<p>I understand that I am only a sophomore but I know that I want to go to Columbia already. If anyone would like to comment on my stats so far that would be great.
SAT: Next Spring (currently with tutor I am getting 2000 consistently but I have a whole second year of tutoring ahead of me.)</p>
<p>That got cut short so I am going to redo it.</p>
<p>I am a sophomore just beginning to think about college and I dont have many scores to report but I can give your what I have so far. I am obsessed with Columbia and I have always wanted to go there. </p>
<p>White Male from suburban NY (not helping my chances at all)</p>
<p>SAT: Taking next Spring (I am working with a tutor and I am consistently getting 2000 on the practice tests and I will be working with the tutor for another whole year before taking the test.)
SAT IIs: Bio M- 730
Chem: Taking in June
What other SAT IIs would you sugguest that people generally do well on
APs: Taking European History in May
Junior Year: AP English Composition, AP Chemistry, AP American
Senior Year: BC Calc, AP English Lit, AP Bio, AP Spanish, AP Eco or AP Physics (undecided)
GPA: 95 uw about 98w
Class Rank: definetly top 10% possibly top 5% out of 315 students
School: Competitive Public school usually sends ~10 students to IVYs
ECs:
Peer Tutoring Club (Math): I am currently Vice President and will probably be President Junior and/or Senior year
Math Team: I will be a member for 4 years, probably president or co-president junior/senior year
School Newspaper: I write many of the articles for the Sports Section (I might get a position as an editor in the future)<br>
Youth Leadership Forum: A group of students are selected to become leaders in the community and make the community a better place.<br>
Siemens Westinghouse Competition: My school is very competitive in these competitions (last year we had 9 semi-finalists out of 15 submitted). I have completed a project that will be submitted next fall.<br>
How much of a hook would semi-finalist be? Not that I am counting on it, just wondering.
Work Experience: I have worked at a summer camp for 3 summers (dont know if that is important)
UPenn Biomedical Research Program: Summer program (this summer) I didnt get into the program at NIH which I wanted to go to (I was the youngest applicant having just turned 16 so I will try again next year)
I have lots of community service from assorted functions and district activities.
Essays: I am not worried about my essays because I have been told numerous times by my editors and teachers that I am a phenomenal writer (I usually have 100 average in Honors English). I am sure my essays will come out great.
Recs: I have a great reputation amongst teachers from each department and I have a great relationship with my guidance counselor (we are very close) so I am not worried about recs either.
I know my ECs are weak and need a little work but I am only a sophomore which gives me time to improve them. If anyone has any suggestions those would be very appreciated.</p>
<p>I realize it is early to start thinking about all of this but I know that I want to go to Columbia. It is hard to comment on whether I am the right type of candidate without scores. I guess I would like to know if if am on the right track for Columbia and if there is anything that I should definetly try to improve.</p>
<p>I am dead-set on Columbia too! (I'm a junior, though)</p>
<p>You seem like a really strong candidate, and I would aim for SAT scores in the 2200's at least. </p>
<p>Also, try looking into the summer program for high school students at columbia. It's an awesome way to show your interest in the school, get a personal recommendation from a columbia professor, and demonstrate your skills in a particular subject area (plus it sounds RIDICULOUSLY fun!). I am going this summer for Business and Finance and I'm SOOO excited!</p>
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Essays: I am not worried about my essays because I have been told numerous times by my editors and teachers that I am a phenomenal writer (I usually have 100 average in Honors English). I am sure my essays will come out great.
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<p>LOL. 90% of the posters on here say this.</p>
<p>"Essays: I am not worried about my essays because I have been told numerous times by my editors and teachers that I am a phenomenal writer (I usually have 100 average in Honors English). I am sure my essays will come out great."</p>
<p>after reading many people's essays, I can safely say that being a good writer is merely a basic threshold to writing a good essay. Beyond being a good (not necessarily great) writer it's all about the tone and personality of the essay. This is something that comes from the sort of person you are, and is acutally quite difficult to fabricate. I've honestly seen top notch writers (even by college standards), write atrocious essays, because they don't know how to present and sell themselves without simultaneously seeming like a douche. a lot of the time the essay ends up being written in unnatural prose, or is awkward or verbose, or overly formal, or passive, or just down right arrogant, then it makes sense to me that the univ turned down someone with glowing ecs and great scores.</p>
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LOL. 90% of the posters on here say this.
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and yet historically, something like 30-40% of "Chances" posters on this board have gotten in. So they're not all wrong.</p>
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and yet historically, something like 30-40% of "Chances" posters on this board have gotten in. So they're not all wrong.
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</p>
<p>Did you just make that up? I find it highly unlikely that the "chance posters" get in at a rate that 4x-5x the normal rate.</p>
<p>let's call it estimated. i'm going on the basis of the "official results threads" we have for ED and RD every year. It's truly remarkable how many people post stats for being accepted (and/or waitlisted) as opposed to rejected.</p>
<p>Of course, there's selection bias in there - people are less inclined to take the time to type out their profiles if they get rejected. But if we cross-reference the posters against the set of people who had posted "Chances" threads, and assume that those who posted Chances threads but didn't post an acceptance in the Results thread were all rejected, and only count posts in the Results thread from those who had previously posted on the board, then we're still left with a good chunk of acceptances vs rejections.</p>
<p>Did I do all that by careful calculation? No, but eyeballing it along those lines will tell you that the admissions rate for CC'ers is much higher than the worldwide average. There's some self-selection going on here too - those who post here are much more concerned about their admissions, much more informed about the game, and may get a useful edge in the form of advice sometimes. There's something to all that.</p>
<p>thanks everyone anymore comments about ecs or scores would be great. btw just took AP euro i thought it was pretty hard but its possible that I did well. The administrator of the test was a guidance counselor and sshe told us that colleges dont see ap scores until you apply for credit and they dont hurt your chances of getting in. I think she might have said that to calm us down before the test. Does anyone know the real deal about that?</p>