I encourage you to take advantage of the interview process and be grounded in who you are and what you have to offer. Don’t give them generic answers that they’ve heard before. My interviewer asked a number of questions that focused on my ability to adapt to unusual or new situations/surroundings. (Adapting to life in New York, in itself, is a challenge…trust me!)

Just about every candidate that applies will have excellent scores but it is up to you to reveal to the review board that your character, personality, and talents will contribute to the University community. One of the more significant criticisms that professional academics have about college applicants is communication skills (or rather, the lack thereof). Make sure your writing sample/essay is thoughtful, elegant, and sincere.

In the end, don’t stress too much about getting into college. A quality undergraduate experience can be acquired at just about any academic institution. Graduate school….that’s a different story.

Good Luck!

http://education.yahoo.com – has recent stats on admissions for most universities in the US, including the ones you list above. Remember that averages are just averages… so they take people above AND below those numbers.

Columbia: Selectivity:Most selective

http://www.columbia.edu

http://www.uchicago.edu