Deferred in Columbia ED: Do I have a shot?Answered
Just to give a brief background:
I am a Hispanic girl from the Midwest who applied to Columbia Early Decision and received a letter of deferment. I was told to write a letter of continued interest and submit it by January 20th in addition to my mid-year report.
I am a National Merit Semifinalist as well as National Hispanic Scholar. I plan to major in political science. I was accepted to my State's highly selective Senate Scholar Program and was chosen to represent the Majority Leader. I also have gotten the opportunity to page in the Senate. I received a State Senate Citation to commend my academic achievements and rigor. I have been given the honor of being a Student Rotarian Ambassador for the local rotary and am the head of my school's biggest event: EXPO. I also was made student of the month for the social studies department out of 1500 students and am in the top 1% of my class. I took 8 AP/Honors my junior year and this year am taking five. I have a 3.97 GPA and a 32 ACT.
My plan:
I plan to retake the ACT because I feel very strongly I can raise my score. My English and Readings were 34s but my math flunked it. I feel very comfortable in math now that I have taken AP Calculus this year.
I have conducted research on the correlation between obedience and aggression in relation to phones that I also plan to touch on in my letter.
I am hoping for objective thoughts on what the deferment could mean for me and what else I could do in order to boost my chances of acceptance.
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2 answers
I think that you have a shot at being accepted to Columbia in the RD round! Though acceptance after a deferral is not guaranteed, the likelihood is not as low as it feels after you read your deferral letter.
Your odds of admission during RD will be higher than most applicants' as well - your GPA, ECs, awards, and course rigor are all excellent. Being Hispanic and from the Midwest will increase your admissions chances too, especially if this year's EA round had less diversity than expected.
Your plan for next steps the next steps to take is perfect. Here is a CollegeVine blog post to help you write your letter of continued interest.
Hope this helps!
What other Ivies and colleges are you planning on applying to? Thanks that would be helpful for context. Also, are you a low-income (less than $75K household income) or First Generation applicant? What are your AP test scores? Do you do any sports, play instruments, sing, dance, act, or have any other talents?
If you really want to be part of the Columbia family, I would apply to Barnard College as well. You can apply for the 4+1 pathways program like get a Barnard Undergrad and a Columbia Masters in 5 years. Or consider the dual degree Science Po (Paris)/Columbia program or the Trinity College (Dublin)/Columbia program. These are typically easier because you first go to Europe for 2 years get your degree and then finish up at Columbia for 2 years.
https://sciencespo.gs.columbia.edu/
Applications due January 2, 2023
Applications due January 2, 2023
Barnard/Columbia 4+1 pathways program
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