Will a 1420 SAT (32 ACT) destroy my ED chances for Columbia?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Columbia University
1

Hey guys, I am currently applying as an intl student to Columbia ED class of 2024! Decisions come out in less than a week and I am freaking out.

Let me start by saying that I do have a lot of strengths in my application:

  • Some really strong and unique extra curriculars – I only have two BUT I have done a lot of meaningful and high-level work in it
  • 3.88 unweighted GPA and really strong recs – top 1% according to both my teachers and my counselor.
  • Objectively strong essays – college counselor who helped dozens of students get into Columbia and its peer schools said they were some of the strongest and most compelling she had ever seen.

However, my SAT is a disaster. Math is undoubtedly my biggest academic weakness and I am awful at time tests overall and scored a 720 reading and 700 math. As an international student whose first language is not English I do feel like my reading is fine (it says on their website that scoring 700+ above is enough to pass the non-native English speaker requirement), but my math sucks compared to most other admitted students.

Exactly how badly will a 700 math hurt my chances? As I am not planning on major in anything STEM related I am hoping that it will not hurt my chances too much…

2

Columbia is a reach for nearly everyone. I will assume that you are not the child of a popular national leader or Nobel prize winner, and that you personally are not a Nobel prize winner.

According to Prepscholar, the acceptance rate for Columbia is 5.6%. Generally acceptance rates for international students are lower than overall rates. Your chances are not likely to be any better than this regardless of whether you have 700 or 750 on your math SAT. If you were a potential math major then I would be concerned about a 700 math SAT, but as a non-STEM major I would not worry about it. You should however be aware of how unlikely admissions to Columbia is.

Think of applying to Columbia as sort of like buying a lottery ticket. Assume that you will not win the lottery.

As such, you should relax, and make sure that you are also applying to universities that you will get accepted to, can afford, and are willing to attend. As an international student to the US, I am assuming and hoping that you also have some good choices in your home country.

3

Columbia superscores both ACT and SAT. I believe you’re middle 50 so they’ll look beyond your test scores to see reasons to admit