<p>I'm a really good student at my private school here in NYC. I have all As on my transcrip with a couple of B+s. I was born in Albania but moved here when I was 2. I speak Albanian, English, French(since 3rd grade-till now) and Japanese(since 6th grade until now) I got a 5 on my AP US hist last yr. Im taking 4APs this year(all my school has to offer). I have joined clubs in my school, founder of the Anti-substance Abuse club, had summer jobs, worked on a farm, counselor, intern at UN and a hospital and other stuff. I have a lot of talent in art (Im submitting a CD portofolio also?) Have probably excellent teach recs, and a really good essay.....anyway my point is, is that I didnt do well on my SATs: cr 550 m550 and wr670. Unlike the majority of the kids in my school and others, I do not have extra time. If i had that I would do much better. So i would like to know how much SATs would hurt me b/c everything else I have is really good.</p>
<p>can u guys please give me an idea of what u think? I dont want to feel like I spent 16 yrs of my life (that how old I am and am applying right now) for nothing and its all going to waste b/c of SATs.</p>
<p>man, take a year off!! travel around, utilize those language skills, see the world before you jump into another 4 years of school! not only will you be less burned out, but you'll have time to bump up your scores, as right now they're not too competitive. i can't think of a single reason not to take those extra years and do something amazing that will balance out your scores and give columbia an even more concrete reason to accept you.</p>
<p>The odds are overwhelmingly against you with those SATs. Did you just recently decide to apply to Columbia? It would seem as if you should use ED for a school that you want to attend and have a good chance at attending.</p>
<p>i said DON'T jump into 4 more years of school! you have this lovely extra time, do something cool with it! why would you want to go to college now? so you can go to grad school 2 years early? so you can treasure 2 extra years of the mindless drudgery of whatever career you intend to pursue? it just doesn't make sense! unless you're planning on applying now and then deferring, which is still probably unwise unless you get your scores up.</p>
<p>anyway, just a personal opinion. good luck with whatever you decide.</p>
<p>of course I want to go to columbia! ive been planning on applying there or to some other competetive school for a very long time. so wat u guys are basically telling me is that everything depends on the SAT and everything else is nothing?? why go to school then? it should be SAT school since thats the only thing that makes it or break it for u. also soooo many kids have EXTRA time and dont need it. thats not fair since colleges dont even know that you do. Are these people with ET going to say if theyre performing surgery(for ex.) "oh wait, i have extra time to do this" i think thats absurd and unfair.</p>
<p>dharmabandit, dude im applying ED now!!!!! lolzzzz. wat time to I have lol? im finishing high school now and i just happen to be younger than every1 else lol</p>
<p>"ive been planning on applying there or to some other competetive school for a very long time. "</p>
<p>Do you have any good reason for wanting to attend Columbia other than because of the fact that it is a competitive school?</p>
<p>"so wat u guys are basically telling me is that everything depends on the SAT and everything else is nothing?? "</p>
<p>Good SATs are a necessary but not a sufficient condition for acceptance. You need good SATs AND good everything else.</p>
<p>"also soooo many kids have EXTRA time and dont need it. thats not fair since colleges dont even know that you do."</p>
<p>There's nothing you can do about this. People cheat the stupid system that allows it. Anyway, isn't it marked on their score reports that they took a non-standard administration of the test?</p>
<p>dude im not just applying there b/c its competetive, im applying b/c ive like it for a very long time and for other reasons.....
and ppl who use extra time have a little star somewhere on their transcript that indicates it. either way why accept them if they have an advantage over everyone else, even if they have amazing SAT scores?</p>
<p>Ok, you're a longshot at Columbia. You're basically hoping for a miracle, but miracles DO happen at Columbia. Anyone who tells you that you've got a good shot is lying or just trying to be nice. You're not going to get in because you've convinced everyone that the system sucks.</p>
<p>Are you saying that if you had extra time on the SAT's that your score would have been much better? Is there a documented reason that you should be allowed extra time? Do you think if you re-took the SAT's that you could do better? If so, maybe that's the route to go. Maybe your score was some kind of fluke. Some people do get into Columbia with sub-par SAT's, but I'm afraid that your scores aren't even competitive with those.</p>
<p>give us more than that! as columbiamom said, admissions decisions are not based solely on sat scores. what is your gpa? class rank? have you always taken the hardest courses offered at your school? what about ecs? awards? recommendations? how's your essay? what can you offer the school?</p>
<p>Eldushi, no one is telling you that nothing matters except the SATs. People go to school not just to prep for the SATs, but to learn more about a broad range of subjects. The SATs test a fairly limited range of things, one of which is comprehension. Unfortunately since you seem to have misinterpreted many people's comments on this thread, I think you need to work on that. dharmabandit meant you should take a gap year, as in apply to Columbia next year instead.
Well with those SAT scores, I agree with Columbia2002, Columbia is quite a long shot for you. But since you have decided to apply ED, then good luck with it anyway.</p>
<p>Eldushi,
"Getting In" is only one part of the equation. "Staying In" is another. For beginners, you might cull a better understanding of what it takes to "stay in" by researching Columbia's core courses on the website and elsewhere. If you go to Columbia's website you can, with some digging, get a pretty good idea of the reading and writing demands of these courses through description and the course syllabi variously posted. The sheer quantity of reading (and writing) expectations point to the need for solid CR and W skills. Whether or not the SAT I truly reflects ones abilities in those skills is for experts (certainly not me) to debate; However, I do think one can garner an idea of the level needed based on and understanding of the sheer quantity of reading and writing expected in the core courses.</p>
<p>The question that should follow is, IF you were to be accepted to Columbia, do you realistically believe you could keep up and manage the workload, yet still retain your sanity and, oh gad, "a life?" You might be better guided by the answer to this RHETORICAL question, than anywhere else here.
Best of luck!</p>
<p>I totally agree with dharmabandit. Do you know how good that would look to Columbia? You graduating from high school at sixteen and then taking a year to do whatever you want. Now some of that would have to help in you applying to Columbia. I mean that you should take some college courses, travel, bring up your SAT's, etc. That would look much better to Columbia and I'm sure you'd rather have a year off than be thrusted into college now. At the end of the year you'll look back at what a great decision you made. Your transcript will look amazing, you won't be burned out, you'll have had a year of some leisure, learned a lot...Just think about it because I doubt that you'll get into Columbia or many Ivy League schools right now. On the other hand, maybe they won't take your SAT's that seriously because you are only sixteen. Maybe they want a sixteen year old with all good stats except for SAT's. I think you'd be much safer by doing what I said, if that's possible. After all, no matter what you do, you will have had graduated high school at sixteen, and that in and of itself is an advantage.</p>
<p>as great of an idea as that seems--taking a year off--my parents wont allow it. so wtv ive given it my all and i guess ill be praying for miracle to happen lolzzz. but yeah maybe applying at 16 will be an advantage, but who knows. =/ i just hope that SATs dont destroy everythin ive worked for....</p>
<p>yea I agree.. talk to your parents.. when people graduate early it tend to raise a flag to adcoms to check their maturity levels (not suggesting you dont have them) taking a year off, seeing the world and entering college a year later would definetly seem to be the reasonable thing to do.</p>
<p>I would shy away from much of goldenboy's post. Plenty of applicants to Columbia are 16. 16 vs. 17 is only 1 year. They aren't going to lower their standards because you happen to be 1 year younger than everybody else. If anything, they'll demand even greater from a 16 year old because of the maturity issue that lynda mentioned.</p>
<p>Eldushi-- there are other good colleges. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Doing so isn't healthy. Unless you get really really lucky, you're not getting in. Don't take a year off and do nothing with your life, which would be equally stupid.</p>