<p>I am a legacy at Columbia and I like the school , but my dream school is Yale. My stats are not on par for an Ivy and will applying to Columbia ED or RD as a legacy( no donation$$) help me to get in. </p>
<p>Some of my stats:
4.2 weighted gpa
AP World-4
currently taking APUSH
will be interning with a district DA
NHS member
French NHS member
French Club(treasurer)
Buisness Club
have taken all the honors courses my school has offered so far(junior)
I am aiming for 1800-1900 on SATs which I will take in Nov.(I know I need wayy higher)
SAT 2 World- 620 (might re-take sometime in future)
SAT 2 Chemistry- 530 </p>
<p>Any advice or tips on how to become a better candidate in the years I have left (junior and senior)</p>
<p>I look to major in Political Science(or History) and maybe double in Chemistry. I am very passionate about both and need to further develop skills for Chem.
P.S. I rank in top 12% oh my school (parochial/private)</p>
<p>Well your GPA could be higher but they ultimately look at you based on your class rank so just make sure you are definitely in the top 10% and preferably in the top 5% and you should be fine GPA wise. That being said, 1800-1900 on the SAT I will simply not cut it. SATs aren’t necessarily the be all end all of admissions but they are very important and in order to be a truly competitive applicant you should aim for 2200+ on the SAT I and over 730 on the SAT IIs. Your extracurriculars are also sort of lacking. I mean NHS doesn’t really carry much weight because of the inordinate amount of people in the program and unless the internship you mentioned is extremely prestigious, I don’t really see anything that will catch the attention of the admissions board. So overall I would say that you aren’t a very strong applicant if you were to apply right now, but luckily for you, you have two more years to really redouble your efforts and strengthen your application.
Best of luck!</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice and I am going to continue working on my SATs and I have yet to take them. The advice was very helpful. I also want to add that by the time I start submitting apps I will have done 100+ volunteer hours.</p>
<p>Also ricchh I think that I will be able to prove you wrong in the future because CANT AND NEVER are not words in my vocabulary. I think that people telling you that you can’t is just a greater motivation to achieve your dreams.</p>
