Chances of being accepted to Columbia University, New York City?

Question

I am a junior in high school and I go to a private Christian prep school and here are the classes I have taken so far (and the grades I made each semester in parenthesis):

Freshman year:
English 1 (A & A)
Spanish 1 (A & A)
Bible 1 (A & A)
Geometry (A & A)
World History (A & A)
Drama (A & A)

Sophomore year:
English 2 (A & A)
Spanish 2 (A & A)
Bible 2 (A & B+)
Honors Algebra 2 (B+ & B+)
Honors Biology (B+ & B+)

Junior Year (currently am taking):
Honors American Lit (A)
Spanish 3 (A)
Bible 3 (A)
Honors Math IV (trig/ precal) (B+)
Honors Chem (B+)
U.S. History (A)
Yearbook (A)

Next year I plan to take:
AP Lit
Gov/ Econ
Honors Bible 4
Yearbook
TA

We only have 6 class periods so do you think I need another year of math? (AP Calculus AB or AP Statistics) or should I take Anatamy? OR should I see about taking Spanish 4? My school doesn't currently have it, but I may be able to do independent study.

I am very involved with volunteer work and help plan the volunteer/ missions activities at my high school. I was in drama my freshman and sophomore years (now an officer) and am in key club, pep club (officer), and evangelism club (officer). I also plan on being yearbook editor (and possibly newspaper editor) next year. I hope to be senior class president on student council next year and possibly evangelism vice president.

I hope to be an art history major with a minor in languages.

What do you think are my chances of being accepted to Columbia???

As far as volunteering goes I'd say I'll have at least 200 hours by the end of this school year (in this school year only). Does this play any importance in Columbia's decision?

I took the psats this year and I think I got somewhere between 1500-1600. I'm not very good with testing. Is the SAT really impotant with Columbia's decision?

Any help is great! Thanks so much!!!!

Answer 1

The new SAT, which is graded on a scale of 2400, will be critical for you. Unless you score well above 2100, Columbia will probably be beyond your reach.

No matter where you go to college, getting the AP calculus out of the way now would be a great idea. If you can score a 4 or 5 on the AP exam, you can, depending on the college, eliminate your math requirement at the university level. As a potential art history major, getting done with math while still in high school would be of great value.

Best wishes to you.

Answer 2

Frankly, it's all a toss up these days. The grades look great. How 'bout the SATs? A 1300 total may help. I would not worry about Spanish 4, seems like overkill. I like seeing the Am Lit (honors) this year and the Government+Economics next year. These sound like lower level college classes. This will get some attention. I have a Poli Sci degree from NYU myself.

One idea. Our son is a 2nd year at a Univ of Cal campus. Select a major if possible. This doesn't mean you will continue with that major, but it shows an interest in something. In the UC system the majority apply "undeclared." He picked a major at each school he applied to. In his case, the Dept chairwoman was helpful in his selection at his campus. He also received a personal letter from her welcoming him to her Dept.

Answer 3

You have a good chance. I would advise you to take a math class next year and take practice SATs to boost your score. Colleges also look at the difficulty of the classes you are taking. They prefer to see you make a B in an AP class compared to an A in a regular class.

Answer 4

About all you can do on top of all this is to invent a way to make gasoline out of seawater or invent anti-gravity.

Answer 5

whoa girl, you've got some pretty good grades there! I don't think you'll have trouble getting into Columbia U. But it depends on the other things too that are not grade related