Hi there! I’m a rising HS Senior interested in applying to Cornell ED this fall. Any insights you have about my chances of getting admitted would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! 
Background Info
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[]Location: Pennsylvania
[li]Demographic: White Male[/li][li]Income Level: Upper Middle Class (not applying for FAFSA)[/li][li]GPA (Unweighted): 3.93[/li][li]GPA (Weighted): 4.34[/li][li]ACT/SAT: *31 (should I submit w/ test-optional policy??)[/li][li]AP Course List: US Gov’t (5), US History (4), English Language (4), Psychology (4), Environmental Science (N/A)[/li][/ul]
Extracurricular Activities
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[li]Class President; (9-12)[/li][li]Speech & Debate; (9-12); Congressional Debate Captain; Top 10 in US; State Champion; 3x Nat’l Competitor[/li][li]Democratic Club; (10-12); Founder & President; have connected numerous students to political internships through the club[/li][li]United Way County Youth Board; (9-12); Chairman; leads 40+ members & speaks to groups of 350+ about community service; redrafted bylaws[/li][li]Junior State of America Bi-Partisan Political Coalition; (9-12); President; created Speaker Series, in which elected officials meet my HS’ students monthly; created Mock Election[/li][li]Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA); (9-12); Co-President; 2x State Champ Qualifier & 1st in Region[/li][li]National Honor Society; (10-12); 2x keynote speaker at middle school NJHS induction[/li][li]Peer Counseling Program; (10-12); mentored 30 MS students on kindness, stress management, study skills[/li][li]County Poetry Competition Winner; (10); 1st Place out of 89 applicants[/li][/ul]
Internships/Volunteerism
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[li]Campaign Intern, US Congress Race; (12)[/li][li]Intern, County Executive; (11)[/li][li]Volunteer, 2 State Rep campaigns; (10-11)[/li][li]Volunteer, Numerous Local Charities; (9-12); 200+ hours of service[/li][/ul]
Disclaimer: I’m an incoming First-Year at Brown who was rejected from Cornell RD, however, I know two students who go to Cornell (one admitted ED this year and another who was admitted under the transfer option program.)
Like most similar universities, you should apply ED to Cornell if ALL of the following are true:
- You LOVE Cornell and would 110% attend if admitted.
- You're extremely confident that you can present a well thought out and crafted application by the ED Deadline of November 1st.
- You and your family could afford Cornell if admitted (run the financial aid calculators if applicable.)
Looking at the Class of 2023 Profile (https://admissions.cornell.edu/pdf/entering-class-profile ) your ACT score is right beneath Cornell’s 25th-75th percentile range of a 32-35. However, this means that 25% of admitted students at Cornell submitting the ACT had a 32 or below. I would definitely recommend submitting your test score, possibly retaking it after summer prep (and if test centers re-open,) unless you’re confident that you can demonstrate to admissions that you are academically prepared to handle the coursework at Cornell.
However, after you meet this standard, it’s up to the rest of your application: your essays, interview (ik Cornell says on their website that they don’t offer interviews, but I applied to Arts & Sciences and was contacted by a “Cornell Ambassador,” who is basically an interviewer) and letters of recommendation. It’s up to those pieces of your application to show how you will utilize the resources at Cornell (which admissions also determines, apart from your essay, from how you’ve utilized your high school’s resources,) and will go on from Cornell to become a researcher, doctor, lawyer, politics etc: someone who Cornell will be proud of to call their future alumni. So make sure every word counts in your essays!
Hope this helps! Good luck with admissions!
There’s no way to give insight except to speculate, and that wouldn’t be helpful. Your chances are as good as any applicant. Also, there’s a second hurdle to overcome, even if you do get in. You have to pay for it. The best thing you can do is just apply without any expectations and make sure you apply to a good list of target and safety schools you can afford.
@PikachuRocks15 interesting comment you made about submitting my 31 ACT score. I’ve heard 2 sides to this… on one hand, my 31 shows I don’t have, say, a 25 (WAY out of Cornell territory), but I’ve also heard that schools hope that students only at the top of the ACT spectrum (33+) submit their scores, making it seem like the univ’s admits have higher scores than they actually do. Would you mind explaining your thought further?
I most likely won’t increase my score, and I doubt I’ll even be able to take the test this fall due to COVID.
Disclaimer: Given that I took the ACT last year and applied to college this year, my advice is somewhat geared towards a more “normal” admissions cycle. I definitely recommend you contact your school’s counselor to ask for advice about this year, especially if you school has sent students to Cornell in the past.
So as I said in my earlier post, I’ve learnt that colleges look to your academics (test scores, grades, courses etc.) to assess your ability to handle the coursework, and once Cornell Admissions is sure of this, they look to the rest of your application to determine if you would be a good fit for the school and would take advantage of all the resources a Cornell education provides.
According to the ACT website, a composite score of a 31 is in the 95th percentile nationally. As Cornell admits 1/4 of their class with a 32 or below, and conversely doesn’t admit every student with a 35 or 36, they’re looking to see that you are a good fit for a school after they’re sure that you will be able to handle the coursework. Given that you’re applying for Arts & Sciences rather than Engineering or another school, it’s good that you have test scores in relevant fields (AP Social Sciences/Humanities tests) that support your ability to handle Cornell’s courses. SUBMITTING YOUR ACT SCORE JUST PROVIDES ANOTHER METRIC (but isn’t the ONLY METRIC) FOR THEM TO USE TO ASSESS YOUR ABILITY TO SUCCEED AT CORNELL.
If you don’t submit your score, that’s definitely fine, but make sure that your application has other evidence (good grades in challenging courses, extracurricular activities that have an academic component, AP/subject test scores etc.) that can convince Cornell Admissions that you’ll do fine at Cornell. If you do submit your score, you should probably make sure that every sub-test score (Math, English, Reading etc.) is higher than the 90th percentile (see percentiles here: https://www.act.org/content/dam/act/unsecured/documents/MultipleChoiceStemComposite.pdf ) but after that it’s up to you. I am not the admissions office at Cornell or involved with admissions at any school, so don’t take my advice as being from someone extremely experienced with admission at a selective school.
Hope this helps! Good luck with the admissions process!
Hi I’m a HS Senior.
ACT:36
GPA: 3.80
Chance me for Cornell. thanks.
Chance Me @ ILR
UW GPA: 3.8
Weighted: 4.3
SAT: 1490
ECs are good