<p>I haven't received all my final grades, but after one semester at a rigorous state school ('public ivy'), I'm looking at a 3.6-3.8</p>
<p>If I do end up with a 3.6 (Mostly A's and A-'s, just one B+), would that kill off my chances at Penn and Cornell? I've been on here long enough to know that one thing doesn't make or break the app, but I don't want to write out a full 'chance me' thread. My question is, I took 21 credits- 16 normal credits (4 classes) and 5 credits of music lessons - viola, piano, and composition. In addition, I did a ton of music extracurricular. Do you think the admissions committee would recognize that I challenged myself with so many credits, or is a 3.6 (at worst) a death sentence? Moreover, with my single B+ in Macroeconomics, would it be better to put 'undecided' for my major at Penn when I am actually looking to pursue econ/music? I'd be applying to ILR at Cornell.</p>
<p>I had a 3.3 at a great HS with a 31 ACT, if you're curious.</p>
<p>Any thoughts on where I stand?</p>
<p>From what I’ve heard, colleges want you to have a definite plan about your future when you apply to transfer. So putting undecided is not going to look as good as someone who knows exactly why Penn or Cornell would be the place to help them achieve what they’re going for. Also, they may just look at your app and think that you don’t know how to pick out a schedule that you can handle. I mean, a 3.6 isn’t bad, but it really looks like you’re trying to be an overachiever with 21 hours your very first semester. It’s kind of overkill. Plus you need to have extracurriculars, so how can you do those when you’re always in class or doing homework? They don’t just want smart, studyaholic types. And your high school record, while decent, is not up to par with the Ivies, in my opinion. Unless you have some sort of hook, I think that you should wait till Spring '10 or Fall '10 before applying, don’t take so many hours next semester, pull your GPA up some, and get involved in some extracurriculars. Either that, or look at some schools that aren’t going to be as hard to get into.</p>
<p>Sure. I don’t want to turn this into a ‘chance me’ thread, like I said, but I should let you know that music is my main EC and my main hook - all of my major accomplishments come from music. I ended up doing lessons for credit because that was school policy, doing orchestra and chamber music for no credit (as ECs, along with a few other EC music projects), because of the credit cap. I didn’t tackle so much because I was trying to overload myself, only because I wanted to study as much music as I could. I would hate for that to come off the wrong way.</p>
<p>Anyway, I agree with what you said about putting down ‘undecided.’ Still, I was wondering if it would make sense to put down ‘Econ’ when that it my worst class. I mean, it’s not unheard of to mess up intro classes. My best friend and a very intelligent girl is at ILR, and she has the same grade as I in Econ. I am certain that Econ. at Cornell isn’t much different from the course I took, even if it is a little more competitive. Either way, I don’t have to declare the major I put down on my app, so it’s all strategy - what if I put down some other major that suits my schedule that will put me in a better light?</p>
<p>I know it’s hard not to make this a ‘chance me’ thread when it’s looking more and more like it by the sentence. I’ll post my full stats when I get all my grades, then maybe my schedule will make more sense in the context.</p>
<p>Thanks for your reply!</p>
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<p>Just to let you know, I really wasn’t trying to sound like I thought all that, just how it could come off to them.</p>
<p>I understand. That’s why your input is so helpful - like the adcomm, you know little to nothing about me or why I would take so many credits. The trick is to present it the right way, I think, through my essays and recs.</p>
<p>im assuming your a freshman? what school are you at?</p>
<p>unless your attending uva, umich or unc, a 3.6 will be way less than impressive…if your applying this early, you really need to compensate for your hs record and a 3.6-3.7 is not going to cut it…it seems as if you have a bit of a hook with your music background, but your going to need to bring your gpa up first…i’d advise putting in two years where your at so as to minimize the importance of your hs record and give you the opportunity to bring that gpa into the 3.8-4.0 range</p>
<p>gl</p>
<p>hmm previous posts must have been deleted</p>
<p>if i were you i would declare your major on the app as music and stress why you need to be THERE for it. you can discuss your interest in econ but that shouldnt be your focus, after all music IS your x factor</p>
<p>Hey, that’s a good idea! I should def. think that over.</p>