Economics/Finance Chances at Columbia?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
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<p>I'm a rising high school Senior (ASIAN) and was wondering if I stood any chance applying to Columbia, either EA or RD. I'm also torn over where to apply early.</p>

<p>I would appreciate honest feedback. I want to go into finance/economics and work on Wall Street; getting into a good grad school alter is also a top priority</p>

<p>MY RAW STATS:</p>

<p>I'm in the top 1 percentile of a 800 member class in a competitive NJ public high school. I will have taken 9-11 aps by the end of senior year, and have taken 5 ap exams this year, and gotten 5's.</p>

<p>SATS-2340 single, 2360 superscored</p>

<p>SAT 2s: Literature: 750, Math 2: 770, US History: 780</p>

<p>ECS: I am very interested in politics, finance, and business.</p>

<p>President of Model United Nations: Junior Year
President of Model Congress: Junior Year
President of Ping Pong: 9-12
Founder and co-President of Finance Club: 11-12</p>

<p>Involved in FBLA (regional Top 10 in the district competition)</p>

<p>Won several prizes at numerous debating contests, such as Pennsylvania Model UN, Rutgers Model UN, Philadelphia Model UN, etc, all of which feature students from all over the nation (or at least from an entire region)</p>

<p>Intensely involved in Indian Classical Music and won awards at local competitions and the Cleveland Aradhana, a national-level contest with various singing categories.</p>

<p>I am passionate about finance and have the following jobs/internships:</p>

<p>Internship at the township Business Board</p>

<p>Internship with a non-profit trade organization (HMN)-Will have my finance research published in their international journal</p>

<p>Worked as a tutor at local KUMON</p>

<p>I am looking at U Penn (CAS or Wharton-which would be better?), Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Georgetown, U Chicago, Duke, Dartmouth, Cornell, Columbia, NYU.</p>

<p>Rec's should be good/great. My essays will be unique and hopefully creative.</p>

<p>I don't know what it takes to get in nowadays for an Asian applicant-everyone is so damn impressive with national and international qualifications-but what are my chances and how could I improve them?</p>

<p>What can I do (if anything) at this point to accentuate my app? Where should I apply Early D/ Early Action?</p>

<p>Thanks a lot for any help. (btw I've put this thread on the harvard/upenn forums too).</p>

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<p>Your application looks great. Having a paper published in a journal and working at the business board show a dedication to finance and development.</p>

<p>It all depends on how you tell your story. Do not focus on being a Wall Street banker, it is not in vogue now and it probably never was for the admissions committee even before the financial crisis. You’ve done MUN so I’d try to spin a story about wanting to work in international economics and development, perhaps the OECD or a micro finance organization. </p>

<p>Also, I’d ditch ping pong club, even if you demonstrated leadership. It just seems a bit stereotypical and even if no one means to judge you, it just happens to stick in the back their minds. The Indian Classical Music is very cool and definitely worth highlighting. I think you’ve got a strong application, much more coherent than mine. Try to cultivate a brand and an image for yourself, sell it with a great essay and coherent story, cut the extraneous parts that may stereotype you consciously or subconsciously.</p>

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<p>Let the poor man show his love for the game of Ping Pong!! </p>

<p>Well, to be honest, being the president of a Ping Pong club is one of those things you do just for a college app, because let’s be honest, if you really cared about Table Tennis (being PC here), you’d play competitively. I could be wrong, but if I were an admissions officer, that’s how I’d interpret it. </p>

<p>In terms of the decision, it could go either way. You’re nothing spectacular, but you are a solid applicant. Don’t come to CC for profundity and deep insight into the admissions process, most of us are high school students to. The best we can do is gauge how good a shot you have, and even then, it’s not like it’s a correct estimation. College admissions is a bit of a lottery as it is.</p>

<p>As a side note, if you’re applying to Penn and want to do finance, apply to Wharton. It’s not even a question…</p>