<p>How would you gauge Columbia's admission process? Is it more axed towards academic success and grades or more favorable to well-rounded students with great ECs, recs, essays, etc..</p>
<p>YES both are taken into account, YES the vast majority can't get in without or the other. But for those with experience is it really a 50-50 split? If not which would you say prevails in terms of importance or given more value?</p>
<p>in my limited observation, i've seen people get in with good (not great) grades and amazing well rounded ECs, awesome essays and interview. I've also seen people get in with AMAZING grades and decent - not great EC involvement. and then people with amazing grades, unbelievable ECs and a mildly pompous essay being rejected. i really think it's a bit of a 50-50 split, or an even split in a bunch of areas - essay, academics, ECs involvement +prestigeous awards etc. i think they dislike single-faceted people, someone who is really outstanding in one area, and mediocre in others is not their cup of tea. But columbia might still take such people, because if a real genius walks through the gates, he might win a nobel or prestigeous prize down the road and no univ wants to miss out on one of those. so alas no universally applicable formula whatsoever if you ask me.</p>
<p>what differs i think from other univs, is that columbia being near harlem and in nyc, would look more favorably on community service, and on an independant, enterprising student, showing that you've taken initiative is probably a bigger plus at columbia than at other places, as is perhaps being opinionated and knowledgeable of current affairs. this is baseless, so don't take it for granted, it just makes some sense to me.</p>
<p>I think the personality is going to have more influence than the grades.</p>
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How would you gauge Stanford's admission process?
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<p>insta-rejection if you make such a mistake on your app....and just like an admissions rep wouldnt read past that in your app, i won't read past that in your post (even though upon quickly scanning i see you got it right the second time).....good luck in the process.</p>
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<p>Good contribution as always.</p>
<p>To everyone else, sorry for the mistake. The hazards of running multiple tabs.</p>
<p>i'd say it's a good contribution, will hopefully tell you to be more careful with your actual apps</p>
<p>that is the most anal, condescending thing i've ever read shraf. you're no god, nobody is dying for your input. get over yourself.</p>
<p>Oooo, looks like shraf's got a fan! He has a point and it's a very important one. Just like when you send in your resume, your college app can't have mistakes and not be trashed.</p>
<p>True, Karot but assuming that a careless name made on a message board while simultaneously doing multiple things at once will be repeated on a carefully-planned college application which has been in the works for 7 months is a very big stretch. (I use 'lol' on the forum, but do you really expect to find it anywhere on my application?)</p>
<p>And posting on a thread only to say "gnuh gnuh I'm not gonna read your thread" seems very childish and borderline idiotic. But this is not meant to dissolve into a ***** thread so again I apologize for the mistake, lets please try to stay on topic.</p>
<p>in any event i'd say it's a rather pointless thread. 3 reasons why:</p>
<p>1) there are links to both the classes of 2010 and 2011 threads about applications and acceptances. check the helpful threads post. if you have spent 7 months working on a college application i'd say 30 mins of reading wouldn't kill you</p>
<p>2) everyone will tell you admissions is a shiat show. read the acceptances/denials as mentioned in 1.</p>
<p>3) you're asking prefrosh, current students, and alums about admissions. really the only authority we have on this subject are on our own admissions/denials (one reason why i tend to not post in chances threads). no one really knows what you mean by "but for those with the experience is it really a 50/50 split?". again i will refer you to the acceptances/denials threads as found in 1.</p>
<p>Great job missing the point undiscolsed! You should be more like Skraylor and karot who actually understood my post rather than taking it personally and being childish about it....and since you are applying to columbia I am assuming that you would love nothing more than to be like Skraylor and karot....both of whom are columbia students. </p>
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but assuming that a careless name made on a message board while simultaneously doing multiple things at once will be repeated on a carefully-planned college application which has been in the works for 7 months is a very big stretch. (I use 'lol' on the forum, but do you really expect to find it anywhere on my application?)
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<p>See this is the exact notion that I was trying to get you to reconsider....this notion that you have been working on these apps for so long how could anything POSSIBLY be wrong with them....that attitude is what gets you in trouble. I have come close to making similar mistakes on cover letters even though I am very careful....it's just the reality of doing things in batches. A friend of mine DID make that mistake on cover letters and needless to say he didn't get a single interview. </p>
<p>I know this is an internet forum but just as you are addressing people who work for columbia in your application who will see such careless mistakes as a lack of interest in the school....here you are addressing students and alums of columbia and such silly mistakes show us a lack of interest in the school...and if you aren't interested enough in columbia, y should i waste time answering your question. Also, what's worst is that it shows that you are asking a quesiton without researching anything about the school since you are going from board to board and copy-pasting.....You really think that in the 19 months i've been answering questions on this board that i haven't answered a similar question or a more in depth question. Do you think your time is more valuable than mine that you can come here and paste a generic question and expect me to spend time on it? It's blatantly obvious that you spent no time at all searching through previous posts. </p>
<p>This isn't going to dissolve into a crappy thread...it already was one when you posted the initial generic thoughtless question. The advice you are getting here in this post is very good....i'm sure you will not appreciate it since you just want an altercation. If you want answers to the questions in your post look through this board and you will find very helpful answers to posts where the OP had a much better attitude and asked a more thoughtful question.</p>
<p>Shraf is one of the more understanding and less belligerent posters on this board. If you think you just got it between the eyes, try crossing Columbia2002.</p>
<p>Admissions could NEVER put a numerical weight on what factors are weighed and by how much. There are too many shades of gray and subjective interpretations.</p>
<p>One generalization I will make is that it is my impression, moreso at Columbia and Stanford (ironically) than their peer schools, that unique stories and personal background can counterweigh against some grades or test scores that were merely good, not great. Based on the large number of people i've known at each school, and which kids in my high school (and my friends' high schools, and the other people i've talked to, etc), kids who are interesting people but not AS flashy with the numbers stand an improved chance at Columbia and Stanford, relative to their own chances at peer schools. That doesn't mean they don't care at all about the numbers, just that other things can more easily make up for numbers.</p>
<p>And "axed" isn't a verb, at least not in the sense that you're using it in the title / question.</p>
<p>an error in the title of a thread on some unimportant academic website that will be read by unimportant people like yourselves...</p>
<p>has nothing to do with making errors on applications other than the fact that both are careless.</p>
<p>i'm not capitalizing this post, does that mean i'm going to mess up applications that matter? no</p>
<p>it just means i couldn't care less about what people assume about my english.</p>
<p>its called being secure.</p>
<p>its called 'not caring' because the OP obviously has better things to do than proof-read something that isn't crucial to anything in his life.</p>
<p>you people on the other hand, rather dwell on an unimportant aspect of the post, instead of gathering the knowledge to answer him or her.</p>
<p>Its ok academic08, don't fuel the fire. I've learn to just shake my head at some people and let them have the last word validation they so desperately seek. I mean posting 25 lines or so with a handful of them being insults in a thread you allegedly wouldn't read and then saying the OP wants to start an argument. You just gotta laugh.</p>
<p>A handful few posts were very helpful (thanks as always Denzera and co) but no need for more posts or PMs on posters being asses and such. Its not why I joined this forum and Ive simply chosen to ignore the very localized problem. We can all just let the thread die now. Again, I apologize for the error.</p>
<p>I like turtles.</p>
<p>Unique stories can get us in?.. Also true for internationals? Don’t internationals all have their own stories to tell?</p>
<p>it is true for interanationals but if you are one, don’t have a generic story about cultural differences. you can talk about cultural differences, but have a very specific, meaningful and unique perspective, that is the same for any story more more so for this.</p>
<p>I’m an international, from brunei, hopefully not represented at Columbia yet..</p>
<p>just being international and from another culture isn’t a particularly interesting story.</p>
<p>Why not?.. Do you mean being an american underrepresented minor is more interesting.. Come on..</p>