Chance at Cornell? (HS sophmore: what should i improve before i apply?)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

I’m a highschool sophomore looking into colleges and it’s my dream to go to Cornell. My school is the #1 private school in the state (Kentucky) and #1 school in the state (public and private) and has a great reputation.

Weighted GPA: 4.05
Unweighted GPA: 3.79
SAT: i got a 1400 on the PSAT (this is with 0 preparation, i will start SAT tutoring this month)
ACT: i have not taken it yet
AP credits: AP Government and Politics (only AP offered sophmore year, none offered freshman year)
Junior/Senior Year Planned APs: AP Calculus AB, AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Psychology, APUSH, AP Comp Sci, AP statistics, AP Lang and Lit, and MAYBE AP Latin
Other advanced classes: Advanced Algebra I and II, Adv. Geometry, Adv. Pre-Calculus, Adv. Physics, Adv. Chemistry, Adv. Biology, Honors (program which includes classes like philosophy, philanthropy and is well known by colleges (it looks good)
Planned Major: Something to do with pre-medicine or psychology

Sport Extracurriculars:
JV field hockey for 2 years and will be on varsity junior and senior year, awarded All-Tournament Team Member (at the end of the tournament one player is awarded this from each team, also it was the only award)
Varsity Cross Country
Varsity Track and Field: I have reason to believe i will be captain junior year if not sophomore year also, I run the 400m and 200m with a 400m time of 1:05 that I might be able to get down to a minute or below which could mean I could get recruited by other schools
Varsity Swim Team

Academic Extracurriculars/Clubs (i am probably going to be president or co president of book club and archery club in senior year):
Science Olympiad
Book Club
Girl-Up (community service club)
KYA/KUNA (kuna is kentucky united nations assembly, kya is kentucky youth assembly)
Archery Club
Mu Alpha Theta (it’s a math club/society)
Education Justice Activists (tutoring, not at school it’s downtown with an official non profit)

Other Stuff:
Perfect Score on National Latin Exam (only 1 other person in my school got a perfect score)
15+ hours of community service, i will have at least more than 100 when i apply (i’m doing a lot this summer and next summer)
This summer i’m doing an oxbridge academic program (located at Harvard) which is a month long academic program and the majors I’m selecting are neuropsycology and minor in medicine. Summer before senior year I intend to find an internship or research program in biology here in my hometown.

My main focuses this year are going to be my SAT and getting more volunteer hours. I know I don’t have a shot at one of the more prestigious Ivy’s like Princeton or Harvard but I’m hoping that I might be able to get into here!!

There might be more I’m forgetting but I think that’s it!

2

Seriously man, you need to chill. There is nothing anyone on College Confidential can tell you to improve your chances. Just keep trying your best in school and doing what interests you. Basically, you do you. Do what you like doing and you might get into Cornell and you might not get into Cornell, but either way you will have had a positive high school experience and will end up at a college you love. Good luck, and seriously just enjoy high school and you will do great.

3

@youremyuniverse I agree with the above poster, but will add that getting an early start on the college preparation process is a good thing. I’m a senior now and will be attending Cornell this fall and I started touring and prepping the summer after my freshman year because I really wanted to go to Cornell. Most of my friends didn’t even start looking or researching schools until last October and most of them had to scramble to meet application deadlines for regular decision and are still waiting to hear from their safety schools.

Anyway, based on what you’ve written you are off to a good start and on the right track. You sure you can handle that many ECs and sports? I mean, you have to live a little. The best decision I ever made was dropping a sport and a club before my senior year - especially with 5 AP classes on the schedule. I would have been miserable and constantly exhausted.

Cornell looks for people who excel but also people who know how to manage life. There are some applicants who get perfect SAT scores, have taken 15 AP classes by the time they graduate, and have a list of ECs a long as your arm - and they still don’t get in. Why is that? No one really knows how the admission process works, but I suspect a place like Cornell wants passionate, smart HUMANS, not stressed out robots who create ridiculous profiles just to get into an Ivy.

Keep up the good work, and just focus on doing the things you like the most really, really well, rather than trying to do a little bit of everything. I had two sports and two extracurricular activities and that’s it, but I did them all four years and was passionate about them. I also focused on getting good grades in tough classes, but also added a mental break class or two to my schedule (like art). I also used my summers wisely with a professional internship in NYC one year and biomedical research the other year prior to applying.

Don’t force yourself into things because of bad advice from a parent or an internet article. Again, Cornell wants real, genuine people who will go on to do great things. When they read 50,000 applications each year, it’s easy for them to pick out the kids who just pad their resumes. They are looking for awesome people, not awesome lists.

PS: Definitely apply early decision if Cornell is your #1. It will boost your chances by about double over RD.