Chance if you have time please

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

<p>Hey everyone. I have never asked for a chance before but I am too worried about my application not to so here goes.
Male
Pathetic Public school from the middle of nowhere; 1 maybe 2 Ivy league students per class
SAT: 2040 (M:740 W:680 CR:620 Essay: 10) [Low for Ivy I know]
SAT II: Chem: 700 Math 1: 650 (had a bad test day and couldn't afford the retake)
GPA (unweighted): 3.99
GPA (weighted): 4.1
Rank: 4/225 (very competitive class this year)
Intended Major: Biochemistry (CAS)
Essays: I liked them when I sent them, but the more I look over them and think about what I should have written I hate them. But who knows.</p>

<p>Freshman Classes:
Band- A
Computer App1-A
Health-A
Honors English 9-A
Honors Geometry-A
Honors Physical Science-A
Honors Wd. History/Geography- A
Gym-A
Spanish 1-A</p>

<p>Sophomore Classes:
Computer App2-A
Driver/Career Ed-A
Honors Alg II- A
Honors Alg III/ Pre-Calc- B+
Honors Biology-A
Honors Chemistry-A
Honors English 10-A
Honors Gov't and Econ-A
Journalism-A
Gym-A
Spanish II-A</p>

<p>Junior Classes:
APUSH-A (3 on exam)
AP Chem-A (4 on exam)
AP Stat-A (5 on exam)
Kitchen Skills-A
Health II-A
Honors American Lit-A
Honors Spanish III-A
Honors Spanish IV-A
Gym-A
SAT Prep-A</p>

<p>Senior Classes:
AP English Lang/ Comp
AP Calculus
AP Biology
AP Euro.
Honors Brit Lit-A
AP Enviro
Gym
Asian Cuisine
Service Learning</p>

<p><strong>DISCLAIMER</strong>- My school runs on a modified block schedule where classes go for a semester. We have 5 classes a day with no study hall and only a half hour break for lunch. AP classes are 1.5 credits and a year and a half long. Only honors and AP courses are weighted and they only start weighting courses beginning Junior year which explains why the #1 GPA is only a 4.15. All of the pathetic courses like gym, service learning, cooking, and such are the result of filling in gaps with the only classes that fit. Other classes such as computer, journalism, and SAT Prep were courses that were required for graduation. Cannot take AP Courses before junior year, max of 4 a year possible</p>

<p>Extra Curricular's:
JV Track-9
Varsity Track-10,11,12 (Likely captain this season)
Varsity Cross Country-10,11,12 (Captain senior year)
Marching Band-9
Orchestra-9
National Honor Society- 11,12 (Chosen to speak at induction ceremony senior year)
Spanish Club-11,12
Key Club-11,12
Youth Group- 9,10,11,12</p>

<p><strong>Disclaimer</strong>- All sports and clubs meet after school so students have to choose limited numbers so that they are not interfering. It is tough to balance more than a few clubs a year being a varsity athlete with only 2-3 months off during the winter. Most clubs were also eliminated the year before I entered high school because of losing our study hall which is when most clubs used to meet. There are no math or science clubs in the school. New principal = new rules = terrible EC's</p>

<p>Work Experience:
Lifeguard at Hersheypark- Summer after 9,10,11, and soon to be 12
Promoted between first and second years
1 of 4 guards allowed to train other guards on the attractions
1 of 10 guards who is allowed to fill in when a supervisor is unavailable to work
Chosen for a special team of guards for a skills audit based off of my leadership, cooperation, and knowledge. </p>

<p>Volunteer Service:
Local Food Bank: 9,10,11,12
Church Outreach Programs: 9,10,11,12
Church Acolyte: 9,10,11,12
Church Crucifer: 9,10,11,12
Church Communion Assistant: 10,11,12
Church Assisting Minister: 11,12</p>

<p>Awards:
Distinguished Honor Roll- 9,10,11,12
Rotary Club Student of the month- 12 (only available to seniors)
AP Scholar- 11 (hoping to raise the level with senior AP scores)
In the top 5000 SAT Score's in PA for year of 2011. (top 5% by my calculations)</p>

<p>Recommendations: Former AP Stat Teacher (current Math Department coordinator)- Good
AP Chem Teacher- Excellent, Guidance counselor- Great</p>

<p>Common App Essay- I really didn't like it. I chose a bad topic that I regretted as soon as I sent it in. The writing was well done, but the topic was mediocre at best.
Supplement Essay- I spent a lot of time on my supplement and I liked what I wrote. Hopefully the admissions office likes what I wrote as well.</p>

2

<p>Medium high-High reach. Your class ranking is very good, your ecs are fairly good (it actually depends… it seems like you have too many), but your SATs really needs improvement. Your school history doesn’t bode well either. You are applying to a competitive major. With that said, medium high-high reach.</p>

3

<p>I know the SATs are low but are they bad enough to outweigh everything else? Also my school has had a student in penn for the past 3 years and we have had a Harvard and a Princeton in the last few as well. Will my SATs be the determining factor in your opinion? Thanks for your response though. I appreciate your honesty and your time.</p>

4

<p>bump 10char</p>

5

<p>Thanks for the extra detail Colene. I appreciate it. I understand exactly what you mean about the SAT’s, I just wanted to know how important you thought they would be. I am actually very involved with my EC’s especially the sports, volunteer, and work parts. The others I am still actively involved, just to a lesser extent. Also, I’m not sure what made you think so, but I am not an international applicant. I am from Pennsylvania. Once again thanks for your honesty and opinion, I really appreciate the input.</p>

6

<p>Your grades are the best stats you have. Your ecs are very good. The thing is that your SATs are low enough that it makes your chances unlikely despite however amazing you are in the other aspects (and your chances are marginally hurt by the low number of kids you send to Cornell every year, and slightly hurt by the choice of major you have- biochem is popular). Your SATs and your presentation of your ECs will be the deciding factors.</p>

<p>About ECs earlier, I misread your post - I thought u were someone else. That was my mistake and i corrected my post here above^ - you are not international</p>

7

<p>Haha, okay. I was definitely confused there for a second. Thanks for the correction and re-explanation though. That really clears some things up. Also, not that it matters a lot, but I applied Chem major but since have decided to switch into biochem if accepted and if possible. Do you think Chemistry is as popular as Biochem or will that marginally raise my chances back up as opposed to a biochem major? Sorry for bothering you so much but you seem to be more educated, civil, and informed than most posters I have seen here on CC.</p>

8

<p>Biochem is a branch of bio, and bio is more overrepresented than chem - so if you are interested in chem, go for that instead. Don’t think so much about maximizing your chances - pick the one you are interested in more. Pick undecided if you aren’t sure - that doesn’t harm you.</p>

<p>Anyways, pretty much the only thing that’s holding you back is your SATs.</p>

9

<p>Well originally I wanted to major in chemistry, but I have since decided that I want to major in Biochem and then go to grad school for pharmacy. I didn’t like the idea of a 6 year pharmacy program because I wanted to have more options with a BA or BS in a science. After doing some research I realized that in order to fill the required classes I would need a larger mix of bio classes than I would have taken as a chem major, hence the change of heart. I did not do it to maximize chances, it was just a change of heart. But it’s somewhat nice to know that out of all the factors I presented that SAT’s seem to be the only problem. While they are a larger problem than I would like it’s nice that I’m not lacking in multiple areas.</p>