Chance and Match Me: HS Junior to Cornell, Boston U, Vanderbilt for Biology

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Demographics

  • US citizen
  • NJ resident
    Attends Top/Competitive Private School in NJ
  • Female/White/Jewish
  • Legacy for Cornell(Parent)(secondary legacy with aunt who attended human ecology college within Cornell if that matters)

**Biology Major(s) or similar to that

  • My school does not calculate gpa but around 3.7-3.75(not certain)
  • My school does not do class rank
  • ACT/SAT Scores: currently have a 33 superscore [ACT] will try to get 34 when applying

Coursework
Freshman and Sophomore year I took normal classes since my school doesn’t do AP classes during those years. Includes Biology and Chemistry for these two years

My school does not offer many AP’s and teaches classes at an honors level
Accelerated math for two years
Currently a Junior

Junior Year:
AP Human Geo-did not take ap test yet
AP Biology-did not take ap test yet
Spanish IV
Reg English Sem(school does not have honors or ap english)
Precalculus
Anatomy and Physiology

Senior Year(next yr classes)(could only take six majors in school)
Spanish V
Calculus
English
Honors Physics
Environmental Science/AP Stat(decision between these two)
Peer Group leader (possibly)

Out of school APs
AP Psych
AP Enviro

Extracurriculars

Athletics

Varsity Basketball-Sophmore and Senior Year(going to be captain senior year)
Varsity Lacrosse-Sophmore Year
Varsity Soccer-Sophmore,Junior, Senior Year(going to be captain senior year)

Additional Extracurriculars/Leadership Roles

TAG(Teen Advisory Group)(Leadership Role Next Year)
Ambassador for Tour Guides(Leadership Position)
EnACT(Member)
Debate Club(Member)
Model UN(Member)
Science Club(Member)(possible head next year)
Science Olympiad(Member)
Science Meets Society(Member)
Energy and Climate Scholar(leadership position)
Jewish Union(Head of Jewish Union Senior Year)
TLC Member(Teen Leadership Council)-Jewish Organization
Intern for StandwithUs-Jewish Organization
My senior year I could be a peer group leader which is a leadership role

Work Experience

  • Worked at a summer camp for summer 2021
  • Will most likely get a summer job before my senior year

Volunteering
Freshman Year-Tour Guide(10 Hours)
Sophmore Year-Tour Guide, Summer Camp Counselor(two months)-(70 Hours)
Junior YearCurrent-Tour Guide, EnACT, TAG, and I will be volunteering at various hospitals this summer

(200+ volunteer hours overall)

Essays/LORs/Other
I have not started writing college essays but my school has a good college counseling team so I will most likely have great essays and great recommendations.

Cost Constraints / Budget
I have no budget on schools(parents have no restriction on tuition)

Schools(no scholarships necessary)
ED: Cornell University-College Human Ecology HBHS(top choice) or College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

  • Safety
    Syracuse(RD), , Virginia Tech(EA), University of Delaware(EA)

  • Match
    American(RD), George Washington(RD), University of Maryland(EA), Rutgers University(EA)

  • Reach
    Boston University(RD/possible EDII), UNC(EA), Northeastern(EA), UMiami(EA), University of Florida(RD), University of Michigan(EA), Georgetown(EA), UVA(EA), Cornell University(ED), Duke University(RD), Vanderbilt(RD/possible EDII)

disclaimer
These are just all the schools on my current list but I will not applying to all of them.

Thank you for helping me out!

2

You need to estimate your standing within the class. Top 5% Top 30%? While your school doesn’t give class rank, colleges are estimating it!

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My opinion…and I’m not an adcom.

University of Delaware is a likely admit for you. Syracuse and VA Tech are (in my opinion) matches, not likely admits.

@AustenNut

@DJ_Lightman if this screennname is your real name, I would urge you to change it. @CC_Sorin @CC_Jon

4

I don’t believe colleges superscore ACT
Since you are from a private school whose grading standards may be different from the common experience, you should look at your Naviance first.

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Yes, many colleges will superscore the ACT.

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6

I think Syracuse and Virginia Tech are matches, and Delaware is a likely acceptance.

I also think that Maryland and GW might be a tough admit for you (this doesn’t mean you won’t be accepted).

I think this list is reach heavy, and I would add a few more likely schools. I may change my mind if you provide an estimate of your rank. Are you top 5%? Top 20%?

7

Once again, my school does not do class rank and students tend to take various classes on many levels. If I had to predict, I would say around top 20-25% in a grade with around 120 students.

8

Yes, I understand that your school does not rank. Keep in mind that colleges will compare you to your classmates, so an estimate would be helpful.

Thank you for providing an estimate of top 20-25%. I think your list is reach heavy, and I would add 1-2 more likely schools so that you have choices. As I mentioned, I see Syracuse and VT as matches.

Does your school have Naviance? What does your guidance counselor say?

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9

Your GC will have a much better idea as to your odds than anybody on CC.

I don’t really see the thread through where you are applying, beyond either vaguely urban or big college town. I do know of a few people who got the freshman transfer offer from Cornell who used UMi for their first year. What is your goal? are you thinking med school?

Top quarter of the class from the competitive private school schools I know best, would struggle to get into Cornell, but with legacy + a genuine interest in HBHS (though I don’t see anything in your ECs that shouts HBHS) it’s plausible.

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Congratulations on your record so far!
Talk with your guidance counselor or college counselor and get an estimate of your class rank. Let’s say it is top25%. In the last 3 yrs, have at least 20% of your class gone gone to schools like Cornell? If so, you may be in the ballpark as of course it is not all rank related. If only 5% have and you are only top25%, you will need something extraordinary even with legacy to get in.
Perhaps more importantly, per these highly rejective schools themselves: the Transcript is most important, meaning your course rigor not just your grades. For a Cornell type of school, you need to have taken almost all honors offered and the hardest APs: your transcript needs to show you have challenged yourself every year across all areas. Does your school offer a different AP science than APES? Take it. Does your school offer AP calculus? Take it. Legacy will not make up for a lack of rigor, it is not that significant of a hook especially the last couple of yrs. The transcript is far more important than ECs : it is extremely rare that an outstanding EC would makeup for a lackluster transcript.

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Thank you for your thoughts! My school considers “all courses honors” and therefore there are only a few AP classes to take in science. Since my school does not offer AP Enviro or AP Psych, I am planning to take those AP tests out of school. Next year, I would like to take Calculus and AP Stat, since I do not intend to take AP Calc my senior year. Since it is also my senior year, I do not want to stress myself out over another hard AP, (I am taking AP Bio this year) and I do not want to take AP Chem. Instead I would like to take Honors Physics. Therefore my science courses will include, AP Stat, Calculus and Honors Physics. I may also decide to take Environmental Science but it is unlikely to fit into my schedule. Let me know if you have any thoughts or suggestions on my choices.

12

Just realize that choosing not to take those harder APs will likely affect your chances at the most highly selective schools, as others potentially many others at your school will have at least one of them, AP Calc or AP Chem, potentially both on their transcript. At Duke, Cornell and the like it will matter. However, you could go for them and still not get in, so pick what is best for your sanity, just understand the ramifications of the choice. The vast majority of kids on Duke’s campus (and Cornell’s i am sure too) thrive on intellectual challenge and it invigorates them. For the ones who had hard courses available to them in HS, they took them. That may or may not sound like a group of peers that will “fit” you, but it is important to understand.

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13

You will be compared to your peers. If your peers are taking AP calc and you are not, if your peers are taking AP physics and you are taking honors, that will likely be an issue for the most selective schools on your list.

That being said, I would not take those classes if it will add additional stress that is difficult to manage. Mental health is very important. I would take the classes that you could manage and do well in, and adjust your list accordingly if necessary. I would also speak with your guidance counselor.

Congratulations on your accomplishments!

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I think you go to a top private school in NJ and therefore you can’t be rated. If I rated you by the #s as if you went to a piblic, your list would be pretty accurate…a little movement to one side or another.

But you don’t go to a public and surely this top private hs has guidance counselors and surely they know the schools that kids with your profile have success at.

So that’s who you should be talking to.

Good luck.

15

I think your plan is reasonable, to ED cornell where you are legacy, plus you have a large list of potentials in reach, match, safety. How do no-hook legacy students from your school tend to do for cornell ED? Also, keep in mind that there may be a supreme court decision regarding racial preferences in admissions before next September, and the colleges may not have the time to quickly scramble to find proxies for race, which then too will be challenged. In California, when public admissions went race blind, and before they went test blind, the percentage of Asian admits skyrocketed. You may be in that first year to ride that wave.

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Your counselor and naviance are the best source of guidance. I would not expect an admit to any of the reaches except possibly BU if applying early. Many Cornell legacies will have stronger records.

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The guidance counselor at your top/competitive private HS will be the best source of advice and information.

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Sorry, I’m confused here, would this be beneficial for me?

19

I think you can glean a lot of OP info from their last thread of two months ago …which has a slightly different list.

What are my chances and matches? US HS Junior - What Are My Chances and Matches? - College Confidential Forums

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It likely won’t matter other than a chaotic admissions environment. As a legacy your chances improve from perhaps 10% to up to 25%. The vast majority of legacies are denied, and it is quite likely others in your hs class are also legacies with whom you will be competing.