Chance? LOW SAT SCORE- good extras. (HUMAN ECO)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

<p>Wondering if I should even shoot a chance at Cornell's Human Ecology school for Fiber Science & Textile Design (Fashion Design). Cornell is the only university I'm applying to; the rest are art-based schools. i am very aware my SAT score blows and my grades aren't up to par, wondering if the rest makes up?</p>

<h2>Does Cornell favor portfolio over grades (like most art schools do) in terms of my desired major (fashion design)?</h2>

<p>basics: female, asian</p>

<p>(ALL CLASSES HONORS) Sophomore grades:
don't have exact grades right now, but all A's except 1 B-, 1 B+</p>

<p>(ALL CLASSES HONORS) Junior grades:
- studio arts 96
- chemistry 93
- japanese III 86
- us II 96
- alg II 93
- brit lit 95</p>

<p>(ALL CLASSES HONORS) Senior schedule:
- AP language
- AP US (maybe)
- japanese IV
- precalc
- studio arts</p>

<p>GPA:
4.04/4.5</p>

<p>SAT: 1640 </p>

<p>Portfolio: CONFIDENT IN MY PORTFOLIO. mixed media; charcoal, watercolor, paint, pencil, pastel, marker. still lifes, portraits, human figures. 200% handmade sewn garments, crocheted garments, fashion figures</p>

<p>School Clubs:
- president of Yarn Club, 3 yrs
- vice pres of Japanese National Honors Society, 2 yrs
- vice pres of Japanese Club, 3 yrs
- student council representative, 3 yrs
- art expo, 4 yrs
- certified lifeguard (not school related but whatever), 2yrs</p>

<p>Art related activities:
- fashion institute of technology summer course, 2 yrs
- held studio tour with personal artwork, 1 (upcoming 2) yrs
- county awards; 4 yrs selected participation, 1 yr honorable mention, 1 yr judges' award
- independent art studies in Thailand, 1 yr</p>

<p>Fashion/work experience:
- PROJECT NYC exhibitor (very large tradeshow, must be retailer/brand representative), 1yr
- menswear brand HU internship, 1yr
- womenswear brand NW LLC. internship, 4 yrs
- middle school robotics mentorship/math tutor, 2yr
- sales associate at boutique, 1yr as of now</p>

<p><strong><em>i feel like my fashion/work experience is definitely out of the ordinary/intermediate for my age. i was the only one aged under 20 at the tradeshow and it's very RARE for high school students to obtain internships @ fashion houses. but i'm not sure if it makes up for my score.</em></strong></p>

<p>i plan on retaking SATs, but i am not going to exceed 1900. i'm also not banking on high SAT II scores (taking math/lit. safety measures 620+). i'm worried Cornell may prioritize my SAT score over my portfolio, regardless of the fact that my major of choice is art-based. </p>

<p>thanks</p>

2

<p>That SAT score is really far to low to have a realistic chance. A big reach in my opinion because while your intended degree may be art-based, Cornell does not admit on narrow interests generally speaking. </p>

<p>A 1900+ would drastically raise those chances though.</p>

<p>Given your other academic successes, I think you should be capable of scoring at least 2000+ on the SAT. My guess isn’t that the issue the amount of time you are studying, but HOW you are studying. Make sure you aren’t passively reading the SAT review books and spending most of your time actively engaging in questions, especially reflecting on why you got the questions wrong that you got wrong.</p>

3

<p>Yes, SAT and grades are the first things they look at. If they are not even close to par then you won’t get seriously considered. Why are you so pessimistic? Study hard now and try to raise your SAT to ~1900-2000+ in October.</p>

4

<p>thanks, i’m just a horrendously awful test taker. one of those that completely freak out with the test and end up scoring low. </p>

<p>i appreciate the responses</p>

5

<p>If you are a horrible test taker, then take steps to improve that skill. It’s a necessary skill for college anyway. Being a good test taker is a skill that can be learned and improved, but it takes time. You should have enough time to improve that skill for the SAT.</p>

6

<p>thanks, i think i’m going to get a tutor for my october SAT. and i really do think that my scores have to do with how comfortable i am given surroundings lol. i’m not worried about tests in college since i’ll have some familiarity with the setting. and i always score 90+ on high school in-class tests</p>

<p>or maybe i’m just making up excuses haha</p>

7

<p>The SAT is a different kind of test. The onus is more on you to become familiar with the test, versus a normal class where you have a teacher guiding you to become familiar with the material they are teaching you. The SAT is actually good practice for college because there is less hand-holding for tests.</p>

8

<p>most definitely true, i think i’m going to try for ACT as well. who knows how my SAT IIs are going to go – but thank you for your input. much appreciated, i’m hoping my experiences really do stand out</p>

9

<p>Your experieces may stand out, but they will not forgive test scores which may result in Cornell questioning whether you can successfully handle the level of course work. They do this, not as much for them, but to not put the student in a situation that they predict they will unlikely succeed in.</p>

10

<p>understandable, but my core courses for my desired major are revolved around art/visuality, which is proven success by my portfolio/art experiences</p>

<p>my main concern is: does cornell strictly look at SAT over an exceptional portfolio, advanced fashion experiences, and good grades?</p>

11

<p>No, they don’t. But your SAT is REALLY low for Cornell. Substantially below pretty much all admitted students. Even at least a 1900+ would put you in a range where numerous students are accepted (though still where many more are rejected).</p>

12

<p>oh and i forgot to add quick question:</p>

<p>will a Cornell alumni recommendation letter increase my chances (does not have to be drastic, but contemplating if i should ask). one of my coworkers at my internship offered to write me a letter- she majored in same field of interest.</p>

13

<p>Make sure you follow the recommendation requirements, but I don’t think that one would hurt at all. It matters much more that your coworker is in a similar field than that she’s Cornell alum (unless she donates mega money).</p>

14

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<p>…this was also a source of frustration in the college admissions phase for both of my D’s, who were significantly better at reading / writing than they were in math. Neither intended major in anything remotely similair to math, yet their math scores were weighted as heavily as their other scores in both standardized testing and class grades. With a 1640 total SAT score I assume that your CR and M scores are between 500-600? Only 13% of last year’s freshman had CR reading scores of under 600 & only 5% had under 600 in Math. In addition one must wonder what percentage of these were recruited athletes, under represented minorities, legacies, etc.</p>

15

<p>okay, it’s because i have 4 options for my recommendation letter and can only pick 2. a letter from either: studio arts teacher (knows me best), principal (knows my school involvement), english teacher, co worker (same field of interest, cornell alumni)</p>

<p>and agreed, definitely trying to bump my score</p>