What are my chances?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
1

I’m a junior (class of 2018) and I’ve got a while before app season but I’m already hella stressed about it lol

Columbia is DEFINITELY my dream school and I’ll probably apply ED but I also really like U Chicago, Princeton, U Penn, Yale, and UC Berkeley. Just wondering what my chances are :slight_smile:

Objective:
SAT: haven’t taken it yet but I got a 1510 on the PSAT and max score is 1520 on the new scale
ACT (breakdown): haven’t taken but based on a practice test I’m in the 35-36 range
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank/percentile: no idea, probably top 10%
APs: haven’t taken tests for the assload of APs I’ve got this year but so far - World History (5), Euro (5), Physics 1 (4)
Senior Year Course Load: definitely AP Econ, AP Gov, AP Spanish, AP Lit, AP Stat, and AP Bio. Elective will be either AP Psych or something lighter so I don’t die :smiley:
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): crap ton of national level debate + MUN stuff, at least National Merit Semifinalist, probably AP Scholar

Extracurriculars:
Speech and Debate (<3): VP this year, probably President next. Also on a really competitive travel team
MUN: Cofounder/Conference coordinator (weird leadership structure)
Piano for like 9 years: no major awards or anything (bringin shame on my asian family) but level 9 Certificate of Merit (I think that’s a CA thing and it’s out of 10)
Yearbook: editorial board, possibly editor in chief next year…? idk
Various student leadership programs (ie mayor youth council type stuff. Also applying for Girls State)

Job/Work Experience: summer internship with a state senator. Also looking for a paying job (ie Jamba Juice, Chipotle) but definitely won’t have time til summer (I’ve seen that a lot of people don’t include jobs like this on apps. Why is that?)
Volunteer/Community service: Some stuff with a local homeless shelter and food pantry, but not a ton. Really should do more. Also political campaigns.
Summer Activities: internship, debate stuff, volunteering, likely a pretty competitive pre-college program this summer
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): Probably the best rec I would have gotten retired after my soph year (riiip) and I miss like 25% of school for international debate tournaments (literally went to school for 6 days in November lol) so teachers don’t see a ton of me…and I’m not exactly bffs with any of them…so…little worried here actually

Other

Intended Major: almost definitely Political Science
State (if domestic applicant): CA
School Type: large, diverse, low-mid income urban public but I go to a small magnet within the larger school
Ethnicity: half white half asian (can I check both on the app?)
Gender: F
Income Bracket: upper mid
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): not really

2

I can’t give you a percentage or anything but I think you’re on the right track! Your passions shine so keep working hard at them. I’d definitely get started on the essays over the summer and have friends/teachers/family edit them. Start chatting with your teachers and choose the right teachers for your rec letters. The essays and rec letters are crucial. Don’t forget to take your SAT Subject Tests (not sure if Columbia still requires them…I’d double check) and don’t slack off. Good luck :slight_smile:

3

Seems like you have a good chance… Like nearly all of Columbia applicants. Admissions are insane. It might help to switch your major, though, political science is really crowded.

4

@mking987 You seem to have a good chance. Can I ask you a question? You said that you have had an internship with a state senator- can I ask how you were able to do this? I’m looking for something similar for myself and I would like to see how you were able to get the internship.

5

You seem like a well qualified candidate and I wouldn’t be surprised by your acceptance to any of those schools. On the other hand you need to be prepared for a boatload of rejections, so don’t neglect to apply to some lower reach schools too.

6

I would say that you have a fairly possible chance. Your stats and ECs are pretty strong. Good luck getting that 35-36 on the ACT. Once there, you know you did the best you could do. I do wish you the best of luck!