<p>let's say if there are two students.A and B (both want to go cornell)
A has a high score on sat and gpa. but his EC is not that great.he joined like two or three clubs ,school band,and a staff writer in his school's online newspaper. plus some community services.</p>
<p>B has a lower score on sat and gpa. (not considered as bad,but wasn't within the range of cornell) but he has great ECs compared to A. </p>
<p>which one do u think has a higher chance to get in ?</p>
<p>B. </p>
<p>Assuming that his EC’s are really great and his scores are still decent (in the 2100-2200 range).</p>
<p>It’s hard to get into top colleges on the basis of stats alone, no matter how good they are. I would know since I had almost perfect SAT’s, SAT II, GPA, AP scores, etc but was still rejected from Harvard, Yale, and Columbia.</p>
<p>I’d guess A based on kids who’ve gotten into my school, but B would probably be more successful in life in general. Most colleges check if you’re in their range after that it doesn’t matter. Scores & GPA get you “X” distance far but after a while adcoms are like “Great, all this kid can do is study why not I just take a robot”. Now, obviously I’m not trying to deride the merits of studying hard and doing well in school but you should also try to be human and give a face to your application i.e participating in clubs, volunteering, working, etc. Those in addition to the things mentioned aforehand separate yourself from other applicants.</p>
<p>I have a type A friend who got in and type B friends (3, in fact) who did not get in. Perhaps it’s because they were all asians and most asians applying to Cornell have at least mediocre ECs, but I daresay Cornell prefer tyep A student.</p>