<p>Hi all! I've recently stumbled across the Operations Research major and find it to be fascinating, and I found out that Columbia has an entire department in Fu dedicated to it! I was wondering if I would have a strong shot at getting in. White girl from an NYC suburb, 4.0 UW GPA, 2340 SAT (770 math), very strong leadership in the school newspaper, debating team, and political club, I have a job, a good amount of community service, etc. However, I don't really have any engineering or math extracurriculars (although I will probably be interning at an NYC engineering management company this summer). Do I have a good chance with my background? What more can I do? Is there any certain way that Columbia likes to see a student "packaged"? Any tips in general? Also, is it a strong major if I wish to get into the NYC startup scene?</p>
<p>bump…</p>
<p>I feel bad that no one one answers questions for this college. I’m probably unqualified to say anything since I’m still a senior, but I’m guessing it’s better than nothing.</p>
<p>Anyways, yeah I think that you definitely have a fantastic chance with your background. I’ve gotten a likely letter with a 3.91 UW GPA, 2280 SAT (730 math), leadership in debate, STEM, a media club, and my school’s PR committee. I had a job on a social media website, and an average amount of community service. My role in STEM and the media club were pretty small (I mainly ended up writing about debate on my app), so I think that if you try doing some STEM related extracurricular activities over the summer (that internship sounds great) or at the beginning of your senior year it should be fine. You are most likely going to be required to talk about why your past experiences caused you to be interested in your field of study, so I’d recommend doing activities that you are passionate about specifically concerning your major. I wrote about a summer engineering thing I did, my comp sci and physics projects, my favorite youtube channels about technology, and relevant stuff I learned about in debate. Each of those are pretty specific to my experience, so I’d suggest finding ways you can apply your own experiences. The last thing is to make sure to take subject tests. Although I’m not sure how important these are (I got a 670 on Math II, 570 on Physics :))) it’s still a requirement though.</p>
<p>As for a packaged student, I think you fit the bill. You have the combination of liberal arts and engineering interest that’s generally unique, so try to reflect that in your essays. Show that you are someone who can work hard and enjoy life. Be honest in your essays, you can write about watching musicals, children’s movies, or reading manga if that’s who you really are. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 was fantastic… just sayin… Oh and try to visit the campus if you can.</p>
<p>To be honest, I have no idea about your last question, but I wouldn’t worry. The campus is at the heart of NY, I mean Google’s office is like 6 miles away from it. And I’ve talked to some of the faculty; internship opportunities in all areas are rampant. Hope this helps!</p>
<p>Just remembered, don’t start your supplement late, Columbia temporarily dropped from top 3 to my #8 because it was soooo looong… and the deadline might’ve been less than 24 hours away…</p>