I'm in an interesting predicament (esp w/ my GPA) should I bother doing ED?

Colleges & Universities A-Z Columbia University
1

<p>Objective:</p>

<pre><code>* SAT I (breakdown): 2120 (CR: 640 M: 760 W: 720 Essay: 11)
* SAT II: Math2: 780, Bio-E: 710, Physics: 800, US: 800, Chemistry: 800 [Ironically I got a C in both Chem and Pre-Calc)
* GPA: 6.0/7.0 (A is a 7, B is a 6, etc assuming one is taking honors/ap courses)
* GPA (UW): 2.94/4.00 (lol)
* Rank or percentile: top 15% (out of 550)
* AP/IB Scores: Calc BC: 5 (AB Subscore: 5) Stat: 4
* ACT: 36 (12 Essay)
* Other: Qualified for the AIME
</code></pre>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<pre><code>* Major Awards: Honor Roll (9, 11)
* Extracurriculars:
Theater (Musical/Drama) [leads]
Choir
Habitat for Humanity (president)
Medical Club
Freelance graphics designer
Tutoring an child with autism in math
Website developer (was paid until site was closed)
I help with a program that runs a party for autistic children before the holidays
* Job/Work Experience: Internship at Penn w/ doing research at a lab
* Volunteer/Community service:
Hospital work
Ran a food kitchen in third world country
Raised $14,000 running an event in that country for charity
* Summer Activities:
* Essays: Should be great
* Teacher Recommendation: Should be Great
* Counselor Rec: Should be Great
* Additional Rec: Should be Great
* Interview: Should also be great
</code></pre>

<p>[ b]Other**[list][<em>] Location: NJ[</em>] School Type: Competitive Public[<em>] Ethnicity: White[</em>] Gender: Male[li] Income Bracket: 100k+</p>[/li]
<p>Ok well I started to become serious about my schoolwork in junior year. I wasted sophomore year spending 3:00 PM - 11:00 PM afterschool with theater/choir. I was doing really well the first two marking periods junior year. I had a Straight A average the first semester. However, at that point I started getting sick quite frequently. My grades ended up dropping gradually.</p>

<p>I feel as if my test scores are a better indicator of me than my GPA</p>

<p>i got a 160 on the PSAT Sophomore year. This year i managed to pull a 2120 on the SAT after some studying while I was sick.</p>

<p>I got a B freshman year math, a C sophomore year math [both honors]. Then in Junior year i qualified for the AIME, Scored a 780 in Math2, got an A in CalcAP, got a 5 on the AP test, got an A in stat, got a 4 on the Stat AP test (teacher's average is a 1.9). Had i not been sick, my grades would have been much higher.</p>

<p>To add on to that. I got a C in Chemistry Sophomore year, but i got an 800 on the subject test junior year. I also got a B in US History in Sophomore year but an 800 on the Subject test.</p>

<p>I'm positive that I can get straight As on my 1st MP Senior year and have that sent</p>

<p>Sr year Courseload
Business H
PhysicsAP
EnglishAP
Multivariable Calculus H
World History AP
Psych AP
Science Research H
Euro History AP
Lunch</p>

2

<p>I think your recs will be extremely important if you want to get in. But your GPA is a huge killer. Usually a low GPA with high test scores suggests either laziness or bad work ethic. If you have a very good explanation (like family issues, other very important commitments, teachers conspiracy against you, etc) then that needs to come across in your recs somehow. But with a 2.94 gpa… man. Have fun explaining that one.</p>

3

<p>I kind of explained why my gpa was so low. But I really can’t do anything about it right now</p>

4

<p>yeah i know. but theres a diff betw explaining it to us and to the admissions office</p>

5

<p>nice stats… 36 ACT and 2.94 gpa. I really doubt anything can dig you out of that hole, unless your grades were a mistake or something.</p>

<p>

two things wrong with this. one: you spent a lot of time on an EC, that’s not “wasting your time” unless you didn’t really like the EC in the first place. hopefully you’re amazing at singing/acting and get recruited somehow. </p>

<p>secondly, “started becoming serious” is probably not a good excuse. they don’t want to see people that slack off and then suddenly realize, oh wait, college admissions are coming up. </p>

<p>not gonna be pretty.</p>

6

<p>Based on your scores… I can say that you are intelligent but need to work harder. HOWEVER, while your ACT score is impressive… it’s not enough to counterbalance your GPA. Many top students choose to have their SAT evaluated over the ACT/do not take the ACT (somewhere on Columbia’s website it said something like “we prefer the SAT but accept the ACT” and students who do well on the SAT tend to do well on the ACT (without studying for the ACT) but the reverse is not true. Ie: I got a 2300+ on the SAT… didn’t study for ACT, took it just for the heck of it since my SAT was good and I got a 34 with no studying. At my school, about 10+ ppl got 36’s on the ACT and factor in that not many ppl take the ACT in the first place (at my school) cause they choose to focus on the SAT. Also… the SAT II Chem and Physics are jokes after taking ap courses so getting an 800 is pretty simple on them if you’ve taken the AP class. If you haven’t taken the Ap class, then i’d say that’s pretty impressive. Math 2C doesn’t seem quite up to par (besides native born speakers taking their own native language… generally math2c has like the largest amount of 800’s cause you can miss 5 points I think and still get an 800). </p>

<p>I think that if you had focused on your studies you would have done quite well and would have a great chance at Columbia. However, with this splotchy record, I doubt you could get in. Good luck though =X</p>

<p>P.S. my score review/analysis is based on my school, which is one of the top 50 public schools in the nation according to both U.S. News and Newsweek.</p>

7

<p>See the thing is</p>

<p>there have been people getting into columbia from my school with a similar weighted GPA (some lower some a tad bit higher) (yes there are also those getting in with 6.8 and 6.9s)</p>

<p>however, i spoke to my guidance counselor and she said none of those student’s unweighted was as low as mine</p>

8

<p>For avoidance of doubt, the ACT is a perfectly respectable substitute for the SAT. Columbia has made this very clear. If you check the score distributions, you’ll see that a 34 on the ACT is approximately equal to a 2300 on the SAT. I would focus on factors other than the ACT/SAT.</p>

9

<p>You’re a prime candidate for taking a gap year, and working a full-time job.</p>

<p>If you want to get into a top school, you’re going to need to show A’s your senior year - no excuses. Your track record of being smart is going to be attractive (And top 15% of the class isn’t shabby - maybe a year of A’s can get you into that oh-so-important top 10%), but you’re going to project as a “risky” candidate because of the spotty transcript.</p>

<p>You may find that the best way to show your newfound maturity and discipline is with old-fashioned paid jobs. I did, anyway (had a poor GPA but good stats elsewhere - see my Advice Archive for more details). My job was a primary factor in getting admitted, in addition to an Early Decision app.</p>

<p>Consider taking a year off and applying during that year off. If you apply this fall, you’re likely to be disappointed with the places willing to take a “risk” on you. Most schools have provisions for a gap year, and consider people with only one year off still to be eligible to apply to be incoming freshmen. If you take that year off, and either do some serious volunteering or work a full-time job, it’ll almost certainly help you show a real-world perspective and adult level of discipline that your application currently lacks. You may find, as I did, that it was the best decision you ever made.</p>

10

<p>Denzera – That’s good advice (you being the evidence for how good it is), but at the same time he’s by no means guaranteed that the year will get him in. It’s tough no matter how many right things you do, so the year should not hinge on getting into Columbia. Just realistically, you don’t want to regret the whole year if you unfortunately are not accepted.</p>

11

<p>I think in all cases it will make him a better candidate for college, and a more mature, grounded person - so regardless of whether he ends up at Columbia or another school it’s a good plan.</p>

<p>A very few people enter college with a singular vision of what they want to do when they get out, and spend all 4 years working tirelessly towards that goal without wavering. Most of the rest of humanity could probably benefit from spending a year in the real world before returning to academia.</p>

12

<p>Denzera - In your gap year did you do anything else besides your full time job? Did you take any more tests or college classes? I find it hard to believe that just because you took a gap year working full time, they forgave your low GPA. How did they reason it out that you had become more mature? I know many immature people who are working full-time.</p>

13

<p>I think planning on a gap year is risky, but if you apply to all the schools you feel you belong to and get rejected, then you can make that decision. There’s always transfering. Or facing the harsh reality that you might not belong at a school of this caliber.</p>

14

<p>

Well, the short answer is, if their concern is about your work ethic, being able to hold down a full-time professional job is a pretty strong statement about the maturity of your work ethic. It doesn’t matter whether I was a trash collector or (as it happened) doing DBA tech support. Someone employed me, paid me a salary, expected me to show up every morning and give them 8-10 good hours, and I did (and got a raise after the first year).</p>

<p>My first year, I had one last requirement to finish (an english class), which I did at harvard extension two evenings a week - took this sociology class on the Madness of Crowds, it was barrels of fun. But I don’t think that had much weight at all, I had previous classes at harvard extension, and at BU, in tougher subjects at an earlier age.</p>

<p>What also helped my second application, besides a killer rec from my boss, was a much better essay. My first year was kinda whiny and making excuses, it was on overcoming my fear of failure and stuff… the writing was ok but the thematic content was much more that of a child. On my second application, I wrote about something specific pertaining to my own sense of ethics, and it was simple, humble, brief, and unique to me. I thought it came across as much more of an “adult” thought piece.</p>

<p>But the work experience was the real key, as Shawn Abbott told me. My first application was made with only 4 months elapsed. The second was made with a year and 2 months in the books. Plus it was an ED app. All of that together spoke to a picture of a kid who knew what he wanted to do and wasn’t afraid to bide his time a little.</p>

<p>OK, so that wasn’t a short answer.</p>

15

<p>Denzera - Thanks for the response. Besides the recommendation from your boss. Who else sent in recs for you? Were these other recs substantially different from the prior ones?</p>

16

<p>No real difference in the others between the two years. I had a history teacher (soph yr, AP European History), a physics teacher, and my school principal, who helped explain my unique situation and gave an assessment of my maturity growth. So, yeah, 4 total recommendations. Not a good idea for most applicants but a good idea in mine because I had a lot of helpful perspectives to cover.</p>

<p>If you’re considering a gap year, it may be helpful to talk teachers with whom you won’t be interacting after graduation, and get them to write a letter of recommendation while you’re still fresh in their mind. Your high school will keep those on record and forward them along with the other application materials.</p>

17

<p>Denzera - Thanks for the reply. I was out a week and didn’t check this thread until today. Usually, and this could be just my bias, HS principals do not know students well except in very small schools. Those that they know are either very good students or very bad students. How did you get your principal to side with you?</p>

18

<p>He was the final appeal authority for the attendance policy that I had run afoul of. I went to him with a written proposal. He bought it and checked in with me occasionally over the course of the year.</p>