Chance.

Colleges & Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

<p>What are my chances for RD?</p>

<p>RACE/GENDER
Korean female</p>

<p>SCORES
ACT: 33 super-scored
Best Composite: 31, 12 writing
Literature Sat II: 760
US History Sat !!: 720
<strong>I took the ACT again in September, I'm awaiting scores. I will be taking the Sat IIs again in October, hoping for an 800 on Literature and at least a 750 on US History and taking Spanish also</strong>
AP Language - 5
AP US History - 5
AP Micro/Macro Economics - 4, 4
AP World - 4</p>

<p>SCHOOL
Type: average, public high school in a suburb near Chicago, IL. Sends one or two to Ivy Leagues every year.
rank: 6 out of 454
Weighted GPA: 5.6 (out of 5.0)
Non-weighted: 4.9 (out of 5.0)
I've taken the hardest course rigor since freshman year. I took AP world history, AP US History, AP macro/microeconomics, AP language, and I am currently in AP Biology, AP Psychology, AP Government, AP Calculus BC, and AP Literature. I've taken up to Spanish 4.
<strong>I also take a creative writing class at my local community college, not really for credits. Just for self-study and to help build my writing portfolio.</strong></p>

<p>EXTRACURRICULARS
-School Literary Magazine, Poetry Editor
-Class Board President
-National Honor Society Vice President
-School Newspaper, Guest Editor
-Varsity Golf all four years, Captain
-Freshman Advisory Leader
-Student Council
-Track
-Creative Writing - I have a decent sized portfolio of both poetry and prose, as well as songs I've written the lyrics and the chords for. I've been published a few times, and voted Teen Ink Magazine's Readers' Choice for February of 2009
-Volunteer after-school tutor at a local Elementary School twice a week
-volunteer internship with Open Books, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting literacy in the Chicago-land area and this year, opening our very own book store (as seen on abc and NY Times)
-Piano for 15+ years, certified by the Illinois Music Teachers' Association for Levels 1, 2, 3 (I had to quit competing freshman year, because I developed arthritis in my fingers)</p>

<p>HOOKS
-First generation college student
-My father is disabled, unemployed and on social security benefit, because he injured his back the year my little brother was born (when I was four). He is bedridden, and my mother is a flight attendant so she's home five to ten days a month. I basically raised my little brother and so missed out on a lot of EC opportunities...I did not talk about this in my application at all, only my counselor described these circumstances in her letter of rec.</p>

<p>ESSAYS/RECS:
My counselor rec is phenominal.
I got my AP Lang teacher and Spanish 4 teacher, both worship the ground I walk on..and both have written letters for students that got into Columbia in the past.
My essay is probably the strongest point of my application, I wrote it on the burdens of being a first-born but it's atypical and not a sob story at all, I promise haha.</p>

<p>Oh, and PS I'll have another rec letter from a federal judge in DC. I did some volunteer work for him last summer, and he knows me very well. I dont think it will help, but at least it's something. </p>

<p>I'm also graduating after first semester because of an opportunity to be a teaching aid at a public school in South Korea for a semester. I will be teaching English there for five months. I've already notified Cornell about this and they have said that it's a good opportunity. </p>

<p>Thanks in advanced!!</p>

2

<p>Oh, PS…college of arts and science as an english/creative writing major.</p>

3

<p>Very good chance I’d say.</p>

4

<p>Thank you! I’d appreciate more honest opinions! Feel free to be brutal.</p>

5

<p>“Type: average, public high school in a suburb near Chicago, IL. Sends one or two to Ivy Leagues every year.”</p>

<p>if that is true, and still will be true this year, then id say your chances aren’t that high. what about those 5 kids above you lol and kids around your rank. </p>

<p>though, your stats look good</p>

6

<p>i think most people, non-athletes, should take SAT 1 too. If you look at the data, like 99% percent submitted their SAT 1 scores.</p>

7

<p>regarding what AnbuItachi said, class rank is a pretty stupid statistic… i think it’s based on gpa alone? i could be wrong, but a lot of schools don’t even bother with it because it’s silly.
If all your recs are as legit and “phenomenal” as you claim, then your chance is great. According to what you’ve written here, you’ve got a lot of impressive things going on and plenty of people to attest to them.</p>

8

<p>Thanks everyone! There are five people ahead of me in terms of class rank, three of which are not applying to Ivy Leagues, but rather MIT and Notre Dame for hard sciences. A few of them have lower test scores than me, for whatever reason, and less extra curriculars. So I don’t necessarily think class rank is a good indicator. Not to mention…my school SENDS a couple to Ivy Lagues, but we get up to ten that get accepted.</p>

<p>Do you feel like my ACT score is a little fatal? That’s probably my biggest worry.</p>

9

<p>I don’t think your ACT score will either harm or help you. But I second the guy above me who mentioned that you should probably also look into taking the SAT.</p>

10

<p>I am sorry, I disagree with the people above me.</p>

<p>Regardless of your scores of standardized tests, although they are excellent, I’d say you have the strongest chance among the applicants.
The fact that you raised up your brother by yourself and you are the first college generation really stands out. It shows a lot of determination and what kind of person you are.</p>

<p>You Stand Out…
I want to say you would be admitted to Cornell 100%, but I shouldn’t go that far…</p>

11

<p>Whaiting!!.. I’m also applying to Cornell… engineering :)</p>

12

<p>Thanks everyone! howon, I wish you the best with your application!</p>

13

<p>don’t AP scores have no influence on whether you get admitted or not? don’t they only help after you’ve been accepted into a school?</p>

14

<p>Technically, but there is a human element to the admissions process, especially at Cornell. Seeing good AP scores will only give you a more competitive edge. My ACT score is a little on the low side, so I’m hoping that by my 5s in the subjects that I’m going to major in, it will lessen the blow a little. Same goes for SAT IIs.</p>

15

<p>so you can send your APs after you submit the common app? or do you mean they’ll just see that section in the common app?</p>

16

<p>well they will see whether or not you took AP classes in high school. if you did and the exam date has passed then they will expect to see scores. It might look sketchy if you hold them back.</p>

17

<p>looks like if you are going to get into harvard.</p>

<p>My ACT scores are higher than you are, but my writing score is poor. </p>

<p>I am also a Korean Female, although I am an international student, you kind of reminded me of myself!</p>

<p>Good luck with your apps!</p>

18

<p>bump^^ and
UPDATE: I won the Nation’s 2009 writing contest, $1000 prize and publication in a November issue</p>

<p>the ED stats this year were really high, and i’m worried my 31 act will hurt me a lot. what do you guys think?</p>