Stressed Junior

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
1

Hello everyone! I just started my junior year of high school and am beginning to stress out about whether or not I am doing everything possible to get into an institution like Columbia with such a large budget for research and a great premed education. I am so nervous that I am not doing enough and would love to hear your advice on things that i could be doing to improve my application and develop my passions and experiences that will shine through on an application. Here are all of my details thus far:
Current Test Scores: SAT-1500 (will be taking ACT and PSAT soon- (but last year’s for practice was mid-1400s)
GPA: 4.5 UW and 4.0 W
Class Rank: 1 of 205

Course Load:
-Freshman Year: Honors Civics, H Algebra 2, H English, H Bio (no AP classes are offered at my school until 11th grade), Spanish 2, H Psychology, H Child Psychology
-Sophomore: H World Cultures, H English, H Precalc, H Chem, H Mythology, Media, Spanish 3, Excel/Computer Science
-Junior: AP Chem, AP Calc AB, AP Language & Comp, H Spanish 4, H American Cultures, H Human Anatomy & Physiology (college level course w/out AP test), plus Online Finance
-Plans for Senior Year: AP Bio, AP Physics, AP Lit, AP Calc BC, AP Spanish, AP Economics, plus another online class self paced when i don’t have a Bio lab

Extracurriculars Thus Far:
-Freshman Year: Winter Track, Spring Track, PRSEF Science Competition (leader), Circle of Friends (volunteer club w special needs), Data Jam (leader of team)- it is a large competition in Pittsburgh for applying data to real world uses, Minithon (school fundraiser 50,000+ for childhood cancer), Calcusolve (leader of team), Spanish Club
-Sophomore: FBLA (placed at states), Winter Track, Spring Track, Student Gov, Job-work at local coffee shop (I can do latte art (: ), Started Interact club (volunteer club-officer), Minithon (again), Calcusolve (again), Spanish Club (again), NHS, plus SAT prep over the summer
-Junior: Cross Country, Winter Track, Spring Track, Co Chair of Glow Run (yearly race that my school runs to raise 50,000+ for cancer)-is a city wide event that attracts a lot of ppl, FBLA, Student Gov, Minithon again, Calcusolve again, Westinghouse Engineering apprenticeship, AIU Apprenticeship in Chem Engineering and Sports medicine/nursing, PRSEF Science Competition, PJAS Science Competition, Same coffee shop job, Hospital Volunteering (4 hrs/week), creator of vegetarian/vegan club, Spanish Club, NHS, started my own vegan youtube channel (plants by parisi) and instagram (plantsbyparisi), 2nd job as tutor
-This coming summer: UPCI (University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute-8 week research program that will give me the opportunity to publish my research), plus more volunteer and job

I was thinking if i was able to set off my instagram/youtube then maybe i would write an ebook for vegan recipes/life, do you think this would help set me apart? Because i kind of feel as though I’m stereotypical and when I look at how many internships and programs a lot of ppl on here have been able to do I feel extremely discouraged because although I go to the best school in Western Pennsylvania, it is relatively small with few opportunities for internships and research. I am just looking for any types of pointers

2

oh and i also thought i would mention some things that might make me stand out (hooks):
-single mother working 45-50 hrs/week
-vegan(?)
-several health issues (of which I have been able to cure and lose 50 lbs)
-family history of health issues (these both kind of explain why I am looking in the medical field)
-first in class (?)

Honestly, I feel like I have no spike or anything to really make myself stand out and that I have slim chances of ever getting in to Columbia (or really any ivy). Please just tell me if there is hope!

3

Are you doing enough – legitimate question. But you seriously need to step back. You’re aiming at schools with scant admissions rates. Even if you are completely maxed out, your odds of really getting into them is slim. Rather than look for “spikes” or other embellishments, you should be looking to maximize your chances for learning and improving yourself. Kids who try to manipulate their package for some Ivy are usually those that come across the most mechanical and inauthentic. Those who obsessively “try” for top schools have inverse proportionality of actually getting admitted to them, IMHO.

Yes there’s hope but the earth won’t split open if a school with 9% admit rate doesn’t have room for you.

You understand that, right?

To be frank, you have a fantastic HS career. You’ll 99.8% likely have a wonderful college career – at a uni that will be lucky to have you. Stop thinking that CU (or some other school) is the validation of your work or your future. I have my Ivy diploma and it doesn’t define me. I am 100% confident that if I had chosen some of the “lesser ranked” schools that accepted me, I’d still be on my same life trajectory.

Please stop stressing. Good luck.

4

None of those things are hooks.

Premed education is good at many schools. Don’t limit yourself to just one reachy choice.

5

Yeah I didn’t really mean to put “hooks” I guess I just meant things that I could use in my essays or whatever, but thank you! I do have a lot of other schools that I am looking into that I know I will be able to get into and obviously I know that I will be able to become a doctor no matter what, Columbia is just my dream school. Thank you for responding!