My Columbia ED chances

<p>Hey, I was just wondering what you guys thought my chances were for Columbia ED (two more weeks!!!)</p>

<p>SATs:
Crit. Reading - 740
Math - 750
Writing - 800</p>

<p>SAT IIs:
Math IIC - 800
Physics - 730
Biology- 700</p>

<p>APs: Biology 5, Calculus AB 5, Lang & Comp 5, Physics B 4
Rank: 5/502
GPA : 3.9 UW</p>

<p>Should have great recs, although can't be positive--i didn't read them.
Had an amazing interview last week w/ alumnus.
ECs are very strong (and not as in 'mediocre') (Eagle Scout, Extensive Research, etc.)
Music is one of my big strengths; activities, leadership, awards; also general subject of essay, but not as mundane as it sounds; teachers and friends thought essay was great.
Leadership is there, as well as tons of community service, etc.
Nothing too weak on app.</p>

<p>I know even w/ a strong app. the chances are def. against me. If i had to guess, i'd put myself at about a 25%, but obviously i could be way too optimistic, etc.
any thoughts on chances? please be honest</p>

<p>I think you have a pretty good shot, if your school course load is competitive!</p>

<p>rejection i'd say, i mean - 740 and 750 on cr and math, where did the 110 points go?!, what sort of a univ do you think this is? also 4 kids beat you in your highschool class i usually don't give much weightage to rank, but that's pretty low, below threshold unfortunately. given the above, your recs are probably subpar and your essay must certainly be mundane, i'd say your chances are about 6.7*10^-6 % to be precise, i really wish you could have made it, but probability has it that columbia takes someone like you ever few thousand millennia, all the best!</p>

<p>confidentialcoll, he as at least 24.4% chance of admission. His SAT's are near the top of Columbia middle 50% of SAT scores(1380-1540), obviously not everyone needs to have a perfect score to get in... This isn't Princeton or Harvard where 25% of the students have a 1590 or above....</p>

<p>Of course, the SAT scores I cited were on the 1600 scale.</p>

<p>Also, tombob, what ethnicity are you?</p>

<p><em>brings in "Sarcasm-O-Gram" and places it in the middle of the thread</em><br>
Dear god, the readings are off of the charts!</p>

<p>^Dz2 - you're quite the flatterer! i just prefer being honest, seeing that our arguement is going around in circles, lets agree to disagree!</p>

<p>Agreed. ;)</p>

<p>I'm caucasian, which obv. doesn't help. Blaster: I've definitely taken the hardest course load possible. I go to a slightly high-end public school, so most of my classes aren't exactly impossible, but some of the APs are fairly difficult. Our ranking system is really screwed up too. Our valedictorian has taken less than half of the APs and honors I and a couple other kids have, but like I said, our school sucks as stuff like that. Chill w/ the sarcasm confidentialcoll. I do like the chance you picked though--vouches for your math. Pre-algebra?</p>

<p>seeing that you managed only a 750 in math, vouches for yours - pre-arithmatic? :p something wrong with my math?</p>

<p>Fight! Fight! Fight!</p>

<p>All I wanted was some outsiders' opinions. I'd appreciate any feedback.</p>

<p>Well, better than me, man.</p>

<p>tombob, you already "know" you have a good chance.
You even said "Nothing too weak on app."... which means you know that the adcoms will see "nothing weak" about you. I believe you already saw the average SAT score, GPA, etc of Columbia-- you should know you are at the top half at least. You said you had an great interview and amazing recs and you are not giving us any details about your ECs but just saying that "very strong ECs." </p>

<p>You are not giving us any room for judgement.
You do not give us a chance to "know" about you before we give you the answer.
Why are you posting this and asking your chances when you are basically just saying "everything is great"? Do you just need to be confirmed+reminded that you are an AMAZING candidate and it would be IMPOSSIBLE for you to be rejected?</p>

<p>I know confidentialcoll is being sarcastic, but I kind of see his point.
He isn't necessarily trying to be mean.
He just doesn't see a "point" in your post; yours is not really a "chance" post but a "give me the 100% acceptance guarantee" post.</p>

<p>Very true, you need to be more specific about what you're actually asking for in terms of feedback. For instance, "very good EC's" could mean a completely different thing for you from it does for me, and certainly different from Columbia. </p>

<p>Statistics say the average applicant has a 22.5% chance at ED acceptance. The other 77.5% is actually pretty evenly split between Rejection and Slow-Rejection (aka Deferral). Your SAT's are above average, as is your GPA, but beyond that it's impossible to give any meaningful feedback.</p>

<p>I didn't do so well on the SAT I reasoning, and I'd rather not share my scores on that test. It's ridiculous anyways, I've taken AP courses in the subjects on that test and have done well. Obviously, the crap on that test is for average americans who barely make it through high school with geometry.
Anyways,
my AP scores are:
AP Calc- 3
AP Spanish- 4
AP Physics C (Mechanics and E&M)- 4
AP English Language- 4
AP US History- 4
AP World History- 4
This year I'm taking AP Stats, AP English Literature and AP Biology.
I'm applying to SEAS, Early Decision.</p>

<p>My SAT II scores were as follows:
SAT Math IIc- 750
SAT Physics- 780
are these okay scores?</p>

<p>Also, I don't know if it helps, but I was part of Columbia's Multicultural recruitment program where they flew(they flew me from California) 40 minority students who they(CU) said were "strong candidates" for admissions, and paid for all expenses for a 3 day introduction to the University. If you try to find this program with a google search, I'm fairly sure you won't find it, as the application to it is by invitation only. But as part of that program, the students had dinner with Jessica Marinaccio, who as many of you know, is the Dean of Admissions, as well as the regular admissions officers at the University.
Plus I got a letter of recommendation from a professor I worked with last summer as a student intern with the Department of Energy(SLAC: Stanford Linear Accelerator Center).</p>

<p>I'm also about to be an eagle scout, have worked in a nursing home, have worked at University of California, Santa Cruz/SLAC/DOE, and am Hispanic.</p>

<p>Any bits of advice here?</p>

<p>You want advice on your chances and yet "you'd rather not share your SAT score. . . ." No comment, man.</p>

<p>I've met the dean of admissions and all of the admissions officers and have had lunch with the admission officer for my region, Dave Buckwald. From the discussions I've had with all of those people, plus Columbia students that I met on my trip there (courtesy of the University) was that SAT scores are not a deciding factor, and that other test scores and grades are ultimately more important.
But, if you insist, my scores are as follows:
MATH- 690
READING- 650
WRITING- 650</p>

<p>It hurts to write those down, especially when I know I'm capable of much higher levels of comprehension than is tested for on the exam. I hope they look at my AP Calc score and my math 2 score rather than go off of my SAT scores... like SAT level is anywhere close to Columbia level anyways... psh.</p>

<p>marshallito, perhaps it's just me, but isn't a 3 on ap calc... not really something to brag about? you get a 5 (on bc) if you get basically 70-75% right... well, who knows... meh. good luck anyways, your URM status will definitely be a perk you're already considered a "strong candidate."</p>

<p>so urm= under represented minority or what?</p>

<p>no, it stands for universally recognized mathematician.
but really, yes URM stands for under-represented minority. </p>

<p>and tombob, good luck to you.</p>