Chance at Cornell RD

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

<p>General Information:</p>

<p>Year: Senior this Fall.
Age entering college: 17
Ethnicity: African-Canadian (Born in Nigeria, West Africa)
Location: Canada (I go to the top public school in Western Canada)
Class Rank: School doesn't rank, I would probably gaurantee top 5%
SAT: Not taken yet (When answering, assume a 2250+ score, I never score lower on practice tests. Will be taking it in October)
SAT II: Math II and Chemistry (Will be taking these in November on the same day, expect a 750+ based on practice)
Family Income: $150000-$200000 (Not something we talk about lol)</p>

<p>Grades</p>

<ul>
<li>Freshman Year Grades: N/A, these are not put on transcripts where I live (Alberta) because high school starts in grade 10.</li>
<li>Sophomore Year: Essentially straight As, marks ranged from high to mid 90s.</li>
<li>Junior Year: First semester I basically had straight As, with one 89% (we do percentage GPAs here) and one 87%. Second semester I fell off a bit, with all my grades in the high 80s; which is why I'm making this thread haha. </li>
<li>Senior Year: Unknown so far, I'm going to work WAY harder than I did in the second half of my junior year and shoot for straight As.
-Cumulative GPA: 3.8 UW (I THINK), well over 4.0 W</li>
</ul>

<p>Honor Level Courses: I'm in the IB Certificate program because I had a teacher in grade 9 for Humanities who decided not to give me a recommendation for Social or English IB despite having high 90s in both her classes. The IB Classes I do take are:</p>

<p>IB French A (IB 10, 20, 30)
Pre-IB Science (Pre-IB 10)
IB Biology SL (No HL offered) (IB 20, 30)
IB Physics SL (No HL Offered) (IB 20, 30)
IB Math SL (Couldn't fit HL into my schedule because I'm taking all 3 sciences) (IB 20, 30, 31)
IB Chemistry HL (IB 20, 25, 35, 30)</p>

<p>I only started taking IB exams this May so I don't know any of my scores out of 7 yet, I felt good when writing them though so I expect to do well.</p>

<p>Extra-Curriculars</p>

<ul>
<li>Club Basketball for about 5 years (Equivalent of AAU in the USA)</li>
<li>Varsity Football (Sophomore and Junior years, will likely play as a Senior)
Community Basketball (9 years)</li>
<li>Royal Canadian Air Cadets (For 3 years, attained the rank of Flight Corporal, Cadets is a great leadership program)</li>
<li>Patti Falconer Acting/Modelling Agency (Received many scholarships to acting schools outside Alberta, that I was unable to attend because we won't move. I also received an offer of a lead role in Like Mike 2 the movie; but was unable to participate because my parent's were not around for me to go to Vancouver for the casting. I was 12 or 13 iirc.)</li>
<li>Debate Club, never won anything significant </li>
</ul>

<p>Awards:</p>

<ul>
<li>Honor Society (All of High School)</li>
<li>Alexander Rutherford Scholarship (National Scholarship for Academic Acheivement, received for all of high school)</li>
<li>Northern Basketball Camp All-Star x3</li>
</ul>

<p>Work/Volunteer Experience:</p>

<ul>
<li>Refereed basketball for 2 years. Paid about $13 per game.</li>
<li>Calgary Women's Show: Packing gift bags for thousands of attendees</li>
<li>Helped paint a bridge and do a garage sale for a Women's Shelter in Okotoks</li>
<li>Vacation Bible School Crew Leader at Church for 2 years</li>
<li>Volunteering every Sunday at church for 6 years as a youth leader, teaching younger kids</li>
<li>Tech Management Leader at Church</li>
<li>Miscellaneous other things that I could bring up if I had my resume handy haha.</li>
</ul>

<p>The last thing I want to say is that I'm well respected around the school by teachers, and I'm a good writer so the essay and teacher recommendations shouldn't be a problem. </p>

<p>In regards to the essay, I'm still debating between writing about how travel (I've lived in Scotland, Norway, USA, Canada, Nigeria) has affected my output on life, and writing something race-related. Input on that would be appreciated.</p>

<hr>

<p>When chancing me, take my black URM status into account so it's more like what would happen with the real admissions officer. </p>

<p>Also I will be applying for pre-med if that is relevant at all.</p>

2

<p>GPA could be better, but I think you have a decent shot as long as you get good SAT scores. Being in a part of an underrepresented minority doesn’t hurt, either.</p>

3

<p>I don’t know how it works for internationals, but your URM status and your predicted SAT score plus all the rest suggests a good chance. I’m pretty sure a 3.8 is higher than the average around where I’m from, plus it’s all Asians around here. The girl from my school that got in last year was straight A IB program with the extra curriculars and all that.</p>

4

<p>Sorry, I read 3.8 weighted. I agree, that is definitely above average. Of course it could be improved a bit, but it’s Cornell material.</p>

<p>Just a note- this most likely doesn’t apply to you, but just in case anyone else sees this thread- you’ll be less likely to achieve financial aid if you’re an international student, and Cornell is NOT need-blind for international students.</p>

5

<p>Financial aid isn’t a huge issue. I’ll probably have a lot of scholarship money and my parents can pay the difference I think lol.</p>

<p>Hey if they’re gonna pressure me to go to good schools, they better be ready to shell out cash lol.</p>

6

<p>bump bump bump</p>

7

<p>Be very careful with your essay topic. Travel is very often cliched. You’re going to want to present that in a unique manner if you want to impress admissions folks.</p>

8

<p>Okay Brian, thanks for the advice. I’m not emphasizing travel, so much as the experience I’ve gained from living in so many different countries and experiencing different cultures.</p>