To current and former Columbia students: spicing up the application

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
1

If you wouldn’t mind my asking, what were some of the things that you think stood out about you to the admissions office? I am fairly confident in my standardized testing scores, but I am having trouble spicing up my resume and am wondering maybe some of the things that could increase my chances of acceptance.

Also, to anyone, does class rank factor into the decision process much? I am in the top 3% of my class of 550, but I am not valedictorian or salutatorian and I am wondering if this is too low to even have a chance of acceptance! If anyone has any feedback please let me know:)

I am also an IB student and also take many AP courses and have scored well on the 3 AP tests I have taken so far (Human Geo, 5; US History, 5; Physics I, 4) and I plan to take 5 more this year.

I know it is a little bit early to predict my chances of acceptance, but any feedback would be appreciated greatly!!

2

What interests you? Most people accepted to Columbia are genuinely interested in something they spend their time at - they are less likely to be applicants who “look like they are trying to spice up their application”.

Class rank matters, but it matters only in connection with your particular school. There are a lot of valedictorians / salutatorians at Columbia but they are certainly not the only ones there. For example, for many high schoolers, class rank is lowered because they choose to take band/chorus or art, so they don’t have as many higher weighted courses. Columbia doesn’t penalize them because they chose to pursue something they loved.

I remember one of the info sessions we attended at Columbia, when S was considering whether to apply. They warned the group that the admit percentage is in the single digits - and they could probably fill up the class with only valedictorians with top test scores, but they are looking for people who are passionate about their own given interests.

You have done well so far, and are likely to have multiple options to pick from, but you are also a good enough student to be able to realize what the numbers mean - it is more likely than not that you won’t get accepted into every elite school out there. Don’t stress too much about it at this early stage in your life.