<p>what was your first reaction when reading the letter, is it more " omg I'm going to columbia next year!!" or " omg I'm going to NYC next year!!"</p>
<p>"omg I'm going to columbia next year!!"</p>
<p>followed by, is this real??? Did I misread the e-mail? Read it again and again, and again...</p>
<p>lol I did that too.. and refreshed a few times.... (after I got home.. when I first checked i was just like <em>jump jump jump * * scream</em></p>
<p>nyc definitely wasn't at the front of my mind. i did feel a ton of survivor's guilt though. yes, i got arkon's "is this real?" too</p>
<p>It was just shock... and i couldnt really comprehend what the email meant... I was like what? and read it over and over and over again. I was at school at the time, and just let out my adrenaline.</p>
<p>It wasnt hitting me, though... I didn't really understand what was going on until about an hour ago, when I could not fall asleep</p>
<p>ahhh amazing</p>
<p>haah i spasmed then skanked (literally) around my room squealing.</p>
<p>Well I got a "fake acceptance" the other day, so I was really suspicious... took about 10 min of reading, re-reading, going online and rooting through the boards to verify it. Then, I broke into a smile that still hasn't faded. I've been smiling at everyone, everything. It's great.</p>
<p>lol how many of you guys are on the east coast? for me.. school starts in 5 hrs and I cant get any sleep... I think I'm getting surb's sleeplessness now..</p>
<p>wee it's weekend here (wkend where i live is thurs/fri) so for me school is tomorrow. it came at 2am my time though i had to pokemyself to stay awake then i got it acnd couldnt sleep till 5 ahh</p>
<p>allow me to steal this thread (still feeling survivor's guilt and don't to open another acceptees' topic).</p>
<p>so now that the decisions are out, I have a few questions for everyone: why you think you were accepted? what was the one thing you tried to show the adcom? How do you feel about the application process overall?</p>
<p>I think I started screaming the moment I saw the congratulations. My dad who was sitting next to me said that I actually stared at the screen for a couple seconds before I reacted...I guess I don't really remember in my excitement. I definitely wasn't thinking of NYC when I got in.</p>
<p>In response to Kiria's question, I tried to make myself look like myself in my app. When I was filling it out, I wasn't nervous at all so a lot of what I wrote was pretty casual and genuinely me, like for magazines, I wrote at the end "whatever magazines of literature and the arts I can find." </p>
<p>The whole thing, from every word on the application to my essay reflected who I am...I think it's because I wasn't thinking about college or getting in when I did all of this (my usual self, pre these last two weeks, doesn't really worry much about these things)--I treated it like everything else I write and so I had fun doing it (I like writing, if you can't tell from my horribly wordy posts here). My essay was about the fear of dying and fear of the unfathomable universe I've felt since first grade. </p>
<p>But yeah, definitely did little quirky stuff to maybe make me stick out. Like sending a picture of me energetically delivering my speech with Lieberman standing by me (my mom made me send it, I was like, I look weird in that pic! and it seems so not modest!) And I'm certain the little happy faces I put on my resume had something to do with it.</p>
<p>I think Desert hit the nail on the head. I too approached it more as an exercise in showing as much as I could instead of telling. I even included "Cosmopolitan" among the list of magazines I read -- I am a teenager, afterall.</p>
<p>I intentionally did not include a resume because I felt it would be unnecessarily redundant to all the information imparted through the application. I also sensed Columbia limited space for a reason -- to see how we could express the most within limitations. In the few instances I felt I had meaningful info and insight to add, I used the free space available from those areas that were "n/a", and I utilized open free spaces. For example, I added AP scores into the far right upper corner of the stats section, although AP scores weren't requested. Obviously, I submitted a hard copy application.</p>
<p>I suspect the "tone" of the application is very important. It's one thing to have great stats, model leadership/ECs, awards etc., but if the tone is arrogant, or presumptive, I would think that could be a turnoff to some reviewers. It's good to convey self-confidence, just tried to steer clear of arrogance, because I knew there would be plenty of other folks who would present very impressive "resumes" but Columbia is about a lot more than lists and numbers.</p>
<p>Best thing is to be sure to be totally honest, don't exaggerate anything, a little self-effacing humor can't hurt IMHO, and try to focus the application. If you have many extraordinary ECs, stats, leadership, awards etc., some folks might be concerned over whether or not you are getting a healthy dose of sleep in order to maintain that level of functioning over the longer pull, or whether or not you are just a pre-programmed machine. We're all only human, afterall, and don't want to risk premature burnout. I'm not sure over-achievement is admirable a goal as a focused achievement or set of achievements attained through dedication, hard work, but not at the risk of becoming an automatron. Focusing on fewer accomplishments and interests that show a deep commitment may be preferable to being the end all and be all in everything -- which I believe can carry a greater risk to burnout sooner. There's so much I want to do, explore, and "be" -- but there are only 24 hours in a day, so, I try to balance it all out with some sensibility, and that's what I tried to convey as well.</p>
<p>Just be you, be real, be honest -- I think that's what makes for the best application -- not just at Columbia, but anywhere.</p>
<p>congratulations!!</p>
<p>congrats to all those who got in early... good luck to those who got deferred... and you'll get 'yours' to those who were rejected...</p>
<p>hey look silver_wavez is back...</p>
<p>now... 5 days till penn... and 4 hours and 38 mins and 12 seconds</p>
<p>omg silver waves!! you are still around lol... so.. how's your year so far??</p>
<p>wow..its THE silver waves from last year?</p>
<p>when i read my e-mail, i was like- OMG. but it was definitely OMG I'LL BE GOING TO COLUMBIA. to me, columbia MAKES nyc for college kids. :) </p>
<p>message me for hs facebook info!</p>
<p>hey guys... i was at my friend's house and we freaked out and jkumped around and i really was shocked. ahhhh we're gonig to columbia next year!!!!!</p>
<p>I had my email window up all afternoon and it refreshes itself every minute. My dad was on the computer and at 5:12 he yelled "It's HERE!". I started to hyperventilate. I ran into his office. My mom and brother gathered around the computer and I was like "Mom, open it". The suspense honestly almost killed me, my heart was in so much pain. She clicked and then two seconds later, everything was a blur. They started to scream and I just broke down into a hysterical weep. I couldn't stop crying, because SERIOUSLY I had no hope of getting in even though it was the only place I WANTED to go to and had applied to, and then to know I did get in, I just kept on yelling "It can't be real, this isn't happening." It was by far one of the best moments of my life. Im still on a natural high, I LOVE COLUMBIA!!!!</p>
<p>My SATs were ABSOLUTELY terrible, I's and II's, but my GPA, recs, etc were all really good. I think what did it was I am an accomplished pianist, singer, and athlete, and I devote myself fully to all of my activities, I don't just do a bunch of crap to look good, and that actually looks bad. I also produced a CD and raised 5,000 for Katrina, but really they are looking for kids who will make a difference and contribute to the school, and I think I came off as someone who is like that, and I think I am. Anyway, congratulations to everyone, write to me, we can become friendly and then SEE EACHOTHER NEXT YEAR!!!!!! WOOOO!!!!!!</p>
<p>Unfortunately I made the mistake of using one of the computers in one of the offices at my school while there was a meeting going on about 4 feet away. At first it was really quiet and all you'd hear were a few Oh my God's over and over and then it all just burst out with a loud scream and a yell of joy. Then hysterical laughter. Administration really loved that part.</p>