Please help me decide between Columbia ED and UPenn ED! (Will Chance Back ASAP)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hey all!</p>

<p>I want to know which school I am a better fit for, and which one I have a higher chance for. Please be brutally honest!</p>

<p>All my safety schools are in Canada, and my reach schools are in the USA. I like UPenn because of the "one school policy" and the city (not too big not NY but not too small). They are also need-blind to Canadians. However, con is that a lot of people from my school are applying to Penn, so competition is really high.</p>

<p>I really like Columbia's core curriculum, and the general vibe it gives off. Meh about NY city but I can see myself there. Not too sure if I fit Columbia though and it's also a lot more selective. Also FA is taken into account and my stats are not great enough in my opinion.</p>

<p>I also considered Georgetown but I heard they favour American applicants. </p>

<p>Intended Major: International Relations/Polisci or Gender Studies </p>

<p>Ethnicity: Chinese Asian
Gender: Female
Applicant type: International (Canadian Citizen)
FA: Yes, but I can contribute probably half myself
Hooks: First generation</p>

<p>GPA: 3.88 UW, school doesn't do rank but top 10% out of 350
SAT: 780 CR, 780 WR, 660 MATH (math is very low) *Will be taking Oct sat
SAT II: World History (700), Lit (750), Mandarin (800) <--born in Canada, second language
APs: World History (5), Euro History (5), Comparative Gov (5), Psychology (5), Human Geo (5)</p>

<p>Note: I self-studied all of my APs and SAT IIs because my school is non IB/AP</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:</p>

<p>Women's Rights (9-12):</p>

<p>-Researcher and assistant writer for a book on girl empowerment. The writer is a pretty famous retired activist.
-Co-founded a girls rights conference where we had speakers/workshops and around 100 delegates
-Public speaker for an international girls rights organization; founder of local branch for same organization (raised over 5k)
-Volunteer at Rape Relief Shelter (help babysit, edit resumes/cover letters, tutor English)</p>

<p>Model UN (8-12):</p>

<p>-Deputy SG of a national MUN conference 2015 (700 delegates)
-Chief of Staff of same national MUN conference 2014 (600 delegates)
-Director of Sponsorship for international MUN conference 2013 (500 delegates)
-Exec/coach of school conference; also dsg-internal for school conference
-Delegated and staffed over twenty conferences, many awards, spent a lot of time on this activity
-Also volunteered 54 hours at WorldMUN</p>

<p>Political stuff (8-12):</p>

<p>-Been in youth parliament since grade eight, held positions every year. Elected and serving as Premier.
-Worked for Provincial elections as an elections officer (paid)
-Volunteer and Youth Rep for a Federal level political party (cold-called during elections, attended rallies, help organize events)
-Editor-in-Chief for an online youth political website</p>

<p>City Involvement (11-12):</p>

<p>-On city youth action council, where I help plan a three day conference for youth
-On city youth leadership council, where I represent our city's youth at special events etc</p>

<p>Debate/Speech (8-12):</p>

<p>-Top three in Regional champs; qualifier to Provincial Champs
-Finalist for largest debate champ in Canada (8th out of 74 teams)
-Top 4 for Provincial Law Cup
-2nd for District Speech Champs; qualifier to Provincial champs
-Coach/exec for school teams; helped organize school invitational tournaments</p>

<p>Non-profit (10-12):</p>

<p>-Started this registered non-profit organization in response to teacher strikes
-We organized educational conferences, hosted fundraisers (ie debate tournaments), set up tutoring programs at inner-city schools, and had outreach teams bring school supplies to developing nations</p>

<p>Which school do you guys think I should go for? Any other suggestions for schools? </p>

<p>Any help would be much appreciated! </p>

2

<p>Which college within Upen?</p>

3

<p>I think you have a better shot at UPenn than Columbia, but still a fair enough chance at both! Best of luck to you! Chance me back <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1692900-chance-me-ed-bucknell-ill-chance-back.html#latest”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1692900-chance-me-ed-bucknell-ill-chance-back.html#latest&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

4

<p>@sharecentury CAS!</p>

5

<p>Personally, I believe Columbia is a better fit for you, based on your intended majors. Both are obviously tough to get into due to their reputation, but I think you EC’s are excellent and will carry you through. I have a family member that used to work in the Columbia Undergraduate Admissions office and what she said they would look for is for EC’s to match up well with one’s intended major, which yours due nicely! </p>

6

<p>@bcurr238 Yes, I’m definitely leaning towards Columbia. My SAT math score is not up to par with their standards though :frowning: </p>

<p>Does anyone know how generous Columbia is (financial aid wise) with international students? How big of an impact will it have on your application if you ask for aid? </p>

7

<p>Bump! I have to decide within this week and would appreciate some opinions!</p>

8

<p>I think you actually have a pretty good shot at Colombia, almost as good as what the others are saying for Upenn. But then again, I have a Canadian friend at Colombia, so I might be a little biased. Chance me back!</p>

9

<p>You have better chances at UPenn, but Columbia is a better fit imo, you have pretty good chances at both. Chance me back: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1693119-chance-me-for-cornell-cas-ed.html#latest”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1693119-chance-me-for-cornell-cas-ed.html#latest&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

10

<p>I think you have better chances at Penn. Your ECs are amazing! Your GPA and test scores are mid range about for what Penn and Columbia are looking for. No glaring flaws in your application; only thing I’d be worried about is that youre applying international, but you cant really help that. Overall, very good, and I’d say low reach penn, mid reach Columbia.</p>

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<p>Chance me back at <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1693271-cornell-penn-ucd-ill-chance-back.html#latest”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1693271-cornell-penn-ucd-ill-chance-back.html#latest&lt;/a&gt; :)</p>

12

<p>Thanks for all the replies!</p>

<p>Does anyone know how much my math SAT score will hurt me?</p>

13

<p>bump!</p>

14

<p>Ok, I know that this is something you might not like to hear, but I would advise you NOT to apply early decision to both of these schools.</p>

<p>You live in Canada, how do you know you FOR SURE want to live in Pennsylvania for 4 years of your life. How can you be so sure that you will love it?</p>

<p>As for Columbia: yes it’s in NYC and that’s all great, but a bustling city can be oppressive for some people. Also, living in NYC costs a fortune (on top of the fortune that you have to pay for Columbia). You’ve mentioned financial aid, yet you’ve considered one of the most expensive colleges to apply to early…</p>

<p>These schools are EARLY DECISION, meaning you CANNOT change your mind if you are admitted. As soon as they accept you, you are essentially blacklisted from all other notable colleges. </p>

<p>The fact that you have to come onto a college forum and ask about these colleges (even though most people here don’t even know what these colleges feel like), is a testament to how very little and how very devoted you are to both of these colleges.</p>

<p>Early Decision is for people who know the college like the back of their hand, and are literally in love with every aspect. You are picking between two colleges that have COMPLETELY different environments. </p>

<p>Do not apply early unless you KNOW you LOVE these schools. </p>

<p>As far as I can tell, you have singled out these schools ONLY because they are Ivies…</p>

<p>I encourage you to apply regular decision to Columbia and Penn (If you knew anything about the University of Pennsylvania, you would know that they prefer to be called ‘Penn’ and not UPenn…), where you might actually have a better chance…</p>

<p>If you <em>really</em> want to apply early to a prestigious, amazing school, look at Harvard, Princeton, or Yale. You have nothing to lose applying to these colleges because they have a low rate of outright rejection (most everybody gets deferred). On top of that, if you do get accepted (don’t assume that you won’t… anything can happen!), you can choose not to attend if you find that you don’t like the school/city/weather/etc.</p>

15

<p>@StanfordWOW Thanks for the advice!! I really appreciate it.</p>

<p>Ive been set on UPenn for three years already. I first learned about UPenn through our debate team captain (who got in), and my best friend who got in this year (Wharton). A lot of people from my region go to Penn, and they all love it. In addition, I have visited Penn numerous times and I like the atmosphere.</p>

<p>Yes, I’ve singled them out because they are ivies. There’s no point for me to go to a top 50 school in the States and pay a lot of $$$ when I can go to McGill. Of course my reach schools are going to be in the states. </p>

<p>There’s no doubt that ED definitely gives an edge, so I want to use that effectively. I am 90% set on UPenn CAS ED…what do you think my chances are for getting in? </p>

16

<p>I’m sure you’ve got as a good a chance as anybody else, but if you really love Penn, then don’t even mention Columbia. </p>

<p>If you really want a good college that you have a good chance at, you can look at Northwestern University. I also suggest that you look into Stanford University or Pomona college in California (if you’re going to school in the US, you might as well try at some of the best schools in the best state ;)). I’m not interested in the major that you are interested in, so I can’t really tell you a lot.</p>

17

<p>You’re not going to get accepted into a major university based on test scores and ECs. A rigorous course load across the major disciplines (lab science, math, history, etc.) for all four years is what’s going to matter.</p>

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<p>@leyland I’ve taken the most rigorous courseload at my school + self studied five APs. I feel like test scores are weighed more though(and my test scores aren’t that great).</p>

19

<p>Your ECs are strong and show passion in a specific area. You have a good chance at either of those schools, so ED to the one you like more! chance back? <a href=“Predict Me: Columbia, MIT, Yale, Carnegie Mellon and others - Chance Me / Match Me! - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1688565-predict-me-columbia-mit-yale-carnegie-mellon-and-others-p1.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

20

<p>Bumpp</p>