Just submitted my app - final chances?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
1

<p>It's up to fate/God/gods/Buddha/Allah/flying spaghetti monster/nature now, but here are the stats I listed on my app:</p>

<p>Stats
GPA: 3.9, Top 10% - highly competitive private
SAT: 2360, 12 essay
ACT: 36, 10 essay
SAT IIs: 800 - Math II, Physics, Chemistry, World History, Chinese
APs: 5 - European History, Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Calculus BC, Physics C: Mechanics, Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism, Chemistry, World History, Human Geography, Chinese (10)
IB:
Physics SL – 7
History SL – 6
May 2008: English HL, Math HL, Chemistry HL, Spanish SL
Current schedule: IB Discrete Math, IB Linear Algebra, Multivariable Calculus, Orchestra, AP Bio, IB Spanish IV, AP/IB English, IB Theory of Knowledge, IB Organic Chem</p>

<p>Awards:
AP National Scholar
1st in state and 10th in nation, TEAMS applied math and science competition
Champion 2x, 06 and 07 WSU Debate Tournaments
Semifinalist, 07 Division I State Debate Tournament
Most Improved, Varsity Track - improved my mile time by 2 mins
AIME Qualifier 2x</p>

<p>Activities
Varsity Debate - Captain
School Orchestra - Concertmaster (11-12)
Varsity Track
Tutoring Service - Tutor Board (11-12)
Newspaper - Columnist (12)
Economics Club - Co-Founder (11-12)</p>

<p>Outside school:
DSO Civic Orchestra - First Violinist (11-12)
Hospice Volunteering - 70 hours, Student Advisory Committee
Piano</p>

<p>Jobs
Chinese School Teacher - 2hrs/wk
Private Violin Teacher - 1 hr/wk</p>

<p>Misc
Wrote my essay on debate - how I loved 7 weeks of camp this previous summer and want to continue debate in college - it's pretty good.
Recs - mediocre-good</p>

<p>Given that 1-2 people from my school will get in ahead of me for sure (for various reasons), and Columbia only took 1 person (a legacy) last year, do I have much of a chance?</p>

<p>Thanks so much!</p>

<p>EDIT: oh yeah, ED.</p>

2

<p>I think you have a great chance (makes me feel like if you don't get in, my chances would be well into the NEGATIVE percentages). Although, when you say "Chinese School Teach." do you mean that you are Chinese and a teacher, or you are a teacher teaching Chinese?</p>

3

<p>PlanPlus, we have almost the same application :)
What school do you debate for? I do policy for Edison in CA</p>

4

<p>slow down, confirm 2 things for me?</p>

<p>1) What style of debate do you do? NFL? If it's policy, are you expecting to do that while in college? have you gotten quals for TOCs?</p>

<p>2) You were a national AP scholar after your junior year? you took Phys C E&M, etc last year? </p>

<p>I didn't even know there were APs for "human geography", or, for that matter, World History. I thought it was European History and US History, that's what they had. Coming next year: AP Poker Playing!</p>

5

<p>I predict that it would be very difficult for admissions to reject someone with this profile, unless you totally screw up one of your other aspects of you application.</p>

6

<p>Denzera:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Policy, although I haven't been to a national tournament yet this year. I want to start parli if I get into Columbia b/c its team is unreal, but I also want to join the small policy team (which I believe is led by a Mr. Joe Keeton).</p></li>
<li><p>Yes, and yes.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>(implied) 3. Then I would take that as well :)</p>

7

<p>Does Columbia have a quota per school?</p>

8

<p>no they do not.</p>

<p>admissions officers of some experience, however, may have their own biases as to what constitutes admissions-worthy from various backgrounds. you'll meet a bunch of top-prep-school kids on campus because, invariably, they are among the best prepared (ha! ha!) to handle columbia. that doesn't mean the rest of us are discriminated against, just that we are not as easily led to meet the standard. </p>

<p>Similarly, you will also meet kids from public school in the poorest sections of the country on campus. They are fascinating people, but they didn't just march to the beat of a different drummer... they probably founded the band, ran a fundraiser to buy the instruments, and then played several instruments at once while marching to that beat. Such kids are rare in their environments. it's not a quota per se.</p>

<p>besides, quotas are illegal. Bakke v California, 1979.</p>