<p>i'm no good at math; i've made consecutive 73s in accelerated math one and two. those are definitely the most damaging grades i have. everything else is an A with maybe a handful of Bs. my GPA is at like...oh, god, 3.4? most columbia undergraduates maintained perfect GPAs, which is greatly discouraging. the only extracurricular activity i have is international club. i am hispanic, and i'll be entering my junior year in august. i have an A in my current AP class, and i'll be taking three AP courses next year, and 3-4 AP classes senior year (i don't know how these are going to count if i do early application). the thing is...i do really care about what i want to major in, which is sociology. i understand that i've really screwed up my grades, and i've done basically nothing extracurricular-wise, but i haven't really had the chance of doing a lot of things outside of school because of my, um, transportation situation...that's no excuse for my crap academic standards, but i was wondering if anybody out there thinks (if i REALLY amp up my volunteer work, leadership positions, organizations, and other miscellaneous-but-perfectly-related-to-my-future-major activities) that i still have a shot at entering columbia come my senior year? that will be in about eighteenish months, but more likely in less time than that if i do my application early. </p>
<p>also, i apologize for the lack of proper grammar and punctuation in the aforementioned post; i'm in a bit of a rush and have homework to do. :)</p>
<p>oh, and i took my psat's at the beginning of sophomore year, and scored in the 94% percentile. is that significant? i'll likely retake them, but i got high, high 90s in reading and writing and like an 88 in math, which totally surprised me. any feedback is totally appreciated.</p>
<p>your c’s in math seriously hamper your chances - columbia denies many students with perfect gpa’s, the further you are from there, the harder it becomes. you would need serious other things going for you - the prospects are not very strong.</p>
<p>well, i appreciate you replying, and you basically just affirmed what i already sorta suspected; i do really hate math and don’t really plan on studying it very much at all past high school (though i do have to take an AP math course my final year, ughhh), so i figured that would be just a little forgivable considering i want to do sociology, or MAYBE political science, both of them not really having a whole lot of math in their studies. if i pick a lot of activities that pertain to these majors, which are a kinda similar, and exceed in all the rest of my classes junior and senior year, even my math courses, i wonder if they’ll overlook the two math grades that fall below par?</p>
<p>Although it would obviously better if you had a 4.0 and superb extracurriculars,seeing that your still in your sophmore year, dont give up yet. At least try to to do extremely well on all classes from now on to get your GPA up, at least that will show an upward trend which is good. Do really well on your SATs and definitely start getting involved in extracurriculars with leaderships and volunteer and stuff. Maybe you could enter some competitions or try to do something that will distinguish you. Dont let the next two summers go to waste…find some worthwile things to do(i.e volunteering, taking classes or something that interest you that will supplement your application…eg. if your really into science and you want to major in the sciences do some research or something).
Work on your essays over and over till you feel like you have a masterpiece and try to get excellent recommendations.</p>
<p>Basically you have a slim chance of getting into columbia…but then so does everyone that applies seeing that the application rate is so low. Dont give up yet…give it your best shot.</p>
<p>as lizzy notes most students that apply don’t get into columbia, and the vast majority of students that go to college don’t go to columbia. there are other choices, ones that are able to be more flexible and overlook some bad grades.</p>
<p>because of the core and the need for you to take science classes, you need to know math at columbia. because of the competitive applicant pool, it means that room for error is minimal. but that’s just columbia. there are dozens of schools out there that are probably just as good academically that don’t have these strictures.</p>
<p>and my favorite stat - only 2% of the world has a college degree of some kind, only about 30-40% of hs seniors will graduate with even just a 2yr degree. going to college for many folks is really a huge accomplishment. and knowing your drive as it reads here, you’ll get into a great school. you have time, keep it up.</p>
<p>yeah, there are other choices. columbia is just at the top; i just wanted to see if there was the tiniest chance that i could get accepted. i’ll probably apply senior year, but seeing as it’s highly unlikely, i’m already piling a list of other possible schools.</p>
<p>i’m a little sad, though. if i do get into columbia, which probably won’t happen, i won’t have to worry about the cost because of my family’s low income. i have to admit that their financial aid is one of their most important aspects, and it’ll be difficult to find a college that matches it. however, i was looking into emory, which is in-state, and they have a sociology course. since it’s in-state, i can apply for the hope scholarship, which will cover a lot since i definitely plan on making stellar grades next year. </p>
<p>also, there are a lot of smaller colleges in the new york area and just the northeastern region in general that are private and seem like really great schools, too, and with an affordable price.</p>
<p>you guys have been pretty helpful. thanks. :)</p>
<p>Since Columbia is your dream school, still apply, if you really do all those things you spoke about and pull up your GPA, you still do have a chance. Just as long as your realistic about it and ensure you apply to safe and match schools, its okay to apply to a reach school or two. At the very least youll only lose the application fee. There are many students who think theyll never get in and do. Dont give up yet, you still have time to improve.</p>
<p>Ummm…no offense, but you are planning on applying for a SCHOLARSHIP at EMORY? Emory is considered to be one of the top Liberal Arts Colleges in the US, and you think you could get a scholarship with your grades…I mean, it’s ok to dream big. :)</p>
<p>if i was accepted into emory, i would receive the hope scholarship because i live in georgia. the hope scholarship is very generous when you make anything above a C average. I have an A average. it’s the in-state scholarship of georgia, and emory is in georgia.</p>
<p>Way too young for us to tell you anything useful, or remotely resembling your chances. Who knows? Maybe you’ll suddenly smarten up starting junior year and be able to do basic math. Maybe Columbia will change its admissions standards to accept any underrepresented minority. We don’t know as of right now.</p>
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<p>Nonetheless it’s a stupid major. I’ve talked with many (intelligent) people, and the academic rigor of the field is highly questioned. Sociology is very prone to BS (especially from people who got their Ph D cheap, who make up a huge percentage). Sociologists are also prone to making unsubstantiated, highly generalized statements about this thing they really like to call “society.” And also, they really subscribe to the idea of cultural relativism. hiss</p>
<p>First of all, you are way too young to have a clear cut vision of what you’ll want to do and WHY. Don’t just be turned on by a major because it’s got an interesting name (I suspect this is probably why you “care” about it so much).</p>
<p>Last of all, I’ll add that sociology majors are generally athletes who can’t handle economics.</p>
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<p>Definitely. Alot is still left undetermined. The junior year is possibly the most important one for college admissions. Make the best of it, don’t look back, and good luck.</p>
<p>BTW, I don’t understand you when you ask about whether you’ll enter Columbia in your senior year. Do you mean whether you’ll get accepted in your senior year or that you’ll skip your senior year to attend college?</p>
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<li>You should also apologize for the lack of clarity and the abundance of total BS. 2. The bad grammar and punct. is in the SAME POST, just a paragraph above. 3. The word “aforementioned” is a powerful tool; use it with caution.</li>
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<p>I know you’re trying to be comforting and all, but don’t compromise your standards (or Columbia’s). In the world of US colleges, if the academic “strictures” as you put it aren’t there, that means they are not as good. Pure and simple.</p>
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<p>2% of a huge world filled with nobodies is still a big number. If the OP indeed has food on the table every night, does not live in a malaria-ridden region, has relatively low odds of getting AIDS (if that’s what he/she chooses), and speak a centum Indo-European language, then the OP is probably not going to compete with or have much contact with the 98% of the world’s population. You only see in your field of vision (and consequently care about) the group relevant to yourself, the group of people at your level and above.</p>
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<p>That’s a very good idea. It’s essentially when everyone excluding some rare geniuses apply.</p>
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<p>That’s so a reason to apply to Emory, for a sociology-lover as yourself. Emory offers one sociology course. Wow, it’s almost unheard of!</p>
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<p>A very logically unsound statement. The future is uncertain, man. Practically everyone says/believes he/she will do really well in the future. Though it is statistically most probably that many will fall back on old habits. I suggest realistic planning and baby steps. So you got some Cs and Bs. Try making those Cs into Bs and Bs into As.</p>
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<p>Lots of things seem, man. Few things are.</p>
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<p>Dude, now you’re just killing the English subjunctive.</p>
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<p>Thanks for the underlined information. I think I kinda got that when you told us that
a) the hope scholarship is in state
b) you live in Georgia (which is also a country by the way and people do live in it)
c) you are so confident you will get it</p>
<p>As well, not everyone is so blind to the world of selective colleges as to forget Emory’s location.</p>
<p>epa what’s you’re point. don’t be mean for the sake of it.</p>
<p>i guess i like to point out that in our world where going to college seems like a foregone necessity, it is still a privilege, even in this country. </p>
<p>and there are a lot of great schools that take kids with the occasional b’s and c’s. who in college turn out to be students that get a’s and awards. steven chu was one such student, went to university of rochester (a really good school mind you), blossomed, won a nobel prize and now is sec of energy. do the vast majority of students who receive b’s and c’s do mediocre, probably, but it doesn’t mean that the schools they attend are poor. you’d be surprised the number of schools out there that would take students with b’s and c’s, some of them dare we say are at times called ‘peer schools.’</p>
<p>columbia’s standards are impossibly high because the pool is incredibly talented forcing adcoms to raise the bar a bit to a standard that often prevents students like the OP that might have a weak subject from being admitted. essentially it should make columbia better, but it also means that it forces a school like columbia to take a lot of cookie cutter kids. i think there is a good and bad side to it. and lest you forget columbia was such a school that could take a chance on kids with lower grades here and there, only until recently.</p>
<p>Usually I don’t even look at these chance threads. Now at 3 am I’m quite bored. The main point is that I wrote that mainly to please myself while listening to some great music.</p>
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<p>Please attack my ideas, not my brain cells (some of which are also neurons; weird name, ehh?).</p>
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<p>I try to say the truth. And do occasionally enjoy being jerky (I admit).</p>
<p>I must say you are letting your desire to be friendly and nice cloud some of your clear judgment. I say also that I rather have respect for you, for your intelligence and warmth.</p>
<p>Though post number 11 has nothing substantial</p>
<p>OP-
The Hope Scholarship will, if you maintain a B average, only give you $3k towards Emory’s cost, which is around 50K. You will need to look at scholarship opportunities (eg Emory Scholars) or their other FA in order to afford to attend.</p>
<p>OP gives me the sense he is thinking way too much.</p>
<p>Cool down, try to do as good as you can the next two years(without over-doing it) and if it isn’t Columbia where you get accepted, I’m sure you will still be happy no matter which university you attend in the end.</p>
<p>As for Columbia(or any other school for that matter), don’t forget the essays can make a great difference.</p>
<p>“2% of a huge world filled with nobodies is still a big number. If the OP indeed has food on the table every night, does not live in a malaria-ridden region, has relatively low odds of getting AIDS (if that’s what he/she chooses), and speak a centum Indo-European language, then the OP is probably not going to compete with or have much contact with the 98% of the world’s population. You only see in your field of vision (and consequently care about) the group relevant to yourself, the group of people at your level and above.”</p>
<p>If the OP is a prospective sociology major, he probably opposes this Occidental cultural myopia. He’s probably critical of the neoliberal globalization that perpetuates this economic and cultural inequality and opposes the Anglo-American cultural hegemony that devalues the achievements and intellectual tradition of those cultures that do not place a premium on college educations that reinforce the dominance of Western epistemological concepts. Or maybe that’s cultural studies majors? I don’t know; it’s all Marxist to me!</p>
<p>“Dude, now you’re just killing the English subjunctive.”</p>
<p>Were the English subjunctive still extant, this would matter. But it’s not, so it doesn’t.</p>
<p>Well, I’m definitely not a connoisseur of colleges, and I’m definitely not a man, mind you, so I’m pretty sorry about the poor grammar and illogical statements I said yesterday. I was running on empty, trying to look up colleges as well as finish homework. My brain is pretty much completely fried from sleep deprivation, but seeing as I just had a pretty good nap, I’m ready to defend myself.</p>
<p>Epaminondas, I understand you must be a mean-spirited person whose only pleasure derives from cutting down others to raise your own self-esteem. Obviously, sixteen-year-old girls are the easiest targets, so I’m just ripe for the picking, yeah? You like poking fun at my informalities? Fact is, I know I’m going to be talking to people either in my own age group or just above it, and there’s no huge need to be so strict with my grammar. I know grammar. I know grammar in three friggin languages, kiddo, so you don’t need to learn me on how to use the English subjunctive - which, by the way, I know how to do. </p>
<p>So, I can’t tell the future, but the fact of the matter is that I’m not a complete bonehead. I’ve made mostly A’s, and only the two C’s in math. I’ve had 3 B’s. All my academic classes are gifted, save for math which is accelerated. This is absolutely all my fault for slacking. It wouldn’t even be that difficult to bring all my grades to A’s, but it will take some work to get first in the class because of other competitors, but it’s not impossible, and I know I can do it. </p>
<p>About the Hope Scholarship, I was trying to make sure you knew what it was and what its qualifications were, however, I didn’t realize it was so little (that’s my fault for not researching it beforehand), and I guess I’ll just not worry about Emory right now because it doesn’t have many courses that I’m really interested in (again, I didn’t bother to research, and now I must seem like the biggest, most unprepared idiot on here).</p>
<p>Now, I’m interested in sociology and related fields because I aspire to do volunteer work in other countries (obviously, the ones that need some help) or possibly, in the distant future, work with the UN or do government work. I guess I’m still trying to find my footing on my major, but it was not my intention to BS my way through getting a useless sociology degree just to have an easy degree. I want to help people, and I guess I could be more helpful if I were a doctor or a nurse or an engineer, but I’m just not too great with math, advanced math, I mean. I have been told, again and again, that I should purse a career that involves international relations. Remembering that there’s a world out there and hearing horror stories about genocide and starvation and disease are my motivations in following sociology. I can’t just sit and watch wars on television with people tearing each other apart. Sociology is a gateway to other fields: journalism, law, politics, etc. These are some of my strong points, and one’s I’ve been interested in for awhile now. </p>
<p>Maybe I’m an idealist. Well, probably. I guess I never learned how to not dream big. Sucks. At least I don’t ■■■■■ internet college boards, lampooning high school sophomores for being hopeful because I have nothing better to do.</p>
<p>Honestly I have no clue what Epas deal is. What a great ambassador for the University, eh? Maybe Emory doesn’t have the prestige of Columbia, but at least Epa doesn’t attend there.</p>
<p>Doctorwhat–</p>
<p>To be totally honest with you, those Cs really are going to hurt you if you don’t go to a Magnet school. It probably is going to be a tough dream to achieve to go to a school like Columbia, even though those were only a couple classes. But Emory isn’t a ridiculous reach, and I bet you could at least get a small amount of money to help you pay. You might want to look into some other schools as well. If you’re interested in foreign affairs, maybe some schools in D. C. will give you some opportunities to intern in related fields, schools like George Washington or American or possibly even Georgetown.</p>
<p>You could also work with a goal of NYU. I don’t mean to be a dream-crusher, but Columbia is going to be pretty tough. Unless you become a hooked athlete or you’re a minority or become a famous movie star, maybe change your focus a little bit.</p>