Columbia 2014 ed applicants - Page 4

srrinath · 05-29-2009, 09:47 PM

hi from singapore.
i'm ED-ing for the C/o 2014

ChasingStarlight · 05-29-2009, 11:23 PM

metsfan- how can people ever say there's nothing to do? It's NYC. Also, have you ever gone and watched Jon Stewart Live :P

KB24yo · 05-30-2009, 12:03 AM

metsfan - do you know anything about acting or have friends that are interested in acting. I would assume that NYC provides a lot of opportunities for actors? & which dorm did you stay in your freshman year?

metsfan · 05-30-2009, 04:10 PM

metsfan- how can people ever say there's nothing to do? It's NYC. Also, have you ever gone and watched Jon Stewart Live :P

Two reasons really. First is people are lazy a lot of times, and when you're too lazy to leave your one little 10-block area of the city, at times it'll seem like there's nothing (new) to do. Other reason's also laziness haha, sometimes people are too lazy to go look for something fun to do, and sort of expect everything to be brought/catered to them, and when it's not they complain and say that wherever they are is boring and has nothing to do. Haven't gone to see Jon Stewart, though I'm pretty sure some friends have during my time at Columbia, more of a Saturday Night Live guy myself. Columbia actually has this reallllllllly awesome lottery system of tickets called Urban New York where the school gets tickets for a bunch of different events (Broadway plays, late night tv show filming, Mets/Yankees/Knicks/Rangers games, everything you could want pretty much), and has students number them from the one they want the most to the one they want the least, and everyone who fills out the thing (all done by email) is entered into the various ticket drawings and you get a couple tickets for yourself and a friend. First semester it's open to only freshmen (better odds, make sureeeeee you apply then prefroshies!), and 2nd semester it's open to everyone. Though I'm always too lazy/bad with deadlines to apply, so I've never won anything but one of my friends won Mets seats.

Don't really know much about acting stuff at Columbia, one of my friends who's into acting I know is in a Shakespeare group that puts on performances (which I haven't gone to......guess laziness is the theme of the day lol), which is called something like "King's Crown," if you search for it at Columbia's website you should see stuff about it. I guess NYC probably provides a lot of opportunities for actors, I'd just warn you to be careful of scams and stuff out there. And freshmen year I was in Furnald and couldn't have been happier.

ChasingStarlight · 05-30-2009, 04:29 PM

nice. d'you know any econ majors? How're they handling their workload/enjoying their studies?

metsfan · 05-30-2009, 05:38 PM

Yeah I know a ton of econ majors, in fact it's quite possibly the most popular major at Columbia. There is a bit of work involved with it, but it's certainly manageable as long as you don't do something stupid like I did and decide it would be "fun" to do an econ concentration when you're already 1/2 way through junior year. Also a lot of athletes are econ majors, so if they can find time to balance practices/games, the workload, and having fun, it should be pretty doable.

KB24yo · 06-26-2009, 09:25 PM

anyone else here applying ED or have questions?

columbiaorbust91 · 06-27-2009, 07:07 AM

just got back from visiting the campus.
I was enthusiastic about applying ED to Columbia, but now I'm completelyy convinced that it's the only place for me. I'm a long shot, but hopefully my essay will make up for my mediocre stats.

bluefooted booby · 06-27-2009, 04:49 PM

I want to apply ED BADLY but....

wg90210 · 06-27-2009, 09:30 PM

hi! if i were to ED somewhere, columbia is at the top of my list. i visited last week and LOVED it...especially the core curriculum and the size of the campus (i don't want to have to walk forever to get to class...)

however, the fact that there is a binding contract and no way to compare financial aid is a big dissuasion factor...

im passionate about learning (nerdy, i know, but its columbia...) and about my future major (LINGUISTICS, COGNITIVE SCIENCE, maybe neuroscience, psychology, maybe french), but my stats arent THAT great ; i think im a likely candidate, but it might not prove that way.

also, i have read that colleges look more severely at the CR and MATH scores than they do at the writing...which sucks because i got 790/12essay on writing and 680cr and 740math...the composite is 2210 which is decent, but ehhhhh. this was my first attempt and i probably wont retake it because 1) i will improve what...100 points? is it really worth it...? 2) i rather focus on my fall dartmouth course in november...

anyways, i love columbia because it is--to put it simply-- a "worldly" university. columbia, hands down, is situated in the most metropolitan city (compared with other ivies.) there are so many different crevices of culture into which to seep.

sitting in the information session, the admissions director stressed the importance of keeping everything "short and sweet." IS THIS TRUE? would columbia rather not receive gigabytes after gigabytes of supplemental material (art works, music, etc.)?? DOES COLUMBIA LOOK AT THE ESSAY AS AN IMPORTANT FACTOR? i read somewhere that the alottment is 600 characters...not even words, characters. ALSO-- how big of a factor do you (current students) think the question(favorite books, music, movies...) played in your acceptance? would they pick a fascinating person(good HS background is a given) over a superstudent?

rando questions: ARE THERE TENNIS COURTS ON CAMPUS? HOW ARE THE DORMS? TINY? SMELLY? ARE UNDERGRAD CLASSES MOSTLY TAUGHT BY TAs? DO PROFESSORS HAVE A SENSE OF HUMOR...?

thanks and please answer

wg90210 · 06-27-2009, 09:43 PM

hmm we've kind of stopped introducing ourselves and delved right into questions for the columbies...

well, im from Hanover, NH (where dartmouth college is) so if anyone has questions about dartmouth...

i love tennis, art, and roger federer's hair.

Epaminondas · 06-27-2009, 09:46 PM

Quote:

sitting in the information session, the admissions director stressed the importance of keeping everything "short and sweet." IS THIS TRUE? would columbia rather not receive gigabytes after gigabytes of supplemental material (art works, music, etc.)??

Brevity is a virtue dear. Due to the overwhelming workload of admissions officer, they'd thank you for keeping it concise and to the point. Generally: only send supplemental stuff if if you feel they are essential to your application.

Quote:

DOES COLUMBIA LOOK AT THE ESSAY AS AN IMPORTANT FACTOR?

Yes.

Quote:

i read somewhere that the alottment is 600 characters...not even words, characters.

I believe that's for the "Why Columbia" essay. There's also the personal statement, which they allow you to upload as a Word document. They recommend 1 page for that.

Quote:

how big of a factor do you (current students) think the question(favorite books, music, movies...) played in your acceptance?

Huge factor for me, especially the books section. I'm a classics fan, so most of the books I listed were core texts of the Western canon. Later, I found out that my regional officer majored in Classics.

wg90210 · 06-27-2009, 09:53 PM

what is your region?

the admissions officers wont penalize me if i DO send art supplements even though i intend to major in linguistics, cognitive sciences? i just want to appear well rounded...and...talented...haha

wg90210 · 06-27-2009, 09:58 PM

thanks by the way.

Epaminondas · 06-28-2009, 12:24 PM

wg90210, I'm international.

the adcom won't necessarily penalize you, but they might not look at any of the extra stuff you send. Remember that at a school like Columbia they are looking for reasons to accept someone, not reasons to reject someone (like the less selective colleges do). So your chances could well be shot if there is something in your app that turns off the reader (not saying that the admission officers are so temperamental or easily aggrieved!).