<p>Alright, I've been lurking this forum a lot...and been resistant to post. But I'm going to. I've decided to put it in a bit more of a narrative format, just because I'm better at that. Hope that isn't a problem.</p>
<p>I recently took a look at Columbia, and loved it. It's not because it's an ivy or whatever...I didn't even really seriously think about going to an ivy until I went there. We stopped by it while looking at some other colleges, and I loved New York, I loved the campus, and its academic oppurtunities seemed amazing. I really feel like Columbia is the perfect school for me.</p>
<p>But, the problem is, as of right now, I don't have what it takes to get in...or at least, I'm pretty sure I don't. I'm only a junior though, so I would like to know what I need to improve on so I could get into Columbia.</p>
<p>I took the SAT in April, and it was a lot lower than expected: 710 Math, 650 Writing, 560 Verbal. On the PSAT, my Verbal and Math were 730 equivalents, and my writing was about where it was at before...I've suspected that I misbubbled on the Verbal part, which got me such a lower score, but I honestly don't know what happened. I thought I would have done better. At any rate, I know I should study and retake and get the scores higher. But this leads to my first question...<a href="1">b</a> How high do I need to get my SAT score to be?** Also, if high SAT scores might make up for other areas that I'm lacking in, particularly my lackluster GPA. The same question arises for SAT II's...I took the Literature and Math II C in January, and got a 660 and 700 on them respectively. This was without studying. Today, I took the US History, Physics, and Math II C exams. I think I did well on History, while Math wasn't much better (because of APs, I didn't get to study for it much more) and Physics wasn't that great either.</p>
<p>I also have some issues with grades. As of right now and counting what I've got in the classes I'm taking this semester...my GPA is very bizarre. Unweighted (without plusses, minuses, and honors credit) it is a 3.92, while weighted (with plusses, minuses, and honors credit) it is a 3.89. There are some grades that might go up or down, but most likely it's going to be around a 4.0 for both by the end of my Junior year. This is counting Freshman, Sophomore, and Junior years. I haven't taken tons of honors classes. In Sophomore, I took Algebra 2 Honors, while in Junior year I've taken English Honors, Trig Honors, AP US History and AP Physics. Senior year, I plan to only take Calc AB and English Language AP, along with Band and Journalism Honors, but I don't think those last two count. So the next questions come up...<a href="2">b</a> How high do I need my GPA to be?** and <a href="3">b</a> Should I take an additional honors class, most likely French Honors, even if it's something I'm not interested in?**</p>
<p>As far as ECs go...I have done Band (play Tenor Saxophone, am okay) and Newspaper for 2 years, Cross Country and Track for 3 but I am stopping after this year. The only varsity was Track for Junior year. I guess I should also ask <a href="4">b</a> Is it a mistake to quit doing running if I'm not that great at it?** I've done community service for Key Club since Freshman year, over 100 hours for each semester...which I guess will come to 600+ by the end of my Junior year.</p>
<p>I've thought about volunteering for the Red Cross, simply because it's something I've liked the idea of doing. I wanted to try and get an internship this summer, but I think those options have already passed, so I'm settling for a job. I've thought about trying to start a club at my school, but I don't know if it will mean much since I'm starting it in senior year and it might be random. The only other realy thing I can think of is having run some games online...that isn't anything academic though, but I guess it could end up being a hook? Would any of this be good to use on an app? As far as background goes...mixed ethnicity (half Persian, 1/4 white, 1/4 Mexican) and from upper-middle class to middle class, although my dad was unemployed for the last year.</p>
<p>So, as you can see, I don't have a lot going for me...I guess I'm alright, but nothing is really outstanding. I'm left wondering, what do I need to do? Is there anything I'm missing here that I should try that will hopefully help make me stand out? Or have I messed around too much, and it's pretty much impossible for me to get into this high level of a school?</p>
<p>Any constructive thoughts will be appreciated...thanks! :)</p>
<p>Other schools I am interested in, but not sure if I have a good chance:</p>
<p>(Columbia) - Main one, if I have a chance I probably will apply ED.
Washington University in St. Louis
Emory University
Northwestern
NYU
University of Michigan(Ann Arbor)
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
UCLA
UC Berk
UC Irvine
UC San Diego
University of Southern California
George Washington University
Syracuse University
University of Wisconsin at Madison</p>