Do I have a chance?

<p>ACT: 33
SAT II: Bio 740, World 750, US 780
Cumulative Weighted GPA: 4.046
Rank: 14/296
AP: USH 5, Bio 5, World 5, Psych 5, APES 5, Chem 4</p>

<p>Senior Course Load: AP Lit, AP Calc, AP Physics, AP German, AP Econ, AP Gov, Orchestra, plus a 200 level class at a local college called Myth, Ritual, and Symbolism. </p>

<p>EC: Jazz, Chamber First Seat, Nordic Varsity, Track, NHS Steering Committee, Chess Varsity, Speech Varsity, Science Olympiad Varsity, Knowledge Bowl, Boy Scouts SPL, Food Shelf</p>

<p>Intended Major: Anthropology, Archaeology
Essays and Recs: My essays were great and I assume my teacher recs were as well</p>

<p>Other: Going to Germany next year through Rotary Youth Exchange and I have been to a month long German camp twice</p>

<p>Mid-Year report: all A's except for most likely a B- in APLit. The teacher has a funky grading scale and grades really hard as well.</p>

<p>nope.</p>

<p>sorry if i sound a little blunt, but your ACT is too low, not enough AP (exams), cum. gpa semi-decent.</p>

<p>^ whoa there not so fast</p>

<p>In all honesty, this depends on your race (…). If you’re a URM, I would say your chances of getting in are high. Other hooks will also help, although probably not as much or evident as URM (1st gen, for example)</p>

<p>If you don’t have any hooks, chances seem pretty slim =/</p>

<p>Collegeftw, I am white and live in Minnesota. I really don’t think I have any hooks. However in a recent Harvard Interview, the Interviewer made it sound like showing an intention for an underrepresented major helped. Also, he said that Rotary was a very helpful thing because it is a maturing factor and helps to promote multiculturalism and maturity. </p>

<p>Ais4azn, that was harsh and fyi a 33 is on the higher end of Columbia’s ACT distribution. Also, I self studied for several of those AP exams because my school really doesn’t offer that many AP classes for students other than seniors.</p>

<p>how is six AP exams not enough AP’s? i get that columbia is ivy league and everything but seriously… i’m pretty sure that six is plenty. not to mention all the AP’s you’re taking this year.</p>

<p>Izzys123, thank you for aiding me in the slaying of the ■■■■■.</p>

<p>yeah 6 AP’s is plenty. 33 act is great. your numbers aren’t a problem at all. you are un-hooked though, and though you have good ec’s, they’re nothing i would call super standout. depends on your essays and recs: if they’re killer, yeah you got a good shot. </p>

<p>otherwise, i wouldn’t say you got a great one - why? not because you aren’t smart enough, but because there’s thousands of other kids out there with all your stuff who are also a 1st gen URM or won important awards or whatnot. gotta remember, you’re up against 30,000+ more-than-qualified people.</p>

<p>however, minnesota may be underrepresented, and compared to other candidates from your state or area, you may be much more qualified. if you live in a rural town, it would make sense that you wouldn’t have access to things say an NYC kid would have to win awards and such. anyway, i’m rambling. </p>

<p>good luck!</p>

<p>Thanks Joso2015 for being honest and kind about it. My Harvard Interviewer also said that no matter how I look at it the odds are against you at all of the Ivies just because of sheer numbers.</p>

<p>I definitely think you have a shot, actually. Columbia’s mean ACT range is 31-34, so you’re obviously in the upper tier of that, and your SAT II scores/GPA are right up there with most accepted Columbians from what I’ve seen so far. Also, 12 AP’s is DEFINITELY enough, I don’t know what ais4azn is talking about. As long as you presented yourself well in your application, I think you have a pretty good shot, but nothing’s guaranteed obviously since there’s going to be a pretty low accept rate this year judging by the number of applications.</p>

<p>stuntman; not trying to be a ■■■■■. (sorry if i was a little rude there; i was in a bad mood).
i was just trying to put this into comparison: i have a 35 act and plan to take 10 AP exams, and i doubt my ability to get in. </p>

<p>then again, i’m asian, so that may be something against me. you still have a chance; i’m just putting my opinion out.</p>

<p>Its OK I completely understand. I doubt my ability to get in as well, but best to stay optimistic. The acceptance rate is going to be around 3.5% for RD this year because of the ED acceptance and sheer number of applicants. The odds are pretty much against everyone.</p>

<p>hey i’m from minnesota too and applying! where are you from?</p>

<p>hmm, i don’t like it when someone states “no” (looking above)</p>

<p>i definitely think you have a chance. your ACT, rank might be a little low, but if you did well on the essay and show strong passion, i believe you have a decent chance. you’re definitely strong at extracurrics (:</p>

<p>gluck!</p>

<p>good chance, but your rank is low.</p>

<p>I can’t accurately chance you, but I do want ais4azn (and others) to know that stuntman’s school probably doesn’t offer as many APs as your school does, and Columbia will (better!) take that into consideration. I don’t think you have too few APs.</p>

<p>People…</p>

<p>Your scores are really good. Whoever said 33 on ACT is bad is just ■■■■■■■■.
You’re white, so that doesn’t help…
Your weighted HPA is really low…I had a higher HPA when I was in 7th grade…
I know that Columbia stresses a lot on class rank.
Also NEED to see tons upon tons of AP. They want to see that you challenged yourself.
They don’t accept scores of 3 on AP exams. They want to see you mastered the class and didn’t just take it.
You also need to have 2-to-3-year-long commitments and leadership roles.
You need to show that you’re unique and different and creative.
You need to show that you will CONTRIBUTE to the school.
You know to show that you REALLY REALLY REALLY want to go; how attending Columbia would be such an honor.</p>

<p>…You don’t seem very enthusiastic. When I fantasize about reading an acceptance letter from Columbia I get so giggly and a huge grin spreads across my face and I start to tear up and cry and stay overjoyed for at least 15 minutes. And that’s just THINKING about it.</p>

<p>You seem like an average applicant in that you have Columbia on your list as a “why not?”</p>

<p>^ It doesn’t seem to me like Columbia puts all that much weight on class rank, especially considering you have to look at the school as a whole… also, 14/296 = within the top 5%</p>

<p>Since when is 12 not tons upon tons of APs? He’s taken 6 so far and is currently enrolled in 6… taking 6 classes at once PLUS being enrolled in a college course is impressive.</p>

<p>He didn’t mention 3s on any of his exams.</p>

<p>He also didn’t mention how long he’d been doing his extracurriculars, but apparently long enough to be placed on varsity for a variety of activities. He also plays sports as well as having a lot of ECs on top of that and is clearly passionate about his German… also, being First Seat is pretty much better than a leadership position.</p>

<p>Did you even read the first post? It doesn’t seem like it, based on your criticism. And you can’t really judge someone’s “enthusiasm” for a school by a stats post…</p>

<p>ETA: And because I thought this but forgot to mention it, among his many impressive ECs, he’s not only involved in musical ensembles (which take up a lot of time, especially if he’s good enough to be First Seat), but he’s also a Boy Scout, which is a huge flashing sign that says COMMITMENT.</p>

<p>Chill, dude, I wasn’t criticizing him. I was stating what I know about Columbia admissions. Calm down.</p>

<p>Haha, sorry, you just sounded really incisive and it seemed unfair.</p>

<p>Oh, by the way, Columbia does emphasize class rank. It’s a part of the AI (Academic Index) formula, for one. 93% of students at Columbia were in the top 10% of their high school. And I spoke to a Columbia admissions rep. and alumni that conducts interviews and they flat-out told me that class rank is a big deal and that aiming to be in the top 10 is strongly advised. Just saying.</p>