How I Got Into Columbia 

Do USC please!!!

SupertutorTV USC WOULD BE GREAT!!

Do Barnard if you can!!!!!

the heck you talking about? The University of Southern California has a 16% acceptance rate, not 50%

RyanStar100 I think he might have meant for early decision

Same. Remember he was not accepted into all the schools he applied too. Gosh I have no chance 😂

He got all 5s on his AP tests and nearly a perfect SAT score 😭😭 I too, am screwed

And i thought i had a chance.

Yea because u are a 100 percent screwed if u don't get into an Ivy League

It is still somewhat depressing knowing that you try your hardest, but it is not enough to be at their level;nonetheless,at least it doesn't define my success in life.

Leah Hess Hah! Same here. I've got absolutely no chance now...

bloodspilla55 Do you have $250k, seems to work for the celebrity kids

yeah, I'm screwed.

lol my brother got in and he is the EXACT same, minus the cello

Lol I got none of those except Eagle Scout and I got into Columbia

Well I'm a freshman so no SAT or ACT yet but I play sports and woodwinds so...

mr_godman your parents must be proud lmao

So what do u think made u get in?

Did you graduate? @sienna5590

can you share some of your passions that you did as extracurriculars? you don't have to be too specific, I'm just curious because you seem like a really cool person!! congrats

Can you share your stats?? This guy is obviously great but now I just feel like I have zero chance of acceptance. So your comment really helps. Share how you got in, it would be really appreciated!!

Thank you for the positivity. I feel good now.

As someone who got into Columbia this year, I can confirm this is true. I was nowhere near as accomplished as this guy. Just show your passion and your personality in your application.

Arts and Humanities most of those degrees are useless then your stuck with a couple hundred grand in debt…unless you get a full ride or parents pay it all…

Rida Jawed lmaoo

big mood

oof!

lmao rip

why are we so similar. Literally my highest was also a 3 on AP World, I did AFJROTC, a 4.3 GPA and yet to receive my SAT score

@@arnavshah2931 Good luck! College is where the real challenge begins.

@@boycool911 Haha yeah will do! Thanks and you too

So What normal people don’t get into Columbia

THIS IS SENDING MEEDKJNSF

Rebecca Ly as someone who went from a 1380 to a 1490, and now am scoring above 1550 on practice tests, I'd be glad to give you tips on SAT studying.

please message me on how you did this.. please! thank you a lot

CoolGuyTV sure! Let me try to break this down as succinctly as possible. For the math section: assuming you're well versed in the math concepts pertinent to the SAT, then without question the number one resource for math practice is KhanAcademy. They break down each math concept into categories (there's about 40), and in each category has 4 levels of questions. Level one questions are the easiest, and level 4 are the hardest. In all categories, there's approximately 20 questions per level. So for example, in the "percent" category, you'll have about 20 level 4 question, 20 level 3 etc. All in all there's about 800 questions in each level. These questions are said to have been edited by the College Board, so they're the most realistic questions you'll get besides for official SAT questions. Many of the level 4 questions, and even some of the level 3, are as hard or harder than any question you'll encounter on the actual SAT. I guarantee you, if you study with KhanAcademy and become fluent in level 4 questions (they're hard, trust me), you'll be in spectacular shape for the SAT. I went from scoring in the low 700s to scoring 800s on practice tests after KhanAcademy. On the real exam I got a 790. As far as the reading and writing sections go, there's really not much I can say, as all the context necessary has already been laid out by others. With minimum practice, I scored a 700 on the actual SAT reading and writing. After reading Erica Meltzer's book, The Critical Reader, I've scored in the upper 700s on several practice exams. I can go through all of my strategies, but there's really no use as I got them all from her book. Also, KhanAcademy has some great content for the reading and writing as well, so you should check that out. Lastly, whichever content you do end up using for practice, make it sure it's quality. For the math, I think KhanAcademy will suffice, but if you're looking for tips and guidance on the math, I'd suggest The Collage Panda and PWN the SAT. Beyond those and KhanAcademy there's really no need for more. As far as the reading goes, Ivy Global seems to have pretty good practice exams (the math is alright too), so I'd go with that if you've exhausted the other resources. I'd stay away from Kaplan and The Princeton Review. Their practice exams are just pretty bad (especially The Princeton Review math where they essentially copy the official SAT practice tests and just switch numbers.) I hope all this helps! If you have any more questions feel free to message me.

First of all, thank you so much for taking the time to write all that out. I am a rising junior. I would consider myself a good student; took all honors and APs (4 this year). My weakest subject is math, as I will be only taking Alg 2 this year. On my most recent practice test, I got a 1190 (610 on R&W and 580 on math). If I study Khan Academy every day (and maybe purchase prep scholar SAT prep) will I have a chance of scoring in the 1500s or is it already out the picture? Would you recommend any other resources not that you know how poor I did on the test? thanks!

CoolGuyTV I won't lie to you. Getting a 1500+ is not easy, and I can't guarantee that you'll achieve a score that high; however, if you use The Collage Panda, PWN the SAT, and KhanAcademy, I'm comfortable enough to saying that you can probably score at least a 700 on math, and possibly even in the upper 700s (it's very hard to me asses as I don't know you personally and I don't really know what your current skill level is). Considering that you got a 580 the math, you should definitively start off with the other books I mentioned before starting with KhanAcademy, as KhanAcademy does have its drawbacks. For example, they don't really teach you tips or shortcuts for answering questions; rather, they usually go through the lengthy explanation, which is not ideal considering speed is vital and shortcuts are immensely helpful. In addition, KhanAcademy doesn't actually teach the math concepts. They just provide questions and answers (though undoubtedly you'll learn a lot from their answer explanations). If you're scoring below 600, I suspect you may need some help with the the actual concepts, so start off with the other resources then go to KhanAcademy. Also, if you're looking for more resources, Dr Chung's SAT math book has positive reviews. I used his older edition, and I did find it useful, so that would be another great resource. PrepScholar is likely a great resource as well, but I'd only suggest it if money isn't an issue, as there are cheaper resources which are just as good if not better. After you finish with the aforementioned prep, go to KhanAcademy. Start off with level two questions on KhanAcademy, then work your way up to level 4. Be ruthless about understanding why you got answers wrong, and even if you got an answer right but you were 100% sure, review. Remember, quality over quantity. As for the reading and writing, I really don't think any resources beyond Erica Meltzer's books and KhanAcademy is necessary. In fact, they can probably hurt you by giving you an inaccurate understanding of what the actual test may look like. Moreover, the tips you'll find in Erica Meltzer's book are about as good as it gets, so any further study would be a waste of time. After reviewing her books, use KhanAcademy for practice then take official practice exams. Erica Meltzer is about to release new editions of her books, so I'd advise you to wait until they're released before purchasing the material. Godspeed!

Ryan Teddy What did you do?

Ryan Teddy undergrad is more competitive

Ryan Teddy ayyyeee

Yes true

@@samwhaddad But grad school is more useful. 😊

These "kids" work for us. We're not pulling random people off the street. If you'd like to suggest someone to be in one of our videos, then by all means let us know!

javi m even average kids most likely have something that make them stick out in relevence to ivy leagues

SupertutorTV maybe but this video is almost useless because he was almost perfect in everything he did, and had great extracurriculars. This is the top top basis for getting in, so It doesn’t show much

Serigne Diaw it shows how nearly perfect you gotta be to get into Columbia, unless you're a super special case

Serigne Diaw than don't apply to columbia. Is not like your getting in with your genes or work ethics if your bitching how an admitted quality applicant is.

Brian Kibet same

Send us an international student....

SupertutorTV We are right now in our native country.How can we send you someone?😞

why don't check shreya vardhan...she is my idol she scored perfect 2400 in SAT and 120 in TOEFL..also got 800 In all three subject tests she took: maths,chemistry and physics. I know it's not possible to get her to do an interview...it's just that she is my idol for SAT and TOEFL.. from India

@@ashfia980 LOL...Of course

SupertutorTV lol why does this read so shady 👨🏽‍💻

Hi muslim?

Hard work is how 99% of people got there

Can you show that please

@@SupertutorTV what exactly is "hard work" ?

Krystle DiCristofalo // My Ivy Education can you explain how?

Sinead Moyles These top schools usually evaluate you in the context of your life so if you only have 5 APs available and take all of them you’ll still have a chance ( granted your stellar in other ways as well).

A lot of schools have an additional information section in their apps so you can tell them how you wanted to take more APs but your school didn’t let you. Also, you can self study for some APs to show your dedication to learning and education.

I live in Ecuador so no ap classes for me...

That's okay if that's all your school offers. Schools don't look at you from 1 universal context; They look at you from the context of where you live and what opppurtunites you have available to you.

CSGuy same!! I just got in today and I’m not like this dude at all. See you at Columbia this fall!

just out of curiosity, what types of clubs/extracurriculars did either of you participate in? i’ve never played a sport and my anxiety prevents me from joining most clubs & stuff but columbia is my absolute dream school.

scarlett m scarlett m I honestly didn’t do THAT much. I was founder and president of my school’s Tri-M Music Honor Society and Key Club and did Band and volunteered a lot but I wasn’t as hardcore as Matthew. I didn’t do any sports either. I also come from a town in NM that’s considered “rural” so there’s not a ton of opportunities or things to do out here. I just worked with what I had. Don’t worry. Just be yourself in your application. Personality and diversity is EVERYTHING when applying to colleges. Test scores and grades don’t hurt but your background and character is really important too.

@@loganshorthair2428 thank you this comforted me a bit because I am planning on applying to columbia. I really hope i get in

I see your point to some extent, but you could also argue that he just made the most of his public high school. It's not like his parents paid for a boarding/private school, he's just a smart kid that worked hard and got involved. The boy scouts or the tennis team isn't anything super exclusive for only rich and privileged kids.

Ikrand i live in a small county with like 21,000 people... theres not a lot going on here, which makes it extremely difficult for me

Fatima Saleh he just had proper motivation. Motivation, whether being from parents or peers, is what shapes a person into how hard they work.

Nothing was handed to this kid dummy these people worked so hard and deserved where they put themselves to be. Those fives and 800’s didn’t fall from the sky because he was rich

@@jordanlin5329 the dude has a good dad who got him into engineering. Not everybody’s parents inspire them like that

This kid is a virgin. Feel bad for him. Sucks to spend your youth doing this kinda stuff. Sorry

lol right....!

Brana tomic Not all American schools have letters. Mine has number.

Google it

@@joshuavancuyck2669 tnky for that revolutionary explanation, 3 yrs too late tho (also if it was as easy as that I wouldn't have asked😊)

@@branatomic01 haha I know, but the only reason I say google it is because I did the same and all the information on calculating GPA is on there...super helpful stuff and very abundant

@@joshuavancuyck2669 okkiii💗

oh cool If your school only offers dual enrollment then you should take dual enrollment because admissions officers want you to take the most rigorous courses available at your school.

Daniel Salgado I was contemplating before, but now I'll do the classes. Thanks for the help :)

oh cool that's truth. They will care about what your school exactly offers and if you took the most challenging things it offers.

aisha !! All I'm gonna say is that if you have the capability to get into Columbia with stats like Matt, you got a real high chance of getting into those 2 schools you mentioned

start a club or project, colleges love to see initiative

The colleges don't look at the grades you have in middle school unless you took a highschool course and failed it, your grades in middle only help you to get into certain classes in highschool

Nvm my engrious spelling and grammatical errors.

OlYMPIA JORJI but they are probably the majority

I can tell you that not all students who get accepted are like this. I know a couple of people who scored in the 1300s but still got into MIT and Columbia. However, those are very very rare and special cases. The majority of students who get accepted have high test scores and lots of APs

Not ALL students who get in to these schools are like the guests we've had on our "How I Got Into..." series... That's just who we have working at the office this summer. We're not just pulling people off the street, y'know. :)

OlYMPIA JORJI You don't put in the work, you don't get into the schools you want to. Why would an elite college take a kid like you over the kid in this video? The wouldn't. Quit lying to yourself

get very very very involved, take extra classes at your local college, and do EXTREMELY well on your SAT or ACT so you can prove to them that you have the knowledge to do well in their school

I am "home schooled," and I can honestly express to you that I feel the same exact way. The reason I put quotes around the word is because although I go to a public virtual charter school which is not home schooling in my school's perspective, it is considered home schooled to various universities/colleges since it's virtually done from my own home. It makes me undoubtedly anxious because depending on the school, there can be so many extra materials that need to be submitted along with your application. But, there's also positives to our situation: our demographic. Some universities really want a more diverse crowd which includes students from a home schooled curriculum! It can give you a definite extra advantage. I am applying early decision this upcoming school year to the Ivy League Dartmouth College. I am worried that I will not get in because I absolutely bomb standardized testing! But I have great hopes because I carry a very high GPA, and I travel an hour and 15 minutes two days a week, every week, to volunteer at Dartmouth College's Biology Department Greenhouse, and the school's hospital. I've been doing this since late last year, and I believe that shows the drive and commitment I have to getting into their college. It's a long shot, for both of us, but I am sure you'll do your best! Take the advice CoolGuyTV gave you, and give your best shot! :-) Sorry for the ramble!!

Munna Abdelhady for the career he wants to go into- Yes.

Demilade sodipe learn about courses you never heard of it simply by typing it on youtube

I wish you the best of luck, you seem like you deserve to get in :) Also don't worry about standardized testing too much, you seem like you've made up for it in your GPA and passion.

Really, good luck!

Marie Ann write very good essays and showcase your passion about the school... and give valid reasons. Wish you great luck!

Marie you will get in dont worry about it, colleges look for students engaged students and its very hard to find those. Best of luck you will get in, I promise #prayformetoo

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