<p>SAt I 650-800-640
SAT II IC 760- IIC 760- Bio (E) 710
TOEFL 114
GPA 3.85 UW (School doesnt weigh)
Rank = Top 10
IB Diploma Candidate (Predicted= 41)
Essays = Good
PS = Well written but mediocre topic
Recs = Pretty bad
Ecs Very Good
PLayed in national hs basketball champs
NAmed state MVP in sports
Insane amount of community work
Amateur Writer / Actor (theater)</p>
<p>Applying for Fin Aid</p>
<p>Recs = Pretty bad??? What happened to you?</p>
<p>Your SAT, GPA below par too.</p>
<p>Thus, you have no chance.</p>
<p>is a 1450 below par among internationals?</p>
<p>so is 3.85 UW?</p>
<p>Where are you from?</p>
<p>I really don't think your credentials are sub-par for an international student. Columbia wants diversity and doesn't typically demand the same perfection of international ED applicants that they do of American applicants. I'd say you have a good shot.</p>
<p>All of that said (and I know I'm not the first to say this), I think the whole idea of "chancing" people is absurd. First there's the fact that none of us really know what Columbia admissions will decide anyway. I can deal with that though, since guessing can still sometimes be fun.</p>
<p>The real problem is that these threads aren't really done for "fun"...many of the people who post them are already insanely stressed, and they take responses very seriously. At that point, when people get worked up over essentially nothing, it becomes problematic how inaccurate these "chance me" threads are. We on CC are getting a fraction of the information that admissions gets, and while GPA, SATs and ECs are undeniably crucial to a student's record, we are still missing a huge part--the personal statement. I absolutely do not think people should start posting their full essays, but we often forget that all we're getting in a chance thread is whether the applicant thought theirs was "good" or not. Who knows--a person may not be entirely proud of their essay, but they could have written it on a topic that is exactly what Columbia is looking for. There's just no way we can learn something like that from "chance me" threads.</p>
<p>I know this is an argument as old as time, but these few days have been (and will be) pretty emotionally fraught and at this point there's just something wrong about so many people taking so much stock in what other CC posters say their chances are. Please, everyone, keep in mind that admissions is seeing a much fuller picture of you than you can possibly post here on CC, and nine times out of ten their decision will come down to what they think of you as a whole person. Yes, your stats are a very big part of how they will see you, but I guarantee that in Hamilton Hall your stats won't count for as much as they seem to count here on CC.</p>
<p>NightOwl-- I understand and deeply appreciate your thoughts on "Chance Me" threads. The only reason I did it is because, as an international student, I cannot fully comprehend the process although Ive thoroughly looked into it. In addition, one way for me to learn how to evaluate myself is through what I read on the Internet and I believe, too, that this forum certainly does weigh on the numbers too much. Thanks for your comments</p>
<p>andykcom -- Im from Greece</p>
<p>Oh, ha--I didn't mean to lecture you in particular. I understand why people start these threads, and CC wouldn't be what it is without them. I've just noticed that, as the ED date approaches, some people are taking these threads more and more seriously. I just hope people can step back, even at a crazy time like this, and realize that these threads only offer a glimpse at what the real decision process is like and that the "chances" people give you here are based on only a few parts of what the admissions office looks at.</p>
<p>I just said that I think so too but I cant help but be a hypocrite when last 2 days come around.</p>
<p>i knew you were from greece!</p>
<p>geia sou!!! (from a Greek American)</p>
<p>hmm.. I'll promise to chance you in 2 days time? An absolutely correct one..</p>
<p>i think your ecs will help you</p>
<p>"I really don't think your credentials are sub-par for an international student. Columbia wants diversity and doesn't typically demand the same perfection of international ED applicants that they do of American applicants. I'd say you have a good shot."</p>
<p>this is wrong. columbia and pretty much all other top schools have few spots for international applicants, they're priority is to educate americans. how do i know? FA usually not need blind for internationals, each univ has something like 6-8% of its students who have foreign citizenship only.</p>
<p>If you're from a country that they have no-one from, they'll take you for the diversity. But if not it's significantly tougher to get in as an international.I've seen, first hand that many international attendies, come to college and rock it, despite it being a less familiar curriculum and country etc.</p>
<p>given all this athinasailor does not have a great chance at all, one major weakness (like bad recs) in the app and it'll be a tough sell.</p>
<p>Hmm, what about Canadian and Mexican applicants, considering Columbia treats them as internationals and need-blind?</p>
<p>^canadians and mexicans are treated as internationals, but admissions are need blind for them. they are included in that 6-8% though.</p>
<p>Actually, doing some searches using wayback...</p>
<p>Class of 11 Columbia</a> University Office of Undergraduate Admissions - Admission Statistics
" 10
<a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20070102131400/http://www.studentaffairs.columbia.edu/admissions/applications/stats.php%5B/url%5D">http://web.archive.org/web/20070102131400/http://www.studentaffairs.columbia.edu/admissions/applications/stats.php</a>
"09
<a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20060112085903/http://www.studentaffairs.columbia.edu/admissions/applications/stats.php%5B/url%5D">http://web.archive.org/web/20060112085903/http://www.studentaffairs.columbia.edu/admissions/applications/stats.php</a></p>
<p>There is a clear upward trend in these years in the % of int'l admits and # of countries represented - for '09 it was 8%, for '10 its 14% and for '11 is 19%... the number of countries listed as "top represented" also has increased over the yrs... but it also seems that the country list is primarily dominated by Asia & Canada, no Greece there... hmm... But this probably also means that competition has increased for US applicants, though it doesn't provide any numbers re. the number of int'l applicants.</p>
<p>^i knew that was coming, those statistics say nothing, except maybe the 2009 stats, which show 8% international and foreign, for 2010 and 2011 they changed the definition to include kids who have been schooled outside the US, this could be spending a few weeks abroad, or a semester as an exchange student in canada (don't know if anyone exchanges with canada), but the definition has simply become more inclusive. and they could easily have changed the definition from 2010 to 2011. from year to year the number/% of internationals admittees would only increase incrementally, just so that they can say this class was the most diverse class in columbia history.</p>
<p>confidential if you are a US citizen living outside US, are you competing in the internatonal pool? thanks</p>
<p>^as far as i know, you are not, they treat you like a US citizen who has had a lot of international exposure. I think they like such applicants, they can take you as a US citizen and then add you to that 19% of internationally affiliated students. FA is need blind.</p>
<p>wow did't know that, so does my son have a better chance than those non-US citizens living outside US? thanks</p>
<p>^all else equal yes.</p>