Interested in majoring in English in the CAS
I’m only a junior but just curious
UW GPA: 3.6 I think? Whatever a 91ish is (I know it’s low)
Weighted:4.2 (again I think?)
SAT:1450
ACT:34
SAT II: bio M: 720 ( I’ll take more this summer)
Took 2 AP classes sophomore year (world history and bio I got a 4 on both) and the rest of my classes were mostly honors
This year I’m taking 3 APs (USH, music theory, and Lang)
Really the class that’s dragging down my GPA is math. Never was good at it and never will be
I’m also pursuing an independent study in playwriting, collaborating with a teacher and creating my own course, planning on taking an independent study playwriting II next year.
Extra curricular: I spend a lot of time at a theatre, and I’m in the highest audition company there. I spend a lot of time there, minimum 17 hours a week but sometimes up to 30+. I have gone to New York for theatre workshops and performed in a show there over the summer. Really love theatre, and I work there during the year and summer teaching little kids acting, singing, dancing. I have been there for 10 years.
-very involved with the music department at my school
-I volunteer with hospice, UNYTS, and a non profit theatre performance group raising money for kids with cancer.
-clubs at school-FBLA, vocal jazz, a club about sharing culture, and Latin club, creative writing, club to helo freshmen transition into high school, leadership meetings
-hoping on doing a summer program/ writing internship
-one of my family friends has a non profit organization in Africa raising money to help kids there go to college, and I’m always raising money for that
-Hope my extracurriculars and well roundedness make up for my GPA
No one really likes to chance sophomores and juniors. It’s just not realistic and you can easily lookup the stats for what the previous accepted class looks like. Having said that, you are on the right track but your GPA will have to be higher. You have to kick butt your junior year because if you apply early decision, Cornell will only have your stats through three years. The good news is, junior year is when you will be moving up the most because you likely have all honors or AP classes. You ECs are solid and the theater passion is evident. Start thinking of a way to combine that experience with your desire to major in English. What’s the connection? The essay has to not only be a glimpse of you as a person, but also convince them why you think Cornell is the best place for you and what you’ll do to make a difference while you’re there.
Don’t add a bunch more ECs thinking that will boost your profile. Stick with 2-3 and take on leadership roles. Did you take your ACT as a junior? If so you’re done. Don’t listen to anyone if they say you need to take it again to try to boost it. You can’t do much better than top 1%. Why are you taking more SAT IIs? Does CAS even require them? If you can get in the 700s on those tests then I suppose sharing them boosts your profile a bit on the application, but it’s not weighted as heavily as most people think.
Anyway, you’re golden on testing, a little weak on GPA, solid on ECs. If you were a senior right now I would say you have a shot.
Update, just got my first quarter final grade, and I got a 3.9 UW GPA. Would this upward trend improve my chances if I kept this up? I’m very interested in playwriting so I hope this connection to English major and my experience in theatre will give me an edge. Thanks to everyone who has responded.
@ruby9292 I’m assuming your transcripts will only show semesters, not quarters, so yes, by all means keep up the good work. Just make sure your second quarter is as good as your first for a high semester average. It all depends on how you finish the entire junior year though. This whole academic year has to be great. Are you applying early decision for Cornell? If so, then your junior year is the ONLY thing they have to go by. I applied ED this year and will hear the results in a couple more weeks - before they have seen a single senior grade. So junior year upward trend is critical if you want them to forget about that C.
Also, have you considered Northwestern and Carnegie Mellon? I hear they have excellent theater and writing majors.