Columbia's Writing Test

January 31, 2010 - 11:12 PM

For weeks I worried that Columbia University would be weeding me out of their admission process by administering their writing test.

They told me to study current events, which is quite the broad suggestion.

So I didn't really know what else to do than to pay attention to the news and then cram the weekend before.

So that is what I did.

I just went about my business planning to either die a horrible death of misery and shame or...well, die of shame. Really I did not expect what I got.

As I approached the alumna proctor's house in northeast Portland, practically in my childhood neighborhood, I considered myself pretty much out of the running for Columbia. I didn't think I could possibly know enough to do well on the test, so I was dreading the next few hours of pining over a test I was bound to fail.


But as I climbed the stairs, a man in a University of Oregon sweatshirt and a dog on a leash opened the door to let me in. I knew immediately I was in good hands.


The alumna, whose name is Courtenay, greeted me cheerily and told me that she and her husband worked for the Oregonian. We joked about my desire to be a copy editor and, as her husband left with their bulldog, Courtenay invited me to have some tea while I tested.

As she showed me the instructions, I felt a rush of dread. I couldn't believe I was sitting in the chair waiting to learn how stupid and inadequate I really was.

But as my time started and I scrolled down, I realized that all of my worrying was for nothing. Although I cannot discuss what was on the test, I can tell you that I was more than prepared to answer the questions.

By paying attention in all of my classes and to the world around me, I realized that I have been getting a magnificent education that has prepared me for institutions like Columbia. Because I am such a natural student, I devour information, and it is this penchant for knowledge that prepared me for tests like these.