I just received the view book, I'm impressed - Chances?

Colleges & Universities A-Z Columbia University
1

<p>So here are the statistics:</p>

<p>Class IX Scores(Grade 9):</p>

<li>English : 92%(A)</li>
<li>Hindi(Native Lang) : 88.5%(A)</li>
<li>Mathematics : 88.1%(A)</li>
<li>Science (Phy, Chem, Bio combined) : 95%(A)</li>
<li>Social Studies(includes Geography, History, Civics) : 83.3%(A)</li>
<li>Physical Education : A</li>
<li>Computer Science : A</li>
</ol>

<p>Rank : 1st</p>

<p>Class X(Grade 10):</p>

<p>1.English : 90% (A)
2. Mathematics : 87 (A)
3. Science

  • Practicals - 25/25
  • Theory - 72/75
    Total% -> 97%(A)
  1. Social Science
  • Project Work - 20/20
  • Theory - 73/80
    Total% -> 93% (A)</p>

<li>Work Experience : A</li>
<li>Physical Education : A</li>
</ol>

<p>Well in Class XI I have an avg of 80%</p>

<p>I will be appearing for my SATs in October. Been scoring around 2200 on the practice tests.</p>

<p>Major Awards :
**
-Special Appreciation by NASA during the NASA Student Involvement Program.</p>

<p>-Special Appreciation by Leprosy Mission.</p>

<p>-Special Appreciation by LIFE { Lower Income Family Emancipation }</p>

<p>-Founder of a Evolution Science Magazine{Ezine} Worlds first Ezine catering the interest of high school students.</p>

<p>-Honored by Indian Govt. for an All India AIDS Awareness Motorcycle Rally</p>

<p>-Co-Author Comic Strips <a href=“http://lolzord.cfsquad.org%5B/url%5D”>http://lolzord.cfsquad.org</a></p>

<ul>
<li><p>Sargent in the National Cadet Corps - Army Division. Awarded ‘A’ Certificate.</p></li>
<li><p>Represented India at LISTEN: The Worlds First Conference on Child’s Concerns.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>**
Academics :</p>

<p>1. Gold Medal in National Informatics Olympiad {Conducted by a private foundation}.</p>

<li><p>3rd Rank in National Cyber Olympiad.</p></li>
<li><p>Secured 2nd Rank in 7th International Science Talent Examination conduceted by Bangalore Science Forum.</p></li>
<li><p>7th Rank in 'Assesment of Scholastic Skills through Education Testing.</p></li>
<li><p>Represented region with my science project{ An Operation System for education} at Indian Institute of Techonology. Secured 1st Rank.</p></li>
<li><p>Finalist National Environmental Quiz conducted by Environment Education Council for Children Delhi Public School Society.</p></li>
<li><p>Won state level debate conducted by Hindi Samaj.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Leadership :</p>

<p>**1. School Captain. {Indian Equivalent of Student Body head} - 2 Years </p>

<li><p>School Prefect - Before I was promoted to School Captain. - 1 Year</p></li>
<li><p>School Basketball and Volleyball Team Captain. [2 Years]**</p></li>
<li><p>Head of student body at my previous school too {2 years ago, so not important I guess}</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Sports:</p>

<li>Represented region at state level for Volleyball and Ball Badminton {What is ball badminton? never mind}[1 Year]</li>
</ol>

<p>Others:</p>

<li><p>I have my own Linux Distribution used by a few schools in my city {Its geared towards education}</p></li>
<li><p>Founder of Linux User Group in my City.[ Completed 1.5 yrs]</p></li>
<li><p>Founder of inter school gaming club in the city.</p></li>
<li><p>Member Ubuntu Linux India Team.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Community Service - 160+ Hours at the local Military Hospital</p>

<p>Recs are going to be stellar and I will try my best with the essays</p>

<p>I am an International seeking Aid.</p>

2

<p>Oops forgot to mention chances at the Engg. School.</p>

3

<p>Well, you're smarter than I am, by far, and did a lot better and more interesting stuff than I did, and I got in RD to SEAS, if that means anything.</p>

4

<p>Are you an International student who asked for aid? :D (and that too Indian )</p>

5

<p>ICSE system?</p>

6

<p>Cbse .</p>

7

<p>i see, in that case you're academics are very strong, along with all the academic awards, i think you're a very strong candidate, if you don't mess up the essay you'll probably get in, highlight your non-academic strengths. </p>

<p>an indian (male?) asking for aid is what changes chances considerably. loads of indian males applying to top schools, and chances are tougher for internationals wanting aid. so even though there's a lot that's great about your app, i'd say chances are 50%. Ed will work in your favor big time.</p>

8

<p>confidentialcoll, are you American? I'm impressed seeing an American know about ICSE/CBSE!!</p>

9

<p>i have only one concern--your ST projected score. you've got impressive credentials thus far but your ethnicity will work against you with a low SAT score. i'm going to assume you are having difficulty with the verbal section and not the math. if it's financially not a problem for you, purchase a verbal workbook. princeton review makes a good one, and it helped me raise my verbal score by 150 points to a 770. you might also google SAT Verbal and come across free practice things.</p>

<p>i agree that ed would work in your favor. best of luck!</p>

10

<p>Yeah its the CR that kicks me in the shin most of the time! I bought the Barrons Verbal workbook. I'll be applying ED to Dartmouth ;)</p>

11

<p>D for engineering?!? are you serious?!? you like hugging trees, freezing cold weather, nothing off campus and hugging trees?</p>

<p>don't attack, just kidding :p</p>

12

<p>haha Well yes Dartmouth kinda fits me.</p>

<p>I want to be an engineer but not only that ;)</p>

<p>Oh I like skiing, canoing and rock climbing too :p</p>

<p>And yeah I dont want TAs teaching me. Plus the beautiful campus is a bonus!</p>

13

<p>Very good profile. I'm kinda amused by "Class IX, Class X, Class XI...". Reminded me of Super Bowls.</p>

<p>As for your school selections, as long as you know what you're getting yourself into, you can't really go wrong with Dartmouth. But I'll say this:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>One of the main selling points of Columbia to me was the ability for me to be "more than just an engineer". I had interests in half a dozen academic areas, from history to music to sociology to law, etc - but my primary skills were in science/math. Columbia was a perfect fit because I could take world-class courses in those areas while still working the engineering punching bag.</p></li>
<li><p>Columbia's got a big and active rock climbing team. Lot of rock gyms in the city.</p></li>
<li><p>You're a lot closer to the good skiing up at Dartmouth, but I manage to make the commute up to Stowe/Smuggler's Notch in vermont once or twice a year. A 2-hour drive is better than a 6-hour one, but I'm not sure I'd pick my school based on that.</p></li>
<li><p>I took 30-40 classes while at Columbia, and I can safely say that a TA (i.e. a grad student, not someone with a Professor title) was the chief instructor for... 2 of them. Music Hum and UW. And the Music Hum guy was an accomplished modern composer, a hilarious german guy named Carl. TAs were probably my main source of learning for a further 3-4 classes (the huge lecture classes like History of NYC or Physics E&M, where we had a discussion recitation). And even in those cases, the professors were still accessible and helpful. Every other class was taught by a professor, many of whom were spectacular at teaching and generous with their time outside of class. Dartmouth is a good school, but it's not like Columbia is some sort of factory.</p></li>
<li><p>Having well-reputed graduate schools around and part of the university system means you have more opportunities while an undergrad. You can see what goes on, contribute sometimes, and certainly get a better appreciation for your future options.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>My two cents.</p>

<p>-D</p>

14

<p>Oh no, you're not getting Ajay out of Dartmouth ED. Impossible. :D</p>

15

<p>Points noted Denzera. Thanks for the post.</p>

<p>Tetris : ;)</p>

16

<p>I hate to admit it but yes I have started liking Columbia :) (thanks to the posts in the other thread too!) So can a few more people elaborate on my chances?</p>

17

<p>i dunno much about your chances, but you seem like a cool, well rounded guy. do well on your sat's, talk about your volunteer work in your essays (as well as specifics on what you want to do at columbia e.g. courses, clubs, etc.) and most importantly, be genuine. why apply ED to dartmouth? NYC is like bombay...you'll love it. good luck man!</p>

18

<p>No, Ajay you can't betray Dartmouth like this... you have inspired many. haha. columbia impressed me like no other, but i would rather have "less" prestige (seriously though, Dartmouth is pretty freaking prestigious) and a more relaxed environment with more emphasis on undergrad. maybe columbia for med school?</p>

19

<p>D is prestigious, and noone said he should come to columbia for prestige, columbia is undergrad focused, the only depts that get the grad school bias criticism are econ and CS, i don't think it's even true for those. all the top profs teach ug classes, ta teaching is few, far between and often great, classes that should be small are small, research opprtunities for ugs are abundant. and it's not really intense.</p>

20

<p>
[quote]
No, Ajay you can't betray Dartmouth like this... you have inspired many. haha

[/quote]
</p>

<p>:D I am not betraying Dartmouth, NEVER!</p>