Few questions about applying ED and Columbia

<p>I'm a rising senior who's interested in applying ED to Columbia this fall. It is one of my top choices and I have a few questions:
- Am I considered competitive for admissions, especially ED? I feel that my application is fairly competitive with the exception of my class rank (see below)
- How much will ED help? Should I just apply RD in order to apply with a higher gpa and class rank? Based on Naviance data from my school, my gpa is about 1 point lower than the average accepted (eg. me- 3.8ish accepted-3.9ish) but there have been people with GPAs lower than mine, who have been accepted.
- How is the applied math department at SEAS? </p>

<p>Stats:
Male, from competitive public HS in MA (class of ~400, about 15-25 to ivies each year)</p>

<p>GPA: ~3.849 UW, 4.6 W (6 APs by graduation plus 2 college classes) - this would be a 3.9+ had it not been for freshman year (upward trend)
Rank: My HS does UW ranks, so I get penalized a bit. I'm around the top 10%- give or take 3/4 spots
SAT: 2010 (retaking later, but will use ACT)
ACT: 33 (36 M, 35 Science, 31 Writing, 31 Reading)
Subject Tests: 790 and 770 on Math lvl 2 and Physics subject tests.
Intended Major: MechE, Applied Math, Electrical Engineering</p>

<p>Extracurriculars: I'm not going to go in much depth but I have a fair amount of ECs related to engineering and science. I have leadership positions in clubs, have gone to state/nationals in competitions and have worked in labs (I intend on sending an additional rec from mentor and/or research abstract)</p>

<p>Main: Robotics (state/national level) and Lab Work (at a top 15 USNWR school)
Secondary: Speech & Debate, Golf, Science Olympiad, etc.</p>

<p>I’d say that you are very competitive for ED admissions. Obviously you are very qualified, but everyone else who applies to these schools have qualifications as well. I’d say you seem a bit more qualified than the average applicant and a bit unique (good work experience/research) so I’d say, go for it, apply ED to Columbia and see what happens.</p>