Am I on track for Cornell University?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

<p>Am I on track for acceptance to Cornell University looking at my first two years of high school? Here is a list of things I have done in my freshman and sophomore years of high school:</p>

<p>Freshman Year</p>

<p>Academics</p>

<ul>
<li>Two Honors Courses (Chemistry Honors and Geometry Honors) </li>
<li>Two Electives (Multimedia Design and Concert Band) </li>
<li>Maximum Number of Credits </li>
<li>Community Service Honors (50+ Community Service Hours) </li>
<li>GPA - 2.957</li>
<li>Chemistry Honors (usually taken by strong juniors): C+</li>
<li>Geometry Honors (usually taken by strong freshmen or sophomores): C-</li>
<li>World Civilizations: A-</li>
<li>English I: B</li>
<li>Spanish I: B-</li>
<li>Multimedia Design: A</li>
<li>Concert Band: A+ (counted as half of a course)</li>
</ul>

<p>School Sports</p>

<ul>
<li>None</li>
</ul>

<p>Extracurricular</p>

<ul>
<li>Elected Ninth Grade Class Council Officer</li>
<li>Volunteer at the Children's Section of a local library </li>
<li>Judge in the Elementary School Science Fair</li>
<li>Performed in the School Spring Drama Production</li>
<li>Member of a Church Youth Group </li>
<li>Host at a School Open House</li>
<li>Wrote and Acted for two different short plays in the Instant Drama Festival (less than 24 hours to write lines and less than 12 hours to learn lines)</li>
<li>Member of the Chess Team</li>
<li>Summer Volunteer at a hospital</li>
</ul>

<p>Sophomore Year (so far)</p>

<p>Academics</p>

<ul>
<li>Two Honors Courses (Biology Honors and Algebra II Honors) </li>
<li>One AP Course (World History AP) </li>
<li>Two Electives (Computer Science and Concert Band) </li>
<li>Maximum Number of Credits </li>
<li>Community Service Honors (50+ Community Service Hours) </li>
<li>GPA - ? </li>
<li>Biology Honors: B</li>
<li>Algebra II Honors: B-</li>
<li>World History AP: B-</li>
<li>English II: B+</li>
<li>Spanish II: B-</li>
<li>Computer Science: B+</li>
<li>Concert Band: A+ (counted as half of a course)</li>
<li>PSAT - 184 (without prior preparation)</li>
<li>PLAN - 22 (without prior preparation)</li>
</ul>

<p>School Sports</p>

<ul>
<li>Cross Country</li>
<li>Swimming</li>
<li>Tennis</li>
</ul>

<p>Extracurricular</p>

<ul>
<li>Elected Executive Council Secretary (Highest Student Council Position Available to a Sophomore)</li>
<li>Elected Tenth Grade Class Council Officer (served until elected Executive Council Secretary)</li>
<li>Volunteering at the Children's Section of a local library</li>
<li>Performed in the Fall and Spring Drama Productions</li>
<li>Member of the Set Construction/Technical Crews for the Fall and Spring Drama Productions </li>
<li>Member of a Church Youth Group </li>
<li>Founding Member of a Junior State of America chapter (Appointed to the position of Chapter Secretary & Director of Debate for next year)</li>
<li>Appointed to lead the chapter at the JSA Spring State Conference</li>
<li>Model United Nations delegate</li>
<li>Wrote and Acted for two different short plays in the Instant Drama Festival (less than 24 hours to write lines and less than 12 hours to learn lines)</li>
<li>Staff Writer for the School Newspaper</li>
<li>Staff Writer for the School Literary Magazine</li>
<li>Member of the Community Service Board </li>
<li>Member of the Future Business Leaders of America chapter </li>
<li>Founding Officer of the 30 Hour Famine Chapter </li>
<li>Member of the Chess Club </li>
<li>Host at School Open Houses and School Orientation</li>
<li>Vice President of the Sports Writing Club</li>
<li>Teen Leadership Summer Volunteer at a hospital</li>
</ul>

<p>Thank you for your time.</p>

2

<p>Your GPA is way way way low. That alone will kill you.</p>

3

<p>Yeah GPA is extremely low… Plus Chem honors isnt considered a junior course but a sophomore course… And geo honors is like a standard.</p>

<p>And based off your PSAT scores, you have to really work on the SATs.</p>

<p>Good luck! It’s this time of high school where a lot of us realize ivies aren’t necessarily for us…</p>

4

<p>In my school, there’s an Intro to Chemistry and Physics course that most freshmen take. Sophomores take Biology, juniors typically take a Chemistry course, and seniors typically take a Physics course. I took a placement test that allowed me to skip over the Intro to Chemistry and Physics course, and take Chemistry Honors instead.</p>

5

<p>Yeah sorry your gpa is too low. Your ECs cannot save you. You really should have concentrated on your grades instead of doing all those ECs.</p>

6

<p>I have to say it is not impossible like the others make it out to be. Look at it like this. If you take a rigorous course load your Junior Year (assuming you are a sophomore), and you get straight A’s, keep up your EC’s and prepare for the SAT and get a 2150+ I would say you have a small chance.</p>

7

Hey everyone,

Just finished my sophomore year of high school which was meh…ok.

After I graduate HS, I want to go to an engineering school and major in biomedical engineering, I am trying to get my grades up so I can aim for schools like University of Michigan, Georgia Tech, Boston University, WPI, Tufts, Johns Hopkins, WashU, and Cornell.

Sophmore year in HS
4.2 UW GPA
640 SAT 2 Biology
2 APs Biology and Comp Sci (Waiting For Scores)
Johns Hopkins CTY Student

Extracurriculars
Quiz Bowl Captain
Former Science Team Member
Mentoring Club
Entrepeneurship Club
Hackathon Prize Winner

I know my GPA is low and subject tests scores are too, any ideas of how I can improve on that?

P.S. I am deeply passionate in math and science

8

@amr1234 since you’re a rising junior here’s a strong tip I wish i’d known for my ECs. do an EC that’s extremely unique or excel in an EC that makes you stand out. a unique EC could be (although hard) visiting africa to do work with idk a hospital or a basic one could be starting a club. being a general member of a club is not going to help that much.

what differentiated people who got into schools like cornell and johns hopkins when i was in hs was the fact that they interned at a doctor and was a president of a club for example. the ones who didnt get in didnt do much outside of school (other than being just regular general members of a club) and this hurt them. so basically, do unique and worthwile stuff lol.