Generally speaking, what would a university such as Columbia or Georgetown look for in a prospective student?

Answer 1

According to an article in the NY Times this morning, Columbia got 20,000 applicants this year and accepted about 1800. They turned down hundreds of valedictorians and kids with 800 SATs, etc.

It isnt good enough to be smart, hardworking and dedicated. You also have to be outstanding in some creative way. Have you won a gold medal in a national competition? Have you done something that really made a difference to the lives of people in your town? What makes you better than all those other kids with 10 AP's and 4.4 GPAs?

If you have a good answer, they are looking for you. If you have to think twice about it, you probably arent special enough. Not to worry, though. There are over 4000 college campuses in the USA and over 4000 of them admit more than 50% of the applicants.

Answer 2

i think of there's a double customary - and no matter the variety you quite tutor the bias of this bigotism it won't quit it, no matter what because of fact that's biased from the beginning up. I quite have heard a document on now many terrorist acts have been achieved by radical Christian activists, as against Radical Islam activists... there are 8 deaths recorded considering the fact that 1993 and seven wounded by the unconventional Christian terrorists. There are an trouble-free of 14 deaths and 11 wounded daily achieved by the unconventional Islam terrorists. So i don't be attentive to why the info do no longer scream at those left wingers. i assume the reality does no longer strike a chord? i'm astounded.

Answer 3

as a high school college program coordinator, i have 4 kids apply to each. no one got into columbia, two into georgetown. from what i can tell, you're looking at:
1. NUMBERS!!! (3.8+ unweighted, 1350+ (maybe less for urban kids)
2. APs, honors, and college classes
3. student leadership positions
4. extracurriculars - sports, theater, etc.
5. solid letters of rec & personal statement