35 ACT with less than impressive ECs?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

<p>I applied to CALS ED (Biological Sciences) and before anyone says anything:
I am aware of the fact that I applied already and that there's nothing that anyone can say that will change anything about my application. I just wanted to know what other people think about my chances, given my situation.</p>

<p>With that being said, I have a 3.85 UW GPA (4.9 W, weird system; the max is 5.3 if a student took all honors and APs, but since I transferred to a new school district during 9th grade, I was forced to take 6 lower level classes, which screwed my weighted GPA) and a 35 ACT Composite (I also have a 2190 SAT but I didn't send it since it was much lower than my ACT grade). However, unlike many of you, I also have very weak ECs (Internship at Brookhaven National Lab, volunteer at local hospital, varsity tennis, 8 years of piano, church service, just to name the most significant ones). The only semi-leadership position I hold is that of youth group leader at my church (which I assume is pretty useless in the eyes of adcoms). </p>

<p>I'm not ashamed to admit that I was being somewhat lazy and, being the naive kid that I was back then, I was not aware of the importance of ECs. I'm not here to make excuses for my past decisions since there's nothing that I can do about it at this point. However, during the last 16 months or so, I have pursued my newly discovered interest of the living world to a significant extent (hence the internship and hospital work) and I'm pretty sure that I communicated my interest and fit adequately through my essays.</p>

<p>So, taking everything into consideration, what do you guys think of my prospects? I haven't started any apps to other colleges yet (although I already got into SUNY Stony Brook, my local state college, through their on-site on the spot admissions program). I seriously hope and believe that I stand a decent chance of getting in, but if not, it's going to be a painful holiday break (which I will have brought onto myself, I know).</p>

<p>By the way, you may have noticed that I didn't bother speculating about the quality of my essays/recommendations since any conclusion that I make will be completely subjective. But if you really need to know, IMHO both recommendations will be good, not stellar and my common app and supplement essays are great and above average, respectively.</p>

2

<p>honestly come on. this is your bazillionth thread on this topic. you have a ??.??% chance of getting in.</p>

3

<p>...I'm looking for constructive input, something that no one has provided thus far. Also, if you think I'm trolling or anything, you're sadly mistaken. Based on what everyone has said, ECs are extremely important and I should be concerned about my prospects. As I stated above, I am only trying to elicit the opinions of others. There are people that have never read this before. If you have a problem with my thread, just don't click the link. It's that simple.</p>

4

<p>Well to be honest I really have no idea, and nobody here can honestly truly predict what will happen. There's only 8 days left till you find out the truth.. so try not to stress out and make a million more threads, just keep your fingers crossed and hopefully you'll get in! Good luck.</p>

5

<p>...For God's sake, I made perhaps 2-3 threads about this over the course of 2 months, primarily because no one would give an honest opinion. Last time I checked, 3 did not equal a bazillion. There are people here with many times that amount of chance threads.</p>

<p>I'm aware of the fact that no one here can accurately predict a decision. I repeat, the point of this thread is to elicit opinions. Why? Because I'm interested in what others have to say. I know that their opinions could be completely wrong, but I would still like to hear them.</p>

6

<p>yeah man, I know how you feel. I remember I posted a couple of chances threads here and some people were a bit obnoxious and unhelpful at all about it (no offense, but it's frustrating, especially since it occurs only on these ivy league threads except Dartmouth and Brown. No other forum does it. This is why some ivies are stereotyped as being so snooty. Flame me if you must, but w/e. I'm not going to respond to it).</p>

<p>As far as you are concerned, I think you have a great shot. I mean, 35 is NOTHING to sneer at. If you emphasized how important those ECs are, then you should be fine. After all, it's quality over quantity, so if you showed how important they are to you, I'm sure you'll be fine. Even if you didn't do much for them, you'll have a good chance because of your nice numbers, but you may come off as a stereotyped asian (high grades/test scores, piano, tennis, etc...sorry if that was rude, but you said you wanted opinions). All in all, I think you're good, and I'd be pretty surprised. Hope that helped!</p>

7

<p>We're a week away from decisions, what difference does it make?</p>

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<p>California Love- Thank you for finally providing some constructive input. And by the way, I don't take offense at being called a stereotypical Asian. That's just how most of us are.</p>

<p>Yngwie- What difference does it make? It doesn't make a difference. I just wanted to know what other people think. If I wasted anyone's time, then I apologize.</p>

9

<p>its obviously a tough major to get into which is the thing (if anything) that'll hold you back. did you say youre doing premed? </p>

<p>but a 35 is an awesome score, and i cant imagine them rejecting a 35--at least, youll get deferred, which isn't bad. good luck to you. 9 dayss</p>

10

<p>Yeah, that's the plan. I heard that the weed-out courses are extremely difficult to get a decent grade in, but I believe that in the end, if I'm dedicated enough to the profession, the hard work will eventually pay off (assuming that I even get in).</p>

<p>By the way, they rejected a 35 last year because her interests/ECs did not demonstrate a fit in that specific college/school.</p>

11

<p>my post should say surprised if you didn't get in lol</p>

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<p>thats what im nervous about. im also biological sciences for cals and im petrified about the competitiveness of the bio program!</p>

13

<p>lol im an azn too and i have almost the same if worse ECs than you and im applying to AEM lol.... my SAT score is pretty bad 2090 cuz of a horrible writing score (630) but my GPA is pretty much perfect and i ranked first in all three years so far. so lets hope they dont take ECs into account toooo MUCH lol..</p>