What should I do??

Colleges & Universities A-Z Columbia University
1

<p>I'm an asian girl, rising senior, international citizenship but I got to an elite boarding school in the states and also have permanent residency. I'm applying for financial aid, but the schools I'm applying to are need blind I don't think that will be a problem. My stats are:
GPA 3.6 top 25%
ACT:35
SAT: 2160
Sat II Math II: 720 (but retaking)
Sat II History: 640
Sat II French with listening: 640
Though not EVERY SINGLE ONE of my classes is an AP, most of my classes are extremely rigorous, and my junior year gpas were 3.74, 3.88, and 3.8 (we are on a trimester system)
I haven't gotten my AP scores yet but I took Calc AB and AP US (tho I'm not gonna get a good score on that I don't think but it doesn't matter cause you don't have to submit AP scores right?)
I'm going to take the Physics Subject test and Chinese as well as the Math IIC again, and I'm hoping to do a LOT better on those. If I submit the ACT instead of the SAT I do they see the SAT score and does it matter? and if I only submit 2 or 3 Sat IIs do the other ones matter?</p>

<p>Extracurriculars: I'm the Co-President of our school's Asian affinity club, as well as the co-president of an Ancient Asian games club that I co-founded. I'm involved with the school's two orchestras in which I am the principal timpanist (a not overly popular instrument so would this help me?) and I've played piano ever since I was 4 years old. I'm also an editor of the school yearbook, and a member of the french club as well as the international students organization since freshman year. I've also studied French my whole life until the end of sophomore year, when I went on a summer academic trip to France where I studied and lived with a French family for five weeks, although my SATII scores still sucked..but theres no way to retake them becuase I switched over to Chinese. However, I am hoping to major in French in college and my dropping of the language was not due to a lack of interest but rather because I had also wanted to take Chinese since freshman year but the schools curriculum would not let me take both at the same time, and I hope to make this point very clear to the colleges I am applying to. This past spring break I also went on a school community service trip to New Orleans to work with Habitat for Humanity building houses, which is done by lots of students I guess, but this trip held special interest because I grew up in that city but left a few days before Katrina and wasn't able to go back for the next three years until that trip. I'm thinking about making this the topic of my college essay.</p>

<p>I've heard that ED for Columbia is a lot easier than RD, and I even know a girl who got in ED last year from my school who did not have stellar grades (3.6 also) and was not extremely book smart, but she said she was very passionate in her interview and essay, so I'm hoping to do the same.
However, I'm not confident I can be as lucky as her, so I'm having a tough time deciding between Columbia and Johns Hopkins for early decision. I love Columbia for its opportunities, and I'm not one of those kids that only want to go there for the city, I'm actually worried about the costs of living in NY. The financial aid policy is also VERY attractive to me (100% coverage and a no-loan policy). But there is a very good chance I won't get in and I don't want to waste an early decision because that is my best chance for getting into my reach colleges. Columbia's ED rate is 24% and regular is about 10%, while JH's is a little more than 40% ED and around 24% RD. I think my chances at JH are also boosted because I'm humanities oriented and that would distinguish me from the loads of medically-oriented applicants at that school. The Hopkins app essay is also good for me because I've spent a long time thinking about my major (i'm actually hoping to double in French and Psychology and do a year abroad) and I think I would do very well on that essay. However, I'm worried about the Financial aid package I would be faced with because overall ED packages are less than RD and Hopkins is listed as only providing 95% of students with full aid and I don't want to fall into that 5%.</p>

<p>So what do you say? Which should I go with? I would love going to both schools I think but the financial problems are the biggest for me. Is that a legitimate worry for Hopkins? I know that if the aid package isn't big enough I have a chance to back out, but I really don't want to "waste" an ED. I know both schools would make me happy, but do I even have a shot at Columbia? I know I wrote a lot lol and I'm sorry but I wanted to get everything out there.</p>

<p>THANK YOU SO MUCH WHOEVER TAKES THE TIME TO REPLY TO THIS HUGE POST!!!</p>

2

<p>Okay, so you do have permanent residence so you aren’t going to apply as an international under financial aid.</p>

<p>I think that you’re competitive enough a candidate that the gain from applying ED to Columbia is greater than applying ED to Johns Hopkins, and you said yourself that your intended major is attractive to Hopkins because it is less common. </p>

<p>As to financial aid, you should expect the damage on your part to be around what your EFC is from the FAFSA. You probably haven’t filled it out yet but I think that your best bet would be to do one right now. Columbia usually sticks close to the EFC from the FAFSA, +/- maybe $5000. That should give you a good general estimate of how much you’ll pay to Columbia.</p>

3

<p>My EFC is around 3000, so give or take 5000 is still a big deal for me. However, my family income is under 60K so Columbia’s policy is that I’m not expected to contribute anything right? For Columbia I am just worried that I won’t have a chance of getting in. Has anyone with my stats gotten in to Columbia? Also, does Columbia consider freshman year grades when they look at your total GPA? I’ve heard that some schools only look at junior year grades and disregard freshman year (or at least the first term).</p>

4

<p>bump
can anyone else from columbia chance me? I’m really worried about whether I should even attempt applying there…maybe my stats are just way too low…</p>

<p>thank you :)</p>

5

<p>your stats are fine, they won’t keep you out - if your boarding school is elite as you say.</p>

<p>the cost of living in NY won’t be much higher than that of living anywhere else because the room-and-board fees are comparable to any other college out there, i.e. $6000-7000 / year. So you’re not paying a premium to live in NYC. Can you spend lots of money quickly? Sure. But you also don’t have to eat out every night or go shopping all the time. If you work during the school year, or do something well-paid during the summers, you won’t have a problem making ends meet.</p>

<p>As for your odds of admission, they’re decent enough to make an ED sensible if it truly is your first choice school. why aim low?</p>

6

<p>It’s not that you don’t contribute anything, it’s that your parents don’t contribute so much. You will still need to contribute what Columbia feels you can from working a summer job.</p>

7

<p>Oh I see. I’m totally fine with that then, as long as my parents don’t have to do much. I’m also planning on working throughout the year, and I’ve heard its pretty manageable during college years, despite the workload and ECs, right? Also, I was just told that if I do really well on the interview it can make a big difference, is this true? I’m pretty sure I can get an interview because Columbia representatives come to our school every year.</p>

8

<p>anyone else have any thoughts on my chances?</p>

9

<p>Keep in mind that even if you fall into 95% category of JH students who get full aid, your full aid package may be full of loans, not grants. Unlike Columbia University I don’t think JH has no loan policy so you may end up $200K in debt upon graduation even though JH will technically live up to its “full aid” promise.</p>

<p>If financial aid is important to you I would not apply ED to JH at all, regardless of whether you apply ED to Columbia or not. It’s the cardinal rule of Early Decision (described in all books on College Admissions) - don’t apply ED if financial aid is important. While it’s probably relatively safe to apply ED to Ivy League colleges like Harvard/Yale/Columbia who have no loan policy and whose financial aid policies are explicitly stated upfront, it’s extremely risky with all other colleges.</p>