<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? 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>
<p>I have heard the same thing about higher acceptance rates ED, but as you said, tuition is the disadvantage to applying ED. Both schools are rather selective, but I think you might want to think about applying early to Columbia. I’m in a similar situation..I’m debating whether to apply ED to UPenn or NYU or even apply ED at all! I hope this helps!</p>
<p>If you’re accepted via ED you are sometimes allowed to back out for financial reasons after your aid package has been calculated, so don’t let that sway you. Personally, I’d say forget about which school is “easier” to get into ED and spend some time figuring out which school you would rather attend if admitted to both. That’s where you should apply ED.</p>
<p>A couple things, I would think more about which school has better French and Psychology programs, not which one will be “easier”. Sure, being humanities oriented will help you get into Hopkins, but if Hopkins isn’t usually humanities oriented, why would you want to go there? And be sure not to bill yourself as a timpanist. If you play other percussion instruments, just say percussionist. If not, I don’t know how much that position will help you.</p>
<p>I remember that if you send your ACT scores, then SATII’s aren’t necessary? And considering your ACT is much higher than your SAT, I’d just go with it and not bother sending SAT/II scores. </p>
<p>Also, I think it’s better to EA rather than ED especially if you need to compare financial aid packages. Personally, I applied to Rice and got an 70k scholarship, a guaranteed research professor, and could have graduated in 2-3 instead of the usual 4 years. A few of my well qualified friends were accepted to Rice ED and got none of these offers. </p>
<p>Another thing about ED: would you be happy where you applied? I think I’d have a lot of regrets if I were bound to choose one school instead of having the option of choosing. Have you visited any of the schools you are considering? It sounds incredibly foolish to resign the next (and possibly the best) 4 years of your life to a school you haven’t met personally.</p>
<p>I didn’t do too much digging on Columbia, but in my opinion, the calibur of the students from my school who got in are much weaker grades/EC-wise than the students who were accepted to HYPS. Johns Hopkins, you definitely have the stats to get in. Just make sure you write good essays, and nail the “why did you choose this major” prompt, which I think you’ve put quite a lot of thought into. </p>
<p>I hope this answers your questions, but feel free to ask me more.</p>
<p>I love both these schools and unfortunately they both only offer ED so unfortunately I don’t have the option of applying RD as I don’t really want to apply to any other school as much as these two. I’ve also done A LOT of research so I’m pretty confident that if I get in, I won’t have buyer’s remorse. In a way, I’ve already gone though my options without having applied, which I think saves me a lot in application fees lol. I’m not even considering HYPS because I KNOW i’m not competitive enough (though I’m applying to Princeton because my mom is making me…and the school I go to was traditionally a feeder school though that status has changed and its about 10 minutes away so I see it all the time). Hopkins, though known for its pre-med strengths, is also really solid in the humanities area, though most people would not go to it for this concentration, which creates a less-competitive pool that helps me more than anything else. Also, I’m really banking on getting in somewhere ED so I can concentrate on my EC’s for the rest of the year, because this is the only time I feel I would be able to REALLY get involved without worrying/stressing over college apps and I’m have a few leadership positions this year that I’d like to give my full attention to. ED would also let me fully enjoy my classes and engage in the material without worrying about my GPA. I’m mainly curious though about my chances at Columbia. Does anyone think I’ve a good chance there early decision?</p>
<p>if you’re planning to major in French, i would say taht you should definately take the SAT II French again, and jsut forget Chinese, especially if your ethnicity is Chinese. According to my counslor, taking SAT II Chinese and getting below a 800 when your ethnicity is Chinese is actually detrimental to you, because so many bilingual students (in China/Taiwan/HongKong/Singapore, for example) are already fluent and they just take it to fulfill SAT II requirements at colleges. It’s like a free 800 to those kids. As a result, the SAT II Chinese national average is pretty high compared to languages such as French, if i’m not mistaken. It’s around 760.
furthermore, scoring 800 on Chinese puts you in the 54th percentile, showing that 800 in Chinese isn’t worth alot in adcom’s eyes (unlessssss you’re not Chinese).</p>
<p>It helps if you’re Chinese and you get a high score on the French SAT, because it shows that you’re proficient in a completely different language. And as i’ve said, it’s your intended major, so scoring 700+ would look really nice.</p>
<p>so overall i’d say that if you’re chinese, don’t take the chinese SAT 2 unless you’re absolutely sure you get the 800. i’d retake french if i were you. most colleges dont require more than 3 SAT IIs so I think you’re fine with the others. </p>
<p>just my 2c</p>
<p>[edit]…sorry i’ve written so much about the SAT II stuff that i forgot to answer your original question. i’d say go for ED in JHU if you know you’ll be happy there because you’ll stand out among the med students. if you’re having doubts, then ED columbia and do very well during the interview and on your essay. a 3.6 is a bit low for both schools actually, but columbia’s an ivy so it’s def a harder school to get into.</p>
<p>thank you for that advice about the sat IIs! It makes a lot of sense and I’m really relieved you caught me before I went ahead and made a fool of myself by getting a 700 or something. I was going to take it because thats the language I’m learning right now but the curve (from asia and whatnot) really puts things into perspective. But I really can’t do better on the french sat cause I haven’t studied the language for more than a year…so I guess i’m in a catch-22</p>
<p>so what you’re saying is depending on the quality of my essay and interview I have a chance at both schools?</p>
<p>I feel conflicted. On the one hand you seem like you will make the best out of wherever you go. So going to JH is easier, and really not that much worse.</p>
<p>But then at the same time your passion for just doing what you love makes me think that Columbia will appreciate your uniqueness. </p>
<p>Really what is comes down to is the fact that JH isn’t traditionally sought after for their humanities department. I bet your chances there are even 10-20% higher than normal. </p>
<p>I say, ED Columbia, but sit easy knowing that your chances at JH are just as good as if your applied ED.</p>
<p>They only take into account the highest SAT or ACT score. However, I think there may be a slight psychological disadvantage (just conjecture) if your SAT score is WAY below your ACT score.</p>
<p>I don’t think you should ED Johns Hopkins, you seem to be slightly more partial to Columbia. Apply ED to CU and if you’re deferred or rejected, apply to JHU for the RD round. Sure, you want to concentrate more on your ECs w/o the pain of college apps, but RD deadlines are typically in January, still giving you a good 5-6 months to concentrate on what you love. Solid chances at JHU. Columbia’s decisions sometimes seem completely random, so I say, go for it. If you get ED into JHU, I’m sure you’re going to keep wondering about Columbia. ED is great and all, but if you equally favor both schools, the obvious answer would be to ED JHU because no matter how great your stats are, an acceptance there is less selective and more predictable. So, really, I feel like this chances thread is more “should I go for Columbia?” than anything else. And you certainly should. While not exceptionally stellar, your numbers won’t keep you out. And an Asian with a humanities focus might be a breath of fresh air. Plus, NY > Baltimore.</p>
<p>And as the AP scores go, I think they only matter when applying to <em>elite</em> colleges. Fine, they’re not evaluated as sharply as some of your other application factors, but they’re not going to choose to kid who received straight 5s on every AP (thus standardizing their knowledge of calculus or history or etc) over the one who received 3s, unless the 3 student has something exceptional to offer. Show these schools you’re exceptional.</p>