Improving Chances of Acceptance

Colleges & Universities A-Z Columbia University
1

<p>My biggest regrets are not challenging myself with a heavier courseload throughout high school and not doing well enough on my SAT. My GPA is 3.884 UW with one AP class and four dual-enrollment classes. I am 7th out of 60 in my class. My SAT was only 1830 (this is terrible and the biggest problem area for me thus far). However, my highest ACT subscores are 36 English, 36 Reading, 31 Math, 29 Science, 9 Writing so those are fairly decent and should somewhat make up for my poor SAT score, although it still doesn't look too great.</p>

<p>I have been on the Honor Roll throughout high school, member of several clubs including ones focused on volunteer work, foreign language, art, and school organizations. I also have been self-employed throughout all four years of HS by creating my own website and managing all aspects of it (writing content, publication, marketing, advertising, communications, social networking, search engine optimization, etc.) so that could possibly help. I also ran another website, which I did not profit from, revolving around environmental concerns.</p>

<p>I wrote my CommonApp essay about my personal background and how this has affected who I am today. This includes the fact that I have grown up in the South and the Bible Belt and how my opinions differ so much from the people I am surrounded with, and how this has shaped who I am. To me, it was an inspirational essay, but I'm worried it won't stand out enough. In my "Why Columbia" essay I wrote about how Columbia's value of diversity is my favorite thing about the school and what this means to me.</p>

<p>All-in-all, I feel terribly average. My high school record isn't a fair representation of my intelligence, and I have so many regrets concerning that. I'd love to go back and redo all four years -- but alas, I cannot. Columbia is my number one choice and I feel that I really belong there, but I believe that my chances of getting in aren't too high. So basically, my question is this:</p>

<p>How likely am I to get in? And more importantly, is there anything I can do in the next month or two that would improve my chances of acceptance? Whether it be projects I can undertake, getting some of my poetry published, improving scores in any way, or contacting Columbia admissions? I am willing to do whatever it takes. I just wish I'd taken this more seriously sooner. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.</p>

2

<p>Oh, and as for the books, publications, movies, etc. I listed they were very intellectual ones pertaining to my interests, with some being diverse and quirky choices. Hopefully that will help, although certainly not by much.</p>

<p>If anyone would like to read either my CommonApp essay or my “Why Columbia” essay to offer some input, just let me know.</p>

<p>But basically I am wondering how likely it is that I could get accepted, and what I could do to improve this likelihood. Thanks in advance.</p>

3

<p>It’s definitely a big stretch for you to get accepted. Don’t get your heart set on Columbia, and realize that you can flourish at many different schools. If your application is in, there isn’t much you can do, unless you try to win a big award or some sort of national recognition.</p>

4

<p>whoa there I didn’t know there was such a big descrepancy between ACT and SAT…ur ACT (33) would be translated by sources as a 2190 on ur SAT…thats a whooping 360 point difference…wow lol</p>

5

<p>i really hope for your sake that you didnt submit your sat scores?
regardless, there were many from the ed pool that were deferred with 1890 sats (i saw three or four on cc). im positive there are more people out there with those test scores and im also positive that columbia looks at them fairly.</p>

<p>i dont think my sat score is amazing comparatively either but im not giving up hope, and i dont think you should either.</p>

<p>and ill read your essay if you want some assurance (i applied RD so i dont know how much i can help but im a pretty decent writer- or so ive been told. in any case, i am a person and do have an opinion as to how interesting writing is haha). pm it to me (either, or both).</p>

6

<p>if you submitted both sat and act they’ll count the better of the two, don’t worry about that</p>

7

<p>Well, Columbia won’t consider your SAT scores, so long as you also submit your ACT scores and SAT subject test scores, so I guess you shouldn’t worry too much about that. Still, it’s quite a strange discrepancy. Your GPA and high school environment and ECs and everything else seem to be average, but at least your SAT score won’t drag you down.</p>

8

<p>I don’t think that you’re going to get in. A lot of colleges value the SAT much more than the ACT, and some call it the inbred cousin of the SAT. Grades are EVERYTHING, and your GPA is looking extremely substandard. Many admissions officers would balk at your academic profile and the only thing that would save you would be several varsity ECs. </p>

<p>Do you have anything that could even remotely save you from denial everywhere? Most students with similar academic profiles have a lot of ECs and are national caliber athletes. Good luck with the admissions process</p>

<p>Moses Goldberg</p>

9

<p>okay, moses goldberg, everything you just said is completely false. OP, your act score - composite of 33, is fantastic. don’t worry about your SAT. I submitted a 34 ACT and was accepted. Although i did also submit a 2220 SAT. Either way, my ACT score is better.
Also, make sure you do well on your SAT II’s - those are required.</p>

<p>“Grades are EVERYTHING”</p>

<p>That’s ridiculous, and not at all true. A 3.9 GPA is great. moses you must be on crack or something. </p>

<p>“do you have anything that could even remotely save you from denial from everywhere”</p>

<p>wow, that was plain uncalled-for. and not at all true. OP, this guy is crazy, don’t listen to him. Whether or not you get into columbia, your numbers will take you somewhere good.</p>

<p>All that being said, admissions is super competitive, and to stand out you really need impressive essays and EC’s. Most applicants will be qualified academically, with high scores and grades; where the decisions are made are with the non-quantitative factors. From what you’ve represented, I can’t say that I see much that really stands out, but then again I haven’t read your essays or actually seen your EC involvement formally described.</p>

<p>Also, for improving your chances, I would suggest doing everything you can. getting your poetry published would be a great thing. don’t contact admissions - that won’t really do anything.</p>