<p>I'm going to be a rising Senior this coming Fall, and I want to know what my chances are for Cornell or NYU.
-Asian-American, female
-First Generation College</p>
<p>SAT: 1700 (530CR, 580M, 590W; TERRIBLE I know =[, but I'm retaking in Oct.) [First SAT in Jan)
GPA W/UW: 96/92
APs in Junior Year: AB Calculus (5), US History (3), and Statistics (3) [Our school has a 3 max AP policy]
Will be taking Senior Year: College English & AP Macroeconomics (Also considering taking BC...but I don't want to go through senior year suffering again. Not a math person, but I studied my butt off for my AB Calc test ^^)
SAT II's: 630(Math2) & (580US History) [Retaking in November, along with Chinese with Listening]</p>
<p>EC's: (Very disappointing =[ )
-Black History Club
-Green Team
-National Honors Society (Will be running for pres.)
-Math Club (Co-President)
-Hunter College NOW (Will be taking Italian 101 in the Fall)
-Real Estate Internship (Non-paid)
-Peer Tutoring
-Hunter College International English Institute, New York, NY
(Working with International Students on their English-speaking abilities)
-READ Program (Applying in the Fall-tutoring kids in English)</p>
<p>I will be applying to other internship opportunities in the Fall, and I was also considering the HEOP program for Cornell. Do they accept students like me, or is it true that they mainly accept Hispanics/Blacks? (That's what I've heard)</p>
<p>Oh, I was considering College of Arts & Sciences for Cornell, and same with NYU.</p>
<p>(FOR CORNELL) Honestly, I think that you don’t have a very good chance at the moment based on your SAT/SAT II scores… SORRY! But you really need to get those up! As for your GPA, it looks good, but what really matters is that you took the most challenging course load available to you! Your ECs look really great and being a first generation college student will definitely help! If Cornell is really where you want to go (although I have a feeling you are really torn based simply on the name of your post) apply ED and see what happens. The only thing worse than rejection, is not having the courage to try at all! </p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>
<p>I doubt that you’ll be accepted at cornell. Your school seems to have grade inflation if you have a 96 and got threes on two of your APs. Your SAT is too low, as are your subject tests (again suggesting inflation).
I mean I was marginal for cornell on the other end-low GPA, high scores, but I really don’t think it’s the best choice for your application.
If you do want to apply, take a math class next year (probably BC I guess). I think that I really benefited in my application from the rigor of my coursework and that I took a lot of math and science despite applying to a non-math/science school at cornell.
Hell, its worth a shot to apply. You lose practically nothing, and have a lot to gain.</p>
<p>If you could show that you’re a great fit for one of the contract colleges (assuming you’re instate?) then you’d have a better chance. They are less demanding than CAS.</p>
<p>Yeah, I live in NYC.
What are contract colleges?</p>
<p>You can apply, but your scores are low compared to the numerous other Asian-Americans you’ll be competing against. Also, since it seems you’re having issues with standardized testing, I would suggest getting some prep books. There are a few boards on this forum with folks that could probably help you with that. Unfortunately, school academics don’t always match up to the College Board’s “standards”.</p>
<p>What are contract colleges?</p>
<p>Schools under contract with the New York government. Cornell has a long history with the state; and as a result, folks from New York get reduced tuition at these colleges. ILR, CALS, and Human Ecology are contract colleges. Every other college is “endowed”.</p>
<p>Yeah I understand:( my SAT scores are way too low, but I’m planning to up it this summer (having prep 5 days a week) by at least 300pts.
What about those HEOP programs? Do I have a chance for those?</p>
<p>tamixoxo</p>
<p>It’s tough to give advice without knowing how the SAT retake turns out. Honestly, a 300 point gain is ambitious (though not unheard of) even with tutoring. As long as you’re putting all the time into studying, you should consider the ACT – some students do better on that test.</p>
<p>As it stands right now – NYU is probably a reach, and Cornell a far reach.</p>
<p>I increased my SAT score by 300 points (on the dot) by using the Official Online SAT Prep Course! It really helped! I also recommend a tutor if you want that extra bump</p>
<p>As of right now, there’s no way you can get into Cornell. Your SAT scores will have to improve a lot. Even with a 300 pt improvement, I still think you have a below average chance because your EC’s are fairly weak. In general, club-based EC’s are not impressive to adcoms. Everyone lists 5+ clubs on their app. None of that matters really. You will need 2-3 other sustainable, long-term substantial EC’s in order to stand out.</p>
<p>lexie (but more importantly – tami)</p>
<p>I’m not disagreeing at all that +300 on a retake isn’t possible, but it’s not the norm. What I’m trying to say here, though, is that if Tami doesn’t retake the SATs until October, it will be late in the admissions process before she gets her results.</p>
<p>I’m not saying she shouldn’t apply to Cornell (as I’m a big believer in applying to one or two reaches – even far reaches). </p>
<p>What I would suggest is that she find a few schools where she will have a better statistical chance of admissions. With college visits, supplemental essays, etc. She will need fallbacks.</p>
<p>Thanks for all your input;)</p>
<p>Haha! I gotcha zephyr, I just wanted to give Tami hope that it is possible to do it! I mean, it’s hard work (don’t get me wrong), but it’s good to know someone else who has done it! =)</p>