Do I have a chance at Columbia ED?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
1

I’m planning on applying to Columbia ED, but I know that any Ivy is extremely competitive and I want to know if I would be throwing away my ED by doing this, and if I should use my ED on a different school.

(Sorry this is long, but if I missed anything, please let me know)

Profile:

  • Asian female from SoCal, US citizen, upper middle class

Stats:
SAT - 1590, 790 reading, 800 math, 17 essay
GPA - 4.6 weighted, 3.9 unweighted
Rank - top 10% of 700 (my school goes by deciles, so no actual rank)

Classes:
9th grade - H. English 1, H. Alg2/Trig, H. Bio, Spanish 2, H. World Hist, Dance PE
9th grade summer - Dual Enrollment Art History class
10th grade - Spanish 3, AP Euro(5), AP Bio(4), H. Precalc, H. Chem, H. English 2, Dance PE
11th grade - APUSH(4), AP Lang(4), AP Phys C - M(5), AP Calc BC(5), AP Chem(4)
12th grade - AP Psych, AP Lit, AP Stats, AP Econ - macro, AP Comp Sci A, Dual Enrollment Differential Equations

Extracurriculars:

  • volunteered with an online newspaper for almost 6 years before a schedule conflict forced me to quit this year. I got some leaderships position here.
  • volunteered with another science organization for two years, about 6 hours a week, I have the only leadership position available here
  • Vice President of a club at school, we have accomplished quite a lot
  • founder of a science workshop for elementary schoolers at my local library
  • internship at a research lab at a university

Awards:
(I’m getting the PVSA in October)
AP Scholar, but idk how much that matters

I also have a lot of summer programs I can write about.

That was everything, let me know if it’s worth applying ED to Columbia or if I’d be throwing away my ED.

2

Congrats on a stellar high school record! If Columbia is your first choice, then apply early decision. Columbia is a reach for everyone and most applicants will not be admitted, but you’ certainly in the pool of qualified candidates and won’t be “throwing away” your ED. As long as you also submit your UC application before the 11/30 deadline, there’s no downside to applying ED to Columbia or any other single digit admit rate college.

3

Obviously it’s a reach, but why not? What is your alternative ED school? Would you regret not going for Columbia?

4

You are certainly in the running! Any idea of area of study.? Only concerns here is that Columbia is big on core courses and I don’t see 3 -4 years of foreign language. An AP science senior year would have been a plus too especially if that is your direction.

You have geographies and ultra high gpa on your side.

5

@SlowPop thanks for replying! I’ll be sure to send in my UC application.

@Techno13 my alternative ED school would be upenn, which has a slightly higher admission rate, but my dream school for so long has been Columbia. I’m really not sure which one I should apply ED to.

@cptofthehouse I’m planning on doing environmental engineering, and if that’s not possible than just engineering in general. I did 3 years of Spanish and was not about to do a fourth, especially since the only option was ap, and as for science the only option left was marine bio, and that class is full of 10th and 11th graders so I would have felt really awkward. Plus I was kinda hoping AP psych counted as a science :).

6

Are you applying to the Fu School or to Columbia College?

No, AP Psych does not count as a science. However, if AP levels of the core sciences are not available at your high school, you are fine. Might include that info in your info for your GC to write up in the school LOR.

7

@cptofthehouse fu school hopefully. And it’s not that AP levels of core sciences aren’t available, ive just already taken them all. AP bio sophomore year, AP Chem junior year, and AP physics c junior year.

8

There were other sciences available (anatomy, apes), but I asked my guidance counselor and he said that taking them would just be a repeat of AP bio. And marine bio, but I already explained why I didn’t take it.

9

Great stats. I’m sure you know that no one can give you an accurate prediction, but I say go for Columbia ED, mostly because Columbia is so much more awesome than Penn :slight_smile:

Two things caught my eye. First, AP Physics C E&M isn’t available at your high school? Second, multivariable calculus, linear algebra or even discrete math would likely be more fun than ODE (well, not so sure about MVC being more fun, but it would be more usual). If your DE class is second semester, you might want to take one of those instead. If you are already in ODE, well, I guess you’ll find out why it’s not much fun :frowning:

Best of luck, keep us posted!

10

@dropbox77177
No, only AP physics c mechanics is available. And yeah, diff equations is in first semester ?. I just really liked the diff. equations section in calc bc lol. I’m debating if I want to take another math/science second semester.

11

I would actually recommend that you look at a wider array of colleges. Visit some, get more information on their programs and their student bodies, etc. Often kids have “dream schools” based on very little info.

So, if, after looking at a bunch of other colleges, and having a much closer look at Columbia, Columbia STILL is your favorite, apply ED.

However, you should also look at various funding sources and figure out whether you will be missing out of financial aid by applying ED to Columbia. Most upper middle class families have difficulty in affording the EFC that is calculated by the more expensive colleges (Columbia being one of them).

With your resume, you could be eligible for at least some merit money in a large number of excellent colleges.

12

I agree with @MWolf 100%. It’s all good and well to have a top choice, but it’s important to have more schools on your list as well some true safeties

13

@MWolf
@cptofthehouse
My family and I have run the EFC and we can afford it. I’m planning to apply for scholarships and also graduate early to save money anyway.

Plus, I’m perfectly happy going to a UC if I get rejected from Columbia. I guess that’s my safety?

14

Depends upon the UC. I personally do not like UCs as safeties because you don’t know till spring whether you are accepted to the ones you most want. That’s a long time to sit with s slap in the face ED rejection. It can really hurt, more than many kids and parents expect.

Graduating from Columbia early is no easy feat in that it has a core curriculum. You really should research the school carefully—it is a most rigorous college.

I think your chances of an accept are about as good as it gets, female in engineering, strong math prep, high test scores—sorry that I missed the AP part of your chem and bio., geographic. I still think pairing the ED app with an early Safety would be a good idea. Wouldn’t hurt.

As for affordability, Columbia’s financial aid is wonderful, about as good as it gets, but there are no merit awards there and early grad is not to be taken for granted.

15

@cptofthehouse
since I get in state tuition for UC schools, I’m fine with waiting if I do end up getting rejected. I’m not really expecting anything, but I just wanted to try.

For graduating early, I’m just planning to take an extra class or two each semester so I can finish in 3.5 or possibly even 3 years, which I know will be very difficult, but worth it.

I know Columbia doesnt give meri scholarships, just need based ones, so I’m applying to outside scholarships.

16

The decision to apply anywhere ED should be made with care. IvyScope is a project founded by Dartmouth students and aims to help students like you figure out your true dream school through 1-on-1 immersive college tours.

If you want to shadow a current Columbia student, check out ivyscope.io

They match you with an undergrad at Columbia who majors in a subject you’re interested (perhaps economics?) and is involved in campus activities you’d be interested in (dance/math club). You get to sit in on lectures, attend school concerts/sporting events, observe club meetings, etc.

17

@nomood You have excellent academic stats! My daughter applied to Columbia last year and was accepted into this years Class 2023. Your academic stats are similar to hers (ACT 36, GPA unweighted 3.97, AP’s and Dual Enrollment classes) If you have taken SAT II Subject Tests, they are also considered (not required). If CU is absolutely your #1 choice and you are a strong candidate, definitely consider ED. The ED acceptance rate last year was 14.57% as opposed to the RD acceptance rate of 4.04% (Overall Acceptance Rate 5.14%). My daughter is also Asian (from Illinois). A very good YouTube video that specifically describes how to apply to CU: “How to get into Columbia: What No One Ever Tells You” by Krystle DiCristofalo. Best of luck in your college application process!!

18

Fu requires 128 credits for a degree. Within this 128 you’ll also need to complete requirements for a major and all of the core. Note that Columbia does not grant credit for college classes taken during high school, so your dual enrollment credits wont count. The AP classes above might qualify for credit, but you’d get a max of 16.

Still doable, but just realize you’ll be maxing out your schedule from freshman year just to do this.

19

Just as an update I decided against applying to Columbia at all. I’ll be applying to mostly schools in California.

20

@nomood Thanks for the update. My daughter applied to six California schools last year (Stanford, USC, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, UCD) and was accepted to all. If you have specific questions about applying at these schools, feel free to post! It was very stressful but manageable for my daughter, and I often reminded her to “trust in the process”. Good Luck in your application process!