<p>Based on the evidence you offered, you are not a particuarly competitive candidate. Your ACT is well below expectations. Getting it TO 30 doesn’t help. It needs to be ABOVE 30. Your ECs do not stand out as exceptional in any way. Really, they just seem average, run-of-the-mill. You would be competing against kids who are leaders in their schools; many with national awards in something or other. Your competition would be kids who are academcially among the VERY top students in their schools, with high school careers of sustained excellence and ambition (academics, ecs…).</p>
<p>I am not trying to be cruel, but suggesting that you be realistic. The acceptance rate for the class of 2017 was BELOW 7% and thousands of students rejected every year are absolutely stellar in all respects.</p>
<p>My advice: look at the threads featuring student stats of 2016 and 2017: the Official Columbia Results Threads. Accepted and rejected student give a pretty thorough account of themselves. Where do you stack up among these groups, remembering that the rejected students were, in many many cases, just as qualified on paper as the accepted students? Based on what you presented here, you are not at that level. Though, to be fair, you only gave a very superficial gloss of your stats and activities. </p>
<p>Go to your school counselor and see if your school has a Naviance account. If so, you should be able to see if any students from your school – with your basic statistical profile – have been admitted to Columbia. </p>
<p>Based on what you have relayed here, you don’t seem to be in the running for acceptance. That does NOT mean you cannot apply. Apply if you want. But based upon what you have shared, you have an extremely slim chance of admittance to Columbia, because you don’t measure up competitively to the applicant pool. So…just be realistic.</p>
<p>I would also advise talking to your high school guidance counselor about creating a list of schools where you stand a realistic chance of admittance. Again, I am NOT saying you cannot apply to Columbia. I AM saying that with the applicant pools SO competitive, in so many ways, you would not appear to have a strong chance of admission. But…you never know until you try. So, don’t let an anonymous CC poster dissuade you from applying if Columbia is a dream school. EVERYONE should reach for the stars. Just know that it will be a REAL reach for you, based upon the information you have here presented. I would never say, though, that you should NOT dream, but I would urge you to temper the dream with some reality. Also go on Columbia’s website to see what the school says IT looks for in a successful applicant.</p>
<p>Also, based upon your self-description, I do not think you would be counted a URM.</p>