Admissions chances

<p>I am currently a junior in high school. I am taking several AP classes and plan to have 6 in all by the time I graduate. My sat scores were; math: 670, reading: 730, writing: 720. My dad is a cornell engineering graduate and donates anually. My gpa is somewhere around a 3.5, but it is hard to tell since texas uses a different scale. My extra-curricular activities include water polo, band, physics club (I have an officers position), german club, and civil rights club. Assuming I have great recommendations and essays, and that I apply early decision, what are my chances?</p>

<p>judging from the info given, i would say reach because your gpa is not inline with the people getting accepted into Cornell, however i am not sure how the texas scale works. SAT scores are OK, not that appealing in the app. Need more info on EC, you gave it kind of brief.</p>

<p>unless ur dad’s donating millions, i cant see u getting in. srry</p>

<p>A bit harsh, don’t you guys think?</p>

<p>Honestly, don’t listen to them.
What college will you be applying to? What major?</p>

<p>Im just being frank, I dont want to give him false hopes.</p>

<p>lol kelloggss i think you’re mistaking cornell admissions for harvard. From kids at my school that got accepted into ivy it seems that im pretty on track. A senior i know is going to U Penn and isn’t in the top ten percent, she has a gpa similar to mine. Plus I have heard that cornell likes legacies more than average for ivy league. We can’t all have (or pretend to have) the credentials you posted. To answer your question chendrix, I want to major in mechanical engineering with an aerospace minor. Oh and I have had 3 jobs to date, each of them pretty unique.</p>

<p>You have a solid chance, just try to improve your GPA and get your SAT M a bit higher (although the 670 is still in range). Good luck!</p>

<p>i think you have pretty good chances. these other guys are probably just trying to get in your head dont listen to them.</p>

<p>While the 670 math might be “in range,” for engineering it’s on the low side. You also need to take the SAT2 in MathII.</p>

<p>If you know differently from the students at your HS who were accepted, then go with that information. Either way, if Cornell is really where you want to go, apply early and see what happens.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

<p>Your chances are not good by any measure, but at the same time Cornell is not exactly a real reach. And no, it’s not going to take donations of millions to get you in. You have time to retake that SAT and you should, in order to improve the mathematics score (if it’s engineering that you’re gunning for, 670 is bad). Try your best for junior and senior year and that 3.5 will be less important in the face of an increasing trend and difficult classes. I’d say low reach.</p>

<p>@OP: if you already have it in your head that you’re gonna get in, why make a post in the first place? </p>

<p>If you look at it that way, there are also students who score 800 across the board and have way better EC’s and still don’t get in.</p>

<p>@LOLhere: we aren’t talking about harvard here… there are few ppl who don’t get in with good GPAs, ECs, and 2400s. This kid has a legacy who is actively donating… VERY solid chances in my opinion. If OP didn’t have this, his chances would be very slim.</p>

<p>haha, its so much harder for us canadians to get into us…</p>

<p>going into cornell for us is like going to harvard for u guys…</p>

<p>srry for the attitude.</p>

<p>Sorry to say Cookie, but you’re way off on this one. While “we aren’t talking about harvard here,” we are talking about Cornell, & we’re talking about Engineering, an extremely strong & competitive school at Cornell. So strong that according to US News & World Report (from I think 2007), Cornell Engineering was #10 & Harvard was #28 (tied with Penn). Cornell is the only Ivy in the top 10 for engineering. What that means is that those with top SATs, GPAs, etc. looking for a top engineering school will apply to Cornell. Also, the math SATs for admitted engineers at Cornell are the highest of all Cornell schools.</p>

<p>To Lumpy: as I said before, it seems you have your heart set on Cornell, so go with that. I just don’t want you to take misinformation and have false expectations.</p>

<p>@kelloggss: Yeah, after they changed the policy this year. Grrr… And it’s even harder to get FA.</p>

<p>The truth is, it’s Cornell’s engineering school that’s pulling the average entering SAT + GPA. 25% of the enrolled students have a 800 in Math.</p>

<p>I didn’t notice that you were applying to Engineering - in that case, you need to get that SAT M way up and get that GPA up quite a bit as well.</p>