Is there even any hope?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
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<p>I'm going to be a senior come fall, and needless to say, i'm stressed out. Like so many of my peers, i have ambitions of going to a top 20 university. I'm passionate about politics, I'll probably major in political science or international relations, and probably go on to law school after undergrad. Here's some of the universities i'm planning on applying to:</p>

<p>Harvard, Princeton, Dartmouth, Columbia, Brown, UPenn, Georgetown, UChicago, Boston College, NYU, George Washington University.</p>

<p>Without giving away too much personal info, here are some of my stats:</p>

<p>Asian Male in Tri-State area in relatively competitive public high school (top 10 in state)
Rank: Around top 10%
UW GPA: 3.8
SAT: 2300
AP'S: AP Lang, APUSH, AP Calc BC, AP Economics (Junior Year)
AP Lit, AP MEH, AP Gov, Multivariable Calc, AP Chem (senior year)
EC's: Student Council Treasurer, Key Club Treasurer, DECA President, Mock Trial Captain, Newspaper Editor In Chief, Saxophone in Jazz Band (Regional Level), Tri-M (Music) Honor Society</p>

<p>Now this isn't exactly a chance me thread, but i think people need to see of my stats in order to really gauge me properly. Its fair to say that my EC'S are somewhat generic, but at the same time, pretty respectable. I've taken the highest classes in my school, and after freshman year, have had successes. My freshman year wasn't stellar, my unweighted gpa was rougly a 3.5. I think i've done a good job raising that dramatically but im not exactly valedictorian either. I think i might just barely miss the top 5% mark. As i was looking across the RD acceptance threads for the ivy league universities here on cc, i noticed that not only did people have great ec's (which i dont think i really lack in any capacity), but most of the acceptances were 4.0's and vals. Even though i have an upward trend, is my relatively average gpa going to hold be back from getting into the top colleges im applying to? Also, anyone wanna reconmend any great match schools with awesome political science departments in the northeast?</p>

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<p>Since you’re going to be a senior in the fall, there’s really not much you can do for grades and extracurriculars. What you have is solid, but just like anything that has to do with competitive college admissions, it’s impossible for me to say how you’ll do. A lot of the admissions process is luck, fit, and many factors out of your control. </p>

<p>However, you’re on the right track when asking about more match schools. This is the one thing I would have changed, now that I look back on my college admissions process. I can’t recommend match schools that have poly sci departments better than the schools you listed. Instead, I’ll list the schools that I would’ve applied to for greater chance of merit money and university scholars honors for high stats students.</p>

<p>Duke, Rice, Vanderbilt, Johns Hopkins, WashU in St. Louis</p>

<p>These schools are well-respected, although they certainly don’t carry the prestige of Princeton or Georgetown. I would also try to cut out some schools from your reach list so that you can focus on your essays more. As it approaches the college admissions season, I think you will know which reach schools you really want vs. what everybody else wants. </p>

<p>Oh, my last piece of advice is to not pay attention to the most “popular” schools that everybody is applying to. For instance, I wasn’t even interested in applying to MIT until October during senior year, when I learned that a lot of people in my year were, so I decided to last minute. Needless to say, I wasn’t accepted. Just listen to yourself. People go crazy during this time of year. I wish you the best of luck this fall.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the advice friend. Those schools you listed are all great, although wouldn’t Duke and John Hopkins be almost as hard to get into as say, Georgetown? I hope i don’t come off as snobbish, but i really do want to stay in the northeast/D.C and up. Any other great schools that i would have a great chance of getting into? I’m definatley leaning more towards mid sized universities like BC, i’m not so sure about small LACs besides maybe Swarthmore or Haverford. I know admissions are supposed to be hollistic, but seriously, is my rank going to hold me back? I left out some political stuff in my post, and overall, im confident about my ec’s. Its just the whole 3.8 gpa that im worried about.</p>

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<p>I’m not in a position to say whether the 3.8 will hold you back. The first thing that pops into my head are a lot of questions.</p>

<p>Is it unweighted? What is the true rigor of your courseload and school? Which rank are you (I only know a rough percentage, based on your info)? How many B’s do you actually have? College admissions officers are experts at this. They sort on a regional level first, so I’m guessing you’ll be treated within the appropriate academic context.</p>

<p>Obviously, getting anything less than an A isn’t desirable, but it isn’t worth worrying about at this point. All you can do is really kick butt first semester senior year. </p>

<p>Have you taken your SAT II’s yet?</p>

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<p>SAT II: 2380 (U.S History, Math II, World History)</p>

<p>That 3.8 gpa IS unweighted, I have the hardest courseload, usually around the top 10 students take the same senior courseload. My weighted is a little above 4.2, but i didnt think it was necessary to include considering that each high school has a slightly different weighting system. On naviance, the average student who has gotten into columbia from my high school (only about 5 kids in past 5 years school has been open) has been a 4.4 weighted gpa. this is a good decimal point and a half higher than mine, but i’d like to stress my upward trend and the fact that most kids at my school, even the top students, dont really have remarkable ec’s. Now besides playing at the regional level for jazz, i dont really have many awards, as my school’s mock trial team doesent compete in major competitions and our DECA isnt allowed to go to competitions. All i’ve been hearing is that, without awards, ones chances of getting into an ivy are diminished. Care to comment on my EC’s? Although i will work hard my senior year, my unweighed gpa probably wont go much higher than the 3.85 mark…</p>

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<p>Guys, as i’ve repeated around here a number of times, I got in with a 3.3 unweighted GPA. Mind you, I had a long list of other things that made that OK, or at least less-bad (a bunch of college credits, national AP scholar after my junior year, yadda yadda this thread isn’t about me…), but GPA is not something worth obsessing over. A 3.8 won’t keep you out unless it was all in easy-level classes.</p>

<p>Acer, there’s plenty of “hope”, it depends on how much personality, insight, character and maturity you show them in your application. Some of that will be reflected in your recommendations, some in your why-Columbia blurb, some in your short-answers and a lot in your essay. You’ve got chips at the table, it just depends on how you play them.</p>

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<p>Look, the key thing with extracurriculars is passion. You need to be able to prove - using those tools I mentioned above - that the things you’ve chosen to do, you REALLY CARE about them. That you push yourself to excellence in whatever opportunities you’re offered. That you take whatever roles you’ve got for yourself and show some leadership, organize some people, accomplish something using it as a platform. A relentless pursuit of excellence will jump off the page to an experienced admissions officer, as will a student who is just going through the motions. If the ECs you’ve chosen to put time into show that you have poured your heart and soul into them, then some nominal amount of recognition won’t really matter - because you can just talk about what you accomplished, or how they make you feel, or what impact you’ve had with them, or the friends you’ve made through them, etc. That’s what will set you apart in the end.</p>

<p>I also really like the “AP MEH”. I hear you get a 3 just for shrugging half-heartedly :)</p>

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<p>I think you are pretty well qualified, obviously hopefully you’re an interesting human being and are capable of writing absorbing yet genuine essays. Though I would definitely rethink your strategy. Apply to schools because they’re a good fit, not because they’re the “top 20”. I noticed you mentioned Columbia and Brown, two schools that couldn’t be more different from one another. Columbia has an extremely strict and traditional approach to learning whereas Brown prides itself on being one of the more liberal institutions of higher education out there. Figure out what you’re looking for before you apply to school, because trust me, they can tell when someone isn’t truly “into it”.</p>

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<p>^ Personally, I was planning on applying to both Columbia and Brown. I wouldn’t let their differing ideologies stop you from doing it. I’m pretty much going to Columbia in spite of the Core, because I think everything else is pretty fantastic, whereas I would be going to Brown for the freedom… and nothing else. If you honestly like both places just be sincere about it.</p>

<p>Nobody cares about freshman year unless you had all Ds or something like that. Trend is good.</p>

<p>As for the other schools: I’m from the DC area and I’ve visited Georgetown and worked at GWU, so I’ll rant a little. GWU is a great location for a school but it’s pretty much the NYU of DC - primarily in its pricing and the single-mindedness in which some people apply to each (NYU = to be in NYC, GWU = to be in Washington/politics). Undergrad classes at GW are large and continue to be through your four years, especially in the political science departments. Personally I think Georgetown is in kind of an awful location, though it’s got gorgeous Potomac views. Gtown also has the sort of elite Ivy-esque school thing going but unfortunately has nowhere near the means to guarantee the kind of financial aid you’d get at an Ivy. Around here you see a lot of Georgetown Law graduates but not a ton of undergrads. However you cannot beat either for proximity to Washington internships and federal jobs. </p>

<p>I’ve heard great things about IR at Tufts.</p>

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<p>I’ll second Denzera. My GPA was a 3.4 unweighted, so it’s really not all about the numbers. Don’t obsess! You’re clearly well-qualified. Give your essays a direction and let your personality shine through, and you’re bound to get in somewhere great!</p>