OFFICIAL Columbia University Class of 2017 ED [RESULTS ONLY]

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
41

<p>Decision: Accepted - SEAS</p>

<p>From my father’s CC account:</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 740R, 740M, 770W - 2250 superscore
[</em>] ACT:
[<em>] SAT II: 760 Math 2, 760 BioM
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1 of 89
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): English 5, History 4, Spanish 4
[<em>] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: 6 AP courses
[<em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Semifinalist (so far)
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): varsity golf team, NHS, student government (junior year only), student paper editor,<br>
[<em>] Volunteer/Community service:significant other volunteering required by school - 500 hours over four years.
[</em>] Summer Activities: Johns Hopkins CTY (two summers), Summer in Chile, volunteering at hospital
[<em>] Essays: Excellent - with misspelled word discovered after submission
[</em>] Teacher Recommendation: Probably great
[<em>] Counselor Rec: Probably great
[</em>] Additional Rec: professor at local university in engineering - great.
[li] Interview: Awesome. Mentioned my favorite books was the Great Gatsby. Interviewer told me that the book was the reason she came to Columbia. Score.</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] Country (if international applicant): USA
[</em>] School Type: Private
[<em>] Ethnicity: White
[</em>] Gender: Female
[<em>] Income Bracket: Upper middle class
[</em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None - girl in engineering?</p>

<p>[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: Solid all around, huge volunteering (500 hours), Summer in Chile, Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (twice - both were awesome experiences)
[</em>] Weaknesses: No perfect test scores, misspelled a word on one essay, only three APs by application time and only one was a five
[li] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: any of the above quirks </p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]General Comments: YOLO! See you all in NYC next fall.</p>

42

<p>Decision: Accepted - CC</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 2320 - 750/770/800
[</em>] SAT II: Math II - 750, US History - 730, Literature - 720
[<em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.83 (solid upward trend with 4.0 junior year in IB program)
[</em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): no rank
[<em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): Art History (4), Microeconomics (4), Calculus AB (4)
[</em>] IB (place score in parenthesis): None yet - will sit for exams in May
[<em>] Senior Year Course Load: History HL, Math HL, Spanish SL, Envi Sys SL, Economics HL, English A1 (World Literature) HL
[</em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Semifinalist, AP Scholar, National Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, individual golf awards (All-County and All-League Team since 9th grade)</p>

<p>[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[<em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Junior State of America Elected Official for New Jersey (12) and held many chapter and state leadership positions throughout all four years, Varsity Golf Team (member all 4 years, Captain 11 and 12, many individual awards), founded my own golf apparel line, organized a sister-school relationship between my school and a HS in Singapore (hard to explain so my advisor wrote a letter), Debate Team, Model UN, Gay-Straight Alliance.
[</em>] Job/Work Experience: Private tutor and Kumon employee (both senior year)
[<em>] Volunteer/Community service: Comfort Zone Camp Junior Counselor (all four years), Oasis - feeding lunch to hungry women and children in Paterson, NJ (11, 12)
[</em>] Summer Activities: everything JSA (summer school, Montezuma Leadership Summit, institute), Summer@Brown, and trip to the school in Singapore
[<em>] Essays: Long common app: about my dad’s death on 9/11 and how that spurred my interest in politics/history/econ/philosophy. not only about my thoughts but also my actions and political activism. reflective but also talked about the future. Short essay: about golf - somewhat connected to the long essay as I wrote about how my dad taught my how to play and I continued in his memory. also wove in the clothing line. why columbia - generic essay about the core and how it connects to my interests and fosters and unmatched intellectual community. meaningful book/experience - wrote about Kurt Vonnegut’s Galapagos and how I read it while I was in the islands, and how this changed my perception of the book and made me a more critical thinker (also tied into my political beliefs). why are you interested in your major - wrote about JSA and my independent study of alternative economic/political thought (Marxism)
[</em>] Teacher Recommendation: I think that both were great.
[<em>] Counselor Rec: Outstanding
[</em>] Additional Rec: From Singapore exchange advisor - I think this made my application. He absolutely loved me because I actually got the relationship off the ground.
[li] Interview: I thought it went very well - ended up talking more about who I am outside the classroom in terms of my family and friends and what I will take from that as a student at Columbia.</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): NJ
[</em>] School Type: Public Magnet
[<em>] Ethnicity: White
[</em>] Gender: Female
[<em>] Income Bracket: Highest
[</em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Lesbian?</p>

<p>[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: Essays, Extracurriculars, recommendations, interview
[</em>] Weaknesses: freshman GPA, non-SAT I test scores
[li] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I think that my ECs and essays really made me stand out. Although I did write a lot about my interests, I communicated different perspectives and showed how this interest came through in every aspect of my life. I tried to show something different about myself everywhere, even though a lot of it was related to that central theme. Furthermore, I think my ECs really helped. My guidance counselor recommendation and the Singapore advisor’s rec were also probably great. I think my common app long essay was also really memorable - one of my recommenders teared up as he read it.</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]General Comments: I’m so happy! I started crying when I saw the word “Congratulations” in the letter. Best moment of my life. Can’t wait for next year!</p>

43

<p>Decision: Accepted - CC (wish I knew how to make it big and green)</p>

<p>Objective:</p>

<pre><code>SAT I (breakdown): 2310 (M: 790, CR: 720, W: 800)
ACT: 34
SAT II: Physics: 750, Bio M: 740
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):3.97
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2%
AP (place score in parenthesis):Euro (5) Bio (5) Physics B (5) U.S. (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): Physics (5)
Senior Year Course Load: Mathematics SL, Biology HL, History of the Americas HL, English HL, Latin SL,
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
</code></pre>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<pre><code>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Key Club(Vice President, LTG (only half a term, parent made me quit), Mock Trial, Academic Decathlon,
Job/Work Experience: Vans sales associate, Banquet Server, Tutor 7 kids, Juice Bar worker
Volunteer/Community service: OR volunteer UCI Medical Center (Also a team leader), volunteer at Neurological Recovery center.
Summer Activities: Work, Work, Work, UCLA Summer mock trial camp(first place)
Essays: Common App essay about how I view life as a game and do not dwell on the bad things. I loved it, not because it was beautifully written, since it wasn’t, but because I went through 6 different essays before finding one that I felt truly captured who I am as a person. Why Columbia about how I want the “friendly” competitiveness, NYC opportunities, and Core Curriculum. Cultural Event about a U2 concert and how people from all over the world were there and how it made me, in a stupid small way, see how little I know (it was filled with puns about song titles). Major Essay about how I find biology to be beautiful.
Teacher Recommendation: I hope they were good.
Counselor Rec: Pretty good.
Additional Rec: No
Interview: No
</code></pre>

<p>Other</p>

<pre><code>State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Spanish
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: <$50000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM (I don’t know really because Spaniards on the Common App was an option under the Hispanic thing, but I also marked European), first generation
</code></pre>

<p>Reflection</p>

<pre><code>Strengths: Scores and grades, even though I see them as a baseline requirement. Leadership within volunteering and Key Club. I want to say personality.
Weaknesses: I should probably say personality. Sports and nothing special during summer.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I want to assume it is because of the work I put in and the inquisitive optimism that I showed in each essay, but I will always wonder if it had to do with first gen/URM
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Applied EA to Case Western, no response yet though. I will never know about UC’s either.
</code></pre>

<p>General Comments: I am beyond happy. Looking at statistics I have spent the last few weeks feeling that I had a shot because I was on par with some of the kids accepted prior years, but the past week I have gone from optimistic to pessimistic to outright apathy in an attempt to shield myself from the hurt of rejection if it came. Also, it took me a few seconds to register since I remember someone posting about how the other letter also says “Congratulations” or something. Also, thank you to everyone on this website for posting anything. I studied this website religiously last year to ease anxiety over colleges and figure out exactly how the application process works. Carman here I (hopefully) come!!!</p>

44

<p>Decision: Accepted - CC</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 1890 (did not sumbit) ← I’m not breaking it down because of this
[</em>] ACT:28
[<em>] SAT II: n/a
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 16 out of around 480
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): I take all AP classes, but my school doesn’t really prepare us for the tests, so I didn’t sumbit my scores
[<em>] IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: Calculus AB AP, French AP, English Lit. AP, Gov. AP, Macro Econ. AP, Advanced Audio/Video, & a poop elective
[<em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Scholastic Alliance of Young Artists and Writers Regional Gold Key (11), National Achievement - the PSAT award for African-American Seniors - I received an outstanding award for being in the top 3% in the nation (12)
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Honor Society, film club, stu-co
[<em>] Job/Work Experience: I intern at a radio station at a local university (10, 11, 12), child care (I babysit my little brother, sister, and neighbor everyday after school and in the summer - for free)
[</em>] Volunteer/Community service: Obama 2008 Campaign - I worked a phone booth at a local campaign office, Houston Leaders for Tomorrow, and other stuff but I’m not listing all of it
[<em>] Summer Activities: National Student Leadership Conference for International Diplomacy (summer after 9th), Rice University Young Owls summer program
[</em>] Essays: For my main essay, I wrote a non-traditional essay in the form of a poem. The topic I chose was the one about experiences that helped to shape who you are today.
[<em>] Teacher Recommendation: 3 teachers - 11th grade english, 11th grade chemistry, and 12th grade calc. - all of these teachers really like me, I didn’t see their recs, but I sure they were really good
[</em>] Counselor Rec: my counselor loves me, because of my involvement in the 08 Obama Campaign lol so I’m sure her rec was good also
[<em>] Additional Rec: n/a
[</em>] Interview: n/a</p>

<p>[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): Texas
[</em>] School Type: suburban public
[<em>] Ethnicity:African-American
[</em>] Gender: Female
[<em>] Income Bracket: $70-80,000
[</em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM and female, first generation… I personally think my essay and supplement were my real hooks though</p>

<p>[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: I think my voice, drive, and passion really came through in my essay.
[</em>] Weaknesses: my test scores, obviously lol
[li] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: In October I visited the campus and did a tour plus I sat in on a class. After the class, I stayed after and spoke with the prof. I emailed her when I got back to Texas, thanking her for letting me sit in her class, and she emailed me back saying that she had already spoke to the people in admissions for me, telling them to keep an eye out for my app. I’m pretty sure this is the MAIN reason I got in. I feel like my application overall was very strong though.</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]General Comments:
I just want to say to everybody who is still looking to apply, especially the kids next year (class of '18) who will be looking at this thread next year, BELIEVE IN YOURSELF AND YOUR POTENTIAL!!! Be sure of who you are, claim your admission, and let your confidence shine through your application. Columbia is the only school I applied to, because I had that much faith not only in my app, but in myself. The common app is your ONE CHANCE to prove to admissions that you BELONG at Columbia. Don’t hold back, and put your whole being in your app, even if it means a risk or two, you have nothing to loose. Make them want you as bad as you want them lol, and you’ll be fine, I promise.
Stay positive too!! I witnessed a lot of negativity on the class of 2017 discussion thread, and I’m sure there will be the same amount of negativity on the class of 2018 discussion thread. DON’T FALL INTO IT! I’m a firm believer of speaking things into existence. As soon as I sumbited my app in late October/early November, I began saying “When I get into Columbia…” “Next year, in the fall, when I’m at Columbia…” Claim it! I did, I changed my name on ig to 116thetBroadway about two weeks ago, which is the adress of the main gate at Columbia, and look at me now… next year in the fall, that’s exactly where I’ll be.</p>

<p>Good Luck Class of 2018ers!!! & Good Luck and Good Vibes to everyone who is still undergoing the admissions process this year, no matter where you are going :)</p>

45

<p>What’s your intended major, 116the?</p>

46

<p>@mrspotter maybe you didn’t get in because your stats aren’t that great, no offense. i see you have a lot of extracurriculars but in the end, columbia is an IVY LEAGUE and they’re looking for academics as their number one priority. stop blaming others and spreading rumors that probably aren’t true in the first place.</p>

47

<p>@philo I don’t really know right now, I’m looking at Comparative Literature, Film Study, and International Stidies(with a political focus)… On my app I think I put Comparative Lit though</p>

48

<p>SEAS ACCEPTED :D</p>

<p>i’ll post stats later.</p>

49

<p>Decision: Rejected - CC</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): 2350 (800 CR, 760 M, 790 W,)
SAT II: Math IIC 790, Chemistry 770
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesnt rank
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis): 42/45
Senior Year Course Load:
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Duke of Edinburgh’s Award - Silver, Harvard Book Prize, couple of Best Delegate Awards for MUN
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Varsity Squash & Football, founder of a few clubs at school, community service team, prefect, student council chair, MUN
Job/Work Experience: Hospital internship over summer
Volunteer/Community service: lots and lots of community service
Summer Activities: tutored, business competitions + debate conferences
Essays: thought that my ca essay was really good (really unique). might’ve messed up on the supplementary essays - really rushed them and sent them off right before the deadline because i had to rewrite them after my laptop crashed
Counselor Rec: Not sure, but should have been fairly ok
Additional Rec: should be good, didnt see
Interview: went really well. we were interested in the same major so we talked a lot about it</p>

<p>Other
State (if domestic applicant):
School Type: International
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 60K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None</p>

<p>Reflection
Strengths: Scores/grades, main essay
Weaknesses: supplementary essays, ethnicity…no…really
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Not very sure…i was really surprised when i read the email because i was hoping for a deferral. i think that might have been because my supplements were weak and also because i sent off my application quite late…
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Didn’t apply to other ED. waiting for EA’s, and hoping that ill get in somewhere for regular admissions…</p>

<p>General Comments: Columbia was my dream school since middle school. it just seemed so right and perfect for me, and everything was going so well…i really dont know what to do, its hard to say goodbye to your dreams…so long New York</p>

50

<p>Rejecteddd :smiley: - was totally expecting it!
don’t really want to post stats but international applicant doing IB!</p>

51

<p>Accepted</p>

<p>ACT 34
SAT2: MII 740, BIO 730
AP’s 8 in all mostly 5s
Teacher recs great, Counselor rec great, interview went really well
Many leadership positions in clubs and athletics
Focused EC’s with many hours.
Hispanic
Middle income <90,000</p>

<p>Congrats to all… :)</p>

52

<p>Decision: Accepted - CC</p>

<p>Objective:• SAT I (breakdown): 2160 (760 math, 710 eng, 690 writing)
• ACT: N/A
• SAT II: 760 chem, 690 bio
• Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
• Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
• AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Euro (5), APUSH (5), AP Lit (5), AP Chem (5)
• IB (place score in parenthesis):
• Senior Year Course Load: AP Bio, AP Economics, College public affairs, College English, college spanish, Honors Calc
• Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): 1st place in the national Siemens competition
Subjective:• Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Varsity Volleyball, Varsity Bowling
• Job/Work Experience: N/A
• Volunteer/Community service: Participate in yearly trips to impoverished countries
• Summer Activities:
• Essays: My essays were really strong. I wrote about my Science research experience
• Teacher Recommendation: one from my science research teacher/mentor, and one from my 11th grade APUSH teacher
• Counselor Rec: I am very close with my guidance counselor
• Additional Rec:N/A
• Interview:N/A</p>

<p>Other
• State (if domestic applicant): Ne wyork
• Country (if international applicant):
• School Type: Public
• Ethnicity: Asian, (south korean)
• Gender: Male
• Income Bracket: >100,000
• Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): first generation</p>

<p>Reflection
• Strengths: Very strong background in science
• Weaknesses: weak sat score and GPA
• Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:</p>

<p>Okay, so I won first place in the Siemens national competition in Science, Math, and Technology which is what i believe to put me over the top</p>

53

<p>Decision: Accepted - CC</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): Critical Reading 660, Math 680, Writing 780, Combined 2120
[</em>] ACT: N/A
[<em>] SAT II: Biology M 790, Spanish 700
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 7 of 555
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): Euro, Bio, US, Psych, (4); English Lang (5); Chem (2)
[<em>] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: AP Art History, AP Macroecon/AP US Gov, AP English Lit, Great Books of Western Civilization, AP Calculus AB, AP Spanish Language
[<em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Cardinal 75 (top students in each grade level; cardinals are our mascot); National Student Leadership Conference nominee/invitee
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Varsity swim team, water polo for a few years, Venture Crew, Hands for Hope (club co-president), Gay Straight Alliance, Young Senators (chairman of Health Committee)
[<em>] Job/Work Experience: N/A
[</em>] Volunteer/Community service:Volunteer phone banking in English & Spanish for a state assembly campaign, Intern at city administration office
[<em>] Summer Activities: Week-long stay in mountains near Yosemite with Venture Crew, Community College ceramics class, work with assistant city manager
[</em>] Essays: Very good I think. The longer essay was on becoming vegetarian early in high school and learning lots of biology and health on my own, then expanding and connecting my knowledge in Honors Bio and AP Bio. The supplemental essays were on the Mysterious Stranger by Mark Twain (I wrote about how one good woman made me feel hopeful); deciding to study economics after reading The Economist and following the Republican primary presidential campaigns; and wanting to go to Columbia for travel abroad opportunities.
[<em>] Teacher Recommendation: Maybe even better than the essays. One was from my AP English teacher, who I have this year and had last year. The other was from my APUSH teacher who also teaches Great Books.
[</em>] Counselor Rec: Pretty good I’d bet. She mentioned the swim team going to CIF.
[<em>] Additional Rec: N/A
[</em>] Interview: N/A</p>

<p>[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): California
[</em>] School Type: Public
[<em>] Ethnicity: Hispanic
[</em>] Gender: Male
[<em>] Income Bracket: around 100K
[</em>] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): 2nd gen college student, latino, gay (didn’t say it but I put that I’m in the GSA at my school)</p>

<p>[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: My essays and recs were probably the most helpful, along with being in the Young Senators and my internship for the city manager’s office
[</em>] Weaknesses: SAT scores weren’t that high
[<em>] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I think the way I connected my essays and information together was pretty good.
[</em>] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:</p>

<p>[/ul]General Comments:</p>

54

<p>Decision: Accepted - CC</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 2280: 720 CR 760 M 800 W
[</em>] ACT: N/A
[<em>] SAT II: 720 Math 2, 740 US History
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.93
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A<br>
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): 5’s on AP Lit, Lang, Calc BC, US History, US Government
[<em>] IB (place score in parenthesis): I’m an IB diploma candidate but I haven’t taken any of my tests yet, I’m taking all my IB tests senior year
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: IB Math HL, History HL, English HL, Bio HL, Latin SL, Theory of Knowledge, Newspaper
[<em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Published in The Concord Review, international essay contest recognition, international journalism recognition, LOTS of Latin awards like National Latin Exam Gold medals, National History Day state 1st place and national finalist in the senior paper category, National Merit Semifinalist, AP Scholar with Distinction, etc
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Elected to national office for the National Junior Classical League, Latin Club (President), Editor-in-chief of school newspaper, authored legislation on teen suicide prevention that passed unanimously at Colorado’s state legislature, columned professionally for Colorado’s largest newspaper, Youth in Government Attorney General, Youth in Government Club (Prez), Vice Chair of the Colorado Youth Advisory Council, founder and chair of the Legislative Task Force on Teen Suicide Prevention (which was an official task force that had legislators, teachers, policy analysts on it), etc
[<em>] Job/Work Experience: Not really…
[</em>] Volunteer/Community service: Authored legislation
[<em>] Summer Activities: Interned for congressman, visited colleges, watched TV, obsessed over Columbia
[</em>] Essays: Amazing. My Common app was about my friend’s suicide, my grief over it and how I overcame the grief to author legislation to prevent future instances of it. My Columbia short answers were very, very specific and focused on the Classics. My cultural event essay was about a photography walk through New York and how that made me appreciate New York’s subtleties
[<em>] Teacher Recommendation: Didn’t see, but I assume both were fantastic. One was Columbia-specific because I had a teacher who was a Columbia alum and could specify why I fit the college so well
[</em>] Counselor Rec: Very good, very specific
[<em>] Additional Rec: N/A
[</em>] Interview: I thought it went terribly because my interviewer asked a lot of really unconventional and difficult questions… But then afterwards the interviewer called my parents to tell them how great I was and how he gave me the highest rankings or something like that, so I guess it went pretty well</p>

<p>[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): Colorado
[</em>] Country (if international applicant): USA
[<em>] School Type: Large public, most rigorous in the state
[</em>] Ethnicity: Asian
[<em>] Gender: Female
[</em>] Income Bracket: Middle class, but didn’t qualify for any financial aid
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): NONE!!</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: I guess I had some unique extracurriculars, very good essays, also I had sort of a unique major interest?
[</em>] Weaknesses: Grades, test scores could have been a lot higher, particularly my SAT subject tests…
[<em>] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I think I really showed Columbia why I was such a good fit for them specifically and I think I was a unique applicant in a lot of ways, even if my numbers (GPA, SAT scores) weren’t THAT exceptional
[</em>] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: N/A, since this is ED</p>

<p>[/ul]General Comments: Oh my god… I can’t even… Oh my god…</p>

55

<p>Decision: Accepted- CC</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): 2320(800 CR, 800M, 720W,)
SAT II: Math IIC 750, Chemistry 760, Wld Hist 750, US Hist 780
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesnt rank
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: Massive
Major Awards
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Varsity Fencing 4 years
Volunteer/Community service: Habitit for Humanity
Summer
Counselor Rec: Great
Additional Rec: should be good
Interview: went really well. we were interested in the same sport so we talked a lot about it</p>

<p>Other
State (if domestic applicant): NJ
School Type: Public 4000
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 80K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Fencing</p>

<p>Reflection
Strengths: A rated fencer, good grades and SATs
Weaknesses: Community service</p>

56

<p>Decision: Accepted - SEAS</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 2330(800 reading; 800 math; 730 writing)
[</em>] ACT: none
[<em>] SAT II: Math1 - 800; Math2 - 800; Physics - 790; Chemistry - 790; Biology - 790;
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.75(not entirely sure what it’s out of lol)
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 6/496
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): Biology, Statistics, Chemistry, Physics C: Mechanics, Computer Science, English language, Calculus BC - all 5s
[<em>] IB (place score in parenthesis): none
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics C: E&M, Multivariable Calc, Senior research, AP lit, AP US history, Art
[<em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Dist Honor Roll for AMC 12 (114 score); Exploravision honorable mention
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Varsity Tennis(4 years, co-captain during last); Youth orchestra(assistant concertmaster); Math Team; Columbia SHP; Science League; Frisbee team; Moody’s; Concert Band
[<em>] Job/Work Experience: none
[</em>] Volunteer/Community service: Hospital volunteer(probs 200 hours); First Aid Squad; Tutor for Montessori school; Courthouse(101 hours); Music outreach program(taught little kids how to play violin)
[<em>] Summer Activities: Vanderbilt Summer Academy; Governor’s School of Engineering and Technology
[</em>] Essays: I think mine were pretty solid. For the common app I wrote about leadership because it didn’t show too much on my app in general. The columbia supps were fairly decent. My “why columbia” essay was probs the best. I basically talked about my experience at the Columbia SHP, which was very specific to myself, and then how I loved the city and the opportunities it offered. The other two were ehh. The “why engineering one” I talked about how I wanted to be an engineer stemming from my grandpa’s airforce stories. I then went on to say how I really liked BME after doing my own research at gov school (see below). I wrote about a book for the last one. I talked about how it represented how I go beyond the norm and excel.
[<em>] Teacher Recommendation: One from an english teacher, which was pretty damn good, the other came from a math teacher I had for 3 years, he was kinda creepy lol…but I’m sure he wrote me something leaning toward good/excellent
[</em>] Counselor Rec: I think it was fairly decent, but leaning toward the generic side.
[<em>] Additional Rec:
[</em>] Interview: hmm I think it went well. We talked for an hour. I made her laugh a few times. I’d say I moderately impressed her</p>

<p>[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): NJ
[</em>] Country (if international applicant): USA
[<em>] School Type: Science and Engineering Magnet program connected to larger high school
[</em>] Ethnicity: CHINESE!!!
[<em>] Gender: MALE!!!
[</em>] Income Bracket: upper middle class
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): I did a research report at gov school that had to do with Brain Computer Interfaces. I continued with it afterward with a partner and submitted something for the siemens competition. We basically made a spelling system more efficient than current standards… sort of (didn’t win anything, though our project was pretty damn awesome). I attached the summary as a science supplement. </p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: I would have to go with gov school and the research project I did
[</em>] Weaknesses: ORM…… plus nothing that made me really unique
[<em>] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Honestly I was pretty surprised. Sure I had all the test scores and high academics, but I felt like I really didn’t have anything that set me apart. I remember reading last year’s post; the majority of the acceptances all had something special like winning siemens, intel, starting a charity fund or they had legacy, sports or were URM. Plus there was at least 20 other students within 5 miles of me applying…lol. I think, if anything, it would be my research report/essays/Gov school that gave me that extra push in
[</em>] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Rutgers, Upitt, TCNJ,(accepted)….withdrew the rest</p>

<p>[/ul]General Comments: Dudes/dudettes of future years …. READ THIS THREAD ONCE!!! AND ONLY ONCE!!! AND WHATEVER YOU DO NOT GET ADDICTED TO THIS SITE LIKE ME!!! The only thing I got out of this thread’s sister threads is that Columbia admissions are a complete and utter crapshoot. If you’re like me and you’re in the gray area, anything can happen!!! So just try and put your best foot forward!!! And to my fellow Asian Males aspiring to become engineers, fear NOT!!! I was able to make it!!! PS (to everyone now) try to be sincere in the why Columbia essay. Don’t just go on Columbia’s website and find main points like the core/nyc/international community. If that’s what draws you write about it by all means, but if it really doesn’t….don’t. GOOD LUCK FUTURE APPLICANTS!!!</p>

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<p>wish we can be classmates next year! I am applying RD.</p>

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<p>Congratulation on your acceptance of Columbia! </p>

<p>Wonder if you could explain " My Why Columbia supplement was all about the Core but kinda generic". Wonder how do you mention the “Core”, is it about the course Columbia offers?</p>

<p>Thank you
Dan</p>

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<p>^ You’re talking to me, right?</p>

<p>Well, my topic pretty much focused on the aspects of the Core Curriculum, and how I think the Core will benefit me in college. I didn’t talk about any specifics, which is why I said my answer was generic. I think they liked my answer because I told HOW the Core will affect ME, you know? I didn’t just say, “this, this, and this are what I like about the Core!” but rather that the Core will give me a sense of direction for my future studies. Feel free to PM me if you want to know more (:</p>

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<p>Guys keep posting your results please.</p>