<p>i've been told that Columbia doesn't look into the SAT that much ... as long as you fall within a range or something...</p>
<p>but which of the two do you think "counts" more in admissions: extracurricular activities or grades?</p>
<p>wouldn't it be a little unfair to place that much emphasis on grades since it's not standardized and an A in one school means something different from an A in another school?</p>
<p>grades are more important but they look at it relative to your peers at your school.</p>
<p>the problem is, my shcool doesn't rank :( .. well actually thats a good thing cuz i dont think my rank is all that good</p>
<p>^lol. to the op: I guess it isnt a matter of 'grades vs. ec's' they're both important. If either isnt up to par with the applicant pool youre going to be disadvantaged.</p>
<p>even if ur school doesnt rank your regional admissions person will know how you've done in comparison to your classmates, not to mention they can also tell if people from your school with better grades apply to columbia.</p>
<p>lets say, you are the only one applying to Columbia ED... how will they know "how you've done in comparison to your classmates" ?</p>
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^lol. to the op: I guess it isnt a matter of 'grades vs. ec's' they're both important. If either isnt up to par with the applicant pool youre going to be disadvantaged.
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<p>This is right. You need good SATs, grades and ECs to have a chance of getting in.</p>
<p>At a school like Columbia, there is little room for those without the whole package. Work on having everything.</p>
<p>Especially because I have yet to find a school that weighs extracurriculars more than academics. Generally, if you're academics are borderline, amazing ECs may push you over the top but most schools maintain the "transcript is the more important part of your application" standpoint. And to echo what others have said, obviously, at Columbia, both need to be quite good for consideration.</p>