Hi guys, I would appreciate your help. I’ve had my heart set on Columbia University for a while now. I am applying early decision this fall and I’ve been stressing myself out a lot over the past few months over my chances. I want to attend so much and it’s my dream school. I figured I would make a post here and ask you guys if you think I have a chance. BTW my intended major is Biology as I hope to enter the pre-med track. I know it can be difficult to apply as a Bio major so I may apply as Psych or some other major and switch to Bio if you guys think that’s a better idea.
Sex: Female
Ethnicity: Biracial (Asian-American + Caucasian)
School: one of the most competitive high schools in Southern California
GPA (weighted, all 5 completed semesters): 4.69
GPA (weighted, junior year): 5.0
GPA (unweighted, junior year): 4.0
GPA (unweighted, all 5 completed semesters): 3.93
Grades: all A’s so far junior year. I am on track to finish my second semester of junior year with all A’s as well.
Class rank: my school is really competitive so they don’t do class rankings otherwise we would be at each other’s throats at all times. But I’d say with confidence that I’m in the top 5% of my class, and in the top 99% of CA students.
SAT: took it two times- the second time was too boost my english section score. My superscore is 1590 (800/800 on math and 790/800 on english). Highest composite is my first try, 1550 (800 on math and 750 on english). Highest essay score was 23/24.
Subject SAT: took World History and got a decent 730. I’m taking Biology, Math II, and US History in June after APs.
Classes under my belt:
Currently, in junior year I have 6 periods and I am taking 4 AP classes and 2 Honors.
- APUSH
- AP Calc AB
- AP Biology
- AP Psychology
- French 4H
- English 3H
Sophomore Year I took WHAP (scored a 5), Honors Chem and English, French 3, my mandatory year of PE, and Pre-Calculus.
I figure freshman year isn’t too important but I took Honors Ancient Civ, Honors English, Honors Bio, Alg 2/Trig, my other mandatory year of PE, and French 2.
Senior year I am taking the following classes:
- AP US Government
- AP Economics
- AP Statistics
- AP Literature & Comp
- AP Physics
- ASB
Extracurriculars:
- My biggest one is that I’m a self published author and I published my novel earlier this spring. I’m a pretty good writer so I feel confident about my essays for college and I’m really proud of this particular accomplishment.
- President of my school’s Environmental Protection club
- Vice President of my school’s Mental Health and Mindfulness club
- I’m also taking on two other board positions on two other clubs on campus in my senior year.
- I am a member of my school’s ASB (student body) and am very involved in on-campus activities.
- I am part of my school’s selected group of upperclassmen that tutors and mentors incoming freshmen (this is a pretty big responsibility at my school and is a must-do for any students who wish to be a leader on campus)
- I also privately tutor kids for the SAT as well as in AP Biology (some for free, some for cash)
- I am an intern on a local congressional campaign (unpaid, woohoo)
- I volunteer at my local science center (teaching kids about biology/chemistry and the sorts)
- I am planning on volunteering at a local hospital over summer
- I am a freelance pilates instructor. (not a really relevant fact to my academics, I know, but I know colleges like to see interests on your application and some athletics, and I’m not the sports type)
- Another thing I do in my free time is Youtube and being a social media influencer (again, not relevant to my academic portfolio but it’s something I dedicate a lot of time to and work hard on, and I know colleges like to see your hobbies and interests and how well-rounded you are). It’s a creative outlet for me where I can showcase my art skills and blow off some stress, and I’ve gained moderate success through it.
- there’s a lot of other things that I’ve done doing my high school career and i would love to list all of them but these are the most important things that I dedicate my time to.
Other stuff:
- I’ve got my letters of rec squared away and ready. I have a really good, close relationship with all my teachers this year and I have confidence that they will write great letters for me.
- I’m generally known on campus for being a hard worker and smart, but a nice, helpful, and involved person. And I’m really proud of that reputation.
Also, I attended a summer program at Columbia and Barnard last summer and lived on campus for a month. It was a program for Medical Science where I got to learn from a professor in daily college classes about biological and premedical sciences, performed a few dissections, and observed a surgery. It was amazing and really cemented my resolve that Columbia was where I wanted to be. I will most likely talk about it in some of the supplementals on my application.
Anyways, I’m sure I am forgetting to list something important, but that’s a little glimpse of my portfolio and what I have to offer. Do you guys think I have a shot at Columbia? Thank you if you made it to the end of this long post.
- a stressed-out junior who just wants to do a good job
PS.
I’m hoping Columbia will take me early decision and that will be that. But I’m also applying to the following schools. Do you think this list looks doable for me? (not a final list)
- Brown
- UCLA (my sibling is currently attending)
- Northwestern (I am a double legacy there- both parents attended and my grandparents as well)
- Barnard (if I don’t get into Columbia, I’d love to go here because it’s literally right next to Columbia and it’s technically part of Columbia)
- Johns Hopkins
- Princeton
- Georgetown
Safeties:
- George Washington
- University of Washington
- Wellesley
- NYU
Wellesley admitted 19% of applicants this year.
I think you certainly have a shot at Columbia but relook at your list if you get deferred. Your safeties are not safeties.!
Thank you momofsenior1! Do you or anyone else reading this have recommendations for some more safeties to add to my list? I’m thinking prestigious but still with a high enough acceptance rate. Preferably in the East Coast or West Coast. Thank you again 
I didn’t notice anything about financial restrictions so I assume your parents are comfortable paying for whatever school you choose. If that is not the case you should be applying to some schools with higher acceptance rates that tend to offer nice merit scholarships. If you want another NYC school with a higher acceptance rate perhaps Fordham. University of Pittsburgh would academically be a safety and you would almost certainly qualify for some merit. They have a number of special bio pre med health type programs that might be appealing. Also perhaps consider U Penn, similar to the other Ivies you are applying to but a larger school so a tiny bit easier for admissions. They also have some interesting programs that blend sciences and pre med aspirations. You certainly have a legitimate chance at Columbia. I would concentrate your why Columbia on things beyond the HS program since those really aren’t selective. Certainly mention that is how you spent time on campus but then I would take it way beyond the program to the college, city, etc. Having a specific aspiration relating to campus isn’t bad at all just find a way to make it unique. My Columbia kid mentioned something very specific from a tour we took that they wanted to do but got pretty deep on how that meshed with their interests in an area that is not that typical. I’m guessing they liked that since they were admitted but I find it interesting that now they are doing that exact thing on campus they mentioned in the essay. Good Luck!
You are a competitive applicant. Your stats and ECs are great. Write good essays and you could get accepted to any of these schools
If it’s your dream school, definitely apply early, your chances are going to be much much better than RD, where it’ll be lottery-esque, especially since you’re an Asian applying from CA. I’d recommend applying EA to Georgetown which is non-restrictive and maybe another public flagship, you have UW on your list. Also tighten up your ECs, that’s a laundry list, focus on the ones where you made the most impact. You’re an excellent applicant, you’ll get in to your safeties, good luck!
These are not safeties for you or anyone;
- George Washington
- University of Washington
- Wellesley
- NYU
Safeties can be confirmed by looking at the HS naviance if they have it. GW and UW are safeties for most applicants from CA with a 3.9/1590 in a competitive HS, they just are.
Hey guys, I finished my second semester of junior year about a month ago and I now have all my final grades + AP scores + Subject Tests in.
Updated stats:
GPA (weighted, all 6 completed semesters): 4.77
GPA (weighted, junior year): 5.0
GPA (unweighted, junior year): 4.0
GPA (unweighted, all 5 completed semesters): 3.94
Grades: all A’s and A pluses
Subject SATs:
World History - 730
US History - 760
Math II - 770
Biology M - 770
APs from this year:
Psychology - 5
US History - 5
Calc AB - 5
Biology - 5
I’ve also started ramping up my work at a local nonprofit science center, and by the time applications go in I will have committed over 140 hours there in volunteer service.
Am I on the right track? Starting to fill out my Common App now. It’s getting really exciting (and scary!)
wecansolveforx, what summer program did you attend at barnard? I believe we may know each other because I think I went to that program too.
@wecansolveforx I don’t know about the other schools, but I have to agree that Wellesley and NYU are not safeties. They are great matches, but that is not the same thing. This past year was brutal with very high stat kids being rejected from schools like that, which they thought were safeties. Please do yourself a favor and find a school that you really like with EA or Rolling admissions and secure at least one admission early on in the process. After that, everything else is gravy.
Clearly, you are a very competitive student for any college in the country. But admissions are difficult to predict for everyone.
Thank you! Forgot to mention that I finalized my list a little bit more with some extra colleges (Berkeley, Amherst, and Harvard just for the hell of it) and added on University of San Francisco as a safety.
@wecansolveforx was it the oxbridge program by any chance?
sry for repost i didn’t tag in the first one
@wecansolveforx ahhhhh does your name start with J I’m pretty sure i know you!!!
ED, Columbia might be a low reach for you.
Broadly speaking, for someone with your stats, a safety will be a school with a 50+% admit rate where your stats are at or above the 75th percentile. It should also obviously be a school you can afford.
LACs ranked below about 60, private universities ranked below about 70, and your public flagship (unless it’s Berkeley/UCLA, UVA, UMich…) could be considered low matches or safeties. That’s a very rough guide – co firm admit rates and GPA/test scores among admits before you call a school a safety.
Be sure to show genuine interest in your safety(-ies) – some of them actually look at high-stat applicants negatively because they figure the chance of attendance is low, so admitting them would reduce yield.
I have some updates that I wanted to add in!
My finalized list of colleges I’m applying to is as follows:
- Columbia University
- Brown University
- Northwestern University
- Princeton University
- Barnard College
- UCLA and Berkeley (figured I might as well do more than one UC if I’m gonna fill out the UC app)
- Harvard University
- Georgetown University (already submitted my Georgetown app, and I’m starting the interview process)
- George Washington University
- University of Washington
- UC Berkeley
- Johns Hopkins University
- University of San Francisco
- Wellesley College
Added in a safety or two. I’ve already got my Common App filled out and will start supplementals as they release. I am contemplating whether it’s a good idea to apply to UW because I’d have to fill out a separate coalition app. Hoping that I can send out the November applications, Columbia takes me, and that’s that.
New stuff:
- I gave a Ted Talk this spring about my self-published book and mental health in my community. Don’t know how I forgot to mention that in my og post!
- I was awarded an AP US History award at the end of my junior year, as well as the Princeton Book Award (state-wide level). I’m not sure if the PBA bears any weight in a Princeton/Ivy application but it’s a nice addition to the awards and honors category.
Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you for all your help. I’ll be starting my senior year very soon, and I feel ready for what’s to come. I hope that I have a chance.