what do you really think?

Colleges & Universities A-Z Columbia University
1

<p>Do you think I'll get in? I really appreciate your opinion!</p>

<p>I am applying to the School of Engineering.</p>

<p>Me:</p>

<p>Demographic:[ul]</p>

<p>State: Massachusetts
[<em>]School Type: Small Public (156 students in graduating class)
[</em>]Ethnicity: Asian American
[<em>]Gender: Male
[</em>]Income Bracket: Upper Middle</p>

<p>[/ul]Objective:[ul]</p>

<p>SAT I: 2300, 2nd Time (M: 800, CR: 740, W: 760); 2030, 1st Time (M: 720, CR: 610, W: 700)
[<em>]SAT II: Math 2c: 800, Physics: 740, Chemistry: 710, Latin: 670 (1st Time: 590)
[</em>]Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
[<em>]Rank: "Top 2%" of 156 students (how the school academic report phrases it)
[</em>]Senior Year Course Load: Honors Humanities, Honors Psychology, AP Chemistry, AP Physics C, EPGY Multivariable Calculus with Stanford, Honors Latin Prose (fourth year of Latin), Programming in C elective, Peer Leadership elective (a course that fulfills the physical education requirement). The EPGY course is a distance-learning course outside of my high school curriculum, taken with CD-ROM lectures and mailed exams. I've taken the toughest possible course load (in terms of offered Honors and AP classes) all four years.
[li]Awards: Rensselaer Medal, Department Honor Award: Mathematics (Top Junior in Mathematics), Department Honor Award: Latin (Top Junior in Latin), Tufts Citizenship and Public Service Award, National Merit Commendation, National History Day: Senior Group Documentary Finalist (Results: 10th Place Nation, 1st Place State, 2nd Place Region)</p>[/li]
<p>[/ul]Subjective:[ul]</p>

<p>Extracurriculars: Philosophy Club (Founder), Percussion Study (Marching Band, New England Conservatory Orchestras, Musical Pit Orchestras, Percussion Ensemble, Private Lessons), Math/Science Teams (Leading Scorer in Math), Literary Magazine (Editor), Newspaper (Business Manager, Columnist), School Council (Student Representative), National Honor Society (President), Latin Club (President)
[<em>]Work Experience: Research Data Coder (at Harvard Medical School), Hired Concert Percussionist (at New England Conservatory)
[</em>]Community Service: Math Tutoring
[<em>]Summer Activities: Worked the aforementioned jobs, Took Calculus I at Harvard Summer School (Grade: A), Took C Programming at University of Massachusetts - Lowell (Grade: A) - I sent these transcripts to all of the schools I applied to.
[</em>]Essay: About my love for, and history of, songwriting. Explains how I never practiced piano when I was much younger, gave up on lessons, but then, when I was 13, came upon a used, acoustic guitar. Transitions into a passionate retelling about how I've been writing songs, selling CDs, and performing in front of crowds ever since. Emphasizes creativity, independence, spontaneity, imaginative thinking, humor, and originality. And how these facets of my music making translate to facets that I embrace in my academics and extracurricular activities.
Overall, It has a very lighthearted tone and I throw in many tongue-in-cheek/self-deprecating jokes about the childhood appeal of Donkey Kong, my "musical genius" as a five-year-old, the crappiness of that first guitar, etc.
And in the additional info sections, I included a Guitar and Voice Performance Resume, which lists all the clubs and venues I've performed at - about 15 in total all in the Boston area.[/ul]</p>

2

<p>Great chance. Have you considered Cornell engineering/MIT/Brown/Caltech/Stanford?</p>

3

<p>Your chances at Columbia SEAS are very good. Play up the math and computer course work and experience. If you get into SEAS, I would also ask that you consider applying to Columbia College for a double major in a humanities area, such as economics. The problem with SEAS is that most students are lousy writers and speakers, and don’t get a chance to improve much within the engineering curriculum.</p>

4

<p>Excellent chance, I’d say. I’ll be shocked if you don’t get in.</p>

5

<p>

</p>

<p>where on earth are you getting this, seas kids do just fine and the curriculum makes them very well rounded plus there’s a lot of self selection (well rounded kids wanting to study at fu). As far as i can tell seas kids make some of the best speakers/writers of any engineering school in the country. Perhaps columbia college produces better speakers and writers, but you have to compare seas to other engineering schools. </p>

<p>hey, i can spaek and wirte claerly, you idoit.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>no don’t do this, you’ll seem nerdy and you’ll get rejected, do this for harvey mudd and MIT and maybe cornell, talk about how you enjoy math and science but want much more.</p>

6

<p>I agree with confidentialcoll; I’m generally satisfied with the general intelligence of SEAS kids if/when I meet them. Not blown away, but not horrified either.</p>

7

<p>“Not blown away”</p>

<p>someday we’ll meet muerteapablo, someday.</p>

8

<p>Haha, relax, I meant in terms of humanities! I understand that SEAS kids are quite bright.</p>

<p>However, your misspelling of my name is fairly ironic, considering the context.</p>

9

<p>I think you’ll do great.
btw, what year did you do History Day? I did it in 2007 and went to Nationals as well.</p>

10

<p>I didn’t mean to imply that SEAS students are dumb. I’m saying since the engineering curriculum is so packed with science, math and major requirements, that SEAS students typically get to take only one or two humanities courses per year. This is true of most engineering schools across the country.</p>

<p>Historically, engineering used to be a 5-year degree prior to World War 2. After the war, there was a high demand for engineering graduates in the defense and manufacturing sectors. The engineering schools responded by cutting the degree requirements by 1 year, resulting in fewer classes needed to graduate. Typically, these schools eliminated foreign language requirements, along with Core Curriculum-like electives.</p>

<p>So today, SEAS students need to only take either Literature Humanities or Contemporary Civilization, but not both. They’ll take either Music Humanities or Art Humanties, but not both. Only one semester of writing is required. There is no foreign language requirement. And then beyond that only 3 more non-technical courses are required.</p>

<p>My criticism is aimed at engineering education in general, which I feel pumps out as many engineering graduates as possible, at the cost of a well-rounded education. I recommend the dual degree to every aspring engineer that I know.</p>

<p>By the way, I attended Columbia College as a freshman, and then transferred to Cornell Engineering a year later. At both schools, the non-technical course requirements are virtually the same.</p>

11

<p>Here’s an excellent option for admitted SEAS students.</p>

<p>The 4-1 Program at Columbia College </p>

<p>Students who are admitted as first-year students to The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, and subsequently complete the four-year program for the Bachelor of Science degree, have the opportunity to apply for admission to either Columbia College or Barnard College and, after one additional year of study, receive the Bachelor of Arts degree. </p>

<p>The program will be selective, and admission will be based on the following factors: granting of the B.S. at SEAS at the end of the fourth year; fulfillment of the College Core requirements by the end of the fourth year at SEAS; a minimum GPA of 3.0 in the College Core and other courses; and the successful completion of any prerequisites for the College major or concentration.</p>

<p>I would recommend this type of program to every engineering student.</p>