Chance for Cornell Engineering ED

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

<p>I've been looking around on the other chance threads, and just random things all over CC, and I feel like my application is looking okay, but I have this awkward EC situation (at least in my opinion)
Anyway, here goes:
I have an unweighted average of 92.3, with my English and history grades absolutely demolishing it. No honors, and one AP (calc AB) in three years.
(Only listing core classes)</p>

<p>Freshman - first term/second term : average
English - 88/90 : 89
History - 85/85 : 85
Geometry - 95/88 : 91.5
Biology - 92/91 : 91.5
Japanese - 94/91 : 92.5</p>

<p>Sophomore -
English - 90/80 : 85
History - 88/94 : 91
Trigonometry - 91/95 : 93
Chemistry - 92/94 : 93
Japanese - 93/94 : 93.5</p>

<p>Junior -
English - 94/80 : 87
History - 90/95 : 92.5
Precalculus - 94/91 : 92.5
AP Calculus AB - 93/97 : 95 (Scored 5 on the AP)
Physics - 96/98 : 97
Japanese - 90/92 : 91</p>

<p>Senior year classes :
Standard English (Maybe AP if I get lucky with programming), AP Micro/macro econ, AP Japanese, AP Physics C, Multivariate/differential calculus. Maybe AP Comp Sci (again, if I get lucky with programming).</p>

<p>SAT: 2140.
700/740/700 (CR/M/W).
I believe Cornell Engineering disregards the writing score, so 1440, but I'm too used to looking at SAT scores against the shiny and golden 2400 to understand what a 1440 means.</p>

<p>SAT II:
Math IIC : 800
Physics : 800</p>

<p>I happen to be very stupid when taking tests, and make ridiculous amounts of careless and stupid errors, so my math score on the SAT I (which is not forgiving, but much easier) is lower than my SAT II math (which I believe is more forgiving for careless errors, but much more difficult).</p>

<p>Okay, here's where I feel things get weird and kind of dumb.
ECs: (!!)
Freshman: I was a useless freshman
hopped around random clubs, joined everything, gave them up after a week, stuck with some things, gave them up after the year. Really nothing noticeable... I joined a volunteering group that I never attended, and some other clubs I thought were fun but turned out to be not as fun. No sports, although I did want to try out for this rollerhockey club team, but didn't because I realized that I would have been broken.</p>

<p>Sophomore: Things start getting interesting! ish.
Continued one club from freshman year, not exactly a big deal considering it was one of those "fun" clubs. Then, when the winter season came along, I tried out for track, and fell in love. I essentially gave everything I had to the sport, and ended up having no time for anything else. It was indoor and outdoor track, so it covered the winter season and the spring season (About one week in between seasons for break). </p>

<p>Junior:
Stuck with track. Felt like I needed to get better so I decided to join cross country, even though I'm absolutely horrible at it. Indoor season for track went beautifully, outdoor season wasn't so great (regarding improvement), but I ended on an amazing note.</p>

<p>Freshman -> Sophomore summer:
Self-studied SATs, not much else.</p>

<p>Sophomore -> Junior summer:
Computer science program at Columbia U
Some volunteer work at an American Cancer Society office (less than 40 hours)
Some volunteer work at a Chinese school (less than 80 hours)</p>

<p>Junior -> Senior summer: This is now.
Self-employed job involving canvassing.
Cross Country/Sprints camp (one week long, hasn't occurred yet)</p>

<p>I'm definitely doing ED to Cornell, but I'm assuming my grades and test scores aren't amazing enough to carry my application, and my ECs don't exactly show long term dedication (missed out on freshman year), but it is something I'm quite dedicated to. I'm also not amazing enough to be recruited. Just getting that out there.</p>

2

<p>Eyeballing things quickly –</p>

<p>I haven’t converted your grades the usual “4” point system, but it looks A- ish (say 3.7-3.8). As an unweighted GPA, this is ok, but not great. </p>

<p>The thing that stands out here is that you say that you have no honors and only one AP in three years. If this is because your school does not have honors classes – it’s ok. If your school has these courses and you haven’t taken them, I have to be honest here, I don’t think that I’ve seen a serious applicant without a predominance of Honors/AP classes asking for chances to Cornell. Cornell lists “Rigor of Secondary School Record” as a Very Important factor in admissions, see, e.g., Cornell 2010-11 Common Data Set, Section C 7. So this will probably be a negative – I can’t say how much of a negative. I do see you’re trying to make up for this with an ambitious senior year schedule, which may help some.</p>

<p>SATs – I think you’re right, in that Cornell (or at least Cornell Engineering) doesn’t use the writing score. A 1440 is probably about average (perhaps slightly above average, but not seriously so).</p>

<p>ECs – Here, I wouldn’t be as concerned as you. Freshman year, you tried a lot of things. This is good. Trying a lot of things is one of the things you should be doing Freshman year. – Sophomore year, you found track, loved it, and it became a passion – nothing wrong there. This is even a possible essay topic, about how you had to try a lot of things before you found what you liked. Overall – the ECs aren’t Amazing (e.g., a Siemen’s Award Winner, but they’re not bad either).</p>

<p>Overall – if you had a stronger schedule, I’d say that your application probably has an ‘average’ chance for Cornell Engineering (i.e., target). Keep in mind that the overall admit rate is about 20%. ED would help your chances somewhat. In cases like these, essays and recommendations are the deciding factor.</p>

<p>In your case – I think you must talk to your guidance counselor to find out what the likely impact of your lack of honors will be. If the impact is minimal, Cornell is a ‘target’ school for you.If not, then Cornell is probably a reach and possibly a far reach. In such event, you should still apply, but it’s a longshot.</p>

3

<p>Well there were only honors for math and science classes if that makes anything better…
My average in both subjects weren’t good enough to take any honors. ;-;
As for English and history, there were APs starting in sophomore year, but again, my average was never high enough to take any.</p>

<p>But thanks for the advice, I’ll make sure I see my guidance counselor as soon as the school year starts!</p>

4

<p>Some schools tend to lack AP and honors courses, and it would be unfair to look down on a student merely because the school didn’t offer the rigorous curriculum one would have wished to pursue. As long as the student made the most out of what the school has to offer, he/she can’t get penalized. </p>

<p>I found your SAT II scores to be impressive. Full marks on both physics and math prove you’re well past the threshold of handling an engineering course load (since physics and math tend to revolve a lot around engineering). </p>

<p>People usually provide a weighted/unweighted GPA on chance threads so I can’t really assess your “average percent”.</p>

<p>SAT I score is decent but could be better in my opinion.</p>

<p>The only part I see lacking is your extracurriculars. Is there something in particular that you’re really passionate towards and involved with quite a lot? Remember, quality>quantity. If you can tie your passion in an extracurricular along with your academic goals at Cornell, I think you’d have a solid chance coupled with an ED. Best of luck~</p>

5

<p>Sorry to say it, but I think if there were honors math and science classes in your HS that you weren’t qualified to take, that is going to be seen as a pretty serious negative for Engineering admissions. Your SAT II scores may somewhat mitigate that, but they are going to wonder why you weren’t in those honors classes if you had the ability (As demonstrated by the SAT IIs)</p>

6

<p>What if I explain that I didn’t really find an interest in any subject until junior year? Is that something I should make sure finds a spot on my application, or should I just make with what I have and hope for the best when November rolls along?</p>

7

<p>Cheight</p>

<p>Honestly, I think this question is beyond the expertise of any non-professional and needs to be discussed with a GC. Maybe it’s a serious problem, maybe a minor one. None of us really knows.</p>

<p>Having said that …</p>

<p>I don’t think your explanation works. To the extent that your school offers Honors/AP courses and a University wants to see that you took the most Rigorous Schedule, you have a problem. Many students don’t know what they want – they take honors in everything.</p>

<p>Others may be great in English (and get As in the honors courses) but less fantastic in science (and get Bs in honors courses). However, most of the Cornell Applicants will have taken predominently Honors/AP courses through out their HS careers, regardless of interest in any particular subject.</p>

<p>Putting this into perspective – what I think we’ve done is identified a deficiency in your otherwise strong HS resume. Don’t lose heart – MOST students who are admitted to Cornell and other equivalent schools have some weakness. The myth that you need a perfect resume for any Ivy is just that a myth (though a perfect resume wouldn’t hurt!!).</p>

<p>What it comes down to though, is that I have no idea how serious this will be (and frankly, I don’t think many others who post here do either). I could say ‘you have no chance’, or I could say ‘no big deal’, but either statement would be of no help to you. Cornell does what it does, and my opinion is truly meaningless in any event.</p>

<p>So, you need to get information from a professional who has more knowledge about the college process than posters here.</p>