<p>I'm a sophomore in my school and currently ranked #1. I got a 213 on my PSATs and have maintained straight A's throughout my freshman year and marking period 2 of this year. How does Columbia look for me so far?</p>
<p>And about community service.. how important is it? I volunteered the school requirement of 50 hrs at an elementary school in my town. How much is Columbia concerned about it?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance guys</p>
<p>A lot of people applying to schools like Columbia hold very similar records to you. A way to stand out is to get involved in extracurriculars that you enjoy -- a sport, clubs, doing research over the summer, etc. </p>
<p>Having community service is always a plus. Doing 50 hours isn't going to set you apart, and you should definitely keep up community service even if its not a requirement (perhaps go well beyond the requirement!), as that is what many applicants do. </p>
<p>If volunteering at this elementary school is one of your passions, you can write about it in your essays and make yourself unique. Otherwise, Columbia won't really care that much and it'll simply be another bullet on a page that contributes to your overall impression as an applicant.</p>
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And about community service.. how important is it? I volunteered the school requirement of 50 hrs at an elementary school in my town. How much is Columbia concerned about it?
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<p>It means absolutely nothing unless you've done something significant, shown a passion / extensive involvement / leadership in community service, etc. Columbia doesn't give two hoots about how many "hours" you've spent picking up trash or wiping your butt.</p>
<p>Light Airen, as a sophomore I would relax and enjoy yourself. Think about the things you enjoy, and devote yourself to them. Go have fun with your friends. Come back in a year, when folks' best intentions will seem less abrasive.</p>
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Light Airen, as a sophomore I would relax and enjoy yourself. Think about the things you enjoy, and devote yourself to them. Go have fun with your friends. Come back in a year, when folks' best intentions will seem less abrasive.
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<p>Non-responsive to the question asked. Please try again next time!</p>
<p>Seriously, Light Airen, come back in a year. Websites like this sometimes can put the original poster directly in the friendly fire of those who have agendas other than being helpful to 14- or 15-year old sophomores. In direct response, my son will be attending Columbia in the fall, and he has not recorded any community service hours.</p>
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In direct response, my son will be attending Columbia in the fall, and he has not recorded any community service hours.
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<p>Um, that's still non-responsive. That's not a direct response whatsoever. That's not only anecdotal evidence, but simply one data point. The OP wants to know how important community service is to Columbia. You didn't even attempt to answer that question.</p>
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Seriously, Light Airen, come back in a year.
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<p>This is asinine. He's asking a legit question at the appropriate time, and you've poo-poo'ed his question because you think he's not old enough to merit a response. He's in his second semester sophomore year, and it's not too early for him to be thinking about what colleges might like to see. It's ridiculous for him to ignore that sort of thing until almost March of his junior year -- when it will almost be too late for him to make any long-term changes to his approach to his extracurriculars.</p>
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directly in the friendly fire of those who have agendas other than being helpful to 14- or 15-year old sophomores.
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<p>No need for the personal attack. But since you brought it up, your posts, sir, are consistently bad.</p>
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No need for the personal attack. But since you brought it up, your posts, sir, are consistently bad.
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Beef .</p>
<p>shaddup columbia2002. note to others: ignore his attitude, he loves to pick fights.</p>
<p>to the original poster: community service is never a bad thing but isn't important on your application unless you can show dedication and passion. i didn't volunteer huge amounts, but when i did, they were obviously in areas that i was interested in and cared about - for example, i had a lot of road cycling activities so i volunteered in a few charity rides as a safety marshal. i wrote my essay about politics and also volunteered doing voter reg as well as canvassing for the obama campaign. </p>
<p>the main point to remember is to package your activities and everything into a package that makes sense and shows a focused 'person'. make it so that the admissions officer can almost 'trace' your high school life, saying, "oh, he had an interest in x, so he pursued it by doing this, which led to this, and now he's currently doing this" as opposed to "he did a little of this, a little of that, some of that, and some of that other thing".</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses guys, from all of you.</p>
<p>I'm honestly not that crazy about community service and would rather spend my time doing something else, like some research in a lab from time to time. I'm also interested in the medical section - but would volunteering at my local hospital really have any effect on my admissions? Like let's say I eventually become the valedictorian, get 2300+ SAT, 770+ on the subject tests, plus a solid GPA, and some involvement in clubs... would these top-tier colleges NOT pick me because of my community service hours weren't enough?</p>
<p>There is no need to do community service if you don't want to.</p>
<p>I have basically zero community service and I got a likely letter, so...</p>
<p>yeah dont spend time on something you're not gonna be passionate about. i think the greatest mistake of a high schooler is to do something solely for the reason of sticking it on a college app. (i am quite guilty of this unfortunately. got stuck with one or two activities i didnt like too much for four years..)</p>
<p>if you're into medical stuff, try do something way more involved in the field than volunteering at your hospital, which is something quite generic for a high schooler actually.</p>
<p>can you be more specific about that stacym? what should i be "way more involved" in?</p>
<p>well i guess like you said, research at a lab or interning to show a more invested interest in medicine.. or you could maybe create your own project concerning some medical matter that concerns you a great deal. A friend of mine started this succesful club at my school called "best buddies," which raises awareness and funds that go toward research in autism. but the reason he did it beyond college or whatnot was because his little brother has it and it's a big deal for his family. I'm not saying go find something tragic in your life and turn it into a college app-orientated opportunity; that's the last thing anyone ought to do. But find something that you can be passionate about and invest a lot of hard work/time in.</p>