Hey guys, I know a lot of questions like this pop up on College Confidential, but I was wondering if y’all could help me out here. I am an incoming junior in high school from the Silicon Valley, and it’s my dream to major in Mathematics and minor in Economics at Columbia. In sophomore year, I got a 4.25 cumulative weighted GPA. Does anyone know what I should do to get into to Columbia? I can give more information about my academics/extracurriculars if it gives a better understanding!
Find your passion. Don’t stop what you’re doing. Sure, take a moment to relax here and there, but make sure you only take a step back to be able to take a leap forward.
No specific GPA, test scores, academics, or extracurriculars will help your admission. Do your best to communicate as clearly as possible your interest in the school, your love of New York, and your obsession with the Core Curriculum.
Admissions is all about communication. Do all that you can on your end so that the officer on the receiving end can easily interpret your potential.
Do something unique! I write contemporary classical music, which is what got me in - as an artist, idk exactly what math people do, but my friend who’s going to Stanford invented a new type of machine-learning algorithm, the other guy from my school who’s going to Columbia is one of the country’s top archers, someone I know at Princeton worked on solutions to the traveling salesman problem, etc… Basically, find a problem that you’re passionate about and work on it. The added benefit to this is that you also enjoy what you’re doing, and it’ll prepare you not only for getting into college but also living a fulfilling life. (Of course, you should also volunteer and stuff, just because volunteering is important to society in some ways…)
The secret is this: if you live life on your own terms, colleges will generally take notice. For the best applicants, college is not the endgame, but only a next step. Anyone could correct me if I’m wrong - perhaps this is too idealistic.
If you are passionate about math, you can express that by doing a research project and performing well with it at competitions, and getting your paper published. That would truly elevate your application.
I’ll be honest, it would have been good to start with research during your sophomore year or even your freshman year.
In general though, get out of your high school bubble. Find opportunities OUTSIDE of your school that are competitive and interesting to you, such as science programs, research internships, and science competitions. Good Luck!