<p>I'm currently doing my bachelor's degree in East Asian Studies at one of the best universities in Germany. I'd love to do a master's degree in journalism in the US, my ultimate dream would be Columbia.
But I have some questions, hopefully anyone can help!!</p>
<p>Do they focus more on personality and writing skills than on grades? I'll finish my bachelor's degree around February, I'm a B student.. Some people told me that without an A I shouldn't even try to get into Columbia. Is that true? I'm working for a daily newspaper for three years now, besides that I wrote articles on some other newspapers. I worked on a bigger project at my university, I was one of the editors of my high schools yearbook and did some other extracurricular activities. I did three internships (one of them in China) and going to do a fourth one at one of the most popular publisher in Europe, I spent over one year in Tokyo (working, travelling, learning Japanese) after finishing high school- all by myself.
Do I have chances or do I get rejected immediately if I don't have A's everywhere?</p>
<p>I know, I need three essays, excellent TOEFL results, three letters of recommendation. The application deadline is January 15th, by that time I'm not going to have my degree, yet all grades. Do you think I can send them a interim transcript and hand the degree in later?</p>
<p>Do you think it is a good idea to send more than three letters of recommendation? I was thinking to get one from my uni professor, one from the editor in chief of the newspaper I'm working at and then... ?? I have an excellent one from my highschool. Do you think it is a good idea to take that one (it includes social activities,...). I also have a great letter of recommendation from the company I was intern for in China (but that was in Marketing and included only a bit press work). To be honest, I don't even know exactly how a letter of recommendation in the US should look like!! Don't know if it varies a lot from them in Germany.</p>
<p>Is there any advice you can give me? Anything to boost my chances? ;) I'm so insecure about the admission process.. I don't want to make mistakes. </p>
<p>I am an international student at Columbia’s SIPA and a peer advisor for international students at Columbia. I don’t know much about school of Journalism, since Columbia is very decentralized. Each school is responsible for their own admission. BUT… Based on my own experience, the most important thing is the essay. The second thing is your personal and professional experience that would play a role in your future career. Though I come from another country, I’m American educated. I went to undergrad here as well, so let me tell you something… If you’re good at making a good impression in your essay, you could go anywhere you want in American higher education. Of course, have good grades always helps, but if your grades are less than ideal, it’s not the end of the world. I’m a B+ student and my GRE is far from ideal, but I wrote one of the best personal statements, and I got it. </p>
<p>This is not something official, just my own observation: if you’re white, that could be a disadvantage. But the fact that you’re from another country could help. If you have some really bad grades, you should explain why you think you could still do well at Columbia, even if you’ve had bad grades. In regard to letters of recommendation, send them the best three, one of which should be from a professor. For letters of recommendation, the status of the recommender is the most important and then what s/he says is next. </p>
<p>You have a lot of time to go, my suggestion is spend as much time as you can to work on your essays. If they’re amazing, Columbia will NEVER reject you. It’s a complete myth that Ivy League schools are only for A students. It’s only true if you apply for research programs. For professional programs, personal and professional experience, which should reflect in your personal essay, is the most important.</p>
<p>@SIPAPrincess: I sent you a PM! Thanks so much for your reply.</p>
<p>What do the others think about an advantage of early application? Is that true or just a myth?
I was also wondering if I should send more than three letters of recommendation?!</p>
<p>There is also the problem that I might be able to do an internship at a great place that’s helpful for my future - but AFTER my graduation in Germany. It’s not possible to send a recommendation after the application deadline, is it? How long does it usually take to get a YES or NO from university?</p>
<p>Application deadline January 15th… What do you think is a good time to send the application? Sorry, I’m not familiar with this thing about the advantage of applying early. With TOEFL, essays, letters of recommendation I might be finished around the end of OCT?!!
Does anyone know if school of journalism accept to hand in one letter of recommendation later? I have a great opportunity to do an internship in april 2011 and I think this could possibly rise my chances?! Should I mention it in my CV or essay?</p>