Chance Me/Give me some advice

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

<p>Alright, I'm not only looking for the typical chance me stuff here, but also some direction here.</p>

<p>SAT I:
Math 740
Reading 670
Writing 640</p>

<p>Sat II
Math II 650 (I'm retaking this, it's by far my weakest link)
Chem 790</p>

<p>APs
Lang 5
Chem 4</p>

<p>School Crap
Unweighted GPA: 4.0
Weighted: 4.7
Rank: 3/272</p>

<p>By the time of graduation I'll have 8 AP classes, and since freshman year I've taken all honors. I haven't had a "blowoff class" since sophomore year, and have maintained a high rigor.</p>

<p>EC:
4 year participant in track (indoor and outdoor), 3 year letterman
Founder and president of Science Club (senior project)
NHS
Student teaching in physics for 1 period of my senior year
Math game 24 tutor (tutored a regional champ!)
Job from junior year on (does this matter?)
Track club
Math game 24 regional champion
Science Bowl
Hundreds of hours of community service, including assisting the blind, in which I was given quite a bit of responsibility at 16,</p>

<p>I'm planning on taking the ACT in September and then Math 2 again in October. What other steps should I take to improve my application? I already know I have two teacher in mind who can attest to my leadership in the rec. letter, and am prepared to spend ample time on the essay.</p>

2

<p>Your profile looks good. Have you been to an information session at the college you’d like to apply to? I found with my D this helped in writing the second essay (specific to Human Ecology in her case). In addition there were 6-7 prospective students at the session and they asked them to introduce themselves, I know I’m biased but I thought my D prosented as trhe most poised & confident of the group, which I’m sure didn’t hurt her!</p>

3

<p>What can you do to improve your chances – Good Question.</p>

<p>Standardized Tests – Your scores aren’t bad, but they’re not going to blow anyone away at schools like Cornell. If you can improve them a bit, it would help. </p>

<p>Demonstrated Interest in Schools. Many schools factor in ‘demonstrated interest’ i.e. how likely is it that you will accept. One way to show this is by visiting the school (make sure you sign in!!!). Another – if the school has a supplement, it will often have a 'Why do you want to go here?" question in some way shape or form. Based on nothing other than common sense – try to make your essay unique for each school. For example, mention how you loved the scenic gorges, or the music from the bell tower, or whatever it is that makes this school special to you. If you attend a class, mention the professor’s name in the essay, and how much you liked the class. If you attend a class, introduce yourself to the professor afterwards, and send a thank you email. There are lots of other possibilities. All of this is little stuff, but it gives the school the impression that you really want to be there.</p>

<p>So, the only other thing I can think of is your personal essay. The summer is a good time to think about what you want to say about yourself. What makes you special? A great essay will make your application much more attractive.</p>

4

<p>i think ur in a good position for cornell</p>

<p>and yes taking the ACT is a good idea, and if u do good on it, ull be fine</p>

<p>and great job on the gpa there</p>

<p>chance me too! <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/cornell-university/1174744-chance-me-please.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/cornell-university/1174744-chance-me-please.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

5

<p>Let’s be honest here - ur SAT 1 scores, except for chem, are going to significantly reduce ur chance for being accepted, whether it’s ED or RD. I know ur good on GPA and EC and stuff but any SAT below 2100 is an extreme danger zone. (Most people with >2200 SAT I that I know got deferred/rejected/waitlisted from cornell) Take SAT again in October. It’s a must.</p>

6

<p>Unfortunately I have not had a chance to visit an information session for Cornell. I have yet to schedule my visit, so I’ll definitely look into as I plan my visit.</p>

<p>While I have definitely been more interested in Penn for a while now, I’m starting to realize Cornell is a more realistic school for me and gradually Cornell is becoming my first choice. I think I can get a better idea specifically about what interests me at the school when I visit, and I’ll be sure to talk to as many faculty members as possible. I feel that having a better understanding of their engineering program will let me better reflect upon that in my essay.</p>

<p>As for the standardized test scores, I know they are rather low in comparison. For the SAT I, I know Cornell does not look at the writing, so it’s actually just the 1410 Math-Verbal that matters. Unfortunately I’m not able to take both Math II and the reasoning test before the ED deadline. That’s why I’m taking the SAT, in hopes of scoring high enough so that I won’t have to take the SAT again (I’ll still take Math II again no matter what). If I don’t feel as if I’m ready for ED, I’ll simply wait for RD.</p>

<p>If I score, say a 34 on the ACT and then a 770 on the Math II, would I be in a relatively good position to apply for ED?</p>

7

<p>If you applying to Cornell’s engineering program the number one factor is… your sex…females have the highest rate of acceptance of either sex at any of the colleges while males have the lowest!!</p>

8

<p>@HighSchoo</p>

<p>Let’s be honest here – OP’s scores aren’t as low as you suggest, and shouldn’t be an impediment, if the rest of his/her application shines.</p>

<p>Cornell’s published data for Class of 2014 shows that the aggregate SAT/ACT scores for enrolling students are as follows: 25th percentile, 1330/29; 50th percentile 1410/32; 75th percentile 1480/33 (with a mean of 1396/31)</p>

<p>(Cornell only releases data based on two part scores.)</p>

<p><a href=“http://dpb.cornell.edu/documents/1000001.pdf[/url]”>http://dpb.cornell.edu/documents/1000001.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>What this mean, more or less, is according to Cornell, half the students in the class of 2014 scored over 1400 and half under. OP’s 1410, places him right at the 50th percentile and slightly above the mean. The 2200, which you refer to (which translates roughly to 1570 in the two part scoring), is WELL ABOVE the 75th percentile. Maybe it’s a bit tougher for class of 2016, but these numbers change more over time, than year over year.</p>

<p>I don’t mean to pick on you (because it’s ‘common wisdom’ on these boards that 700 is not a good score for Cornell), but unless we say that Cornell is somehow misreporting its data, the common wisdom is wrong. 700 per section is average. So, while a 700 (or for that matter a 750) will not blow the admissions committee away, it won’t torpedo an application either. </p>

<p>To me this sounds like OP is more of a “match” than in the danger zone. A higher score would be better, but OP should apply, even with current scores. S/he is the “average” Cornell student. Now, Cornell rejects many ‘matches’, and as you note, rejects many candidates with SAT scores over 2200. All this means is that it’s a holistic process and the entire application, Standardized Tests, Scores, ESSAYS, ECs, etc. is looked at.</p>

<p>csdad, btw is 100% correct re engineering – the acceptance rate for females is twice that for males.</p>

<p><a href=“http://dpb.cornell.edu/documents/1000147.pdf[/url]”>http://dpb.cornell.edu/documents/1000147.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

9

<p>For reference, I’m a white male from a middle-class family in Western Pennsylvania. :P</p>

10

<p>Average SAT score for engineering is 1455. Admit rate for males is 17% … I was wrong though College of Arts & Science male admit rate is 16%.</p>