Could I get into Columbia university?

I’ve achieved A*A*A*A* (bio, chem, geo + maths) + A* EPQ. I would love to go to Columbia/Princeton/Dartmouth/Yale/Caltech/UChicago (mostly these unis because I’m from quite a poor background and I know that most of these universities meet full financial need).

The reason why I want to go and study in the States is because from the start they study much more broadly than unis here in the United Kingdom. Also, it would likely be cheaper for me to study at Yale/Princeton than it would be for me to study at, for example, Imperial (I think).

However, my GCSEs are quite poor, averaging only a grade of 6.4 across all 11.

Do you think I could get in? (2025 entry) (I’m working and volunteering for the next 2 years).

Reply 1

melancollege

You may be able to, but the admissions process for US elite universities is very different from that of UK universities: they take into account extracurriculars and who you are as a person to a much greater degree

Reply 2

Tulipbloom

Original post by Anonymous

Hey I went to a British school which offered both the A levels and the IB and had several friends who ended up going to the US. One of my friends got into UChicago for CS and she did 9 GCSEs at A-B. She only really had one extracurricular activity (dance) but she pursued it to a high level. She was also a member of the school dance team and taught dance at her local studio to little kids. She actually took the IB (predicted 40). She decided not to submit her SAT score and got in through the early decision route (a huge factor in my opinion). Although her school transcript was not the most impressive, the holistic approach US colleges take in giving out offers worked out in her favor as they really liked her long commitment in dance and her common app essay. Had another friend who did 10 different activities, predicted 5 A*s at A levels, got all 9s in GCSE (11 subjects) and a 1580 SAT who got rejected from the Ivy league schools, but got into Duke. This may not be relevant but I also had another friend who got into Columbia, Yale, Princeton, Brown, and Stanford w 4A*s predicted, straights 9s at GCSEs, and she did no CCAs but ran an organization that worked alongside the government (in the health sector). She also won an essay competition held by Harvard. She did not submit her SAT scores as she did 2 essay based subjects at A level. The point is, as melancollege has said, they look at the whole picture. Your GCSE grades can be overlooked if you can show them a level of uniqueness that their school so needs.