Chance Me ~ Cornell

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hey, so I put this on the Cornell board and didn't really get a lot of responses. So here's hoping that I get a better insight into my chances.</p>

<p>Here are my stats:</p>

<p>Overall about Me: Junior, White, Jewish, Female, Upper Middle Class</p>

<p>Interested in: Cornell ILR School, considering career in entertainment or sport management</p>

<p>School: Very competitive public high school in central NJ. Ranked 10th overall in the state. ~25% Asian American (Chinese, Indian, Korean), most of whom are cutthroat, almost unethical at times (cheating scandals are common).</p>

<p>SAT: I got a 2090 my first try (620 CR, 730 M, 740 W). This was 10 points short of my original goal, but clearly that would not have helped my CR score. That being said, I do plan on re-taking in June. I have, out of curiosity, tried to do a series of ACT problems. This simply reassured me that the SAT is a better exam for me.</p>

<p>Subject Tests: Math II: 720, US History: (Projected) 780, Literature: (Projected) 700</p>

<p>APs: APUSH (If not a 5, then a very high 4) However, this is the only AP I have taken in my high school "career." Fortunately, I do plan on taking AP Econ, AP Stat, and AP Art History my senior year.</p>

<p>Extracurriculars: I have quite a few, so I won't try to list them here. However, I can safely say that I tend to be involved in more charitable clubs (Rotary, NHS,) and school administrative positions (Principal's Advisory, Student Representative for my school district's Steering Committee, as well as part of the first group of Student Recognition Recipients) rather than ethnic, literary or athletic extras. I also engage in a fair amount of charity work (through the Jewish Family and Children's Service organization in my area). I try to concentrate my extracurriculars so I don't spread myself too thin, something that seems to be an issue amongst my student body. </p>

<p>Also do some writing for a national blog that's been publicized on CNN, and even Real Housewives of Orange County. Some of my articles have lead to my administrative positions.</p>

<p>Recs: Definitely considering my Calc teacher. She was an inspiration to me. Also considering two of the three vice principals at my school since I have maintained good relations with them. Guidance counselor also will likely give me a stellar review.</p>

<p>Legacy:
Mom: Graduated Columbia Dental School (last year, started a scholarship at the Dental School), teaches at UPenn Dental School</p>

<p>Dad: Graduated Columbia University (through joint program with the Jewish Theological Seminary), Cornell Law School (including donations)</p>

<p>Paternal Grandfather: University of Miami</p>

<p>Maternal Grandfather: NYU Undergrad (starting at 16, graduating at 19), Columbia Dental School, became a professor at the Dental School in his early 20s</p>

<p>Summer Programs: 9th Grade: UMass Amherst (through a private company), 10th Grade: Michigan (through a private company), 11th Grade (i.e. this summer): Cornell (through the university's program)</p>

<p>Other Schools Considered: My Full List (which could totally change), from first choice to safeties. Asterisks indicate legacy (Undergrad and Grad), Dollar signs indicate money was donated. "At" sign indicates attended or will attend a summer program</p>

<p>Cornell <em>$@
Columbia </em><em>$
UPenn</em>
Stanford (Reach, yet if I get rejected, I will not be upset)
Michigan@
NYU
UCLA
Pitt
Minnesota
UMass Amherst@
UMiami*
Rutgers</p>

<p>Any help would be greatly commended and appreciated!</p>

2

<p>Oh, and here is my course load:</p>

<p>Freshman Year
Physics Honors
Spanish III
Algebra II Honors (1 level ahead of the recommended/expected guidelines)
English 9 Honors
World History
Drama I
Music in Culture</p>

<p>Sophomore Year:
Chemistry Honors
Spanish IV
Precalculus (See Algebra II Honors)
English 10 Honors
APUSH I (School has APUSH in 2 years)
Foods and Nutrition
Drama II</p>

<p>Junior Year:
Biology Honors
Spanish V Honors
Calculus
English 11 Honors
APUSH II
TV Productions I</p>

<p>Senior Year:
AP Statistics
English 12 Honors
AP Economics
AP Art History
TV Productions II
International and Creative Foods
American Film and Culture</p>

3

<p>Your family’s ties to Columbia are impressive, but I don’t know if they’ll be enough to get you in. Stanford and UPenn also look unlikely, especially as you won’t be applying ED to UPenn.</p>

<p>Your SAT is a bit on the low side, but I think if you write good essays and present your ECs in the right light, you’ll stand a fair chance at Cornell ED (and maybe even Columbia). You should try to get your SAT score up, though.</p>

<p>Also, be aware that most people find the Lit subject test harder than the CR section of the SAT. What makes you think your Lit score will be 80 points higher than your CR score? Practice tests? Because they tend to be an unreliable predictor.</p>

4

<p>Yes, I know Stanford is a total reach and will likely not get in. As for Columbia and UPenn, I am aware of the fact that I am not applying ED to these schools. I’m keeping my confidence up and my options open and will see what happens in the (likely) event that I’m deferred ED from Cornell.</p>

<p>I definitely figured out that I need to get my SATs up and am currently practicing using College Board (compared to Princeton Review, which to me, after receiving my scores, seemed to be misleading when I received near perfect scores on the last two practice tests). That’s the least of my problems.</p>

<p>As for the Lit SAT II, I understood how different the test is compared to the CR section (poetry, 16th and 17th century writing, drama, etc.). Many of the practice tests I took were from Princeton Review and Kaplan (I preferred the latter, found the wording of the questions to be slightly better than PR), and even on those I received around 680-720. The actual test itself was not terrible (I was in fact, surprised to find a passage from a novel I had to read sophomore year in the test, but that’s of course just luck). I’ll be receiving my scores this week. If they aren’t what I expected, I’ll simply not send them.</p>

5

<p>What’s your gpa, it’s a rather important factor. SATs are on the low side for those schools, but i think ECs are ok. Each of the ivies will prob. be a reach as of now even with legacies.</p>

6

<p>i think you will have no problem at all getting into cornell. Stanford is the only one i really dont think you will be able to get in but im sure you will get into at least half of those colleges</p>

7

<p>Thanks for chancing me. Your SAT is a bit too low. Get it up to 2200. Considering you’ve donated so much to Columbia and have such good legacy status there, you would likely get in if you applied ED, but of course legacy status means little when you apply RD. I don’t know how much you’ve donated to Cornell, but ED there you’d likely have a good chance too. Cornell is obviously easier to get into than Columbia, but you definitely need to bump up that SAT score. The national blog you’re apart of is very impressive and everything else looks good.</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1150283-ravioli-ravioli-give-me-formuoli-chance-ill-you-back.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1150283-ravioli-ravioli-give-me-formuoli-chance-ill-you-back.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

8

<p>i think youll get in right away, for other careers</p>

<p>if you are into entertainment/sports management i think it is logical that you do some arts or sports</p>

<p>chance me <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1151009-chances-me-good-engineering-uni.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1151009-chances-me-good-engineering-uni.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

9

<p>@Dblazer, My GPA is about a 3.9 unweighted and a 93.5 weighted. My school weights my grades in Honors and AP classes by adding five percentage points to the final grade, the edited grade of which colleges would see. For example, if I got an 87 as a final grade in, say, an English Honors class, colleges will see it as a 92.</p>

10

<p>@Jman123, In answer to your question about the blog I write for, it’s the latter (the blog is publicized on CNN). And as for the thing about the Asian kids, is it superfluous? Maybe. I just wanted to give a little bit of insight as to how competitive the school is and what it is known for, at least to those who live near my school and/or watched a CNN documentary about education and robotics.</p>

11

<p>you have impressive legacy ties, several of them!</p>

12

<p>Make your blog posts a big part of your app. That’s the one part of your profile that really jumped out at me as being completely unique and different. Also, if Cornell is your first choice, are you going to apply ED?</p>

13

<p>@thecolororange, Yep, I’m applying ED to Cornell. I do plan on sending in some of my best articles (despite the fact that the blog itself is dedicated to teen topics, the articles I’m planning to send are eloquent, relatable to teens and adults, and relevant with teens today)</p>

14

<p>I am not a racist, closet or otherwise. I have many friends of all races, colors, ethnicities, and orientations.</p>

<p>Unfortunately in my school, as much as anyone would like to deny that they don’t care about what anyone thinks about them, they actually do. Most of the comments made about people are behind their backs, but it is almost always reported back to the person of interest.</p>

<p>As for your second question regarding my blog forms, I did check the Common App, and you are right in saying that there is no specific place on the application for them. Though I am pretty sure that they could be sent as simple additional materials.</p>

15

<p>Cornell, UPenn, Stanford, and the other ivies are mid to high reaches. Your course load and SAT score are a bit low. All the other schools on your list are possible. </p>

<p>Good luck with the application!</p>

16

<p>Bump bump!</p>

17

<p>Out of curiosity, would you mind saying what blog it is you write for?</p>

<p>Rights now the only thing that is holding you back is your SAT score. You mentioned you are taking it in June, but I would also suggest prepping this summer (look around the forums for suggested books and study plans) and taking it at the beginning of next year as well if you don’t get the score you want. </p>

<p>You have an impressive app over all, the legacies will definitely help you, so I think you have a great shot at all these schools. </p>

<p>Chance me? <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1152080-chances-top-colleges.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1152080-chances-top-colleges.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

18

<p>The blog is called Radical Parenting. The main focus of the creator of the blog is to show parenting from a teenage perspective. Basically, the blog is a website for tweens, teens and parents of teens and tweens. Every month teen interns like myself are asked to write about a topic of our choice, which is posted to the site. I’ve written about topics that range from the serious (the Tyler Clementi suicide, the reactions of the suicide within my school [which is pretty close to Rutgers] with commentary regarding the cultures of the perpetrators) to the more fun (Breaking Up - The Classy Girl’s Way).</p>

<p>I had started my internship the beginning of my sophomore year, and plan to write during my senior year.</p>

19

<p>i think you have a strong chance at cornell with your stats and ECs. are you sure cornell is your first choice? with double legacy at columbia, you should really consider EDing to columbia, as imo it is a school of higher caliber, and you would still have a good chance at cornell regular. you should look into usc (CA) (not as a high reach or anything) bc they have good programs for what you’re interested in.</p>

<p>i know someone who is going to a dual program at penn this year whose dad was the first international student to graduate from the dual program. penn LOVES legacy and having a scholarship program at the school by your PARENT is a HUGE deal. </p>

<p>strongly consider upenn or columbia early, and then REALLY focus on that school all summer, possibly doing something directly related to the program on your own.</p>

20

<p>Don’t worry. You’re a shoo-in</p>