How can I get accepted into Columbia University?

I REALLY Want to Get Accepted to Columbia and/or Stanford University. What Can I do To Improve my Chances?

• Well, my grades are good, but not perfect. For the most part, I have A's, and throughout all 3 years (5 report cards so far) I have had 6 B's... (3 of them being P.E. which does not really count towards the GPA) My unweighted GPA of freshmen year is 4.0, sophomore year is 3.83, and junior year (so far) 3.66. My weighted GPA is 4.375( for junior and sophomore year combined, the thats my UC GPA), showing the amount of challenging classes I have. I have pretty challenging classes, a lot of honors and AP classes so far (2 APs and 4 honors) and taking 1 honors and 4 APs next year :) Im in the top 10 % of my class which is pretty hard to get into since my class is the smartest class of the 4, and the people ahead of me are literarily all geniuses, with like 4/5 APs a year, all A's and so on... My schools competitive, and the classes are challenging (even the honors classes, and APs are VERY hard) and Im doing pretty good so far Now what kind of SAT score would balance out those B's I got?? Im applying for the SMARTS summer program, which is specifically for science and math (which Im interested in) Im not really "involved" in too many extracurriculars, just a year of dance, community service hours (250) and Im a NHS and CSF member(and going to be one in my senior year as well) What can I do to make sure I get into those 2 universities? What are my chances (so far) of getting in??

• Answer:

  Short of a one-in-a-million accomplishment (like starting a successful company or publishing a bestseller), there's nothing you can do to "make sure" you get into universities that selective. And your SAT score won't "balance out" your GPA, since you're going to be competing against applicants who did really well on that and didn't get Bs, even in gym. So figure out a strategy for improvement, find an extracurricular or two you can really be passionate about...and even then, have a backup plan involving other schools you want to go to.