Chance me please? :)

Colleges & Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

<p>OK, so if my resume looks like this by the end of junior year, then where do I stand admissions-wise?</p>

<p>Objective Statistics:
[<em>] SAT (breakdown): 2300 (800 CR, 750 Math, 750 Writing) (this is PSAT calculated)
[</em>] ACT: 35 (practice act)
[<em>] SAT II: 770 Math 2C, 800 Bio M, Spanish 790
[</em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):3.55 kind of low frosh year was bad.
( Reason being that my mom worked two jobs frosh year and I had to watch my siblings)
[<em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school does not do rank, top 15% for sure.
[</em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): All 5’s, 1 4
[<em>] Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics C, AP stat, AP Spanish Lit, AP English 12, AP Chem. (Most rigorous)
[</em>] State: (if domestic applicant): MD
[<em>] Hooks:
- I know 3 languages, learning fourth: Urdu, Hindi, Spanish, learning Arabic.
- I will possibly be a top science student.
- I have sacrificed AP courses to take interesting courses such as Ancient Medieval History, and East Asian Studies, as well as taking a semester off to study philosophy in the library and produce a research paper, original thesis.
[</em>] Strengths: EC’s, Science research, diverse interests, SAT, standardized testing
[<em>] Weaknesses: GPA! , transcript (2 C’s and a D(look below) and a lot of B’s), ORM
- I retook the D and aced it, and got all straight A's after Sophomore Year.
[</em>] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): </p>

<p>Science/Math:
- Intel STS semifinalist
- USABO Finalist, USACO, USNCO semifinalist
- 3rd place award at Intel ISEF
- Siemens Westinghouse Competition semifinalist
- 2012 Davidson Fellow, science research.
- Award in medicine /health category at Science Montgomery competition
- JSHS award
- NIH internship (already secured this one)</p>

<p>Quiz Bowl:
- Gold Medal at Muslim Interscholastic Tournament Nationals in Short Film and Community Service
- Quiz bowl: National Awards, PACE Nationals, HSNCT, and NAQT Regional.
- Medusa Mythology Exam Gold Medal (quiz bowl related) </p>

<p>Academic:
- Academic Honor Roll
- Silver Award, President’s Education Program (Nationally Recognized)
- National Merit Semifinalist
- AP Scholar with Distinction
- U.S. Congressional Award for Community Service (Gold)
- Treasurer for the Class of 2013-2010, 2011.
- Treasurer for School: 2012
- TASP
- National Spanish Exam</p>

<p>Scholarships:
- NRA Youth Scholarship
- Gen and Kelly Tanabe Scholarship
- Toyota Community Scholar semifinalist
- Some other essay contests</p>

<p>Writing:
- Quill and Scroll national honors society
- Scholastic Writing Award
- popular blog (1,000 readers and counting) about local and state news and connections to national news.</p>

<p>Extracurricular:
1. Future Doctors of America President: invited doctors to speak to students about the life of a doctor, and coping with debt.
2. Science Olympiad
- Member, 2008-2010, VP 2010-present.
3. Freshman Mentors Club Founder/President: teach younger generations a thing or two about surviving high school, with an emphasis on college admission.
4. Muslim Student Association
-President of County-wide Muslim Student Association
-Treasurer: 2008-present, President: 2012-2013
-Organized a fundraiser, made over 500 dollars for the advancement of expanding local mosque.
-Organized a MSA Spring Day with over 200 attendees.
-Organized a movie viewing “My Name is Khan” made a large amount of money.
5. SGA Treasurer
- Class Treasurer 2010-2012, School Treasurer 2013
- Slew of successful fundraising programs.
6. Varsity Boys Volleyball Lacrosse, Badminton
7. Its Academic Quiz Bowl
-Placed nationally, went to tons of tournaments, including NAQT Nationals, and PACE Nationals Tournaments;
B team: 9, captain 10
A team: 11, 12</p>

<p>Job/Work Experience:
Paid internship at:
-NIH
-J. Craig Venter Genomics Institute
-Rx Bio sciences (local biotech company)</p>

<p>Volunteer/Community service:
- 350+ hours at Red Cross
- 200+ hours at College Gardens Elementary School.<br>
- Setup volunteer portal between school and Rx Biosciences.</p>

<p>Summer Activities:
Post 9th Grade:
-Rx Bio sciences Full Time Intern
Post tenth grade:
-Rx Biosciences Part Time Research Assistant
-classes online
Post 11th grade:
-classes online
-Clark Scholars Program or NIH Internship Program.</p>

<p>I am typically outgoing, so teacher recs should be great.
Essays... Well I am planning to write about the impact of the D in the decision to go all out in Junior year; I was really crushed. good idea or not?</p>

2

<p>Your chances look decent; scores are excellent across the board. Awards and ECs are well above avererage (especially Siemens and Intel). Obviously, having Cs and Ds on your transcript can be detrimental; also, 3.55 is low for Cornell (as is top 15%). </p>

<p>In my opinion, it will come down to your essays. If you are yourself and write them very well (with plenty of editing/revision), your chances will be a lot higher.</p>

<p>As for the topic of your personal essay, as long as you can reveal a lot about yourself personally and demonstrate your unique voice, it should be fine.</p>

3

<p>I think you have a good chances at cornell as long as you dont mess up your essay. though I know it is kind of messed up, Judging you form how you presented your stat, I dont think Cornell is the right place for you. (If you are applying as first choice) I would apply ED to MIT or CMU. I am 99.99% sure you have a good shot at CMU! so I would go to CMU rather than cornell. If cornell dosent work out I would go to Penn State, I looks like Cornell and kicks a** when it comes to “a good education for a good price.”
Good luck :)</p>

4

<p>BTW not to be a creep but I LOVE YOU IV, you are the only person I know who chances and is always positive. You are the first person to chance! you rock!</p>

5

<p>^Thanks dude. I try to act similarly to an admissions officer when giving people chances. That is, I evaluate the strengths of a candidate (the positive aspects of the application). </p>

<p>Admissions officers do not look for things in the application to make a case against you, they look for things in the application to make a case FOR you; if the case is strong enough, the candidate is admitted!</p>

6

<p>Thanks guys!
I appreciate people like I V the most of all the people on CC.</p>

7

<p>Actually, my 2C’s and D are in math, so MIT is a no :(</p>

<p>I don’t really like CMU, not that great of a Biochem program.</p>

8

<p>I don’t understand this. I like Cornell more than any other school on my list. My scholarships render the money issue docile, so i’m all for Cornell right now. I’m premed, and even though Cornell is known for grade deflation, their biochem department is top-notch.</p>

9

<p>You are a formidable candidate! Although the GPA is on the low side, everything else nearly cancels it out. Your other academics are very strong, as are your EC’s, leadership roles, community service, and thing that makes you “stand out”! You’re one of those students that yells “I’M UNIQUE,” so be sure to play this up in your admissions essays. Brown really, really likes this; have you considered applying there?</p>

10

<p>I know it’s an Ivy but you have all the SATs, ECs and everything else for Cornell. The only thing is the GPA but if what’s making it so low is just freshman year you shouldn’t have a problem, they like upward trends.</p>

11

<p>I’d say just raise your GPA to about 3.75 and you’ll have a better shot than the average applicant to even the likes of Cornell. Good luck!</p>

12

<p>Hmm…this is just my opinion, but I think Cornell would be perfect for you; would you be applying there ED? Also, I’m not sure how much of that has already been done and how much needs to be done, but I can assure you that it is very difficult to achieve all that by the end of your junior year, at least the sci aspects. As for your grades, I think it is definitely a good idea explaining the family difficulties you went through and how it has changed you for the better. The grades you get next year and first semester of senior year will basically determine how strong of a chance you have, since everything else seems to be spot on. Good luck, hope to see you here in 2 years!</p>

<p>Also, do you go to Blair?</p>

13

<p>I think you have the possibility of going to any school you wish. Build upon your passion for Islam and languages, and tell your true story when it comes to the essays. Honestly, and I mean this: I think you have a fabulous chance at any university you wish. It’s difficult to predict, though. Sometimes admissions to top schools can be incredibly unpredictable. Good luck! I think you have a stellar chance. </p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1167365-have-i-met-bar.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1167365-have-i-met-bar.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

14

<p>Haha no I don’t go to Blair, although the science does indicate so.</p>

<p>On a more serious note:
You see, my life during freshman and sophomore years was borderline depressing. Sure I had friends, and no I wasn’t depressed, but I did not have the old flame for Academics that I had in middle school. Also, there was an instance where I was jumped and stripped of my possessions. I was doing poorly in math class because I hated math most of all. The honors classes in my school’s math department are downright pathetic, because my school is more liberal-arts oriented. The teachers were innaproachable, their methods of handling issues questionably stupid, and EVERYONE hated their rude behavior when dealing with students. This fatal combination just sunk it for me gradewise…but WAIT. Over the summer, through a combination of Dale Carnegie courses and religious rejuvenation because of Ramadan, I got back up on my feet and made straight A’s and most of the above awards (some of them I am still working on). I am optimistic because of these cicumstances; even though my first two years suck, my second two years were perfect and are more accurate representations of my charachter and my academic ability. So basically, my appliation is stellar except for my GPA. Yes, LORs, Essay, AP scores, SAT, SAT 2, they are all the same high level as they are for high GPA students.</p>

<p>Ps: my counselor is going to relate all the above in my recommendation, and so are my teachers and PI for my independent science research.</p>

<p>Again, with this info, chance me for:
Brown
Dartmouth
Cornell
Northwestern
UPenn
WUSTL
Johns Hopkins
Vanderbilt
Emory
UMarylandCP
Tulane
UMichigan
Tufts</p>

15

<p>Pss:

  • I got recs from AB Calc teacher, telling how I grew from the gloomily, C average kid in the back of the room in Honors Precalc
    (my D course), to the lively, smart, and kind kid who has the highest grade in the AP AB Calculus class.
  • AP Bio teacher remarked on our discussions of my research, as well as having the highest grade in the class.</p>

<p>I’ve come to terms with the fact that my first two years sucked; however, I never would have made such a rebound without them.</p>

<p>Btw, does that count as an upward trend?</p>

16

<p>You have truly amazing ECs and great standardized test scores. Rather than writing a sob story about the D (it may seem like you cannot handle a bad grade), I suggest you write something you’re passionate about. The Muslim Interscholastic competition seemed interesting to me (disclaimer: might be bc I’m muslim as well) so you could write about that experience combined with your MSA involvement. Also, TASP is great to have under your belt so I believe you fare great chances for the ivies and other top schools. </p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1167721-please-chance-me-top-schools-like-wharton-harvard-i-will-chance-back-asap.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1167721-please-chance-me-top-schools-like-wharton-harvard-i-will-chance-back-asap.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

17

<p>Thanks for the chance! You’ve got an excellent shot at Cornell; I don’t want to jynx it and say that you’re in, but I don’t really see any reason why they would reject you. Your awards (olympiads and TASP) are excellent and demonstrate your passions clearly. I would suggest your essay focus on what led to your ‘recovery’ after the first couple of years; it certainly seems like a compelling story that taught you something. The essay will honestly be the only thing to worry about; your achievements are good all around, as is your leadership.</p>