***Official Columbia University Class of 2018 ED Results ONLY***

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
1

<p>Hey!</p>

<p>This thread is intended only to post 2018 Early Decision results. The decisions will be posted at 5:00 p.m. EST on Thursday, December 12th, 2013. After 5:00 p.m., you will be able to log-in from the following website to see your result:</p>

<p><a href="https://undergraduate-admissions.stu.../account/login%5B/url%5D"&gt;https://undergraduate-admissions.stu.../account/login&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Please use the following format while posting the results. Kindly discuss only on the other ED forum, and use this one only for results. Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favour! </p>

<p>Decision: Accepted - CC
Decision: Accepted - SEAS
Decision: Waitlisted - CC
Decision: Waitlisted - SEAS
Decision: Rejected - CC
Decision: Rejected - SEAS</p>

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown):
[</em>] ACT:
[<em>] SAT II:
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis):
[<em>] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load:
[<em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
[<em>] Job/Work Experience:
[</em>] Volunteer/Community service:
[<em>] Summer Activities:
[</em>] Essays:
[<em>] Teacher Recommendation:
[</em>] Counselor Rec:
[<em>] Additional Rec:
[</em>] Interview:</p>

<p>[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant):
[</em>] Country (if international applicant):
[<em>] School Type:
[</em>] Ethnicity:
[<em>] Gender:
[</em>] Income Bracket:
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths:
[</em>] Weaknesses:
[<em>] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
[</em>] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:</p>

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

2

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

<p>Objective:[ul]
[<em>] SAT I (breakdown): didn’t submit
[</em>] ACT: C: 33 R: 34 E: 32 M: 31 S: 34
[<em>] SAT II:
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): We don’t do 4.0 or unweighted, so mine’s 102.1
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 23/460
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis):
[<em>] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: AP English, AP Economics, AP Spanish IV, AP Calc AB, APES, PALS, Student Council
[<em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
[/ul]Subjective:[ul]
[</em>] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Student Council (Secretary), Best Buddies (Secretary), NHS, PALS
[<em>] Job/Work Experience: Part-time at department store
[</em>] Volunteer/Community service: Over 200 hours
[<em>] Summer Activities:
[</em>] Essays: I thought my Common App was great and I was really proud of my supplement essays.
[<em>] Teacher Recommendation: Should be great
[</em>] Counselor Rec: Average
[<em>] Additional Rec:
[</em>] Interview: N/A</p>

<p>[/ul]Other[ul]
[<em>] State (if domestic applicant): Texas
[</em>] Country (if international applicant):
[<em>] School Type: Competitive public
[</em>] Ethnicity: White
[<em>] Gender: Male
[</em>] Income Bracket: 100k
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First generation</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Reflection[ul]
[<em>] Strengths: I showed a lot of character in my essays and I am extremely proud of them
[</em>] Weaknesses: Test scores, rank, leadership
[<em>] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: My essays were great and I really think that’s the only reason I wasn’t rejected
[</em>] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted to UT Austin w/ Honors, UMN Twin Cities w/ Honors, Fordham, waiting on NYU</p>

<p>[/ul]General Comments: I really am disappointed to be deferred. However, I’ll remain hopeful. Congrats to all who were admitted!!!</p>

3

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

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): 2140 (lol didn’t send)
ACT: 34
SAT II: 760 US History, 710 Chem
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.96
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10%
AP (place score in parenthesis): Statistics (5), US History (5), Biology (4), Chemistry (lol), Language & Comp (4), Chinese (5), Psychology (5), Calc AB (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): IB Spanish, IB Physics
Senior Year Course Load: AP US Gov, AP Calc BC, AP Spanish, AP Micro/Macroeconomics, AP Lit, IB Physics SL
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Published in Young Voices Foundation Short Story Anthology, published in White Ash Magazine, President’s Volunteer Service Award, Common Knowledge Contest for Overseas Chinese Teenagers Second Category, AP Scholar W/ Distinction, WODL debate individual 5th overall</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
City Youth Council ( Committee Chair - 3 year)
Varsity Debate team (3 year) - Best team in the state, always place first in everything we’ve ever done…etc.
Track team sprinter (3 year)
Online novelist who wrote multiple novels, short stories, etc. (4 year)
Link Crew (2 year)
English Tutor (1 year)
Youth Dialogue Asian Representative (1 year)
umm…more but I can’t think of them lol</p>

<p>Job/Work Experience: Worked as a waitress (1 year), English tutor (1 year)
Volunteer/Community service: 200+ hours volunteering at local hospital
Summer Activities: LOTS of summer school, Youth Dialogues program, Brown online leadership program, writing course at community college
Essays: Probably the strongest part of my app. I LOVED them and thought they really represented who I am. Common app was about how I got rejected from a singing audition and learned the meaning of hard work…generic topic but wrote it in a voice that was clearly mine. :slight_smile:
Teacher Recommendation: Both probably generic…hopefully the one from my English teacher was good though. She was my AP Lang and debate teacher :slight_smile:
Counselor Rec: Idk, probably generic. We’re kinda close but not really.
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: Didn’t get one</p>

<p>Other
State (if domestic applicant): Michigan
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: competitive public (ish?) Several got into ivies/top schools last year…and like a third of us are Asians lol.
Ethnicity: Azn woohoo! ← Probably what killed me…among other things
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: 150,000 +? Not sure…parents won’t give me a straight answer. T<em>T
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Noooone. Actually I’m anti-hooked. T</em>T</p>

<p>Reflection
Strengths: Essays, course load, passion in my EC’s? idk
Weaknesses: Um…imperfect GPA, SAT scores
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Because I’m average?
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Nowhere else yet…waiting on EA UMich and UChicago. Hopefully one will bring good news. :)</p>

<p>General Comments: Chin up, guys! Y’all are some really great people headed to some really great colleges. Even if we weren’t accepted to Columbia, we’ll go off somewhere even better for us this coming year! :D</p>

<p>CONGRATS TO ALL ACCEPTED!! You’re going to have an AMAZING time next year!</p>

<p>Edit: Whoops, my formatting got all messed up…oh well. Future classes will have to deal with it. :P</p>

4

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

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown):2380. 800CR 800MATHS 780WRITING
SAT II: 780 CHEM, 670 LIT
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):Not assessed in my country
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Rigorous
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Several national film awards/finalists,
Subjective: Good writer? Idk
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Founder/President of schools volunteers club, play 5 instruments, self-taught filmmaker/music producer/coder/graphic designer
Job/Work Experience: I once extraed in a movie with Ewan Mcgregor?
Volunteer/Community service: Plenty
Summer Activities: N/A
Essays: Great, I’m a good writer
Teacher Recommendation: Great, had good teacher relationships
Counselor Rec: Should be good
Interview: Went well, a little nervous but we were both Australian
Country (if international applicant): AUSTRALIA!!!
School Type:Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: M
Income Bracket: 100k-200k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Australian? Self-taught and award winning filmmaker?
Reflection: I am in complete shock. I was not expecting this as my SATIIs weren’t too great and the applicant pool is just so strong.
Strengths: SATI, Essays, Sample? (I sent in some films and music I produced)
Weaknesses: SATIIs,
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I’m not sure how many other Australians applied so that definitely could have helped me
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Nowhere yet. This is my first decision.
General Comments: To all those who didn’t get in, don’t feel discouraged. At schools like Columbia its really just a numbers game and having your stars align. Don’t let the school you go to affect who you are as a person. I’ve been going by this motto for the last few years, learning so many things outside of my school because those subjects are not offered here…</p>

5

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

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown):2320 superscore (2 attempts 760 CR 760 M 800 W 12 essay)</p>

<p>ACT: never took</p>

<p>SAT II: 800 M2 780 Bio M 770 US History</p>

<p>Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0</p>

<p>Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):1/432</p>

<p>AP (place score in parenthesis): Bio (5) Psych (5) History (4) Lang (4) Calc AB (5)</p>

<p>Senior Year Course Load: 4 more AP + 1 self study (chem, BC, stat, physics C (both) )</p>

<p>Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): nothin</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

  • Boy Scouts (nearly Eagle, patrol leader; troop guide)
  • Lots of Band (Marching Band, woodwind choir, jazz band all 4 years (soloist on different instruments for all 3) I play bassoon, Oboe, Clarinet, Mellophone and Trumpet)
    -Varsity Swim (4 years, captain this year)
  • Varsity Tennis (2 years)
    -math league
    -student government (4 years)
  • peer tutoring
  • NHS, Tri M (Vice President), Science honor society, world language honor society
  • plus some more, but I don’t feel like doing this</p>

<p>Job/Work Experience: Dairy Queen for two summers</p>

<p>Volunteer/Community service: lots in Boy Scouts</p>

<p>Summer Activities: work</p>

<p>Essays: commonapp was really good; supplements were really good too</p>

<p>Teacher Recommendation: saw one and it was really good, others were probably good too (the teachers knew me well)</p>

<p>Counselor Rec: she likes me, probably really good</p>

<p>Additional Rec: n/a</p>

<p>Interview: was okay, not phenomenal, not terrible</p>

<p>Other
State (if domestic applicant): NJ
School Type: public that sends a couple to Ivies each year
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: pretty low
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): nothin’</p>

<p>Reflection: WHAT THE ACTUAL ****!!! I was expecting at least a deferral…</p>

<p>Strengths: standardized tests…</p>

<p>Weaknesses: white male from New Jersey, 'nuff said; no hook either</p>

<p>Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I’m really not too sure. Maybe I was too good for them?</p>

<p>Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: </p>

<p>General Comments: Guess I gotta write my supplements now…</p>

6

<p>Decision: Accepted - CC (Not sure how to make it big and pretty and green)</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT: 31
SAT II: N/A
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.94
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): Sophomore Year - Spanish Lang and World; Junior Year - English Lang, Calc AB, and Psych; Senior Year - Bio, Stats, Gov
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A</p>

<p>Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Achievement Semi, AP Scholar w/ Distinction
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): SGA Vice President, Spanish HS, English HS, Part-Time Job at a Retirement Home for the past two years
Volunteer/Community service: Worked on a political campaign, regular volunteer at local homeless shelter
Summer Activities: Work
Essays: Best I’ve ever written
Teacher Recommendation: Didn’t read, but I got two teachers that absolutely adored me
Counselor Rec: Didn’t read
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: Really well!! We talked for about an hour and a half
Other
State (if domestic applicant): VA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Large public
Ethnicity: Black
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 100,000+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM</p>

<p>Reflection
Strengths: Essays, interview
Weaknesses: Test scores, lackluster ECs
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Honestly no clue!!!
Congrats to all!</p>

7

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

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2380 superscore (C: 800, M: 780, W: 800)
ACT: N/A
SAT II: 760 Mol Bio, 800 Literature, 800 Maths II
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): N/A
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): N/A
IB (place score in parenthesis): predicted 39/42 + 3/3 core (42/45), all 7s at HL
Senior Year Course Load:
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): none</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Glee club (leader) - 1 year
Varsity lacrosse - 3 years
Club lacrosse, where I played in an international lacrosse tournament
Piano - Diploma in performance, Colours Award for Music, accompaniment for choir
School student liaison leader, prefect, student consultant
Intl financial competition (group leader) - came first</p>

<p>Job/Work Experience: none
Volunteer/Community service: I listed a bunch - teaching assistant at a school catering to students with severe learning disabilities, mentor and coordination coach at my school’s Learning Support Centre (for students with special needs), volunteer at a remote village in Vietnam, teacher at a village in China that was in an earthquake-hit region - I advised the students on their earthquake evac drills and taught them first aid and how to transport injured survivors of disasters (I went to a summer camp about this)</p>

<p>Summer Activities: Asia Pacific lacrosse tournament, financial competition, disaster camp
Essays: solid but not stellar, according to my friends
Teacher Recommendation: probably quite good, though I didn’t see them
Counselor Rec: written by my tutor, so it should also be quite good, as he knows me quite well and told me my application was strong
Additional Rec: none
Interview: went quite well - my interviewer told me I shouldn’t worry at the end. I did stumble on a few questions though</p>

<p>Other
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): Hong Kong SAR
School Type: private
Ethnicity: Chinese
Gender: female
Income Bracket: ~150k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none</p>

<p>Reflection
Strengths: SAT scores and a few of my activities esp. community service, which I wrote about in my essay
Weaknesses: lack of leadership positions and major awards - plus, apparently, anything less than a 40/42 for international applicants is bad
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: probably wasn’t competitive enough in terms of activities - also, I’m not sure if they would have been impressed by my essay
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: waiting on UChicago!
General Comments: whichever decision you guys saw today, you’ll be heading off to great unis! Anyone who was accepted - CONGRATS!!! Anyone who was rejected/deferred - don’t let this get you down, you’ll be happy and successful elsewhere!! I know I’ll be applying elsewhere immediately, as my school’s internal deadline for apps to the UK and HK is today!</p>

8

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

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 630CR 750W 800M
ACT:
SAT II: 800CHEM 800MATH2
Unweighted GPA of 4.0): school doesn’t calculate gpa, got all a’s except a C in calculus and a B in liberal studies though
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesnt calculate
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: english, chinese, math, chemistry, physics. economics, liberal studies
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): school’s internal scholarships
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): contract writer of a novel website, violinist (school orchestra section leader) , pianist (choir pianist), chinese literary club (chairlady), hkust chemistry, school prefect
Job/Work Experience: summer intern at a zero carbon building (tour guide
Volunteer/Community service: tutor for underpriviledged children
Summer Activities:
Essays: commonapp essay was about my mother who endured the cultural revolution but still loved china, how i did not agree with her but understanded her strong faith after i started writing novels, experiencing a lot of pressure and failures but will not lose faith in who i am. both commonapp essay and supplements were written genuinely - just reflecting what im thinking
Teacher Recommendation: not sure about them
Counselor Rec: genuine. my counselor likes me i think
Additional Rec: nope
Interview: interviewer was a 50yearold who seems quite cynical about columbia
Other
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): Hong Kong
School Type: very competitive private (among best local schools in HK)
Ethnicity: Chinese <-that hurts doesn’t it?
Gender: Female
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none
Reflection
Strengths: essays (not sure if the admissions see them as strengths though), SAT2, counselor rec
Weaknesses: SAT1 . that hurts seriously
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: my SATI was far from really good and i guess my essays and ECs dont help enough to pull me out of the rejected pool
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: waiting to hear from UChicago
General Comments: my counselor has warned me about no one in my school ever getting into Columbia and yeah i didnt so yeah …</p>

9

<p>@satman1111
wow, i cant believe you didnt get deferred. the only thing you could’ve messed up on were interview, recs (maybe the teacher didnt use the bet words to describe you), essay and supplements. and no hook, no awards. or they made a mistake-- which is possible.</p>

10

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

<p>Objective:</p>

<pre><code>SAT I (breakdown): 2380 - 800 Writing, 800 Reading, 780 Math
ACT: n/a
SAT II: 790 Math II, 760 Physics, 780 US History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1
AP (place score in parenthesis): World History (5), Human Geo (5), US History (5), Psych (5), Physics C Mechanics (5), Physics C E&M (5), Calc BC (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP Chem, AP Bio, Calc III, AP Euro History, AP Lit&Comp, Foundations of Tech.
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar w/ Distinction, National Merit Semifinalist, 1st place in County Piano Competition??
</code></pre>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<pre><code>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Marching Band (Section leader), Academic Team (Captain), Math Honor Society (President), Model UN, Piano Lessons, Flute Lessons, Flute Choir, NHS
Job/Work Experience: n/a
Volunteer/Community service: Library volunteer
Summer Activities: Johns Hopkins Microbiology Research
Essays: Very good, I think
Teacher Recommendation: Great relationships with both teachers
Counselor Rec: Knows me by name, probably very good
Additional Rec: n/a
Interview: n/a
</code></pre>

<p>Other</p>

<pre><code>State (if domestic applicant): Maryland
Country (if international applicant): n/a
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian (Chinese)
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: 200,000+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): nothing?
</code></pre>

<p>Reflection</p>

<pre><code>Strengths: Essays, probably my music supplement
Weaknesses: Asian, not many prestigious awards and such
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Honestly I was expecting a rejection. Maybe it’s because I applied to SEAS, I doubt I would’ve been accepted to CC.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: None yet, this was the first decision I’ve gotten!
</code></pre>

<p>General Comments: I really think luck played a substantial part for me, but I’m really glad to be in!! Best of luck to everyone else!!</p>

11

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

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2210 (too excited to look up particulars)
ACT: 33
SAT II: 760 in Lit, 740 in USH.
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): ~3.95 (Estimation. I’m not positive.)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 9/214
AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH (5), AP Lang (5), AP Physics (3, ouch!)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP Calc, AP Gov, AP Chem, French IV, Study Hall.
Major Awards: National Merit Semifinalist</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Quiz Bowl (captain), Newspaper (founder), Tennis, Key Club, NHS,
Job/Work Experience: Work occasionally for a local videography shop and write for a local newspaper.
Volunteer/Community service: NHS, Key Club, volunteering for local organizations.
Summer Activities: Boys State, work (above), making movies and enjoying youth.
Essays: I felt that they were pretty strong. Wrote about making a short film in competition with a friend. I ended up winning, but felt hollow. True story, which helped me stay honest. Honest writing is good writing.
Teacher Recommendation: Only took a peek at one, and it was very strong. Said I was the best student she had taught in many years. Clearly hyperbolic, but I think it helped.
Counselor Rec: Didn’t look.
Additional Rec: None.
Interview: None.</p>

<p>Other
State (if domestic applicant): Michigan (Upper Peninsula. I might be the first Ivy League Yooper in a while.)
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public. Unfortunately under-funded.
Ethnicity: As white as paper.
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Low income.
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Newspaper interview with famous culture-shaper.</p>

<p>Reflection
Strengths: I think I’m a pretty well-rounded person. It might sound weird, but I think that having a kind personality helps in any endeavor.
Weaknesses: Could have used one more EC.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: It’s all in the approach. Be kind and be honest.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
General Comments:
I really anticipated rejection, but that’s a defense mechanism of mine. If you’ve been rejected from your dream school, just know that there are many options, and college is only a little part of what makes a person.</p>

12

<p>Decision: Waitlisted - CC
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): didn’t send
ACT: 31
SAT II:
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn’t rank, top 5%
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5’s on US Gov, Psych, and English Lit
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: 5 AP’s (Calc AB, Bio, English Lang, European History, Spanish)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP scholar? Nothing other than that</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
President of Spanish culture club, pres and cofounder of the first political activism club of the kind in my state, student council, and co-president/founder of a group dedicated to raising money for children around the world
Advisory board member for a local nonprofit
School board student representative
TA for a science class
VP of NHS
Job/Work Experience: Have had a job since freshman year, around 12 hours a week.
Volunteer/Community service: TA for the class, volunteer at the local children’s hospital,
Summer Activities: Girls State (that’s the only one I put, anyway)
Essays: Decent. My guidance counselor absolutely loved it and my friends say it captured my voice pretty well, but it wasn’t incredible.
Teacher Recommendation: My Spanish teacher who loves me, so I’m guessing it’s good, and a history teacher who likes me pretty well, so I’m guessing it’s all right.
Counselor Rec: Counselor loves me, so I’m hoping it’s good…
Additional Rec:
Interview: Went pretty well. It was via Skype but we talked for about an hour and I thought it went well.
Other: I’m not sure how my supplements were, I think they were decently written. Nothing too spectacular.
State (if domestic applicant): NH
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public, relatively competitive for my state
Ethnicity: Caucasian, but I’m originally from Romania
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: >100,000K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First generation, immigrant? (I’m not sure if that one counts) </p>

<p>Reflection
Strengths: GPA/class rigor (it may not be compared to many others, but for my school it’s pretty rigorous lol), somewhat diversity in EC’s, I’m not sure if first gen is a strength but maybe that?
Weaknesses: ACT score isn’t in the 50% range; EC’s are too school-related and not super community-oriented; my essays/supplements were decent but not incredible; just a generally average or below-average applicant, nothing that really stood out. Also, my common app glitched so I didn’t get my teacher recs in until about a week after the deadline, and my financial aid forms were sent a few days late…that obviously doesn’t reflect very well on me.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: see weaknesses. I know some students from my area who are applying RD and they’re incredible, so I’m pretty sure I’ll be rejected in 4 months LOL.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Waiting for my others!
General Comments: Congrats to all who got in!! And to those who were rejected or deferred, you’re all incredible and will undoubtedly go far. Best of luck to all of you!! <3</p>

13

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2140 (670r, 800m, 670w)
ACT: 34 comp (36s, 35m, 34e, 31r)
SAT II: 800 Math II, 750 US History
Unweighted GPA (out of 100): 97.98
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2/79 (#1 is going to Harvard)
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 (Calc AB, Stats, US Hist.), 4 (Eng. Lang.)
IB (place score in parenthesis): Nope.
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc BC (online), AP Bio, AP Eng. Lit., Chemistry, Participation in Gov’t (school offers 6 AP’s; I will have taken them all, plus an online one.
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Honor, RIT Computing Medal Award</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Football, Indoor/Outdoor Track, NHS, Academic Bowl (Oh Captain, my captain), Band, Jazz Band (President), Chorus, Male A Capella group. I was involved in all these things for 4 years.
Job/Work Experience: Fifer and interpreter at Fort Ticonderoga, full-time paid in summer.
Volunteer/Community service: NHS activities, Community Band
Summer Activities: Working at the fort.
Essays: I wrote about the first time I ever fired a musket. I heard only great things about the essay, but I’m worried that it may have been good writing more from the imagery than the content and lessons.
I thought my supplementary essays, particularly the “Why Columbia?” one, were outstanding. I didn’t thoroughly edit them, which worries me slightly.
Teacher Recommendation: My Stats and AP US History teachers. This was probably the best part of my application. These are the two best teachers I’ve ever had and I can’t imagine how much these recommendations would help me.
Counselor Rec: She’s new, but I like her quite a bit. I trust that she had a good recommendation.
Additional Rec: Nope.
Interview: Nope.</p>

<p>Other
State: NY, like 200 miles north of the city.
School Type: Rural, Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: I don’t know how they consider separated parents… Definitely sub-$100k, maybe sub-$50k.
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Eh… The job’s pretty unusual.</p>

<p>Reflection
Strengths: SAT II, GPA, Extracurriculars
Weaknesses: SAT I, lack of major awards, ethnicity, no good hooks
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Selective pool… just wasn’t good enough.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Nowhere yet. My new top choice is Penn, but we’ll see what happens.
General Comments: This sucks so much. I want to bury my face in a pillow and sleep for a week. Congrats to those of you who were accepted.</p>

14

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

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2360- M/R/W - 790/770/800 (Superscore)
ACT: Didn’t take
SAT II: 800 Math 2, 790 US Hist, 790 Lit
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.2/5 (thats weighted, we dont do unweighted)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): We dont have any sort of ranking at all
AP (place score in parenthesis): Euro(4), US(5), English Lang(4)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics, AP Calc, AP English Lit, AP US Gov, Hebrew Lit Honors
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): (Leader and Founder of Jazz Ensemble), Play piano and guitar, STEM club, Science editor of school journal.</p>

<p>Job/Work Experience: Interned in a lab at USC. Was a camp counselor one year. </p>

<p>Volunteer/Community service: Big Brother, Literacy Volunteer at public school, </p>

<p>Summer Activities: Took a course at a college run by Johns Hopkins CTY</p>

<p>Essays: Top notch. Really I believe these are what got me in. Not your average good essay. Couldnt be better</p>

<p>Teacher Recommendation: Good not only because they were positive, but because they confirmed what was written in my essay. </p>

<p>Counselor Rec: I know nothing about this. </p>

<p>Additional Rec: Got a letter from my mentor at the lab.</p>

<p>Interview: Not so good. But not bad in any way. Average
Other:
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant): United States
School Type: tiny private (47 kids)
Ethnicity: White Jewish
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 250k+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none
Reflection: I think im very lucky.
Strengths: SAT and Essays
Weaknesses: grades and extracurriculars
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Because of my essays
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Haven’t heard but I am withdrawing from UMich and Uchicago. </p>

<p>General Comments: I think that people on this forum looking for advice should look elsewhere. Many people who ask for a chance are lying through their teeth. The people who answer think you have to be perfect to get in. I dont think my stats are exceptional. This forum just made it much more stressful. Good Luck and Congrats to others.</p>

15

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

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2290 (CR 800, W 800, M 690)
ACT: didn’t take
SAT II: 720 Literature, 790 US History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): school doesn’t really calculate, but probably 3.6-3.7 with a really strong upward trend
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesn’t rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): no APs where I live
IB (place score in parenthesis): nope
Senior Year Course Load: Four A level subjects, which i think is just about normal
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):: National Spelling bee winner? not sure</p>

<p>Subjective
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Ranked as one of the top 5 debaters in the country, runner up at National Championship, lots of Model UN with international awards (Harvard MUN China, Asian International MUN) and an Assistant Director at Harvard MUN India, founder of Literary Society, Editor in Chief of Literary Review, semi-pro scuba diver, freelance journalist
Job/Work Experience: Intern at a leading national newspaper
Volunteer/Community service: 1000+ hours volunteering at the local libraries outreach program
Summer Activities: Did Cornell Summer College and got an A on a PoliSci course
Essays: Funny, unique and more than a little quirky
Teacher Recommendation: Excellent
Counselor Rec: very very good
Additional Rec: my school principal sent one in, it was good
Interview: Went really really well
Other
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): Pakistan
School Type: Cambridge O/A Level
Ethnicity: Brown? :stuck_out_tongue:
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: ~$250k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none to speak of
Reflection
Strengths: I think my extracurriculars, standardized test scores and essays were solid
Weaknesses: Definitely my GPA
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:I felt really good about my Why Columbia supplement, wrote about the unique intellectual environment at Columbia and related it on a really personal level. Also think my extracurriculars demonstrated both breadth and depth.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Nowhere!
General Comments: So so so exhilarated and excited! Congratulations to everyone else who was accepted, and to everyone who was rejected, you guys will definitely get in somewhere even better, don’t lose hope!</p>

16

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

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2370 (770 Reading)
ACT: 35
SAT II: Chem 780, Lit 780, Math II 770, Bio M 760, US History 730
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesn’t rank, top quintile
AP (place score in parenthesis): Bio (5) US (5) Macro Econ (5), Micro Econ (5), Euro (5), Chem (5), English Lang (5), Calc BC (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: Calc III, AP World, AP Physics B, AP US Gov, AP English Lang, AP Chinese
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Semifinalist</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Student Council (President), Asian Culture Club, cross country, National Honor Society
Job/Work Experience: McDonald’s, babysitting
Volunteer/Community service: TA for bio and chem teachers, lots of service through student council, taught a baking class to elementary kids
Summer Activities: Studied in Shanghai in 2012, worked at McDonald’s this summer
Essays: Worked so hard on them and loved them
Teacher Recommendation: Really good I think!
Counselor Rec: Fantastic, he read it to me and I cried
Additional Rec: n/a
Interview: So good! She said I was a great fit.</p>

<p>Other:
State (if domestic applicant): Ohio
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public, medium/large
Ethnicity: African American
Gender: F
Income Bracket: <100k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM maybe?</p>

<p>Reflection
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Scores, GPA, essays
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: haven’t been accepted anywhere else, wouldn’t want to be anywhere else!
General Comments: SO HAPPY!!! Columbia was it for me.</p>

17

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2180
ACT:31
SAT II: Math 2: 770, Bio E: 730
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):3.89
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): No rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): US history (3), AP English Language (4), AP Music Theory (5), AP Spanish (5), AP Calc AB (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP English Lit, History 4 Honors, AP Calc BC, Advanced Spanish, AP Bio, Independent Study
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Semi and AP Scholar with Distinction (totally forgot to put these)</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Women’s Group (Leader)
President of Student Board of MOSA Group (Company that provides guidance to young women personally and professionally)
Foreign Exchange to Zaragoza, Spain for three weeks and hosted exchange student for three weeks
School Drumline (Captain and Founder)
School Volleyball (1 year freshman, 2 years JV, 1 year Varsity)
Club Volleyball (3 years)
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service:
Service Trip to Costa Rica to rebuild rainforest, Dominican Republic to build shelters/ feed children, Honduras to tutor and help out at an orphanage
Service Trips (4x) to Taos, NM to tutor Native American children
Summer Activities:
Internship at UN Association Film Festival
Screenwriting Camp at EPGY Stanford
Essays: Good, Edited many times and teachers approved
Teacher Recommendation: Great!
Counselor Rec: Good
Additional Rec:None
Interview: None
Other
State (if domestic applicant):CA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type:Private, prestigious
Ethnicity: Chinese American
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: 100,000+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First generation American
Reflection
Strengths: Extracurriculars, Essays
Weaknesses: SAT I and GPA
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: GPA wasn’t high enough, had a rough second semester sophomore year and got 3 B’s
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
General Comments:I think that if I put the National Merit thing and the AP Scholar thing, it would’ve helped make up for some of my bad scores/grades.</p>

<p>Really wanted to go to Columbia, at least I still have a chance…</p>

18

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

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): Math: 770 Reading: 800 Writing: 730 (One Sitting)
ACT:
SAT II: Math2: 800 Math1: 790 Chem: 750 Korean: 800
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0 Weighted GPA: 4.42
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2/400
AP (place score in parenthesis): Did not report
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Comp Sci, AP Psych, AP Calc BC, AP Gov, AP Enviro, AP Lit, AP Physics B
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
-Omniplex Technology Outstanding Award at a summer session at James Madison University (11)
-2nd place in annual Kendo (martial arts) Tournament (9)
-1st place in regional League of Legends Tournament sponsored by the county (lol living up to the stereotype, grade 11)
-National Merit Commendation (11)
-All A honor roll all 3 years so far</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):</p>

<p>-(Vice President) of the SCA (grade 11, 12)
-(President) of the National Spanish Honors Society (10,11,12)
-(Captain) of the Robotics Club (11, 12)
-(President) of the Model United Nations Club (10, 11, 12)
-(Vice President) of the International Club (10,11,12)
-(Founder) of the school’s National English Honors Society (10,11,12)</p>

<p>-2nd Violin member of Missionary service orchestra (200+ hours, grade 9, 10)
-Member of Math Honors Society
Job/Work Experience:Manager at a local Frozen Yogurt Shop (Summer of Junior year part time)
Volunteer/Community service: Volunteer at local Hospital (300+ hours) (10,11,12)</p>

<p>Essays: showed it to 10 diff people including teachers and university professors they all said it was good :stuck_out_tongue:
Teacher Recommendation: got one from my AP Psych teacher who likes me a lot so that was prob good and my AP Calc teacher (i;m not sure if he wrote me a good one he made no comment on it)
Counselor Rec: should be good since she wanted me to get into columbia
Additional Rec: got one from my principal who wrote a good one for me
Interview: skipped out on interview
Other
State (if domestic applicant): VA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): love for gadgets. Showed passion in every part of my supp essays
Reflection: Honestly I wasn’t sure if i was going to get in. Many applicants are as qualified as me and I didn’t think I stood out too much from the crowd but I think the passion i showed in my essays really helped out
Strengths: GPA, SATs (maybe?), Essays, Rec lol
Weaknesses: didn’t report my AP scores because they weren’t as good as i wanted them to be. I was scared it would hurt to not report them but i guess not haha.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Good academics and the way i showed passion in my supp essays and my common app?
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: only college i applied to :slight_smile:
General Comments: Good luck everyone! I’m so happy :DDD</p>

19

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

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): didn’t send lol
ACT: 33 (E: 35, M: 32, R: 32, S: 36, W: 11)
SAT II: 750 Mol Bio, 750 Math 2, 770 Chem
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): Not sure, my school doesn’t do unweighted
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): My school doesn’t do that
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis): Predicted Grades: HL Biology (7-), HL Chemistry (6+), HL Mandarin (6), SL English Language & Literature (6-), SL Math (6+), SL Economics (7-), TOK (A), EE (B), Diploma Points (3), IB Total (41)
Senior Year Course Load: See IB
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): school award for general proficiency?, Shad Cup 3rd place overall, school community service silver award</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Engineering Club (leader), Mandarin Club (leader), Model UN, Ontario Model Parliament, School Senior Band (section leader), 4 year Varsity Swim Team member, RCM Violin Grade 8
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: Community outreach tutoring students, China Service Trip
Summer Activities: Columbia Summer Program, Shad Valley (Canadian High School Summer Program)
Essays: Apparently it was great. I don’t really know.
Teacher Recommendation: Didn’t get to read. I heard my recommenders were not the best writers though.
Counselor Rec: Apparently it was beautiful and absolutely heartmelting.
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: Apparently it went well. He said I would be a good fit. </p>

<p>Other
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): Canada
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Asian - Chinese
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: <$50000 (I don’t know my parents were separated)
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First Generation College, URM, Immigrant?, </p>

<p>Reflection
Strengths: I guess my marks weren’t bad, and my activities weren’t bad either.
Weaknesses: Maybe I lacked something or I was just a little inferior to the other applicants. My essay might not be the deepest thing I’ve written either. I also don’t seem to be as high achieving as others on CC. We don’t do so many competitive scholarships and rankings and national awards in Canada.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Marks not good enough and activities not strong enough? Maybe I should’ve applied to SEAS instead of CC. My interviewer even asked if I wanted to apply to SEAS instead of CC because I took math and sciences in my SAT IIs but I never took physics so I never went ahead with the change.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: ED
General Comments: Seeing everyone else makes me seem so much worse :frowning: Congrats to everyone who got in, and to those who didn’t, you guys seem way too overqualified for Columbia!!</p>

20

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

<p>Objective:

  • [<em>]SAT I (breakdown):2330 (CR760, M770, W800)
    [</em>]ACT: Didn’t take
    [<em>]SAT II: Math 2 800, Bio 710
    [</em>]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.93
    [<em>]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 6/176?
    [</em>]AP (place score in parenthesis):AP English Lang, AP English Lit, AP US History, AP Biology, AP Calc, AP Comp Sci, AP Physics, AP Spanish, AP Stats, AP Calc BC
    [<em>]IB (place score in parenthesis):None
    [</em>]Senior Year Course Load:AP English Lit, AP Comp Sci, AP Physics, AP Spanish, AP Stats, AP Calc BC
    [<em>]Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):National Merit Commended, U.S. Presidential Scholars Candidate.

Subjective:

  • [</em>]Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
    Model United Nations (11, 12)
    - Planning trip to Middle East (excluded details) (Wrote about it)
    Arabic Lessons (12)
    - In conjunction with Model United Nations.
    Marching Band (10, 11, 12)
    - Flute/Upper Woodwinds Section Leader (Piccolo).
    Math Team (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
    R.O.V Club (11, 12)
    Mu Alpha Theta (11, 12)
    - Vice President
    National Honor Society (11, 12)
    Tri-M Music Honor Society (11, 12)
    Science National Honor Society (11, 12)
    Key Club (10)
    Spanish Club (9)
    Cape Cod Symphony and Conservatory Lessons for Flute (10, 11)
    Proposed and set the precedence to take Pre-Calculus over the summer in order to advance further in math.
    Self- Taught Web Design
    edX Enrollment
    HarvardX:
    HKS211.1x Central Challenges of American National Security, Strategy, and the Press: An introduction (Auditor)
    ER22X Justice (Auditor)
    MITx:
    6.00.1x Introduction to Computer Science and Programming
    Extensive Family responsibilities.
    Working on a project to change China’s education system (wrote about it).
    [<em>]Job/Work Experience:
    Basic restaurant jobs.
    [</em>]Volunteer/Community service:
    Environmental project volunteer
    Weekly band teacher
    Math Tutor
    English Tutor
    etc.
    [<em>]Summer Activities:
    volunteering…
    [</em>]Essays: Fantastic
    [<em>]Teacher Recommendation: Really good. I had my math teacher(my strong point) and english teacher (weak point) both write me one.
    [</em>]Counselor Rec: Fantastic
    [<em>]Additional Rec:
    [</em>]Interview: Didn’t get one.

Other

  • [<em>]State (if domestic applicant):MA
    [</em>]Country (if international applicant):
    [<em>]School Type:Public
    [</em>]Ethnicity:Chinese
    [<em>]Gender:Female
    [</em>]Income Bracket: 60k-70k
    [<em>]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First-generation

Reflection:

[ul]
[</em>]Strengths: SAT 1, Essays, Recommendations
[<em>]Weaknesses: Activities, SAT 2.
[</em>]Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: First one that I heard back from.
[li]Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:[/li][/ul]
General Comments:
I CAN’T BELIEVE IT!!
40K FINANCIAL AID AS WELL!!!
SEE YOU ALL IN NYC IN AUGUST!</p>