Still a Junior, Chance Me?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
1

<p>Gender: female
Ethnicity: Chinese
Major: International Business
Financial Aid: Yes</p>

<p>gpa: w- 4.2 uw-not sure my lowest grade was a A-
ACT: 30 / Writing: only a 8 (I can take it three/four more times before ED so i'm shooting for a 32+ by the time I apply. From my first shot to the second I shot up 4 points w/o studying. So I figure if I really study this time around 32+ is pretty realistic)
SAT: probably not taking them didn't do so hot on the psat (1560)
Rank: 13 out of 243, top 5%</p>

<p>Honors English 10,11
Honors physics 11(this course is being run by kent university its basically a pseo class)
Ap US History (4 on the test)
3 years of french</p>

<p>Senior year plan: my school doesn't offer a lot of AP courses :/ So i'm doing PSEO
AP Gov 12
AP English
I'm taking PSEO courses in english, history, and chinese senior year at a local college</p>

<p>EC: All go up to junior year, I plan on continuing all the clubs into my senior year
National Honors Society 11,12
Student Levy Group Founder ( Our school was trying to pass a budget levy, organized student group to promote the levy)
French Club 9,10,11
Plan to - Robotics Club 12
Art Club 9,11,
Distinguished Scholar (students with 4.0+, its an award thing) 9,10,11,
CliqueBusters 10,11 (student group focused on unifying the school, i'm an original member so i was picked to be in it)
Student Senate: 9,10,11
Junior Class Council: 11
Focus Group: 11 (Group that talked with the principle about student body problems and recommendations, application based group)
plan to- yearbook class 12
plan to-DECA 12 (i'm going to take marketing at my school and this is the club that you join with it, the club participates in competition and stuff)
Academic Challenge: 9,10,11
Designed Poster for school plays (psd, competition) 11</p>

<p>Volunteer:
Blood drive worker/donor
Salvation Army Bell Ringer
Santa Shop Worker
Plan to - Hospital Volunteer this summer</p>

<p>Other info:
-First generation to attend college
-Writer for an asian american news site
-Not sure if this counts as a difficult situation type of thing but my parents don't speak English so I translated a lot for them (going w/ my dad to his business stuff, helping them get stuff done) and so i usually do the bills and things like that for my family
-Been to China to study Chinese ( 2 summers, alone - stayed with family that i had back there)
-I speak Fujianese fluently (my families dialect) , but not Mandarin fluently
-Most of the kids at my school go to local colleges, only a few stand outs a year get into out of state big schools </p>

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<p>I was also looking at NYU but their financial aid program is killing me. And Columbia's looks a lot better. My parents made <40,000 last year, they own their business. How much aid do you think I would be looking at?</p>

2

<p>1) CU doesn’t have an international business major, make sure you’re okay with that.
2) depending on how much of the business they own, and where in country they own it - will certainly impact the ‘assets’ they have. this is because owning a business they could feasibly borrow against them to support your education, or have access to a line of credit that people who don’t own wouldn’t. if it is really a small biz, not a problem.</p>

<p>however, don’t divulge too much your families financials on here. i’d consider speaking to an expert about this, your guidance counselor might know someone. (honestly i wish there was a not for profit service out there that could answer these questions <em>lightbulb</em>).</p>

3

<p>Columbia likes first-generation college students. Based on your other strong merits, you have a pretty good shot!</p>

4

<p>Like people said above, Columbia does not have any Business majors.</p>

<p>However, regarding numbers, a 30 on the ACT is not enough. You’ll also need SAT IIs. Finally, you are Chinese, that’s going be a disadvantage, but being the first one in your family to go to college might help. </p>

<p>I suggest you study some APs on your own and try to get some national awards.</p>

<p>I have to be blunt, nothing really stands out except the fact that you are first generation college student. You have to capitalize on that in your essays.</p>

<p>I’m assume that you high school is not an Ivy feeder school based on what you said. In that case, a rank of 13 is not enough. Especially if only a few from your high school go to state schools.</p>

5

<p>do you have any passions like music or art? if you don’t, it might be a problem. colleges like to see passion and commitment.</p>

6

<p>I know the ACT is a little weak but i’m working on that. Also i’m taking the SAT II: world history & U.S. history. History has always been my best subject so hopefully I do well on those. </p>

<p>I was def. going to capitalize on the first generation thing. Also does Columbia consider my parents history? One of the reasons I was going to put for why I wanted to go to college is because I want to take full advantage of all the opportunities my parents sacrificed to give me. They both had to quit school in China before 4th grade, and they’ve been working ever since. My dad was adopted and treated pretty badly by his adoptive parents. And my mom’s dad died when the she around 10 so she had to work to support her 6 siblings. And in the states they were really poor from 1980’s-1995’s ish. They don’t speak english so all the business they have had to start in the states was exponentially harder. </p>

<p>The first generation thing applies to my extended family to. Out of all my aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. Only my brother & sister have attended college. </p>

<p>But I don’t want my whole essay to be about my parents lives, or make it seem like the only reason i’m going is because my parents are forcing it on me (which they are not they just want me to go where i’ll be happy). But it just happens to be a really big part of my motivation. </p>

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<p>I was going to major in economics. Preferably I want a career in government. Especially organizations like the Peace Corps or the U.N. Something international that can also benefit society. I want to end up working for someone who helps others.</p>