Chance Me for Cornell University

Background:

Asian Male (sigh)
Middle Class Family (<100k)
From Oregon
Intended Major-Biochemistry or Chemical Engineering

Stats:

4.00 UW GPA
My school doesn’t use weighted GPA
Tied for #1 class rank out of ~375

1580 SAT First Try(800 Math, 780 Reading+Writing, 22/24 Essay)

800 SAT Subject-Math 2
800 SAT Subject-Chemistry
780 SAT Subject-Physics

Advanced Courses:

10th Grade:
AP Calculus BC-4
AP US History-5

11th Grade:
AP Spanish Language
AP English Language
AP Chemistry
AP Computer Science A
AP Computer Science Principles
AP World History
IB Physics 1
Linear Algebra (University of Oregon)

12th grade (expected):
AP US Government
AP English Literature
AP Biology
IB Physics 2
Spanish (University of Oregon)
Abstract Algebra (University of Oregon)
Numerical Analysis (University of Oregon)

Extracurriculars:

2 years Science Bowl (Captain)
2 years Science Olympiad (Captain)
4 years School’s Advanced Orchestra (7 years violin)
2 years Basketball
2 years Robotics (team made it to nationals both years)
9 years Piano
3 years Student Government (president senior year)
Tutoring

Other:

National AP Scholar
National Merit Scholar
NHS Member
AMC 12 top 5%
Summer Internship for a professor at the University of Oregon
Proficient in Java
200+ Hours of Volunteering at Hospital
2 week long Mission Trips to Mexico, Honduras, Dominican Republic to help kids in poverty

Any feedback is greatly appreciated! Feel free to tell me what I need to do better!

@ericy135 Obviously your stats are stellar. On paper you are a candidate for any college, anywhere. I wouldn’t sigh about being an Asian male unless your are going for computer science - tons of similar applicants there. Your ECs are ridiculous. When do you sleep? Like I said, statistically you have a lot going for you. The only two things that I would focus on, 1) your ECs and honors read identical to a lot of applicants. Unless you competed in the Olympics or played piano at Carnegie Hall, there’s nothing unique - despite how hard you worked. Not fair, I know. And 2) I’m not reading any unique leadership. Yes, you were captain of a couple of clubs and student body president - those are strong, but what did you accomplish in those roles? In other words, can you tell a story like “increased membership by 400% in 3 years” or some other factoid like that? When you do your essays and develop your resume, make sure you show improvement over time, not just a long list of ECs. Know what I mean? If Cornell is your first choice, apply ED. It increases your chances substantially. Otherwise, you are still a strong candidate even for regular decision. Good luck.

As an Asian guy, I know that feeling, bro.

Straight-up, your stats are great, there’s very little for you to improve, especially at this point. However, it’s always a gamble with these types of universities, especially since you’ll have to apply to the College of Engineering, which is highly selective even within Cornell.

The thing you should really focus on is crafting your application, the way you present your EC’s, write your essays, and prepare your recommendations. You need to demonstrate a passion for your chosen major and for Cornell. You need to outline how your HS experience has shaped you and your community, in the best terms possible.

But when I look at your stats as you’ve presented them, two things come to mind: computer science and pre-med. I just don’t see anything that screams bio or chemical engineering. I don’t know how you will present everything in your application, but that’s just what I notice right off the bat.

Either way, you definitely have a good chance. I was accepted to Cornell RD last year, and my applications was levels below yours. I’m majoring in Computer Science right now, and honestly, you seem like a good fit. Just my two cents.

No matter what, though, good luck! :-bd