Article: Potential undergraduates at Columbia can apply to either Columbia College or Columbia School of Engineering. If you are unsure about your area of interest, or know that it will not involve engineering or computer science, you will want to apply to Columbia College. Contact the school or program of your choice at Columbia to ask if they have a list of alumni you can speak to about the nature of their academic experience and how they prepared for the program. Columbia offers information sessions and campus tours for prospective students. You should sign up in advance to make sure you get a time that coincides with your ability to be on campus. While on campus, take the opportunity to speak to current students about their experiences and what they did to prepare for Columbia. If you cannot get to New York City, the school offers off-campus information sessions. See if one is close to you. Take the most advanced or accelerated academic courses available to you in your high school, and do well in them. Columbia's admissions office looks for students who challenge themselves academically whenever possible. Over 90% of the class of 2018 graduated in the top 10 percent of their high school class. Columbia's admissions committee uses a "holistic" review process, meaning they take into account not only a person's academic marks, but also extracurricular activities. Columbia wants undergraduate students who can make an impact outside the classroom, and contribute to social and cultural life at the school. The Columbia Writing Supplement asks about books, newspapers, and magazines you have read, or films, concerts, exhibitions, and other performances you have seen over the prior year. Use this as an opportunity to expand your own horizons, and take in as many of these extracurricular opportunities as possible. You can apply to Columbia by taking the SAT and two SAT subject tests, or the ACT. If you are applying Early Decision, you can take the tests as late as November, and as late as January for Regular Decision. You may take the tests multiple times, as Columbia will only review the highest score. Be advised, Columbia will only look a scores from a single sitting of the test, so you can't mix and match. For the SAT, Columbia does not require the Writing Section, only Math and Critical Reading. The middle 50% of admitted students in the class of 2018 scored between 2160 and 2330 on all three sections. For the SAT subject tests, Columbia recommends choosing subjects in your strengths. If you are applying to the School of Engineering, you should take Math and one of Biology, Chemistry, or Physics. Columbia advises that you should not take Foreign Language subject test if you are a native speaker. For the ACT, the writing component will no longer be required for Fall 2017 admissions. If you are applying for Fall 2016, you will still need to take it. If you have a particular subject of interest, you can also take the SAT subject test in that area and submit with the ACT. 79% of the admitted class of 2018 who took the ACT scored between 32 and 36. Make sure to follow the instructions carefully, and pay close attention to the length, topic matter, and format required. Ask others, such as trusted teachers, friends, and relatives, to review your essay before submission to comment on its clarity and effectiveness. Columbia requires letters from your high school guidance counselor and two teachers from academic disciplines. If you are applying to the engineering school, one must be a math or science teacher. These letters should come from teachers who are closely familiar with your work ethic, communication skills, character, and capabilities. If they are willing, take the opportunity to talk with your letter writers about why you wish to attend Columbia, which can help provide a more personalized letter that really emphasizes your strengths as an applicant. Make sure you have all of your materials ready when you submit the Common Application. Review the Columbia-specific questions for the Writing Supplement, and prepare your answers within the guidelines provided. There is space on the Common Application to provide supplementary materials for work in science or the arts. If you have experience in these fields, include materials to help give depth to your application. Make sure to carefully review the correct types of materials, including formatting and file type.
Question: What is a summary of what this article is about?
Choose the appropriate program. Speak to past graduates of Columbia University. Visit the campus. Develop your academic strengths. Develop extracurricular interests. Score high on the required standardized tests. Write a strong personal statement. Provide good letters of recommendation. Fill out the application as completely as possible. Provide supplementary materials.

Soap molds are basically boxes for the liquid batter to set in. Any dry plastic container works, or you can buy silicone molds specifically for soap. If you have a wooden container, cover the inside with a silicone liner or freezer paper. Soap molds are available online and at some general stores. If you need a liner, freezer papers are available at most supermarkets. Fill each mold close to the top. Tap the mold against a hard surface a few times to break up air bubbles. Use a rubber spatula to scrape out excess batter to pour into a different mold or throw away. Bump the mold against a hard surface a few times if it looks frothy. Try dropping it from a low height to knock out stubborn air bubbles. Don't worry about breaking the soap into smaller bars yet. Wait until the soap solidifies for that. Tape a piece of cardboard over the mold to cover the soap. Then, wrap a towel around the entire mold to insulate it. Doing this helps the mold set properly, leading to better soap. If you don't have cardboard, place parchment paper over the mold. The saponification process takes at least a day to happen. When you remove the soap from the mold, it will be hard and ready for cutting. Use a sharp kitchen knife to break the soap down into smaller bars. To smooth out the sides, scrape the soap with a vegetable peelers. Keep your soap at room temperature and out of the reach of children and pets. If you used fresh lye, the soap is still dangerous to touch at this point. If your soap is too soft to cut, let it rest for an extra day. This happens most often in large, single molds. Move the soap bars into a cool but well-ventilated area. Try placing them near a window in your basement or on a countertop. Put them on top of wax paper or another disposable material to prevent the oils from damaging the surface the soap is on. Soap takes about 4 weeks to finish curing. Soap can take anywhere from 3 to 8 weeks to cure completely. The time it needs depends on the oils you used. Check your recipe for the recommended curing time. Soap made using the melt and pour method typically solidifies within a few hours. At most, let it rest overnight before taking it out of the mold.
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One-sentence summary --
Clean and line your soap molds. Pour the soap batter into the mold. Wrap the mold inside cardboard and a clean towel. Wait 24 hours before cutting into bars. Dry the soap for several weeks before using it.