Official Columbia University Class of 2017 RD Results Thread

JordanSaidWhat · March 30, 2013, 3:41am

Edit note: Ignore the SAT score on my post (two up from this one); I didn’t send my SAT to Princeton, just the four Subject Tests listed and the ACT.

WyeOak · March 30, 2013, 10:44am

Decision: Accepted - SEAS (likely, also a Davis Scholar?)
Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 710M 800W 800CR
[] SAT II: 770 Math II, 730 Physics
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): no rank
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Bio (5), US History (5)
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics, AP Calc BC, a composition course, AP Psych, Russian, CS course (latter two outside of hs)
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Latin Exam, NACLO[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Research, FIRST Robotics, humor newspaper (editor), dragonboating
[] Volunteer/Community service: Music festival, tutoring
[] Summer Activities: see above
[] Essays: Common App: Weird. Decided that they would either like it or hate it completely. Supplements: I really liked these and really tried to sell myself. Slipped a curveball answer or two for the profile questions (favorite books, movies, etc).
[] Teacher Recommendation: Not sure. One I’m sure was good, the other, not sure.
[] Counselor Rec: Should have been fine.
[] Additional Rec: nope
[] Interview: Interviewer said I should have applied to the College, but the interview itself went well.
[li] Supplementary Material: Research abstract[/li]
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant):NY
[] School Type: public magnet
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: F
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): ???[/li]
[/ul]Reflections[ul]
[] Strengths: I can lift 15 lbs without groaning
[] Weaknesses: chocolate
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: ??
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: Brown, Cornell, Carnegie Mellon (CIT), Duke (legacy), UChicago. Waitlisted: Carnegie Mellon (SCS). Rejected: Stanford (EA)

[/ul]

sean0802 · March 30, 2013, 11:36am

Decision: Rejected - CC

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 760 Reading, 800 Math, 770 Writing
[] ACT: 36
[] SAT II: 800 Chem, 780 Math II
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8/3.9
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 16/320
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Human Geo (5), World History (5), Chem (5), APUSH (5), English Lang (5)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): None
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP English, AP Physics B, AP Calc AB, AP Comp. Gov., Honors Gov/Econ, Photography III/IV
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Finalist, AP Scholar with Distinction, Gold Key Photography Portfolio for Scholastic Art & Writing, Honorable Delegation at MUNUC.[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): NEHS (Treasurer), NHS, Rho Kappa, Photography Club (Rep.), Chess Club, Philosophy Club, Model UN
[] Job/Work Experience: Lids Locker Room
[] Volunteer/Community service: Boys & Girls Club, Organizing for America (Obama’s Campaign), Peer Tutoring.
[] Summer Activities: Volunteering, Campaigning
[] Essays: Solid common app, kind of rushed the others but I felt they were strong, in the end.
[] Teacher Recommendation: Never got to see either of the two.
[] Counselor Rec: Never saw it, sure it was good.
[] Additional Rec: None
[] Interview: Hard to gauge. Interviewer was Tea Party, saw that I volunteered for Obama. Things got interesting.
[] Supplementary Material: Photography portfolio

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): Florida
[] School Type: Private
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate): $90,000-$110,000
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Neither parents graduated (Dad did a few credits at Barry, mom did some community college)

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Academics, Testing, Interviewing
[] Weaknesses: Procrastination, Extracurriculars
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I’ll never know. It could have been many things.
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted: NYU, Tufts, UF, New College of Florida, Trinity College (CT). Waitlisted: UChicago. Rejected: Brown, Penn, Yale, Princeton, Swarthmore.

[/ul]General Comments: Super disappointed. It was my top choice.

mcsquared96 · March 30, 2013, 11:46am

Decision: Rejected - CC

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): Didn’t send
[] ACT: 31
[] SAT II: Didn’t send
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.14 (weighted, our school doesn’t tell us our unweighted)
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3/98
[] AP (place score in parenthesis):
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP English, Health/PE (required), AP Calculus (AB, school doesn’t offer BC), Band, AP Biology, Honors US History (Independent study through the University of Connecticut), Honors History 12, Spanish 5, Civics (required)
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): School Science Fair Winner, National Honor Society, Connecticut Governor’s Scholar Semi-Finalist, National Merit Commended Student, National Spanish Exam Honorable Mention, Tri-M Music Honor Society, Connecticut Scholar Athlete Award, Several Scholastic Art and Writing Awards for writing (3 gold keys, 2 silver, 1 honorable mention)[/li]
[/ul][ b]Subjective:**[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): 4 years Founder/administrator of a creative writing website, 3 years National Novel Writing Month winner, 3 years UVA Young Writers Workshop, 4 years band (section leader, Tri-M Secretary, made all-conference and all-region bands all 4 years), 4 years club ice hockey (I played for 10 years) (top scorer, ranked 2nd in state, 3rd in New England), 4 years varsity field hockey (rookie award, captain, MVP, top scorer, made conference all-star team), 3 years varsity alpine ski team (captain, conference champions), 2 years newspaper (editor)
[] Job/Work Experience: None
[] Volunteer/Community service: Pan-Mass Challenge (Summer 2011), Usher at local theater (Summers 2011, 2012), Local historical society high school representative and transcriber (Summers 2011, 2012), Class Treasurer 1 year. I didn’t keep track of the hours.
[] Summer Activities: UVA Young Writers Workshop, aforementioned volunteer work, aforementioned Creative Writing site
[] Essays: Were fine. Commonapp one definitely could have been better but I always have trouble with word limits. Wrote it about a boy I met on the Internet and how he changed my perspective on stereotypes. My Columbia essays were a little better though I faced the same problem.
[] Teacher Recommendation: I’ve only gotten to read one of them, and it was very good. The other one was from a teacher who I’ve been very close to so I assume it was good as well, but I can’t say for certain.
[] Counselor Rec: I’d only known my guidance counselor for two months when she wrote it (she was a new hire this year) so the rec was probably generic.
[] Additional Rec:
[] Interview: I thought I articulated myself pretty well in the interview, but the interviewer and I didn’t see eye-to-eye on some of the things we discussed and got into some heated debates? I don’t think he liked me very much.
[] Supplementary Material:

[/ul][ b]Other**[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant):Connecticut
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: Half Asian, half caucasian
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate): $250,000
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Have a few alumni connections and one of my recommenders is very well known at Columbia. Visited multiple times. [/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Writing is really my passion and main interest, so I would hope that my essays were a strong point. Extracurriculars and leadership positions also strong.
[] Weaknesses: Test scores. I am a terrible test-taker. Also my grades are above average, but probably nothing outstanding for an ivy league applicant.
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Test scores were a big downside and I don’t think my interviewer loved me. And I probably just wasn’t a spectacular applicant by Columbia’s standards. I would have been very surprised if I had been accepted.
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: Brown, Reed, Macalester, NYU, University of Rochester, Lewis and Clark, Emerson, University of King’s College
Waitlisted: UChicago
Rejected: UPenn, Northwestern

[/ul]**General Comments: ** START EARLY. That would be my advice to anyone with this process in your future. If you think you’re going to have a school like Columbia in mind (and you certainly don’t need to! you can have a great experience at any college!) then you’ll need to keep that goal in mind throughout all four years when choosing classes, extracurriculars, and tests to take (particularly SAT subject tests). I definitely wish I’d been thinking about college more as a freshman.

Frusciante · March 30, 2013, 4:38pm

Decision: Accepted CC

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2270 (800M, 740W, 730CR)
[] ACT: Didn’t take
[] SAT II: 800 Math II, 740 Lit
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): Don’t have a GPA system. I got 11A, 1A and 1B in my O-Level Grades, 4A’s in my AS Levels. My school transcript is average. 9th and 10th grade were okay, 11th grade was very good, high upward trend.
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn’t rank, I’d say top 10% though.
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): -
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): -
[] Senior Year Course Load: Hmmm, medium-high. 4 A Levels, plus a Pre-University course called Global Perspectives and Independent Research, which takes a huge toll.
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Top in the World in O-Level Geography, Top in 11th grade in three subjects, a few other school awards.
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): MUN, mainly. 3 Best Delegates, 1 Outstanding and 1 Honorable Mention at National and International conferences. This stood out pretty decently in my app, I think.
[] Job/Work Experience: A Media organisation for a month, nbd.
[] Volunteer/Community service: Lol soz community
[] Summer Activities: Reading, listening to music, being unproductive (Y)
[] Essays: Why Columbia: 8/10, Why publication: 8/10, Why History: 8.5/10, CommonApp: 9/10. These essays are probably why I got in.
[] Teacher Recommendation: 9/10, 10/10. These would have helped.
[] Counselor Rec: Doesn’t know me, I’d say 8/10.
[] Additional Rec: None
[] Interview: Didn’t have one
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Nope, but I need it. It would have affected my chances too much. Not sure how I’ll afford it…
[] Intended Major: Politics/History
[] State (if domestic applicant): -
[] Country (if international applicant): Pakistan!
[] School Type: Super-competitive, internationally recognised, ~10 people to Ivies every year, ~4 to Oxbridge
[] Ethnicity: Pakistani
[] Gender: XY
[] Income Bracket: Weird
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None
[/ul]

Reflection

[ul]
[] Strengths: Essays, Teacher Recommendations, Extra-Curriculars. Subjective side of the application, basically. SAT scores are decent.
[] Weaknesses: Transcript
[] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/denied: Essays, subjectives.
[] Where else: Accepted: Columbia and UChicago. Rejected: Princeton and Yale. Oh and in the UK: Accepted LSE, UCL, Warwick and Durham; Rejected Cambridge.
[/ul]

** General Comments ** I did NOT expect to get in. I was SO sure I’d get rejected. In retrospect, the fact that my dad is a Professor there probably had something to do with it. Either way, I love life right about now.

Pfhorrest · March 30, 2013, 9:03pm

Decision: Accepted - CC

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2370 total
[] ACT:
[] SAT II: 780 (Math I) / 780 (US History)
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): ~3.85
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 6/144
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 (Music Theory, US History, ELC) 4 (World History)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics AB, AP English IV, AP Spanish IV, AP Government/Economics
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Music Performance and Composition, alumnus of Aspen Music Festival and School and European American Musical Alliance, Performances in Polish Cultural House (Lithuania) and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall (New York), premiered compositions at Cortot Concert Hall (Paris), prizewinner of Schmidbauer, Julia Crane, Seattle, International Slav Competition.
[] Job/Work Experience: Music-related
[] Volunteer/Community service: Music-related
[] Summer Activities: Music-related
[] Essays: It’s hard to have an objective comparison to self-rate
[] Teacher Recommendation: Did not view
[] Counselor Rec: Did not view
[] Additional Rec: Did not view
[] Interview: None offered
[] Supplementary Material: Recording supplied

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): TX[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: Asian-American
[] Gender: M
[] Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate): Prefer not to state as admissions are need-blind
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Likely hook was my very active music career. [/li]
[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Extracurriculars
[] Weaknesses: Non-perfect GPA, non-valedic/salutatorian
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted (college): Case Western, University of Michigan, Stanford, Harvard, Princeton
Accepted (conservatory): Peabody Institute, New England Conservatory, Cleveland Institute, Oberlin Conservatory

Rejected: Yale, Juilliard

[/ul]General Comments: I am as thankful as I can be and owe it all to the support of my parents, friends, mentors, my guidance counselor, my wonderful teachers, and music teachers. Nothing could have been possible without them.

eniloracw · March 31, 2013, 12:46am

Decision: Waitlisted - CC

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2320 superscored from 2 sittings - 800 CR, 720 M, 800 W
[] ACT: did not submit
[] SAT II: 780 Literature, 770 Spanish, 770 Math 2, 770 Latin, 730 USH, 680 Math 1
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.96, 4.86 weighted
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 9/131
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Art History (5), Calculus AB (5), English Lang (5), Spanish Lang (4)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): enrolled in full diploma program with scores pending - Psychology SL, Math HL, Spanish HL, English HL, History SL, Chemistry SL
[] Senior Year Course Load: IB courses above plus IB Theory of Knowledge/Research
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Finalist, National Latin Exam Gold Medal, National Spanish Exam Silver Medal[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Debate (Captain, many awards), Sailing Team (Skipper), Dance Marathon charity event (Executive Board), Key Club, Model UN
[] Job/Work Experience: Junior Docent at art museum
[] Volunteer/Community service: Key Club, Dance Marathon, Girl Scouts
[] Summer Activities: Counselor in Training at sailing camp, Duke TIP, debate camp
[] Essays: Very good, wrote common app essays about my two main extracurriculars, sailing and debate.
[] Teacher Recommendation: I haven’t read them but one of them told me I’m one of the best students she’s ever had.
[] Counselor Rec: I don’t know her that well but it’s probably positive.
[] Additional Rec: Debate coach, probably very good
[li] Interview: Solid, with a local alum[/li]
[/ul]Other:[ul]
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[] Intended Major: International Relations
[] State (if domestic applicant): Florida
[] School Type: IB magnet within large public school
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket: upper middle
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Essays, scores
[] Weaknesses: no hooks, extracurriculars don’t stand out
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: My app was good but not a standout for Columbia.
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted - UPenn, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Tufts, George Washington, William and Mary, American
Deferred - Georgetown (waiting for RD)
Rejected - Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Yale-NUS

[/ul]**General Comments: **
I’m not going to stay on the waitlist. I’m probably going to be a Quaker! YAY!

dynamo729 · March 31, 2013, 2:32am

Decision: Waitlisted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2400/10 essay (single sitting, second try)
[] ACT: 33, 35, 35
[] SAT II: 800s on Math II and US History; 780 on Physics
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0 
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2/430ish
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): 5s on BC Calculus (and AB subscore), Physics B, APUSH, English Lang, Stats, and Psych.
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Chem, AP Physics C, AP Lit, AP Compsci (independent study), AP US Gov/AP Macro, Math Team, and required computer class.
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None, except I guess 5-time AIME qualifier? [/ul] [/li]
Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Math team (captain), academic team (captain), mu alpha theta (president)
[] Job/Work Experience: Barista last summer, lawn care worker (just for neighbors) the year before that.
[] Volunteer/Community service: Peer tutoring and volunteering at church.
[] Summer Activities: working, reading, socializing, traveling (mostly for math team)
[] Essays (rating 1-10, details): Main common app – maybe an 8? About how being gay in Alabama shaped me. Secondary common app – about running math team competitions, I guess maybe a 6-7. Supplementary essays were rushed (I started them like 6 hours before the deadlines, haha…) and didn’t turn out too well.
[] Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):[list]
[] Teacher Rec #1: didn’t read
[] Teacher Rec #2: didn’t read
[] Counselor Rec: didn’t read
[] Additional Rec: N/A [/ul]
[li] Interview: N/A [/list][/li]
Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): AL
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type: Large public
[] Ethnicity: White
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: middle class
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Gay? From Alabama? Not sure. [/ul][/li]
Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: SAT score, rank? But these aren’t unusual.
[] Weaknesses: Nothing outstanding, no research or big awards, etc.
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I think they just didn’t like me.
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted at MIT, Stanford, Dartmouth, Vandy (Cornelius Vanderbilt scholarship) and safeties; Waitlisted at Harvard, Caltech, and WashU. [/ul]

**General Comments: Congrats to all accepted and best wishes to everyone. Make what happens to you work out! Hopefully aid from Stanford or MIT will be good but otherwise it’s probably Vandy for me. **

Elmaho · April 1, 2013, 1:59am

Decision: Accepted - CC

Objective:[ul]

[] ACT: Composite: 34, English: 36, Reading: 36, Science: 36, Math: 27, Writing: 10
[] SAT II: U.S. History: 780, Literature: 800
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 8/426
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): U.S. History (5), Physics (3)
[] Senior Year Course Load: First Semester: AP Calc. AB, AP Environmental Science, WWI, 3000-level fiction writing at the University of Minnesota, 3000-level French at the U of M, online gym and heath. Second semester: AP Calc. AB, AP Environmental Science, WWII, 1000-level urban studies at the U of M, 1000-level architecture drawing at the U of M
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Commended Student, QuestBridge Scholarship Finalist, General Mills Scholarship.[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Technical and performance theater: Head Technician (12/13), Head Sound Designer (12/13), Head Carpenter, (10/11), Posters/Publicity (12/13) Set Designer of 6 high school shows and one professional opera, one-act playwright, actor in two student-directed shows, director of one fundraiser show; Political Activism Club (Founder, Co-President); USGBC; cello for 1.5 years, Chinese Music Club for 1 year.
[] Job/Work Experience: Bagel Shop (July-October 2012), Painting Studio (winter 2009)
[] Volunteer/Community service: Portrait photography for high school seniors, tutoring (summer 2011), local multicultural festival (annual)
[] Summer Activities: Minnesota Fringe Festival: Asst. Director, Set Designer, Graphic Artist (summer 2012), tutoring children of low-income/immigrant families (summer 2011), work (summer 2012).
[] Essays: CC essays were some of my most personal and heartfelt; they were of decent though not astounding writing quality. I spent several days on them.
[] Teacher Recommendation: Sophomore year APUSH/senior year WWI and WWII teacher likely gave a glowing review; senior year AP Environmental was good if shallow recommendation.
[] Counselor Rec: Great
[] Additional Rec: None
[] Interview: Didn’t get one
[] Supplementary Material: None

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): Minnesota
[] School Type: public
[] Ethnicity: Mixed (White, Native American, Asian)
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket: Lowest (family made less than $10,000); FA candidate
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): part URM

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Grades, test scores, ECs, summer activities (best advice I got in an interview: THEY LOVE STUDENTS WHO HAVE JOBS) 
[] Weaknesses: Breadth of activities (then again, CC probably understood that my family can’t afford lessons/camps/activities)
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I have a strong academic record, writing abilities, and I believe I am a good fit for the school – high achieving, passionate, and rather unusual. Even at big, top-notch schools, they take fit into account.
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted to Barnard, Vassar, Wellesley, Macalester, the University of Minnesota School of Design; waitlisted at Swarthmore; rejected from Harvard, Yale.

[/ul]**General Comments: ** Choose schools that you really think fit who you are and what you want to do. Not only is this important for you, but the colleges you apply to will consider this. Have a job, help out in your community, and write excellent essays about where you come from, what you love, and what you want to do. Suggest and demonstrate (rather than state) in these essays that Columbia/wherever you want to go is the right place for you. One other thing I’ve noticed is that people with perfect test scores and 4.0 unweighted GPAs tend to get rejected; my guess is that colleges prefer near-perfect or good scores/grades and good activities/involvement/paid work over perfect scores and less involvement. They also like to see you taking challenging classes (getting straight As in basic-level classes doesn’t mean too much).

swpark2008 · April 2, 2013, 4:41am

**Decision: Accepted - SEAS **

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2320 Combined (CR 720 / Math 800 / Writing 800)
[] ACT:
[] SAT II: Physics 800 / Chemistry 800 / Math Level II 800 / U.S. History 770
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): All 5: AP Physics B, AP Chemistry, AP Calculus BC, AP US History, AP European History, AP World History, AP Music Theory (Both Aural and Non-Aural), AP MacroEconomics, AP MicroEconomics
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[] Senior Year Course Load: Differential Equations, Quantum Mechanics, Stars and Universe, AP World History, AP US History, AP Chemistry, Advanced Physics Lab, Advanced History Seminar, etc.
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Presidential Scholar Award / Awards in several International and National piano competitions[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Conductor of School Orchestra for 2 years, Peer Tutoring Mentor for 3 years, Student Legislative Branch for 1 semester, School Counseling Office TA and Intern for 2 years.
[] Job/Work Experience: School Summer Camp History TA for 2 Summers
[] Volunteer/Community service: Music Social Service program for 6 years in hospitals, seniority centers, etc / Internship and Community service at a Foreign Immigrant Clinic for 4 years / 
[] Summer Activities: All the Community Service / mostly devoted summer in practicing piano.
[] Essays: Fairly Written
[] Teacher Recommendation: My teachers say that they wrote their best recommendation letters.
[] Counselor Rec: Fairly Written
[] Additional Rec: None
[] Interview: The Interview was great. At first I was very nervous, but the interviewer and I shared common interests in academics and hobbies.
[] Supplementary Material: A 20 page portfolio which partly showed my road drawings and city planning for the past 12 years / Piano Music Supplement

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] Country : Republic of Korea
[] School Type: Private
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: Male

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Probably My high school record (mostly GPA), Portfolio, and Interview
[] Weaknesses: Essays
[] Why you think you were accepted: I’m not sure. But I am very delighted that I am accepted into Columbia.
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: Duke, Dartmouth, Cornell, Rice
Waitlisted: Princeton, Uchicago, Upenn
Rejected: Harvard, Yale, Stanford [/ul]

swagsohard · April 3, 2013, 4:20pm

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2310
[] ACT: 35
[] SAT II: 780 Bio M, 740 Math Level II, 710 German
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 x 5s
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: Rigorous w/ 6 APs
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Study Abroad and Language Awards, AP Scholar with Distinction[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[li] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):[/li]Policy Debate (16th at nationals)
Scholar Bowl (National Qualifier)
Model United Nations (Secretary General)
National Honor Society

[] Job/Work Experience: Lol no
[] Volunteer/Community service: 170+ hours
[li] Summer Activities:[/li]Research Internship at WUSTL on Lung Cancer (published a paper)

[] Essays: Hit or miss essays
[] Teacher Recommendation: Didn’t read
[] Counselor Rec: Didn’t read
[] Additional Rec: Didn’t read
[li] Interview: Didn’t have one[/li]
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): MO
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: Asian Indian (Brown People FTW)
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket(mention if FA candidate): meh
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): um no?

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: Grades and Test Scores, ECs
[] Weaknesses: Essays, anti-hooks galore
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: lol who knows?
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
[/ul]General Comments: So glad I’m done with this process! To all those rejected or waitlisted I wish you the best of luck; you guys will end up somewhere awesome.

Rosario1994 · April 3, 2013, 6:46pm

Decision: Deferred->RejectedCC
Stats:
•SAT:2230 (Math:750, Critical Reading:720, Writing:760 one sitting, didn’t take it a second time though maybe I should have)
•SAT IIs:US:770, Bio:750, Chem:770, Spanish:800, World:760, Math II;780
•GPA:4.0
•Rank:2/450
•Other stats:Soph yr: AP world-5, AP Psych-5
Junior Year:AP US-5, AP Chem-5, AP Bio-5, AP English Language-5, AP Calc BC-5
taking AP Physics, AP Macroeconomics, AP Spanish, AP English Lit, and AP Gov my senior year
Subjective:
•Essays: wrote about my mixed heritage (Dad is Mexican and Japanese; Mom is Irish, Italian, Russian, and Romanian), and my weird feelings about it growing up
•ECs: president of math team, vice president of sci olympiads, also involved in Spanish Honor Society, National Honor Society, and art club
•Teacher Recs:didn’t see them but I’m sure they’re good
•Counselor Rec: we have a pretty good relationship so I’m guessing it’s good
•Hook (if any): part Mexican so I guess I can be considered a URM
Location/Person:
•State or Country:California
•School Type: large public school (about 450 kids?)
•Ethnicity: mixed
• Income Bracket:middle class
•Gender:F
Other Factors: National Merit Semifinalist, also did volunteer work in a hospital junior year. Didn’t do it freshman or soph year so kinda regret that:/
Reflection
•Strengths: GPA, standardized scores, and URM
•Weaknesses: maybe not enough extracurriculars? idk
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: relatively weak extracurriculars?
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted to Dartmouth, Cornell, Northwestern, UC Berkeley, USC, UCLA, UC San Diego; waitlisted at Yale, Stanford, UChicago, Brown,UPenn; rejected from Harvard, Columbia, Johns Hopkins
General comments: well that’s that I guess. I’m a little disappointed though. Columbia was my top choice. Guess it’s either Dartmouth or Northwestern for me so can’t really complain.

cufromtheview · April 12, 2013, 1:40am

Decision: Accepted - SEAS

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2260 (800-M, 710-R, 750-W) - submitted, single sitting
[] ACT: 34 composite (36-E, 35-M, 34-R, 35-S, 9-W) - submitted, 2 sittings
[] SAT II: submitted Chemistry (780), Math Level 2 (770), Physics (740); others not submitted
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): <5th percentile (no rank or percentile given)
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Chemistry (5), Physics B (4), U.S. History (4)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: AP Spanish Language, AP Statistics, AP Macroeconomics, AP U.S. Government & Politics, AP Physics C, AP Calculus BC, AP English Literature, Independent Research
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Siemens Semifinalist, Yale Science & Engineering Association Science Fair Award, Bausch & Lomb Honorary Science Award[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Mathletes (President), Science Olympiad (board member), Independent Research, Science Honor Society (Vice President), National Honor Society (Tutoring Committee member), Quiz Bowl (Treasurer), Foreign Culture Club, Community Service Club
[] Job/Work Experience: 2 years of independent research at a university
[] Volunteer/Community service: Community Service Club, tutoring, co-founded community basketball league
[] Summer Activities: Columbia University High School Program, independent research
[] Essays: I wrote about my younger sister, but I related her birth and growth to various works of literature and historical moments.
[] Teacher Recommendation: I sent 3 teacher recommendations, but they were all unique in terms of content and praise!
[] Counselor Rec: I suppose sufficient.
[] Additional Rec: An amazing one from my research advisor, and a course critique by Columbia HSP professor.
[] Interview: Wonderful - very connected to the interviewer intellectually and socially, because he grew up in the neighboring town.
[] Supplementary Material: Research abstracts!

[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): New York
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: Caucasian
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket (mention if FA candidate): $100,000+
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Legacy (3rd generation at Columbia - mom and dad went to SEAS, and grandfather went to School of Pharmacy)

[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[] Strengths: test scores, recommendations, research
[] Weaknesses: essays, spread thin with extracurriculars
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I am well-rounded, rather than just strong on tests or just strong in extracurriculars.
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted to Cornell, Johns Hopkins, Stony Brook, Rochester, Macaulay Honors College, NYU, Penn State/Jefferson Pre-med/Med. Wait-listed at Duke and Cooper Union. Rejected from Yale, Dartmouth, Princeton, UPenn, MIT, Brown, and Harvard.

[/ul]**General Comments: ** I am definitely attending Columbia!!! Definitely visit before you even apply, just to see if a city campus suits you! It has been 2 weeks since I was accepted, and I am still wondering if it’s a scarily long dream! :)

westfield95 · April 20, 2013, 9:21pm

Decision: Accepted - SEAS

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2300 (760CR, 800M, 740W)
[] ACT: 36 (36E 36M 36S 34R)
[] SAT II: 800 Math II, 760 Bio E
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/700
[] AP (place score in parenthesis):

ap computer science a (4)
ap world history (4)
ap statistics (5)
ap environmental science (5)
ap chemistry (3)
ap calculus BC (5)
ap calculus BC-- AB subscore (5)
ap physics C (3)
ap english 11 (5)
ap us history (4)
ap spanish (3)
ap psych (5)
ap microeconomics (4)

[li] IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A[/li]
[li] Senior Year Course Load: [/li]
advanced band
advanced database
programming
ap biology
challenges of engineering ii/robotics
marching band
ap government
ap macroeconomics
ap english 12
ap european history
ap human geography
linear algebra/multivariable calculus (CC)

[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): [/li]
National AP Scholar, AP Scholar with Distinction, Gold Presidential Award for Service, Gold Congressional Award (pending), BSA Silver Hornaday Medal (pending), BSA Supernova Award (pending), Engineer Girl Essay Competition (national finalist), CIA Award for Science Fair Winners

[/ul]Subjective:[ul]

[li] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):[/li]
Marching band, percussion, section leader (undefeated season)
Robotics team (FRC); won engineering inspiration/chairman’s at two regional competitions, best website, website excellence award at regionals, semifinals at worlds (business team lead)
Robotics team (FTC); world championship winner last year!!! (engineering notebook team lead) inspire award/winning alliance @ regional this year!
Robotics team (FLL); state research award winner (team mentor)
Youth Orchestra, Wind Symphony (first chair oboe, performing at Carnegie Hall this year)
Youth Orchestra, Concert Orchestra (first chair oboe)
Youth Orchestra, church (first chair oboe)
Piano (privately studied, 12+ years, did NOT submit art supplement)
Oboe (privately studied, 5+ years, did NOT submit art supplement)
Boy Scout, Eagle Scout, Order of the Arrow, Senior Patrol Leader, Troop Guide, Webmaster, Leave No Trace Trainer; 30+ merit badges
Biology Olympiad (president)
Zero Robotics team (founder, national finalist at MIT woohoo)
Envirothon (president/team captain)
YUGA (community service) (president, founder)
SPACE (Students Pursuing Academics and Careers in Engineering) Club (secretary, president)
KidWind Challenge (2nd place in state, team captain)
Key Club (treasurer, 2x)
Environmental Club (secretary, vice president)
Church youth group (small group leader)
NASA INSPIRE OLC
Nonprofit teaching STEM to approx. 30 elementary school students, since my county does not focus heavily on this aspect of education <a href=“founder/president/ceo”>501(c)(3) pending</a>
Nonprofit teaching STEM (advisory board)
Nonprofit focusing on Social Responsibility (city director, regional director, international director)
Church youth group (group leader)
Church youth orchestra (principal oboe)
Church missions (Baltimore, OH; Houston, TX; Chicago, IL; Guayaquil, Ecuador)
Honors/Programs (place leadership in parenthesis):
Governor’s School for Math, Science, and Technology (webmaster)
All County/All District Band (first chair oboe)
2nd place in Behavioral Science, regional science fair
1st place in Biochem, regional science fair
Piano Guild of America Sonatina Award
Piano Guild of America Honor Award
Solo/Ensemble Festival (Grade VI-- highest level); superior rating (2x)
Solo/Ensemble Festival (Grade V); superior rating
HOBY Ambassador, Junior Counselor
Virginia Aerospace Science and Technology Scholars (received an A), Summer Academy
NSO Young Associates’ Program
VA Boys State

[li] Job/Work Experience: Academic Tutoring (16 hrs/week), Intern @ env eng firm (2 hrs/week), Piano Teacher (1 hr/week)[/li]
[li] Volunteer/Community service: ~500 hours from various clubs, initiatives, etc.[/li]
[li] Summer Activities: pretty busy, with governor’s school, etc., but I left some time in there for family and friends hahah. didn’t get to do any research, which I would have liked, but oh well[/li]
[li] Essays: overall, pretty decent, I think. no bombs in there, and I spent awhile on them[/li]
[li] Teacher Recommendation: awesome![/li]
[li] Counselor Rec: didn’t see it, but she said it was practically glowing[/li]
[li] Additional Rec: didn’t get to see it, but it’s from my robotics coach, and she said it was pretty phenomenal[/li]
[li] Interview: over Skype LOL… but I think it went pretty well[/li]
[/ul]Other[ul]

[] State (if domestic applicant): VA
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: we are the 1% (loljk not really, but money’s never been a big issue)
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none to speak of

[/ul]Reflection[ul]

[] Strengths: act, class rank/gpa, ECs (?)
[] Weaknesses: ap scores, sat ii scores, essay
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: no idea. i’m ecstatic right now and can’t believe this is real life. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
[] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:

accept: columbia (clearly haha), yale, penn
waitlist: harvard, caltech, cornell
reject: mit, stanford, princeton

[/ul]**General Comments: **

can’t wait for the fall, and best of luck to everyone else applying next year or in the future!

VCColumbia2017 · August 15, 2013, 7:16am

Decision: Accepted - CC

Objective:[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2250 (760CR, 760M, 730 W)
[] SAT II: 790 Bio, 770 Math II, 790 Chinese
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc AB (5), Bio (5), English Lang (5), Micro-Econ (4), Stats (3)
[] Senior Year Course Load: 7 APs & Science Department Assistant
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Intel, Scholastic Gold Keys, 1st place of a national writing contest, published scientific abstracts/manuscript[/li]
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[] Essays: short activity piece was on piano, personal statement was on science internship, Columbia why, also wrote about my jr. Year APUS research paper on racial marginalization of Ashkenazi Jews
[] Teacher Recommendation: Good from what I’ve heard through my counselor
[] Counselor Rec: I’m assuming good (we had a great relationship)
[] Additional Rec: From science mentor
[li] Interview: N/A[/li]
[/ul]Other[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): OR
[] School Type: Public
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: female

[/ul]**General Comments: **
I’m not going to answer the reflection section, because honestly I can not pinpoint what it was in my application that helped me (or hurt me) the most… Only the admission officers would know. Also, I wasn’t even going to write up one of these kinds of posts until I remembered how much fun they were to read as a high schooler. With that said, take everything on here with a grain of salt- there is no perfect formula for getting into Columbia (or any selective college really), so keep following your passions, let them shine through in your app, and good luck with the rest! It’ll all work out wonderfully in the end :)

limetega · August 20, 2013, 4:37pm

Sorry for my ignorance, but this is all for RD, right? And what’s SEAS and CC?

calculator5 · August 21, 2013, 10:45am

This is all for RD
Columbia Undergrad has two colleges
SEAS = School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
CC = Columbia College (Liberal Arts school)

LeDonNYC · May 16, 2014, 10:27am

@calculator5,
Columbia Undergrad actually has three colleges
The two you mentioned, but you are missing out on GS = School of General Studies, which is for any student who had spent at least a year out of school since finishing high school (non-traditional). It is however mainly populated by students above 20, even though you may find a handful of teenagers.

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