<p>I applied to University of Columbia RD this year and was waitlisted, but not taken from the waitlist (I think very few were?). However, for several reasons I decided in January to take a gap year before going to college. I enrolled at UMiami and asked to defer my enrollment, but haven't heard back from them yet. I know UMiami is a great school and I could probably be happy there, but I also realized that I would love to attend Columbia more than any other school. So I thought that as I am taking a gap year anyway, I might as well apply to Columbia again, this time ED because I am as sure as one can be without having visited Columbia that it is my first choice. So now I have some questions which I hope you can answer:</p>
<p>Am I right in believing that I have a chance ED at Columbia considering that I was waitlisted this year? Has anyone actually reapplied and got in the second time? I'm not a fan of chance threads, so I'm not posting all my stats and all, I just mean in general.
I saw that on the Columbia supplement one has to say if one applied before, so I would have to tell them. Do you think this would weigh down my application? Should I explain to them why I am taking a gap year etc so that they don't think I'm just taking it to apply again?</p>
<p>I haven't visited Columbia yet because I'm international and the flight etc. would be at least 1000$, so I was wondering how important it is to visit. I mean, I am pretty sure I will like it there from all I've read and heard, but I can't know for sure of course, so do you think it would be to risky to apply ED?
And would it weigh down my application if I haven't visited and apply ED?</p>
<p>From what I've read it is easier to get into Columbia (or any school) ED, but does that also apply to international students (German)?</p>
<p>I was planning to do a research internship at the local University Medical Center (I am planning to be pre-med) and then, after having applied to Columbia, travel to South Africa to visit my family and do volunteer work. Do you think that would be a good idea? </p>
<p>I hope you can help me with some of my questions.</p>
<p>You definitely will want to do something meaningful during the gap year.</p>
<p>Yes, ED is an admissions boost for US citizens, but dunno how much it helps internationals. One anecdote as an example: my son’s friend was an international who attended at a competitive Calif high school. (Her dad worked for an international company so she essentially grew up in California.) She applied ED to an Ivy and was deferred until the RD round, when she was accepted. But she was also accepted to Harvard and Yale during RD so she obviously had an outstanding app and recs. ED school lost her bcos, for whatever reason, they chose not to accept her early. (And my guess was just that they wanted to compare her app to the other internationals that year.) Thus, not so sure that ED is much of a help for Internationals. </p>
<p>Just one story out of thousands. Good luck.</p>
<p>I am a US Citizen by the way, but as I grew up outside America I will be considered an international for admissions and US Citizen for financial aid, so you might be right that ED won’t really help me.</p>
<p>Does anyone else have some answers to my questions?</p>
<ul>
<li>If you are a US Citizen, you will be considered a US citizen for college applications, regardless of where you grew up or went to high school (except that attending school overseas makes you a more interesting candidate).</li>
<li>If you are a US Citizen, you are eligible for federal financial aid.<br></li>
<li>Private colleges do not care about state residency, only US Citizenship.</li>
<li>IMO, ED is a definite plus for US Citizens. No need to visit, since the ED app is enough to signal your interest.</li>
</ul>
<p>Since you have no state residency, you will be considered out-of-state for every public college to which you apply. But they will consider you a US Citizen during the application process, just not a resident of their state (I think the official term is domicile). Few public colleges meet full financial need, and only a couple meet need for out of state students. (I know of one, but there might be others) Many public colleges offer merit aid to out of state students however, so if you have really strong numbers…</p>
<p>I’m surprised you took a gap year just for Columbia, especially after not having visited it. What attracts you to Columbia so much that you decided to defer your acceptance at UMiami?</p>
<p>OP will still be read relative to students from Germany, but if a college has a quota for number of students it admits, most likely OP would not be part of that pool (each school is different).</p>
<p>OP would need to do something meaningful during the gap year, or he could expect to be WL (or rejected) again. I don’t think OP should expect that big of a bump by applying ED.</p>
<p>@astults13: Please don’t get me wrong, I am definitely not deferring enrollment just to apply to Columbia again. I decided to take a gap year in January, before receiving any decisions and would have also asked to defer enrollement if I had been accepted to Columbia. I just thought that as I have the opportunity to try again and would love to go to Columbia, I could apply again, this time ED.</p>
<p>I found two quotes in the FAQ section of the Columbia website.
About US Citizens living abroad:
“Applicants are considered within both the context of their secondary school and the context of their personal experiences, including where they have lived and their cultural background. The admissions committee recognizes that regardless of citizenship, living and/or attending school in a country outside the U.S. provides students with the opportunity for an international experience. Applicants are not simply placed into international vs. non-international categories based on citizenship or place of schooling.”</p>
<p>This quote I had not seen before, and I found it quite interesting:
“Are international students allowed to apply ED?
Yes. However, even very competitive candidates who are applying for financial aid and fall out of the “need-blind category” are much more likely to have their applications be deferred than admitted so the Admissions Committee can review the entire global applicant pool.”</p>
<p>So this would mean that oldfort is right that I would be viewed in an international context, but that ED will still be a slight advantage, as bluebayou said, because Columbia will view me need-blind.</p>
<p>What would you consider meaningful that I could do in my gap year? I find that word very abstract and don’t really know what its concrete meaning is. I mean, I don’t want to spend the whole year doing something I don’t really enjoy just to boost my chances of admission, but there are probably enough things I would enjoy that are also meaningful. Would doing a research internship + visiting family in South Africa/volunteering there be meaningful?</p>
<p>My last post on this subject: you are NOT an international student for the purposes of applications to US colleges. You are a domestic/US citizen who just happens to live abroad.</p>
<p>Clarabelle, I think it depends on the college. Read the college website. I would interpret that you can apply ED but you are still viewed in the context of your environment which is international.
As for ED, I think applying ED to Cornell, Penn, Northwestern seems to give edge but not the other Ivies such as Brown, Columbia, Dartmouth.</p>
<p>What is U Miami’s policy on deferral? Some universities request that you do not attend or apply to any other university during the gap year. I think this is important information for anyone considering a gap year. I do not know if it is acceptable to ask a university to hold a place for you while you apply somewhere else. I suppose this may vary from university to university, but clarification of this issue would be good.</p>
<p>In addition, you are pre med. That is a long haul. College, med school, residency. Do you really want to add another year to that? The goal of pre med is to get a great pre med education and do well. I would think (but don’t know) that U Miami would be more than a good enough school to achieve this. Taking a gap year would add another year to your plan and even if you are a great candidate for Columbia, there is no guarantee of admission for anyone. Would it be better to just go ahead and get started on your pre med classes. You can always try to transfer if you are not happy at Miami, but it is possible you could love it there.</p>
<p>Incorrect. A Dartmouth adcom flat out told me that the ED admission rate for the unhooked was a “few points higher” than in RD. But do the math: a 13% chance vs. a 10% chance may only be a “few points” but those few points = a 30% increase in chances.</p>
<p>A disproportionate number of ED acceptances are hooked applicants (e.g., legacies, recruited athletes), so the numbers aren’t really all that different. That said, it’s still a slight edge, and at such a selective school, even a slight edge is important.</p>
<p>You will almost certainly lose your deposit at UMiami. And be careful to check what they tell you when you receive your decision on your deferred enrollment. You could end up rejected from both Columbia and UMiami if you violate your deferral agreement with UMiami or your ED agreement with Columbia by doing both at the same time.</p>