<p>Okay, I hear people talking about the kind of person each school is looking for, and I want to know, who is Columbia looking for? I know because of core, they want someone who is well-rounded. But what else?</p>
<p>Above was the deep question, if you want to do the other one, please chance me.</p>
<p>Female
Chance me as if NOT URM, please
Not-too-competitive public HS in Michigan
32 Composite ACT (possible retake, unlikely though)
Will take SATIIs on Oct 4th
Unweighted GPA: 3.99
Rank: (based on uw) 6 of 350
Junior Year APs: Physics B (4), Calc AB (4), Eng Lang (4, took test only)
Senior Year APs: Biology, Statistics, US History
ECs:
Outdoor/Indoor Track & Field 9-12: captain 11,12; all-conference; qualified for state finals; West MI all-star; city champion
Sideline Cheerleading 9-11: JV captain 10
Volunteer Tutoring 9-12
Big Brother, Big Sister 11-12
Employed at Community College as a math tutor 12
Straight Talk About Tough Stuff 10: We go to all of the local middle schools (about 8) and do skits about abstinence from sex, drugs, tobacco, and alcohol. We also talk about abuse, pregnancy, STDs, etc.
NHS 11-12
Coach at Youth Cheerleading Clinic every summer 9-11
Volunteer at various sports events (concessions, line coach, timer, etc.)
I can’t think of anything else.</p>
<snarky> Oh, I see you’re the Anti-Fun applicant! Be sure to check out Brigham Young U. </snarky></p>
<p>OK, seriously though, i’m not going to look into your specific profile, but I can offer the one piece of advice we echo to most serious, thoughtful inquiries around here. Columbia - and all top schools - are generally NOT looking for the “bright, well-rounded kid” template, who has tried everything and is a “jack of all trades but master of none”. What they are looking for is ‘passion’. That is a term that is intentionally vague but carries some meaning behind it. They want depth, not breadth. Most importantly, they want to see any and all signs that you actually, deeply are intellectually and emotionally INTERESTED in the subjects you’ve spent time on. They want to see evidence that you’ve got a “spark” that gets you going on particular intellectual subjects, and that you’ll continue to pursue those and grow those interests.</p>
<p>Such passion is (a) contagious for the rest of their student body, (b) shows several early indicators of future success in your chosen endeavors, and (c) Gives signs that you won’t just survive education at Columbia but will excel, and prosper from it. The extent that you can convey that you are truly passionate about - let’s see - sports, community service, and cheerleading, the more you’ll help your cause. Frankly, those seem to be the themes of your app. Community service, sports, and something academic would probably be a helpful change, if you can use your activities, essays and recommendations to convey passion about something intellectual.</p>
<p>^ lol. on the comment about S.T.A.T.S., what I preach and practice are totally different things. Do middle school kids need to be out there doing that stuff, no. But a high school junior or senior, we need a couple of things to take our minds off of homework. Some times they’re illegal, some times they’re not.</p>
<p>Poster #6 here, the original post date is irrelevant to my reply. I guess I am just curious as to why some people feel the need to be so harsh in their replies to others’ posts. I find the disregard for people’s feelings disturbing. It didn’t matter that the OP is well into their college career because Posts 4 and 5 are current and I am trying to understand what lies behind replies that are so harsh. I see a lot of them on CC, though fortunately they are vastly outweighed by replies that are meant to be helpful.</p>