Chance Me Computer Science RD

Colleges & Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

If I get rejected/deferred from early action at my first choice school, I was considering applying to Cornell, but I’m not sure if it’ll be worth my time/money. Any feedback appreciated!

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1570 (780 RW, 790 math, 19/24 essay)
SAT II: Physics 730, Math II 800
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98, roughly 4.36 weighted
Rank: 5/450
AP: Human Geography (4), World History (5), Calc BC (5), APUSH (5), English Lang (5), Physics I (5)
Senior Year Course Load: AP English Lit, AP Stat, AP Physics C, DE Econ, plus a few law classes
Major Awards: National Merit Semifinalist, regional women in computing award, AP Honors with Distinction

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Mock trial, placed eighth in the nation at our first competition of the year, robotics club that regularly placed in the top 5 at regionals (captain), orchestra
Job/Work Experience: worked at city pool over the summer
Volunteer/Community service: not much honestly
Summer Activities: job at city pool, community college classes, working on mock trial and robotics
Essays: Common App (9/10)
Teacher Recommendations: honestly i have no clue what a good rec looks like so I can’t rate them but the teachers know me pretty well and are rooting for me to get into a good school so i’m hopeful
Counselor Rec: my counselor barely even knows my name so who knows

Other:
Financial Aid: yes
Intended Major: Computer Science
State: TX
School Type: public, not particularly competitive either
Ethnicity (Hispanic Y/N/not reported): no
Race: white
Gender: F
Income Bracket: 125-150
Hooks/tips (URM, athlete, legacy, 1st gen, etc.): none

Reflection:
Strengths: I feel really good about my common app essay, it’s about a topic I feel strongly about and relates to my interest in computer science which I think comes across
Weaknesses: I don’t stand out a lot in terms of my extracurriculars and such; I’ve been putting in a lot of hours each week in a couple of things that interest me so now I only have three activities and one leadership position
Where else are you applying: UMich, UT Austin, OU, U of Illinois, USC, Princeton

2

Hi, I’m not sure if I’m in a position to chance people or anything but I think you have a great shot at Cornell! I was accepted today to CoE for CS but you have much higher stats than I do!!

3

UT Austin CS is as good as Cornell’s, and much more affordable. You should be an auto admit, right?

4

Hi, you have more awards than I do but our academic stats (SAT, GPA) are about the same. However, my personal essay is probably worse than yours, but my rec letters were pretty good, so I’d say we are well balanced. In any case, I was deferred yesterday from the CoE. I dont know if that helps! Still apply though, as you seem like you have a very good shot.

5

Thanks y’all! I am auto admit for UT Austin, but I haven’t been admitted to my major yet, although there’s still plenty of time for that. Either way, a good chunk of kids from my town end up at UT Austin each year, and I’d kind of like to go out of state and experience a new place (if I can bring the costs down at other schools through aid/scholarships), but the CS program at UT is definitely nothing to sneeze at.