How hard is it to get into Columbia University?

Question

Hello, is anyone here targeting Columbia University? As it is one of the top universities globally, the eligibility criteria must be stringent. Please share insights about how hard it will be to get into Columbia University and what are the general profile requirements.

Hitesh Vijan Community_Mentor · Answer

Other than a general recommendation to actually spend some time (as Jose suggests) on the application packages you fill out, Usually three main pieces of advice about college admissions:

1. Show them how versatile you are. For example: yes, you have a good GPA, but you got those good grades while playing sports, and leading the debate team, and doing X hours of community service, and your SAT/ACT/GRE/ELP score is high, and you were recognized as a member of the National Honor Society, and, and, and, and... You get the picture. Anyone can have good test scores if they're reasonably intelligent. Those intelligent kids who are also well-rounded are what this type of school is looking for.

2. Show them how unique you are. For all the things that you list following the advice of #1, there are 100 other kids who've done the same. What makes you different? What can you offer to the student body? To the school? Show Columbia why they should choose you over those other 99 with the same qualifications. Don't get me wrong here: the qualifications are important, but there are thousands of qualified applicants, so that's not the only thing you need.

3. Ensure (to the extent that you can) that this is really where you want to be for the next four years, and tell the admissions folks WHY. Be as detailed as you can, and even if the essay questions don't specifically ask for something like this, you should still find ways to squeeze such content into what they do ask you to write about.

These tips can apply to any school's admission process, but are especially important when trying for one which is extremely selective. Best of luck to you. Columbia is a great place to live and learn.

How hard is it to get into Columbia University?

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