I am an Asian female and currently a junior.
Here are my stats:
Unweighted: 3.83
Weighted: 4.7
Cumulative: 4.7
Taking SATs again in March. I’ve taken it already and got 1450 (Breakdown: 760 Math, 690 R+W)
ECs-
Tutoring Club President, as well as a tutor
Medical Sciences Club Founder and President (2 years)
Science Olympiad (Competing 3 years)
Newspaper Editor (2 years)
Varsity Tennis (3 years)
Link Crew Leader (welcoming freshmen to our high school, pretty competitive for our school)
National Honors Society
Volunteering:
Volunteered at a special needs camp for +70 hours
Soup Kitchen (I love it there): +120 hours
Also some stuff here and there during freshman year but nothing consistent
APs So Far:
AP… Biology, Chemistry, European History, Calculus AB, English Language.
AP Human (5), AP Government (5)
Schedule planned for senior year: AP Physics, AP English Literature, AP Statistics, AP US History, and ALLIED HEALTH/BIOTECH. (These are very selective courses out of school. Gives amazing clinical experience and gives research opportunities, respectively)
Intended Major: Biology Premed
*Posted this in What are My Chances section but no responses.
Cornell is always my #1 CHOICE.
INTENDING TO DO EARLY DECISION!!
@Yayeducationlol Most people avoid chancing juniors, that’s why you aren’t getting any replies. A lot can happen the next 6 months so it’s better to know your final stats after junior year.
Having said that, your current stats are good and make you a competitive candidate. I’m sure you’ve been looking at the ED results thread and can see there is a wide variety of people. Some with lower GPAs and test scores than you have gotten in. As you will hear time and time again, the real key to success is your ability to bring something unique to Cornell, and if not unique, at least drive home the point that you are the right fit.
The school within Cornell you pick is important and the story you tell them has to make it clear you know what you want to achieve while you are there. How will you use the resources they give you? If you can answer that, it will help your application.
Have you visited Cornell yet? I think that’s almost as important as your grades.
@cotopaxi ah, that makes a lot of sense, especially since junior and senior year is so important. Thanks! And yes, I am in love with the campus, even small things like the amazing church network there. It just feels right, if you know what I mean.
Your stats are great, but as @cotopaxi said, the real key is being a valuable addition to the college you’re attending. Remember: colleges admit people, not test scores.
Doing well academically is important to get past the first round of applications screening; but after that, your app lands into a slightly smaller but still huge pool of applicants who are as academically sound as you, if not more. To get the college to pick YOU over others, you need to show interest and passion.
Understand WHY you wanna go to Cornell, and convey that through your essay. Your essay should also convey WHAT you would do at Cornell and HOW that would affect you in your career/further studies.
Make a few projects that are related to the major you want to pursue. They don’t have to be full-fledged research projects with tons of funding, even simple stuff you make for school can be pretty useful for this purpose if you work hard enough on them.
Also, make sure your teachers like you a lot. Teacher recs play a huge role at selective schools. 3 kids from my school ED’ed at Cornell, 2 got through. The kid who got rejected had better stats than me, but his teacher recs were pretty average while mine were almost perfect.