For everyone considering Columbia as a reach (realistically)

I want to inform you (and everyone…this isn’t personal) that it is not about your stats, although you need to be excellent. Of all of the Ivies, Columbia requires one to be the most well rounded/applied of all, IMO.

If you truly want to be a competitive Columbia applicant, make sure you can express yourself well and make them want to choose you. Their questions on CommonApp tell a lot about their process. As a personal example, my child had a +4.0 gpa (W and UW), great recs, -1400 SAT, but a personal statement that blows peoples’ minds to this day. Your numbers (as long as they are around at least the minimums) don’t mean much for chancing with a <6% rate, it’s all about the impact your written answers make, and that doesn’t mean listing the clubs you’ve been in/founded.

You’ve either gotta have a hook or a written component that makes the ADs do a double take. Everyone applying to these schools are qualified. How can you stand out?