<p>So, I’m doing college research right now, as a junior. I have yet to finish testing, and I’m waiting on my AP and SAT II scores. And, I’ll probably take the SAT in October or November and then rush the scores for early decision.</p>
<p>If I were to apply to Columbia, then I’d apply to Fu Foundation. </p>
<li>What kind of SAT II scores would I need to stay in the running? Would 700+ be enough?</li>
<li>What kind of SAT scores would I need to stay in the running? For math and critical reading? Do they care about writing?</li>
<li>How does the core curriculum work at Columbia in general? Is it a set of distributive requirements like Dartmouth? How does it work at Fu Foundation? Is that core different than the College core?</li>
<li>Is rank really important to Columbia? Is top 5-7% competitive enough?</li>
<li>Can AP scores play a role in anything of this, maybe to sort of even out poorer test scores?</li>
<li>How is the educational quality at Fu Foundation? How large are the class sizes? Can I talk to professors outside of class, sort of in a friend-like way? Are they approachable?</li>
<li>How is the financial aid at Columbia?<br></li>
<li>What is the social scene? Is there too much partying, drinking? I’m not too much a fan of that.</li>
</ol>
<p>If my complete testing record looks like the following by October, should I bother to do anything with the SAT IIs? If I apply to Columbia, then it would be to Fu Foundation.</p>
<p>
[quote]
SAT: (March) 2000 [720M/580CR-bubbling mistake/700WR] --> (October) 2250+ [800M/750+CR/700+WR]
SAT II Math I: (Dec, 06) 680
SAT II Bio: Molecular (Dec, 06) 630 --> Ecology (June) 660
SAT II Math II/C: (June) 720
SAT II Chem: (May) 680 --> (June) 730
AP Chem: 4
AP US History: 5
AP Psychology: 5
AP English Lang/Comp:4
[/quote]
</p>
<p>[For Math I, I had major time issues. I don't know what happened with the recent biology test, but I think it might have been scored wrong. I was so sure, and I was nailing Barron's practice tests too, with really really high scores. I sent in a request to get the May chem rescored three weeks ago. I was so sure, and I'm almost positive they made a mistake because of the consolidated answer list posted here. Surprisingly, I did better on the June test, when I thought I had really screwed that up. I also had a bit trouble on the last ten questions on Math II.]</p>
<p>A 720 on Math 2 is very weak for SEAS. You need to be as close to 800 on the Math 2 as the curve tends to be very generous. I missed like 8 and I still got a 780. </p>
<p>They will look at your writing SAT and consider it so don't ignore studying for it. Generally, you should shoot for a combined score of 2200 or above. </p>
<ol>
<li>you can think of 700+ as the minimum</li>
<li>math 700+ though alot of people get 800, CR anything that makes it look like you know english....usually 600+. Writing matters, especially if you didnt do so great on the CR...if your vocab sucks they'd like to see that you can at least write with the vocab that you do have and the engineering jargon you'll be picking up.</li>
<li>this question has been answered many times do a search</li>
<li>rank is important in that it puts your grades in context....however what your rank means also depends on how competitive your school is in the eyes of your regional adcom</li>
<li>As far as i know they do not play a role beyond allowing you to place out of classes </li>
<li>depends on your major. first two yrs you will have huge basic science classes and then your classes will get smaller...there are 300 students per year and 15 majors so your classes will be fairly small but again it will depend on your major...if you are applied physics for instance your classes will be tiny...no more than like 15 ppl while if you are IEOR or BME your classes will be significantly bigger (BME was 52 last year)</li>
<li>one of the best</li>
<li>Noone will be forcing you to go out and party...if you wanna stay in your room and play an MMORPG all weekend noone will object (the only reason i know what an MMORPG is is because of south park....LOVE that show)....however, if you want to get the most out of college you have to go out and have fun and meet people and get involved with activities that interest you</li>
</ol>
<p>So, should I take the SAT IIs over again in November, even if the SAT score goes up quite a bit? The first time that I took the SAT, I made a bubbling error, which threw off my score.</p>
<p>The way I see it, I'm not going to take Bio again, but I might get it rescored if my May chem rescoring works out for the better. Both time, I think I did much better than the actual score. I could take Math IIC again. I ran out of time the first time around, but I'm not too upset with it. I actually guessed the score.</p>
<p>I think I could take Math II and Math I over again in November.</p>
<p>As for the last question, I mean I'll go out and stuff, but drinking is not my style. That's something I just don't do.</p>
<p>Never aim for the minimums though. And also, yes, a 600ish CR won't keep you out of SEAS, but a 750 or an 800 will certainly look better. Don't think Math/Science scores are the only ones that count. In fact, when I talked to my regional adcomm, the thing he told me most impressed him was that, in addition to being a very strong math/science student, I could also more than hold my own in other areas of study, earning a 790 on CR and a few 800's on non-Math/Sci SAT 2's. Columbia Engineering looks for a different type of student than most engineering schools. Your best bet for getting in is to be qualified all around academically, but show a particularly strong interest in Math and Science.</p>
<p>s snack, my biggest problem is that I've been having off test days. I'm hoping to just prepare for everything I can and finish testing by November. I've taken a lot of different APs. Can't that show well-roundedness? I don't really want to load up on anymore SAT IIs. I just want to bring ump my scores, which I know I can do.</p>
<p>If it makes any difference these are my ECs and leadership stuff:</p>
<p>
[quote]
Robotix (3 years)
Yearbook (section head 2 years, editor this coming school year)
Newspaper (3 years)
Key Club (Two years)
Literary Magazine (Three Years)
NHS
French NHS
NJIT Chemistry Olympics (2 years, co-founder of the school team)
Red Cross volunteer
Star Tutoring (40 hours)
St. Peter's (50+ hours)
Volunteering at Mosque (240 hours)
Folding@Home (100k+ points on the AMD team)
Islamic awareness business founder and artist (it's not longer around though, but it was around for one year)
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I'm hoping to get a job soon, and I've been on the honor roll at least for all the quarters so far, except one. My hobbies include Linux, programming, skateboarding, digital art, writing, and video games.</p>
<p>Let me guys just ask you this much. Since s snack mentioned that Columbia SEAS looks for well-rounded people that are also very strong in math and science, what SAT IIs should I re/take in November after taking and hopefully doing well on the October SATs? I really like history, but most of the people in my school have gotten scores in the 700-730 range for US History. The same is true for World History.</p>
<p>no you should retake the REQUIRED ones if you feel you can do better in them ...its great that s snack took a ton of SAT IIs but i'm sure he didnt do that last minute.</p>
<p>Then, I'll just retake my SATs and SAT II Math 2/C and Math 1/C. I'm pretty sure that they May chem was a mistake because of the consolidated answers we had on here. And, I think that I can get both of the maths up pretty high, even perfect scores. I'm normally very good at math. However, the Math 1 was a bad test day, and the Math 2, well I was fried after bio and chem.</p>
<p>Thanks folks, so just one last time, if the test score looks like this by Nov., the test scores will be enough right?</p>
<p>
[quote]
SAT 2250+ [800M/750+CR/700+WR]
SAT II Math II/C 800
SAT II Math I/C 750+
SAT II Chemistry 730 (might be higher hopefully after the rescoring)
SAT II Bio E 660
APs listed above
[/quote]
</p>
<p>BTW, how do my ECs looks? My main interests are high school publications science/computer things.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Robotix (3 years)
Yearbook (section head 2 years, editor this coming school year)
Newspaper (3 years)
Key Club (Two years)
Literary Magazine (Three Years)
NHS
French NHS
French Club
NJIT Chemistry Olympics (2 years, co-founder of the school team)
Red Cross volunteer
Star Tutoring (40 hours)
St. Peter's (50+ hours)
Volunteering at Mosque (240 hours)
Folding@Home (100k+ points on the AMD team)
Islamic awareness business founder and artist (it's not longer around though, but it was around for one year)
<p>Does it look bad if I retake almost every CB test I ever took? Only twice though.</p>
<p>Also, would it matter if I had taken physics or not? My school does not put any emphasis on physics, and I wanted to take it this year, but it wouldn't fit. Should I self-study it and take the Physics SAT II instead? Or should I drop AP Bio and take Honors Physics?</p>
<p>By October, if my test scores look like this, will I be in good shape for the College? What about for SEAS? [Right now, I'm contemplating a chemistry major or a chemical engineering major, so I have yet to decide which school I'll apply to.]</p>
<p>
[quote]
SAT: (March) 2000 [720M/580CR-bubbling mistake/700WR] --> (October) 2300+ [800M/750CR/750WR]
SAT II Math I: (Dec, 06) 680
SAT II Bio: Molecular (Dec, 06) 630 --> Ecology (June) 660
SAT II Math II/C: (June) 720
SAT II Chem: (May) 680 --> (June) 730
AP Chem: 4
AP US History: 5
AP Psychology: 5
AP English Lang/Comp:4
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I just can't seem to do well on SATs. Is there anything else I could concentrate on? </p>
<p>Also, my history teacher is a Columbia graduate, and I plan to get a recommendation from, not for that reason, but because I did well in his class. However, would that even remotely help me out in the admissions process?</p>