering school) take a significantly less amount of students but have a higher acceptance rate, but in context of other good engineering schools, how does it compare? Specifically, MIT, which I am applying Early Action. Also, I have heard from word of mouth that scores in general do not have to be completely amazing; is there any truth to this? Do I seem to be a "match" for their Engineering school?</p>
<p>SAT: CR - 680, M - 630, W - 730
SAT II: Bio M - 760, Chem - 770, Math II - 720
Rank - 47/760+
GPA: 4.775 weighted
AP: Bio - 5
Psychology - 5
US History - 3
English Langauge - 3
Calculus BC
Chemistry
Physics
Computer Sci A
Statistics
English Literature</p>
<p>EC: Varsity soccer 9th/10th
Science League 9th-12th, 1st in county for Bio II
Competitive Lifeguarding - 1st in Region 3rd National, along with various awards
Volunteer at First Aid Squad and Hospital 20 hrs a week for 4 years
Ski Club
Head Lifeguard at waterpark this summer
Team Lead at theme park 2 summers prior to the waterpark</p>
<p>Unusual circumstances: Became extremely ill sophmore year, missed half the school year, and was at about 50% for 10th and 11th grade until now...</p>
<p>Any input would be greatly appreciated =D</p>
<p>^ you have an interesting profile, i think seas at columbia would be a stretch, scores don't have to be completely amazing, but several things do, and it definitely hurts if your scores are not, it doesn't exclude you from getting in, but puts you at a disadvantage. </p>
<p>To be judgemental, i don't think you can get into MIT engineering, your ECs seem to be different and interesting, but your academics seem heavily under-par for MIT engineering, they seem underpar for columbia seas. you'd have to move a mountain, or be the president's son/daughter to get into MIT engineering with a 630 in SAT math and a 720 in mathII. I actually wonder if MIT engineering has acutally taken that combination of scores without some national math team award in the last decade. I'm sorry if this sounds harsh, but nothing here demonstrates that you are remotely capable of handling the MIT coursework and level of classes. it's similar with fu. Fu is definitely a reach i'd say, you have a small chance of being accepted.</p>
<p>yea, kinda a ****ty situation...im hoping that by a small miracle they can see my application in context plus this years grades which are much better..but who knows...</p>
<p>thanks for the honesty though, definately appreciate it =D</p>
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I'm sorry if this sounds harsh, but nothing here demonstrates that you are remotely capable of handling the MIT coursework and level of classes. it's similar with fu. Fu is definitely a reach i'd say, you have a small chance of being accepted.
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<p>More precisely, it's the same at SEAS. The math scores are pretty unimpressive and inexplicable, so I don't see it happening unless there's something you don't tell us.</p>
<p>By the way, I don't think "the MIT coursework and level of classes" is much different than that of SEAS. I looked at practice exams on the MIT website for upper division courses I took, and MIT students were expected to know the same kinds of things as I was. Caltech on the other hand.... that sheeeet was hard.</p>
<p>a 630 math on the sat i? unless that was some huge under performance, you'll probably have difficulty with engineering if you manage to get in.</p>
<p>Is it possible that they see my straight As in Honors Calculus and the fact that im self studying AP Calc BC and possibly negate these dismal SAT scores? I honestly cannot understand why I cant succeed on the SAT math...hopefully November will change that..=/</p>
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my straight As in Honors Calculus
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<p>The problem with one high school grade is that it means nothing. Who knows how grade-inflated your HS is, or how weak your competition is. Standardized tests are useful because they're, um, standardized.</p>
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the fact that im self studying AP Calc BC
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<p>I'm not sure how this shows aptitude or ability. If you 5'ed the BC exam after self-studying, that shows a ton. The fact that you're currently doing the self-study shows nothing but effort.</p>
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why I cant succeed on the SAT math
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<p>Or the SAT II math? Isn't a 720 on Math 2 pretty weak?</p>
<p>Do you have anything to prove that you're good at math -- competitions like the AMC / AIME, for example?</p>
<p>I've heard that retaking the SATs can prejudice your chances of admission, but with a 630, it's possible that it's worth it, if only to show them that you in fact are adept in mathematics. Unless of course you don't think you'll have a significant improvement, in which case obviously the bad will outweigh the good. If you do decide to retake them, it's probably not a bad idea to drill that vocab a little more too, get that CR up while you're at it.</p>
<p>
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I've heard that retaking the SATs can prejudice your chances of admission, but with a 630, it's possible that it's worth it, if only to show them that you in fact are adept in mathematics. Unless of course you don't think you'll have a significant improvement, in which case obviously the bad will outweigh the good. If you do decide to retake them, it's probably not a bad idea to drill that vocab a little more too, get that CR up while you're at it.
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<p>This makes no sense whatsoever. His chances of admission aren't going to be any worse then they already are if he's able to do better than 630.</p>