With the top Ivy plus schools, its not so much the scores, as at the end of the day, everyone, more or less, has the same scores. Rather, it is how you articulate that you have a delineated nexus with the respective institution. These schools want to know what value added you bring to their community, and how you see yourself making a contribution. Too often students lead with the thinking of what the institutions can do for them, and don’t address on what they might add to the institution. In the case of Cornell, and I am just making a guess, there could have been some thought that you were not specific enough on your intentions and specifically your major.