My chances of getting into Columbia university

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I am a junior in high school so this information is not final and may be improved
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1370 (new sat) 730 reading 640 math I know that this is not very high but I am taking it again in June and I have studied more, I am sure that I can get a much higher score
ACT (breakdown): 33 (33)reading (32)English (30)math (35) science
SAT II: none yet
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0 weighted: 5.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 5/468
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Biology (4), pending: AP Environmental, AP US History, AP English Lang. My school also has a program called AICE which is similar to AP and I have passed AICE General Paper with a b which is equivalent to a 4-5 and AICE Marine Science and AICE Psychology are pending
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Gov/Macroeconomics, AP Chem, AP Calculus, AP English Lit, AP Human Geo, Yearbook, AICE Global Perspectives
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
1st place regional science fair, will most likely be an AP scholar with distinction, high academic honors (3 years), captain award, dedication award, 3 year varsity award, All area 2nd team (varsity soccer), all area honorable mention, with be receiving the laureate diploma which at the end of my senior year in which I write an extensive research paper and present it in front of a panel

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): state cup competitive soccer 5 years (captain for 2), varsity soccer 3 years (captain for 2), Yearbook staff (editor in chief 2 years), pole vaulting/track (2 years), kick boxing, NHS (president), Science National Honor Society
Job/Work Experience: will get a job this summer
Volunteer/Community service: American cancer society 4 years (social media chair), Girl Scouts(10 years), Girl Scouts gold award (in progress), various hours from NHS, around 100+ hours
Summer Activities: 4 online classes (AP and honors), college visits, part time job (most likely at Target or Panera bread), volunteering at local hospital, possibly shadowing a physicians assistant or surgeon at another hospital
Essays (rating 1-10, details): I have already started writing them and they are turning out great 8-9
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): my coaches and advisors really like me so I think that they will be very good 9-10

Other: victim of sexual abuse, Girl Scouts Gold Award is focused on helping those with cancer find free avenues of therapy and support which goes with my interest in premed and ACS

Applied for Financial Aid?: I definitely will
Intended Major: biology
State (if domestic applicant): FL
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: public 2000+ students, not very competitive considered a B school
Ethnicity: white
Gender: female
Income Bracket: 170,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

Please be honest. Now that I have written it all out, I feel like it is weak. Please let me know how I can improve. Thank you.

2

I also plan on applying early decision

3

Honestly, when it comes to the elite schools, it’s often a crap shoot. Your stats look great, although you could stand to bump up your ACT to a 34 and your SAT to a 1400+. I like your extracurriculars and leadership. However, the one thing that stuck out to me was the sexual abuse. If you spin that the right way in an essay, it could be very powerful. Last year, Columbia had a 6% acceptance rate. They’re looking for more than the “perfect student”, so really make your voice come through in your essay. Good luck, and don’t step off the gas senior year!

4

Your ACT is high at 33-why take the SATs again? I’m not sure “victim of sexual abuse” has any role here. I’d not list it.

5

Finishing your GS Gold Award would be something else that would be different from others that are applying.

6

The ACT score is a bit low for Columbia. Try to get at least 34-35.

The sexual abuse story can be helpful if framed in the proper context. How will you bring this up? Don’t use it as an excuse for your performance but instead focus on how it changed your life.