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

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
21

<p>size=+2 Decision: Accepted - SEAS /size</p>

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): 2220 (770 CR, 760 W, 690 M)
ACT: 33
SAT II: 740 Math II, 770 Literature
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.96
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 3/430
AP (place score in parenthesis): Psychology(5), Human Geography(5), Studio Art(5), U.S. Government(5), APUSH(3), AP Calculus AB(3),
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Stats, AP Lit, Shakespeare (Dual Enrollment), Film as Literature (Dual Enrollment), Art Portfolio Honors, AP Euro, AP Calculus BC, AP Physics C
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Lexus Eco Challenge, Poetry Out Loud, Semi-Prestigious summer program, Fil Festival Award,</p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Girl Scout Like Activity (Drill Master), NHS (President), Robotics (Secretary), Filmmakers (Vice President), Mu Alpha Theta (Vice President), College Prep Program (Founding Member), Inventors Club (Secretary), County Leadership, Photo and Art Club, City Student Advisory Committee (Vice Chair), Freshman and Sophomore Class President
Job/Work Experience: Run my own website, worked at a tax office
Volunteer/Community service: Food Bank, Health Fair, Vacation Bible School, Tutoring, YMCA
Summer Activities: Freshman - none, Sophomore - unofficial internship with Colgate in NY (shadowed my aunt), Junior - traveled to Europe and did the summer program.
Essays: 10/10 for all of them. I worked really hard on them starting last summer.
Teacher Recommendation: 9/10, 8/10
Counselor Rec: 6/10
Additional Rec: None
Interview: My interviewer came to my school to give a talk. He wasn’t planning on interviewing anymore students from my area but made a exception for me after I reached out to him. 9/10.</p>

<p>Other
State (if domestic applicant): Southern
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Black
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: Low Income
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM especially in STEM</p>

<p>Reflection
Strengths: Well-roundedness, unique within the cliche, essays,
Weaknesses: Well-roundedness (Lack of depth), Math scores, Lack of STEM awards.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Whaaaaat. I don’t know. I’m qualified and I’m passionate but so are a lot of other people. I guess the light of admissions shined down on me this admissions season.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Columbia, Dartmouth, Cornell, UPenn, HMC, Pomona, WUSTL, Rice, USC, Wellesley, and my state schools. </p>

22

<p>Decision: Waitlisted-SEAS Materials Science and Engineering</p>

<p>Objective:</p>

<p>SAT I (breakdown): 2250 (730 R, 770 M, 750 W; superscored 2 attempts)
ACT (breakdown): 34 (33 Eng, 34 R, 34 M, 36 S, 9 Essay; 1 attempt)
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Math Level 2 (800), Chemistry (710), Physics (680)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 1% in class of about 1100
AP (place score in parentheses): AP World History (5), AP Gov (3), AP Chem (4), AP Human Geo (4), AP Lit (4), AP Calc AB (5), AP Macro (3), AP Physics C: Mechanics (4), AP Calc BC (5)
IB (place score in parentheses): IB Mathematics (6)
Senior Year Course Load: IB Physics SL, AP Physics C: Electricity & Magnetism, IB Spanish 6 SL, IB Further Math, IB TOK, IB Biology HL, IB English HL, IB Contemporary History HL, AP Microeconomics (online)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Intel ISEF 2013 Finalist; 5 time Florida State Science Fair Finalist; State Science Fair Placement Awards: 4th Place Junior Division (8th Grade-2010), 3rd Place Senior Division (9th Grade-2011), 3rd place Senior Division (10th Grade-2012), 2nd Place Senior Division (11th Grade-2013); Florida State Science Olympiad 2013: 1st Place Chemistry Lab, 2nd Place Materials Science; 2013 Genius Olympiad (International Environmental Competition) 2nd Place Creative Writing; National Merit Commended Student; AP Scholar With Distinction; 2012 Mu Alpha Theta Nationals Alpha Division Polar Topic Test-11th Place; </p>

<p>Subjective:</p>

<p>Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): (Vice President) school Mu Alpha Theta which involved organizing a competition for local elementary and middle schools (my job) and participating in math competitions; (Vice President) Science Honor Society which involved organizing tutoring sessions for students needing help in chemistry (my job) and competing in science contests; President of SECME (science/engineering club) which involved organizing teams and competing in the SECME and Science olympiads (President 12th, VP 11th, Secretary 10th); National Honor Society;
Job/Work Experience: Heavy Research at Florida International University Medical School at least 20 hrs/week
Volunteer/Community Service: Started STEM initiative in collaboration with non-profit organization which involved designing science curriculums, grant writing, and program design (Program Designer 9th-12th); Taught cultural classes at local temple (Teacher 9th-12th);
Summer Activities: Designed a curriculum, gathered supplies/funds and taught hands-on summer classes to minority students from low income families; did research at different engineering labs at Florida International University each summer of high school
Essays: CA essay about failure: how I thought not placing at ISEF made me a failure, but my true failure was losing sight of my passion for science (I thought it was pretty good and my teachers who read it said it was great); Supplement essays were all good, as well I would say they were all at least 7.5/10
Teacher Recommendations: Math teacher (10th,11th,12th) Physics Teacher (only taught in 11th but part of his club since 9th), English (12th only)
Counselor Rec: Definitely good, but very likely great; My counselor thinks very highly of me and I saw a letter for another student who she doesn’t like as much and it was still good, so I assume mine must have been better.
Additional Rec: Didn’t submit additional recs to Columbia (no spot on Common App so I didn’t know we could)
Interview: N/A</p>

<p>State (if domestic applicant): Florida
School Type: Public Magnet School, about 4300 students (largest or one of the largest in Florida), IB school
Ethnicity: Indian (Asian)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 110000-150000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): don’t think I have one</p>

<p>Strengths: heavy science courseload, lots of research, lots of science awards, and science related volunteer work (helped me connect everything together in my essays), somewhat well-rounded
Weaknesses: not quite as well-rounded maybe? essays were good but I felt they could have been better
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Wish I knew
Where else you are applying or have already applied:
Accepted: Johns Hopkins, UC Berkeley, U of I Urbana Champaign, Georgia Tech, University of Florida, University of Miami, Florida International University
Waitlisted: Columbia, Penn, Cornell, Duke, WashU
Rejected: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, Stanford</p>

<p>General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: I did start rather late on all of the essays. For those of you who are like me and feel your best work comes under pressure and last minute, I would still advise starting earlier. Then you can write, reflect on it, and then decide how to tackle the application essays.
[/noparse]</p>

23

<p>Decision: Waitlisted</p>

<p>Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2250 (800 CR, 800 W, 650 M :/)
ACT (breakdown): n/a
SAT II (place score in parentheses): 700 Bio M, 700 Lit, 760 US History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.90
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
AP (place score in parentheses): 5s: Euro, APUSH, AP English Lit
4: Bio
IB (place score in parentheses):n/a
Senior Year Course Load: Independent research at university (10+ hrs/weekly), honors english seminar, ap physics b, calculus, ap statistics, ap us government, ap comparative politics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NMF, Cum Laude Society</p>

<p>Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Varsity LD debate captain, member of small, student led charitable board that raises/donates 50K plus yearly, ad manager of school newspaper, have cooking website with published recipes/videos, etc.
Job/Work Experience: research at top 20 university over the summer (100+hours) if that counts
Volunteer/Community Service: see above organization, other volunteer projects, clubs at school, etc.
Summer Activities: Debate camps, research, chinese language program
Essays: Honestly, what I viewed as the highlight of the application. Quirky/unique, and very well received by all teachers and counselors who read it.
Teacher Recommendations: didn’t see
Counselor Rec: didn’t see
Additional Rec:
Interview: didn’t get one :(</p>

<p>Other
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Competitive private
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: no FA needed
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None.</p>

<p>Reflection
Strengths: the application itself (essays, common app, etc.)
Weaknesses: Competitive applicant pool, low math score on SAT, more than one B
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: ^^^
Where else you are applying or have already applied:
Accepted: Tufts, NYU Stern, Hamilton College, Wesleyan, WUSTL
Rejected: Brown, Princeton,Northwestern, Penn
Waitlisted: Columbia, Barnard (?),
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Needed more hooks, unique activities</p>

24

<p>[color=red]Decision: Rejected[/color=red]</p>

<p>Objective:

[ul]
[<em>]SAT I (breakdown): Two sittings: Second - 2090 (790 M, 690 W, 610 CR); First - 2000 (750 M, 640 W, 610 CR).
[</em>]ACT (breakdown): Two sittings: Second - 34 (35 E, 34 M, 32 R, 33 S, 9 Essay); First - 30 (31 E, 34 M, 30 R, 26 S, 8 Essay).
[<em>]SAT II: 800 Math Level 2, 780 World History, 760 Math Level 1, 720 Chemistry, 710 US History.
[</em>]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 105.926 (6th semester GPA, should go up throughout senior year). Unweighted: 99.6/100.0. For weighted GPA, an added 10% to all AP classes and 7% to all honors classes that are not AP. Unweighted GPA uses raw grades.
[<em>]Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1 out of 387.
[</em>]AP: Have taken 6, will take 7 more this year. 5 Statistics, 5 US History, 5 Human Geography, 4 Chemistry, 4 English Language, 4 World History. Will take Calculus AB, Physics B, Biology, Environmental Science, English Literature, US Government, and Microeconomics.
[<em>]IB (place score in parentheses): none
[</em>]Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus AB, AP Physics 1, AP Biology, AP Environmental Science, AP English Literature, AP US Government (semester), AP Microeconomics (semester), Band.
[li]Major Awards: AP Scholar with Distinction, 4x NM State Science Olympiad Champion, NM Congressional Award for Academic Achievement, Regional Scholar selected by Independent Committee (looks at academics, essays, interview, recommendations), 2x All-State Clarinetist.[/li][/ul]</p>

<p>Subjective:

[ul]
[<em>]Extracurriculars: Science Olympiad: team captain for 4 years, I’ve won 5 titles at State, and have 20 other 1st-3rd placings at Regionals/State combined. I’ve performed exceptionally well in Anatomy & Physiology. Band: 2x All-State Clarinetist, 3x All-District Clarinetist, Drum Major, Clarinet Section Leader, Principal clarinetist in school’s Symphonic Band. National Honor Society: Elected President each of 3 years. Student Council: 10-12. Was Secretary 11th grade. Student Advisory Committee: was nominated by teachers and administrators to be the senior class representative. We plan things/fix issues that can make students’ lives better. Tennis: Junior Varsity freshman year.
[</em>]Job/Work Experience: I was a Youth Soccer Referee my freshman year. I officiated about 5 games a week for a fall and spring season for kids aged 5-12.
[<em>]Volunteer/Community Service: American Red Cross: I founded and currently am President of a Youth Club in our area. We go on disaster calls and do disaster prevention presentations at various community events. The club was founded in January and has grown to 10 students to-date. Nursing Home shadower: I’ve shadowed nurses in a nursing home intermittently since sophomore year. I’ve assisted, bathed, fed, and entertained patients. Physician shadower: I’ve shadowed a local cardiologist junior year. I helped in simple diagnostic activities, interacted with patients in examination rooms, and have shadowed testing at hospitals. National Honor Society: various associated projects. Student Council: various associated projects.
[</em>]Essays: I humbly think they were be great. Usually write good essays; my junior AP English teacher says I’m one of the best writers she’s ever had. I get them proofed by a college prep counselor.
[<em>]Teacher Recommendations: All should have be great. I have always had stellar relationships with my teachers. Most have taught for 20+ years, and they usually comment that I’m one of the best student’s they’ve ever taught. Have had a significant or special story in class with all of them.
[</em>]Counselor Rec: Should have beeen good. He really likes me and has made the comment that I am the most serious kid he’s seen about striving academically. Not sure how he conveyed that in writing, however.
[li]Interview: Went really well! She was a local alumnus.[/li][/ul]</p>

<p>Other

[ul]
[<em>]State (if domestic applicant): New Mexico
[</em>]School Type: Public, only school in rural town of 40,000 people. ~2400 students. Graduation rate of 50-65%, but top students in the past have been accepted at Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Brown, Columbia, Dartmouth, Duke, Emory, Rice, Northwestern, UC-Berkeley, and Notre Dame.
[<em>]Ethnicity: Asian Indian
[</em>]Gender: Male
[<em>]Income Bracket: >$150,000
[</em>]Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Established and currently lead a community service organization (American Red Cross Youth Club). Good academic record for a student from a rural area in NM, if that counts.
[/ul]</p>

<p>Reflection

[ul]
[<em>]Strengths: ECs, ACT, GPA, courseload
[</em>]Weaknesses: SAT, essays
[<em>]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Not really sure. I’m probably one of those standard great applicants that just happened to be overshadowed by other stellar applicants.
[</em>]Where else you are applying or have already applied: ill be attending UNM Combined BA/MD Program. Applied to Ivies, Northwestern, Rice, Duke.[li]General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Glad I applied, but I was accepted to the offer that was best for me. Congrats to everyone accepted![/li][/ul]</p>

25

Do you know what a good IB score would be to apply to Columbia?