Decision: Accepted - SEAS
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2290 (790W 760M 740R) Superscored though
ACT (breakdown): 35 (32E 35R 36M 36S)
SAT II: Physics 800 BioM 790 Math II 790 USH 760
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.95/4
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 5-10/200
AP (place score in parenthesis):Chinese (5) APUSH (5) AP Physics 1 (5) AP Bio (5) AP Psych (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics 2, AP Chem, AP Lang, AP Econ, AP Art History, IBHL Math
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Couple of Regional Science Fair Awards that I think were pretty beneficial to my application, Canadian Math Competition awards, Rensselaer Medalist, AP Scholar with Distinction, some Quiz Bowl awards.
Also submitted Art and Research supplements
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Independent Research on transgenic crops, Quiz Bowl (Captain), Architecture Design Club (President), Science National Honor Society (Founder/President), Varsity Model United Nations (built a website), Art Camp and Quiz Camp over the summers
Job/Work Experience: Internship at biotech firm, ESL English tutor for neighbors.
Volunteer/Community service: Volunteer at a autism school (designed and built a bookshelf for them).
Summer Activities:Art Camp, Quiz Camp, Internships
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App (8/10, wrote about art), Book List (Mostly science and architecture related books.) Why Columbia (10/10 I thought it was pretty strong, talked about the core and research opportunities) Why Engineering (8/10 Slightly cliched?)
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: Biology Teacher (10/10 Great friends!)
Teacher Rec #2: Physics Teacher (9/10 Knows me pretty well, I think he likes me)
Counselor Rec: 7/10 (He’s new, but I think he got to know me fairly well.)
Additional Rec: 9/10 (My research mentor from my independent research. He was quite impressed with my work so I think it would be pretty good.)
Interview: It went alright, kind of rushed and got cut off cause the office it was held at was closing. Hit it off pretty well with the interviewer and spent the majority of the time talking about I.M.Pei and architecture :).
Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Nope
Intended Major: Biomedical Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): Not sure what I count as… Born in NJ
Country (if international applicant): China
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: >100K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Not really
Reflection
Strengths: Independent research, leadership, Architecture/Art+STEM interest really fits Columbia’s ideology.
Weaknesses: Low SAT, could have done much better.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:First of all I think because of the fact that most of the clubs that I am in I was committed to them for four years, so I have shown commitment and growth within these clubs. Also broke the traditional Asian STEM nerd stereotype with a wider breadth of interests which I think fits Columbia really well.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: ED baby~
General Comments:
Having read a lot of the profiles, I feel extremely blessed to be accepted by Columbia. Really, everyone is extremely qualified. For those who were deferred/rejected, don’t worry! You guys are awesome and you would definitely find great places to go to. I think for an Ivy like Columbia, everyone is great enough to be accepted so the distinction between acceptance and deferral/rejection becomes very nuanced. For young prospective applicants, my advice would be to really consider why you want to go to Columbia, if it is something much more profound than its location in NYC or something like that, your fit for Columbia will naturally reveal itself in the process. BEST OF LUCK TO EVERYONE!!!
Blessed to be a Lion #roar2020~~~