Official Columbia University Likely 2017 RD Results

aboveblues
Fri, 08 Mar 2013 18:06:00 +0000

Decision: Accepted

Objective:

[ul]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2250 (750 CR, 800 M, 700 W) (Highest single sitting: 2190)
[] ACT: 34 (36 M, 35 E, 36 R, 31 S, 11 Essay)
[] SAT II: 730 Biology (Molecular), 800 Math II
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): Music Theory (5), AB Calculus (5, self-study)
[] IB (place score in parenthesis): For mock exams: 41/45
[] Senior Year Course Load: IB Diploma Candidate (HL’s: Music, Mathematics, Biology, and English; SL’s: ab initio Spanish, History)
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):Nothing significant! (NMSF, National Hispanic Scholar)[/ul]
Subjective:

[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
-Rock Climbing (Student Leader of two-week long outings, led rock climbing sport 4 days/week)
-Music (studied jazz saxophone for 9 years, but I now play mainly guitar and piano. I spend most of my time composing)
some others, but nothing outstanding.
[] Job/Work Experience: Musical Director for a few bands
[] Volunteer/Community service:Fund-raised/Organized humanitarian work in Malawi, Africa (spent three weeks in Malawi executing projects; raised money to send 24 Malawian girls to secondary school)
-Math Club (Founder and President; organized peer tutoring and competitions)
[] Summer Activities:Composed, performed and recorded with an emerging artist. Traveled around the desert southwest on a climbing trip.
[] Essays: Only spent 2 days on them, but they weren’t terrible. Definitely could have been better.
[] Teacher Recommendations: Both said it was the best of their careers.
[] Counselor Rec: Very good. Spent 3 weeks in Africa with her, connected really well.
[] Additional Rec: None.
[] Interview: None.[/ul]Other

[ul]
[] State (if domestic applicant): AZ
[] Country (if international applicant): US
[] School Type: Small private, hasn’t sent anyone to Ivy League in 10 years!
[] Ethnicity: Hispanic
[] Gender: Male
[]Income Bracket: <80k
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM and First Generation[/ul]Reflection

[ul]
[] Strengths: Focused but diverse ECs, IB Courseload, Recommendations
[] Weaknesses: Essays!
[] Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I have no idea. The stars were aligned?
[*] Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted at Amherst, waiting to hear back from Stanford, Brown, Penn, and UCs[/ul]General Comments: Be passionate about ANYTHING. Do what you love, and do it well. None of my ECs are related to my major (Neuroscience), but I was able to show that I’m motivated because the depth of my involvement. Also, don’t let CC scare you. I’m glad to have been aware of the caliber of kids applying to these schools, but I scared myself into thinking that I didn’t stand a chance. And I got a likely letter!