Do I even have a shot to get into Columbia University?
I’m a junior and I’m in my school’s top 10 GPA ranks, with a 93-95 GPA, depending on how the spring semester grades shake out. I got a 2000 on the SAT in March, but I’ll be retaking it in the fall. I’m pretty good with extracurricular activities, since I am a varsity cheerleader, hopefully soon to be a varsity volleyball player and a varsity stunter (basically competitive cheerleading). I have been in student gov since I was a freshman, and I volunteer at the library, a soup kitchen, and I will be volunteering at the zoo over the summer. I also took a college class through one of my state schools over the summer last year.
A major plus that may be really beneficial is that my family is personal friends with a well-known actress who is an alum of Columbia and has offered to write me a letter of recommendation, so that may have a bit of clout. I also think I have the beginning of a pretty great college essay.
The main problems that I see are that my precalculus grade for my second semester of this year is likely to round out to be about an 85, because my teacher is THE WORST. Also, my school only allows us to take two AP classes a year, so I’m worried that I will be competing with kids who are taking like 5 APs a year and still having 4.0 GPAs.
First of all colleges want to see you take the most rigorous courses available… Which you are so don’t worry about the AP’s. Second one B isn’t that bad especially if you’re not going to be a STEM major. Your EC’s are good but not great, probably average for Colombia. Your GPA is a little low but not horrible. You need to raise your SAT’s 2200+. I would say you have a 40-50% chance to get in.
The AP question is a non-issue- the AdComm will know your school’s system. I’m not a fan of overemphasizing numbers, but your SAT looks as though it is in the bottom 25% of admitted students, which means that other things in your application would want to balance that out- and I am pretty sure that a letter from a famous alum is not going to do it. Your great essay could, and your ‘why Columbia essay’.