<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>] SAT: 2320 (superscored: M-760; CR - 760; W - 800)
[</em>] SAT IIs: Math II- 800; USH- 760; Physics- 690; World History- 620 (Ouch)
[<em>] GPA: 3.78 (this was the zinger)
[</em>] Rank: School doesn’t rank or give ranks to colleges.
[<em>] Other stats: IB Diploma Candidate, so I only took two AP’s (BC and APUSH - both 5’s).
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Essays: I thought they were good…
[<em>] ECs: Regional Finals in the Siemens Competition, placed at the Harvard National Forensics Tournament, National Finals in the NASA/MIT ZeroRobotics competition, Simons Summer Research Fellow at Stony Brook this summer, founded a 501(c)(3) non-profit.
[</em>] Teacher Recs: Okay. Probably good but not glowing, but I didn’t see.
[<em>] Counselor Rec: Probably strong.
[</em>] Hook (if any): Siemens Competition Regional Finals? Apparently not.
[/ul]Location/Person:[ul]
[<em>] State or Country: PA (Pittsburgh)
[</em>] School Type: Competitive public
[<em>] Ethnicity: Indian
[</em>] Gender: Male</p>
<p>[li] Applied to CC for Mathematics-Computer Science.[/li][/ul] General Comments:
One of my best friends got in, but she had near-perfect stats. I’m guessing that it came down to the GPA and SAT II World History for me.
Deferral’s tough, but now I’m looking forward to MIT, UChicago, and Oxford in the coming weeks.</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>] SAT: 1870 (M:540 CR 660 W 670) First Time:1730
[</em>] ACT: 28
[<em>] SAT IIs: Biology-E 570 Literature 650
[</em>] GPA: Unweighted 3.92 Weighted 4.00
[<em>] Rank: 8/541
[</em>] Other stats: AP English Language:3 AP World History:3 / Senior Course Load: AP Literature, AP Calculus AB, AP Psychology, AP Biology, Research Practicum, S/T Internship / Took an intro to philosophy course at community college
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Essays: Pretty Good in my opinion. Talked about the first time I read a book about Wicca and Witchcraft. Talked about the importance of thinking for yourself and not believing what you are told about a religion or subject.
[</em>] ECs: President of NHS, President of Science and Technology Club, Tech Coordinator of National Spanish Honor Society, Member of church choir, member of dance team
[<em>] Teacher Recs: Not sure. They like me. Got one from my Philosophy professor and one from my AP World teacher/NHS sponsor.
[</em>] Counselor Rec: Very Good. I saw him submit it.
[<em>] Hook (if any): Low-income (less than 17,000 a year), Single parent, First generation, URM, Internship at University of Maryland, Black female interested in philosophy.
[/ul]Location/Person:[ul]
[</em>] State or Country: Maryland
[<em>] School Type: Public (Very large 97% Black)
[</em>] Ethnicity: Black
[li] Gender: Female [/li][/ul]Other Factors: A regional admissions officer came to my school and encouraged us to apply. I emailed her a few times. General Comments: I never dreamed of getting into Columbia due to my below average test scores, but I guess they saw through that to see all of the potential I possessed. My advice: Don’t let anything as menial as test scores hold you back. Apply and hope for the best!</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>] SAT: 2210 (680 CR, 730 M, 800 W)
[</em>] SAT IIs: 800 MattIIC, 790 Chem, 750 US History
[<em>] GPA: 4.2432
[</em>] Rank: School doesn’t rank
[<em>] Other stats: National Merit Semifinalist, AP Scholar w/ Distinction
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Essays: Pretty good, kind of biased, car accident in new york (payed off haha)
[<em>] ECs: Model UN President, Kiva Vice-President, Diversity Club President, Club Wall Street Board Member, NHS, Movement Organizer of a National Youth Movement
[</em>] Teacher Recs: One was amazing, other was really good
[<em>] Counselor Rec: Generic
[</em>] Hook (if any): None
[/ul]Location/Person:[ul]
[<em>] State or Country: Michigan
[</em>] School Type: Public (2000 kids)
[<em>] Ethnicity: Asian (Pakistan)
[</em>] Gender: Male
[/ul]Other Factors: General Comments: This is so unreal!!! I thought my SAT and the fact that I’m in regular math would put me out of the running for sure! For future years who are reading this, EVERYTHING MATTERS. IT’S ALL ONE BIG PICTURE. If you have a few bad things going for you (like I did), they WON’T put you out of the running if you hold it up with other stuff! LOLSAURUS and JackB, and others, I’ll see you there!!!</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>] SAT: 2160 (790CR/620M/750W)
[</em>] SAT IIs: 620 Bio-M, 690 USH, Lit 720
[<em>] GPA: 4.29W
[</em>] Rank: 10/121
[<em>] Other stats:5-APUSH, 3-Physics SL, 5-Biology SL
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Essays: One of my teachers read my CommonApp essay and said it was “memorable” (it was about my love of literature), but other than I don’t think I would be the best judge of my own essays. I did work hard on them, and I know at least they were free of grammatical errors and were coherent.
[<em>] ECs: Family responsibilities (caregiver), lab technician, school ambassador, Science Olympiad President, Environmental club co-president, Quiz bowl, peer tutor, Summer camp counselor, Historical society intern, Model United Nations<br>
[</em>] Teacher Recs: One from 11th grade English teacher, the other from my chemistry teacher 10th grade
[<em>] Counselor Rec: Probably very generic. We got a new counselor this year.
[</em>] Hook (if any): Sort of first-generation? My dad has an associate’s degree.<br>
[/ul]Location/Person:[ul]
[<em>] State or Country: CA
[</em>] School Type: Public magnet, sends 1-3 students to the Ivies/Stanford each year
[<em>] Ethnicity: Asian
[</em>] Gender: Female
[/ul]Other Factors: The three academic interests I listed were English, Business management, and history. I acknowledged in the specific field supplement that business was a special concentration. My interview lasted ~1 hour and I think I made a good impression because she said that I seemed to be the type of applicant Columbia is looking for. General Comments: We all tried our best! Congratulations to those with admittances, good luck to those with deferrals, and better luck with other schools to those denied. </p>
<p>This is so insane! I pre-filled out the stats thing and I had already put in rejected. I am so surprised! Good luck to anyone reading this next year :’)</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>] SAT: 2250 (W: 800, CR: 800, Math: 650)
[</em>] SAT IIs: US History: 800 World History: 770 Lit 750
[<em>] GPA: Don’t actually know, my school does not calculate.
[</em>] Rank: As above.
[<em>] Other stats: n/a (my school does not have an AP program)
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Essays: I know everyone says this, but really good. My thing beyond anything else is writing.
[<em>] ECs: Editor Literary Magazine, Head Delegate Model UN (won Best Delegate last year in my committee at ILMUNC), GSA, worked on Joe Sestak and Dan Onorato’s political campaigns, worked for a pro-bono law office, taken philosophy classes outside of school, attended the Iowa Young Writers’ Studio, also stuff I’m forgetting at the moment.
[</em>] Teacher Recs: Didn’t see, but I know the one from my English teacher was really good because she wrote me one for the Iowa Young Writers’ Program before and it was amazing.
[<em>] Counselor Rec: Didn’t read
[</em>] Hook (if any):
[/ul]Location/Person:[ul]
[<em>] State or Country: Pennsylvania
[</em>] School Type: Private/Friends
[<em>] Ethnicity: White
[</em>] Gender: Male
[/ul]Other Factors: General Comments: Honestly what I expected. My first trimester grades were less than amazing, so there’s that factor as well.</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>] SAT: 2400
[</em>] SAT IIs: 800 math 800 chinese 700 chem
[<em>] GPA: 3.6 cum uw, 3.8 junior year, send 3.9 quarter senior
[</em>] Rank: not top 10
[<em>] Other stats: APUSH 4, AP PSYCH 5, AP MACRO 5 MICRO 5 CHINESE 5, LANG 4
[ /list][ b]Subjective:[ /b][ list]
[</em>] Essays: good
[li] ECs: [/li]founded a charity orchestra, recruited best students in shanghai from 3 differnet schools, all student run. fudan university came and contacted us telling us they wanted to perform a concert with us</p>
<p>president of a music foundation that teaches music to migrant children funded by the orchestra series.</p>
<p>international honor orchestra, got 2nd chair, 1st stand, highest in school history</p>
<p>varsity tennis captain</p>
<p>MUN, some outstanding speaker awards @freshmen, soph year, stopped junior year for orchestra</p>
<p>tutored chess for all four years of high school, was nationally ranked top 10 and all american team 2005 before moving away from the US</p>
<p>minor things: relay for life team leader, habitat for humanity, </p>
<p>[<em>] Teacher Recs: i thought they were really good, probably specific to columbia, but ya.
[</em>] Counselor Rec: new counselor
[<em>] Hook (if any):
[ /list][ b]Location/Person:[ /b][ list]
[</em>] State or Country:
[<em>] School Type: private international
[</em>] Ethnicity: asian
[<em>] Gender: male
[/ul]Other Factors: General Comments:
honestly i thought sometimes i had a good chance but i think i was being pretty naive. didn’t realize the level of competition on this forum alone and didn’t think being an asian male would really affect my app. also, i thought in part sats could make up for gpa -.- which was </em>*****</p>
<p>SAT: 2270 (780 CR, 710 MA, 780 W)
SAT IIs: 780 USH, 740 Biology E, 750 Chem, 760 Lit
GPA: 97/100 (uw)
Rank: 3/~200
Other stats:</p>
<p>Subjective:
Essays: thought they were good
ECs: started a theater to direct musicals for children, orchestra (first violin), choir, lots of volunteering at church, local hospital and theater, girl scouts, cross country and swim team, secretary of NHS, etc
Teacher Recs: probably good
Counselor Rec: don’t see her often but she said she enjoyed writing it
Hook (if any):</p>
<p>Location/Person:</p>
<p>State or Country: Maine
School Type: public
Ethnicity: white
Gender: female</p>
<p>General Comments: Disappointed at first but now but now I realize that I’m so lucky I didn’t get rejected outright. Everyone is amazing and I’m sure we’ll all end up at fantastic schools (and congrats to those going to columbia!). Now, for those RD apps…</p>
<p>Rejected - I’ll post stats later. The way I look at it: their loss, not me. I have many opportunties coming up ahead of me. Congrats to acceptees! Rejectees - stay strong. Your destiny lies somewhere even better for you! Good luck! :)</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>] ACT: 34
[</em>] SAT IIs: 800 Math II, 780 Chemistry, 760 US History
[<em>] GPA: Not on a 4.0 scale
[</em>] Rank: Top 10%
[<em>] Other stats: 5 AP Chem, 5 AP World History, 5 AP Calculus BC, 4 AP Biology, 5 AP US History, 5 AP Statistics
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Essays: It’s about how I am the only girl in Comp Sci AP and how I liked it a lot. It sounds weird, but whatever
[<em>] Honors: Siemens Competition Regional Finalist, AP Scholar with Distinction, EuroChallenge National Finalist, National French Contest 6th Place, Cum Laude Society, National Honors Society, State Swimmer
[</em>] ECs: Math Team, Debate Team Captain, Varsity Swim, Red Cross Club, International Club, Scholastic Bowl, Science Olympiad, Writing my own novel
[<em>] Teacher Recs: Didn’t see them
[</em>] Counselor Rec: Didn’t see it
[<em>] Hook (if any): I don’t even know what this means.
[/ul]Location/Person:[ul]
[</em>] State or Country: Illinois
[<em>] School Type: Public High School
[</em>] Ethnicity: Asian
[li] Gender: Female[/li][/ul]Other Factors: Sister is currently studying at Columbia University</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>] SAT: 2240
[</em>] SAT IIs: Math II- 800 Bio E - 730 Physics- 740
[<em>] GPA: 4.0 UW 4.6 W
[</em>] Rank: 3/300
[<em>] Other stats:
[/ul][ b]Subjective:[ /b][ul]
[</em>] Essays: I thought my common app essay was good. Wrote about dissecting my first cadaver at Laval University and how it changed my outlook on life.
[<em>] ECs: MUN Secretary General, student council, Newspaper, Yearbook, writer for a feminist magazine, Director of Conference for non-profit STEM organization
[</em>] Teacher Recs: should be good
[<em>] Counselor Rec: dunno, didn’t see
[</em>] Hook (if any):
[/ul]Location/Person:[ul]
[<em>] State or Country: GTA, Canada eh
[</em>] School Type: Public, medium sized
[<em>] Ethnicity: Asian
[</em>] Gender: F
[/ul][ b]Other Factors: /b]
relatively low SATII scores for Bio and Physics, ORM, asking for FA as an international probably did it General Comments:
I kinda expected the rejection so I’m actually surprising myself at how well I’m taking it. It wasn’t meant to be, alas. Congratulations to everybody who got in! Now I need to work on my RD applications.</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>] SAT: 2300 <a href=“770%20R,%20740%20M,%20790%20W”>one sitting</a>
[</em>] SAT IIs: 780 Chem, 800 Math, 760 Physics
[<em>] GPA: 6.95/7.00
[</em>] Rank: 2nd in class but with 9 valedictorians so 10th
[<em>] Other stats: ------
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Essays: My Common App essay was about my room and how it represents me.
[ <em>] ECs: Student Government for 4 years, Habitat for Humanity, Tutoring, quite a few others.
[ ] Teacher Recs: One from my chemistry teacher with whom I formed a great bond, the other from my math teacher of 3 years who was also my Cum Laude Society advisor.
[</em>] Counselor Rec: Really nothing special. My guidance counselor didn’t know me too well.
[/ul]Location/Person:[ul]
[<em>] State or Country: Cherry Hill, New Jersey
[</em>] School Type: Public
[<em>] Ethnicity: Puerto Rican/Caucasion
[</em>] Gender: Male
[/ul][ b]Other Factors:* General Comments:</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>] SAT:2050
[</em>] ACT: 29
[<em>] SAT IIs: 650 Lit, 650 Bio M
[</em>] GPA: School does not calculate GPAs
[<em>] Rank: School does not rank
[</em>] Other stats: 5 AP Psych, 5 AP English Language, 4 AP English Literature, 3 AP US History
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Essays: Pretty good, I guess. Counselor said it was one of the best this year.
[</em>] ECs: Church volunteer for 3 years and has been with a special program from its inception. Senior Peer Leader. School’s Honor board Representative. Part-time job. JV Basketball team for 3 years.
[<em>] Teacher Recs: Both of my teachers love me and wrote really good recs.
[</em>] Counselor Rec: I also expect he wrote a good one because I have a good relationship with him.
[<em>] Hook (if any):URM
[/ul]Location/Person:[ul]
[</em>] State or Country:NY
[<em>] School Type: Competitive independent prep school
[</em>] Ethnicity: African-American
[li] Gender:F[/li][/ul]Other Factors: General Comments: Scores are definitely not everything.</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>] SAT: 2130 (680M/700CR/750W)
[</em>] SAT IIs: 680 Lit, 720 Bio-M, 740 USH
[<em>] GPA: 4.5/4.5
[</em>] Rank: 4/513
[<em>] Other stats: All 5s on 5 AP tests
[/ul][ b]Subjective:[ /b][ list]
[</em>] Essays: I think this was the best part of my application. Was really proud of it.
[<em>] ECs: Drama Productions (HUGE amount of time spent in this. Especially emphasized my role as a playwright and my aspiration to pursue this professionally.)
Drama Club (VP and Pres)
NHS (Committee Chair for High School Tutoring)
ITS
Academic Team
French Club
5 week paid internship at a crisis management firm
Work with an international organization trying to get a Van Gogh painting. I’m going to do a paid internship with them next summer in their headquarters in France.
[</em>] Teacher Recs: Probably great!
[<em>] Counselor Rec: Probably pretty good as well
[</em>] Hook (if any): None! Unless divorced parents counts
[/list]Location/Person:[ul]
[<em>] State or Country: Virginia
[</em>] School Type: Public, decently-ranked but not amazing
[<em>] Ethnicity: White
[</em>] Gender: Female
[/ul]Other Factors: My interview went quite well! General Comments: I am so incredibly honored. I really didn’t think I was going to get in. Congratulations to all my fellow 2016ers! For all those who were not accepted, I know that you’re all incredibly competitive and intelligent people. I wish you the best of luck. Remember: everything happens for a reason.</p>
<p>Stats: SAT:2320 (800 W, 760 CR, 760 M)
SAT IIs: 800 Chemistry, 800 US History, 780 Math II
GPA: 99.62/100
Rank: 1/215
Other stats: National Merit Semifinalist, National Hispanic Recognition Program, VP of NHS, others
Subjective: Essays: Everyone who read them said they were excellent
ECs: Captain and #1 singles of Varsity Tennis (9-12), nationally ranked tennis player, Science HS, Math HS, Spanish HS, NHS, clubs, etc.
Teacher Recs: Excellent
Counselor Rec: Very good
Hook (if any): Hispanic, tennis
Location/Person: State or Country:NY
School Type: Small suburban public (competitive)
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: M
Other Factors:
General Comments: Good luck to everybody else. I’m sure you’ll all end up at great schools no matter what.</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>] SAT: n/a (ACT: 32)
[</em>] SAT IIs: Literature 620, Math II 610, Spanish 580 (lol at these scores…)
[<em>] GPA: 3.9/4.0
[</em>] Rank: n/a
[<em>] Other stats:
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Essays: Spent a few hours, nothing outstanding
[<em>] ECs: Student council president, National Honor Society vice president, Varsity swim & dive captain
[</em>] Teacher Recs: Good, 1 was from my “favorite class” response
[<em>] Counselor Rec: My counselors don’t have a great relationship with students, so probably pretty generic
[</em>] Hook (if any): Recruited athlete w/likely letter
[/ul]Location/Person:[ul]
[<em>] State or Country: Michigan
[</em>] School Type: Public
[<em>] Ethnicity: Asian
[</em>] Gender: Male
[/ul]Other Factors: General Comments: I know many of you deserve this spot over me academically. I did work hard though, not just in my studies but also in my sport. Congratulations and a sincere good luck to everyone with their college searches.</p>
<p>*<strong><em>SAT: 1930 (680 Reading 660 Writing 590 Math)
*</em></strong>SAT IIs: Biology E - 700 US History 660
*<strong><em>GPA: 3.9 Unweighted, 4.0 weighted
*</em></strong>Rank: Rank 9 out of 279 / Top 5%
****Other Stats: AP US History - 4 AP Language and Composition - 4</p>
<p>Subjective:</p>
<p>*<strong><em>Essays: I thought it was good, just about having a hectic time meeting a deadline, English teacher gave it the ok
*</em></strong>ECs: Mosty music - chorus, glee club, jazz band, etc. French club and NHS member
*<strong><em>Teacher Recs: One from my calc teacher, another from my spanish (which in hindsight may not have been the best choice)
*</em></strong>Counselor Rec: Generic</p>
<p>Location/Person:</p>
<p>*<strong><em>State or Country: New York
*</em></strong>School Type: Private
*<strong><em>Ethnicity: Haitian American
*</em></strong>Gender: Male</p>
<p>Other Factors: interview didnt go all too well, was the first one I had and nerves sorta got the best of me. The supplement short answers weren’t all that great either
General Comments: Can’t say I was expecting much, didnt want to get my hopes up, and for good reason. But this shouldnt discourage regulars from applying, there were phenomenal scorers with tons of ECs that got rejected too. my advice, dont try and fit the school, you’ll find one that fits you</p>
<p>Stats:[ul]
[<em>] SAT: 2190
[</em>] SAT IIs: Math II, Lit, US History - all around 700, some above.
[<em>] GPA: 4.39
[</em>] Rank: 1/700?
[<em>] Other stats: Won West Point leadership award, Coach’s award, Smith Book Award, some others…
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Essays: I don’t know if they were amazing because I’m not an impartial judge, but I don’t think they could have hurt either.
[<em>] ECs: Captain of Varsity swim, Captain of Varsity water polo (4 years Var. for both), President of Junior Statesmen, Regional Cabinet member, MUN member, 10+ years piano playing (finished CM testing), 3 City champs for swim+polo, Languages (Chinese + Vietnamese) both fluent, attended weekend schools, multiple other clubs and extras, but a little depressed to post right now.
[</em>] Teacher Recs: Didn’t see them, but I’m close to these teachers so I do hope they were good.
[<em>] Counselor Rec: Didn’t see this either but she is my coach so I hope it’s pretty good
[</em>] Hook (if any): Emancipated minor, doesn’t live with parents (won’t tell my life story here)
[/ul]Location/Person:[ul]
[<em>] State or Country: Cali
[</em>] School Type: Public, large, not too competitive but does have several kids going to good schools every year
[<em>] Ethnicity: Asian
[</em>] Gender: Female
[/ul]Other Factors:
**General Comments:**Well I’m not too bummed out, but still a little disappointed. I know that many people here are very deserving and it pains me to see that some of you had the same fates as I, or some were rejected. Congrats to everyone that got in, and I’ll keep my fingers crossed for RD and the test of us deferred souls. :)</p>
**</p>
will post stats later…</p>