<p>I applied to Columbia last fall RD, but was eventually rejected. </p>
<p>Briefly, these were my stats: 2230 (770 CR, 740 M, 720 W) / 700 Math II / 750 US History
5/5/5/4/3 on my AP tests and quite a few major EC awards. 3.9 UW, 4.4 W on a tough grading scale. </p>
<p>I'm thinking of taking a year off and going to Haiti with a Christian-based group to volunteer. I'm planning on taking another SAT II to balance out my 700 MathII. I also was heavily involved with music in high school but made the mistake of not sending in any supplement in spite of my private teacher's encouragement. If I do re-apply, I might continue my private lessons and send in a recording. </p>
<p>I've heard that acceptance on a second try is unlikely, but I'm just not ready to move on yet...I'll apply ED if I go ahead with the plan.</p>
<p>I do have a friend who took a year off and got into Cornell, but she was waitlisted on her first try. I, however, was downright rejected so I have a little more at stake.</p>
<p>i know a few students who were in your position, denzera among them, and he reapplied ED and was admitted, and admitted as a scholar.</p>
<p>at times that year away is really helpful if you do something productive, and above that really round out your application. ask for NEW letters of recommendation if i were you, finish out the year re-getting to know your teachers. overall give the presentation that in the 6 mths from here to application deadline that you’ve changed, and have something to contribute.</p>
<p>I’ve been reading some old threads on taking a gap year and most people seem to think that new ACADEMIC (not personal, like volunteering) achievements are crucial. </p>
<p>Would going to haiti for ~2months be a “good use” of my time?</p>
<p>um, its your time, you need to answer that. in the end no two applicants are alike, you need to go on your instinct. but i will say only applying to Ivies and two safeties probably wasn’t the smartest strategy, i can name a half dozen schools worth considering.</p>
<p>um, i think you should consider LACs that give out plenty of aid, and are need blind international - like amherst. but then schools like middlebury, williams, and pomona i believe is relatively kind to int’l students. as is dartmouth, who officially says it is need-blind.</p>
<p>there are plenty of great schools like macalester that are well known for their int’l population, and work hard to help support int’l students.</p>
<p>there are also a set of schools, mostly ny based schools like columbia and urochester, that are need blind for canadiens.</p>
<p>lastly, there are schools that give out tons of merit-aid and you’d be competitive for that from vanderbilt, washu, rice, emory.</p>
<p>i mean these are names as starting points, do some research. picking 4 out of the 5 hardest schools to be admitted to puts you at a disadvantage.</p>
<p>just go to mcgill…
a year of your life is more than the name of the university u go to.
dont take a year off JUST to kind of wait to apply again. that would be a waste of your life. if you actually WANT to take a year off because you want to do something passionate, go for it!</p>
<p>I’m not taking a year off to re-apply. I’m going to Haiti either way. I might go to Thailand after that also… it just seems like it could be a good opportunity to re-apply then.</p>
<p>powerbomb, I’d consider some of the schools adgeek listed. I mean, comeon, none of them meets your eyes? Amherst, Williams, Dartmouth all kick Mcgill ass. Hell, I suggest if you want any sort of a meaningful future in the US, go to any American school that’s not *****. And that’ll give you a leg up over any Canadian school.</p>
<p>About your chances of getting in on a second try, first of all you didn’t provide us enough information to make a useful assessment. Second of all your chances are good. Unless you do something really spectacular in your year off, it’s quite unlikely Columbia is going to take you after they have ALREADY REJECTED YOU.</p>
<p>I realize that an acceptance is unlikely, but I don’t see any outstanding reason for them to have rejected me in the first place…I’m kinda going with the belief that college admissions is indeed a crapshoot, and that I might have better luck second time around…because honestly, I don’t think I’m particularly lacking anything…</p>
<p>Powerbomb, you can’t work off that mindset, or you’re likely to be rejected again. Listen to what adgeek is saying. You have to show the admissions committee that you’ve changed. If you just want to re-apply because you think they made a mistake, you’ll likely be rejected again. College admissions is not a crapshoot from the perspective of the admissions committee; you didn’t appeal to them the first time around so you have to make sure that you do this time. I’m not saying it’s impossible to be admitted on the second try, but you have to show them that you would be a good applicant this time, even though you were not the first time you applied. I like adgeek’s suggestion to get new letters of recommendation. You should also write a new personal statement and at least tweak the other essays/answers to questions on the Columbia supplement when you fill it out next year.</p>
<p>As for the other colleges, it depends. If you’re happy with McGill and just want to see if you can get into the top American schools, then fine. If, on the other hand, you really want to come to the US for college, then you have to consider non-Ivies. If you really don’t want a LAC, you could at least consider Chicago, WashU, NYU, Duke, and maybe Georgetown. You also have to accept that admissions to the Ivies is insanely difficult. It’s much tougher to get in than McGill, even if you’re very qualified.</p>
<p>pwoods - If you read my OP, I did, in fact, list possible ways to round out my application. Of course, I’m not putting myself through this process all over again if I didn’t have anything new to offer the second time around. I was going to go to Haiti regardless of college decisions and it recently crossed my mind that I could potentially use my experience there to newly color my application if I decide to reapply. </p>
<p>Can you tell me more about the financial aid / merit aid for Canadians or internationals at the schools you’ve listed? I assume I’m competitive but not competitive enough to snatch a considerable merit scholarship from such prestigious schools. </p>
<p>Also, the last thing I need to hear is someone telling me how competitive it is to get into an IVY. Don’t you think I would know?</p>
<p>2) it is part art, part science.
a) it is a science in the sense that you can quantify in some ways who is within the margins, who is strong. your testing is good for a canadian, though you could always do better, and as you noted another 700 (though i’d aim 750+) SAT II would be better.
b) in the end it is an art, adcoms say all the time that they can’t explain what makes an ideal student for their school because it is so varied, but when they read a candidate that just ‘fits’ it is more an art of knowing than a science. in the end all the indicators from what teacher’s say about you, to how you express yourself, what you privilege in your application, says a lot about your priorities, maturity, interest and aptitude, and collectively it forms a narrative about you, not something that can be picked apart for the quantifiable, but something that stands on its own as a representation of you. and it is in that presentation that an adcom decides on feel whether or not you fit well for that academic culture. your denial often is saying that you didn’t sell to the admissions committee that you understood or fit that academic culture.</p>
<p>3) there is a significant drop off from the top Ivies to other schools based on what they admit, most students don’t notice this, but there are dozens of students that are admitted to Georgetown, Duke and other amazing schools that HYP, C, S wouldn’t look twice at because their pools are much bigger, and they yield much better. thus someone that is ivy competitive numbers wise, stands a solid chance of being admitted to these schools and top LACs, and being competitive for merit aid. granted, if your testing was a bit higher (2250+) this would be even more of a sure deal re: merit aid at top places, but still competitive nonetheless as you are. also a lot of the merit aid at times matters a lot about what kind of intellectual profile you offer, so realize that your personal statement matters a lot in terms of your tone, wit, and raw intellectualism to convince the adcom that you stand out (this is especially the case at uchicago).</p>