Chance Me for Cornell University and Dartmouth College

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I applied to the Industrial and Labor Relations School.

For Dartmouth College, I indicated that I am interested in economics, political science, and philosophy.

Weighted GPA: 4.25

Unweighted: 3.607

Rank: 70/478

Classes: I have taken 12 APs, 3 post-APs, and other classes that give a 5.0 AP credit. I have received mostly 3s and 4s on the AP exams. I am also part of a STEM program at my school. I should also mention that my Social Studies and Language Arts grades have been all A’s throughout high school.

Test Scores: 32 ACT: 34 Math, 32 English, 29 Science, 33 Reading

ECs: (I think that this is the strongest part of my application.)

I interned at a non-profit organization throughout my first semester of senior year; I totaled over 240+ hours. I was part of and also helped to coordinate numerous community service projects, which assisted local public schools, communities, and impoverished kids.

Math Team (9,10,11)

National Honor Society (11,12)

Beta Club (11,12)

Principal’s Honor Roll (9,10,11,12)

Varsity Football (10,11)

Local Library Volunteer (I worked throughout the summer)

Recs/Essay:
Counselor Recs: 10/10, she detailed some family issues that persisted from 9th to 11th grade and how I tried my very best not to let that deter me from working hard throughout high school.
Science: 9/10 and 10/10, both science teachers really liked me as a student and know me as a very studious student.
English: 9/10, I was great at writing and was thoughtful in her class.

Common App: 8/10, talked about starting my own business.
Cornell Supplement: 9/10, it was thoughtful and showed a passion for the humanities in the essay.
Dartmouth Supplement: 9.5/10, I made sure that it reflected me as a person given the short word count.

Financial Situation: Somewhat financially disadvantaged

Race and gender: Asian male

2

what do you mean by “somewhat financially disadvantaged?” Do you live in a significantly poor area in the Midwest? If so, then your chances are improved. If not, your GPA is kinda low and your extracurriculars are lacking, especially for an Asian male. Maybe course rigor can offset your GPA if your taking Linear Algebra, Physics C? I don’t think “starting your own business” will help unless it was recognized at a state level/ nationally since a lot of people claim to have started website businesses, etc.

3

Your ACT score is average and your GPA is lacking for an Ivy League school. EC’s are decent. It might be a stretch but you could get in.

4

Financially disadvantaged in the sense that my parents’ income is very low. I should’ve specified more about my CommonApp essay; I talked about how starting my own business taught me good communication skills, how to work well with people, and etc. The post-AP classes that I was referring to are Chemical Engineering and other science classes.

5

Bump

6

Your GPA and stats are low, and your ECs are good, so I think the schools are high reaches, but at the end of the day, only the schools know if you’ll get in or not. Good luck and I know you’ll be happy wherever you end up.

7

@collegeready33 Thanks. Did you apply to either one of those schools?

8

Chances are better for Cornell than Dartmouth imo. Cornell with value your business (and essay) more. I’d say Cornell is a reach but Dartmouth is a high reach

9

I cannot imagine every student at these schools has higher than a 32 ACT, of course you have a shot, a decent one, IMO, good luck!!

10

Dartmouth is a high reach but Cornell ILR is not as academically selective so maybe.

Chance me back: http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1958083-chance-african-american-male-for-stanford-columbia-penn-m-t-cornell-etc-ill-chance-you-back.html#latest

11

Bump

12

I don’t know if school look at UW GPA but your rank is probably the most detrimental to your applications.

13

Bump

14

Bump

15

Compared to accepted students at Cornell and Dartmouth, I’ll have to say that your ECs are a little bit lacking. They’re pretty good, I agree, but don’t forget that these 2 universities you mentioned are very competitive, leaving you hanging.

Your course load sounds pretty decent, so kudos for that, but your UW GPA will hurt you a little bit, and so will your rank. You’ve got applicants with a 3.9 UW GPA, <5% class rank, and 34 ACT score getting rejected, and you’re well below all 3 in these categories.

If your recommendations and essays are near perfection, I’d say you have a shot, but it’s a little far-fetched.

Anyway, best of luck for the results!

16

Not true @cloudysmom . I have a lot of Chinese friends who went to Cornell and almost all of them have ACT’s 34 and above. Typically, if you are Asian, the onus is on you to get high standardized test scores. I would consider Cornell a reach and Dartmouth a high reach

17

So can I assume that these schools aren’t completely out of the question? Obviously, I’m keeping my hopes low but I just want to get a feel of what the outcome will look like in March.

18

Cornell Arts & Sciences is the hardest undergrad school to get into. ILR, not so much. It isn’t well known outside NY. So if you are from outside NY, your chances are good. Dartmouth is tough because I think even this year, they filled 1/2 the class with early admits. RD is always tough for Dartmouth–you have to have a hook or something special or legacy to get noticed in RD at Dartmouth. Good Luck. Both are great schools.

19

Once you hit 32 ACT, I honestly believe it becomes a box for the schools to check proving that you do have the college prep skills to handle the academic level of a highly selective school. Anything 32 and up just blends into the background. And a 28 or 29 can act as a glaring flaw that would beg the question, “can they handle the work?” Hundred of applicants, maybe thousands, with near perfect and even perfect scores get rejected from Ivies every year. Which means if you can hit 32/33 start thinking about what unique qualities and experiences you have to offer the university and move on from test obsession.

20

Thank you to everyone who has replied to this post. I really appreciate the feedback and comments. I have a good idea of what I’m going to expect in March. Hopefully I can get into these schools and I’ll update everyone if I get in or not.