<p>I’m a freshman at St. john’s University in Queens. I pulled a 4.0 this semester, with a pretty decent course load. I’m taking 18 credits next semester and plan on scheduling more upper-level courses for my major (English). I don’t think my SAT scores are bad, but not exceptional: 760 CR, 530 Math, 540 Writing (1840 overall). High school was a mixed bag (3.3 overall), but I displayed marked improvement junior and senior year, with a lot of APs and 94 & 96 overall averages for the respective years. I got 2 threes and 3 fours on the AP tests, and I took the English comp exam upon my own volition because my school didn’t offer it. Extracurriculars read off as follows: Newspaper for 3 years with the editor’s position senior year, junior class president, school literary magazine for 4 years in which I helped mentor younger writers, all while holding down a part time job as a janitor in a nursing home. Both my professors that I’m asking for letters for are Columbia alums and have taught at the school. So is it worth the $70? Or does it seem more likely that the admissions committee is going to throw me in the denied pile?</p>
<p>I also neglected to mention that if it seems as though Columbia is a reach that’s too far to grab, I’m most likely going to replace it with Hampshire College. I feel like my chances for getting in there are fairly good, but feel free to give me feedback on my odds there as well.</p>
<p>I would personally reqret later in life that I didn’t dish out the $70 to apply; I would never know if I would make it.</p>