Hi, below are my stats and activities list. Is there anything I can do to increase chances of getting into these universities if they are not out of reach? Any tips on essays specifically for these universities? Their prompts basically ask Why cornell and why JHU. Thanks!
SAT: M 770 CR 800 W 800
Total: 2370
SAT II: Math II:800
Chem:800
GPA: 3.75 Cum UW
UC GPA: 3.88 if Honors classes do not count as UC approved honors and 3.96 if they do (does anyone know anything about this?)
Cum Weighted: 4.03
Weighted Classes:
Soph: Honors chem, AP Euro
Junior: AP Chem, AP Lit, Honors Spanish IV
Senior: will be taking AP Bio, AP Lang, AP Psych
Extracurriculars:
- Piano (9-12): Completing all 10 levels of Certificate of Merit Evaluation Exam, received branch honors and qualified for musical convention recital in level 8, receiving senior award (completing 3 levels in HS)
- Conducted Research at Schmahl Science Workshops (10 summer-12): Submitted research on Parkinson’s Disease to Contra Costa Science and Engineering Fair (won 2nd place, alternate for CA State Fair)
- Attended Telugu (Indian Language) School: Completed all 4 levels of telugu school, learned to fluently speak, understand, read, write Telugu
- 250 hours volunteering at Veterans Affairs Hospital (9-12): Honorary Volunteer at Veterans Affairs (Volunteer 200+ hours)
- Internship at UCSF vascular surgery lab (11 summer): conducted vascular research along with other faculty at lab
- Solo author of submitted research paper/article (11th grade): Submitted research paper on Parkinson’s cure to Elsevier Editorial for Parkinsonism and Parkinson’s article to Imagine Magazine of JHU Center for Talented Youth
- Submitting research project on Parkinson’s Disease to Intel STS and Siemens National Competition (11,12)
- Attending Stanford Pre-Collegiate Conference (12): 1 of 50 students in CA selected to participate in conference where we share and discuss our scientific research with professionals and other students
- President and Founder of Charity Dress Club (10-12): Raised money and collected clothes to send to underdeveloped countries around the world: Sent two cargo shipments overseas to India and raised $5000
- Active Member of School Congressional Debate Team (9-12): Varsity member of congressional debate team in grades 9-12, won 3rd place in 2 invitational tournaments (Congress 3, MLK) and won 2nd at Congress summer camp in HS
- 224 PSAT score: Likely national merit semifinalist
- CSF (9-12): Active member of DVHS CSF for 5 semesters, 60 hours volunteering
- Piano Volunteering (9-11): Played piano for elderly at senior citizen homes: 50 hours
- Athletics (9-10): Captain of school Junior Varsity volleyball team
- Work experience (10-12): Teach piano to elementary and middle schoolers around my community
Hooks: N/A
Ethnicity: Asian Indian
Income: 150,000+
Intended Major: General Biology, Molecular Biology, Human Bio, or Neuroscience (which is least competitive?)
hoping to have good essays in which I talk about my dad having cancer and how it dropped my grades, but how I became motivated and used this pain to become motivated in conducting research,etc. Do you think this is a good idea?
I think rec letters will be 6-7/10 for johns hopkins and cornell.
I got into Cornell and I’ll say my stats weren’t as good as yours haha. Work on your essays and you’ll be good haha. If you want, apply to Cornell Early Decision and your chances will be really high; I have a friend who had around a 2160 on the SAT, was an A- student with a few extracurriculars, but he still got in. ED is really generous. Also for the essays, word of advice: don’t make it “why __” make it "here’s my experience, which proves why I would thrive at ".
Your GPA is not very high for a school like Cornell but you have other good stuff going for you
@DaedricSaiyan for the essays would you suggest I talk about my research experience and point out specific research opportunities and clubs at Cornell that I could utilize to further my research?
In terms of AP tests, I got a 3 on Euro, 2 on Chem, and 4 on lit. Does that hurt my chances at all? I am not planning on sending chem
if anyone could let me know if I have a chance at JHU ED that would be great. Would I have a better chance at Cornell ED or JHU ED?
@kobe24mamba Cornell emphasizes more on the individual, so you should talk about what interests you and why. If your research is a pivotal motivator, then yes you should mention it. You can also tailor this to certain clubs at Cornell and certain research opportunities that will facilitate your growth.
APs don’t hurt you necessarily, but it always helps to do well on them. With JHU, I don’t have experience with this school so I won’t be able to help as much as I can with Cornell lol, what I can say is the same principal ideas apply. Writing to define yourself, not “sucking up” (i.e. talking about why a college is the right fit for you vs. talking about why you belong in a college).
@DaedricSaiyan when I link my research to Cornell’s clubs, research, etc, would I also have to talk about how Cornell fits my personal qualities, etc, or would it be sufficient to talk about the research environment that interests me? Also, the prompt is “Describe two or three of your current intellectual interests and why they are exciting to
you. Why will Cornell’s College of Arts and Sciences be the right environment in which to pursue your interests?” So could these interests be: conducting research and doing community service? How would you suggest I approach this prompt. Thanks so much for the help!!
@kobe24mamba I had to do this prompt and another one for engineering. For the CAS prompt I tried to creatively explain how I would use my time in Cornell to pursue certain interests (I talked in mathematical terms and explained my time in Cornell in terms of intervals lol). CAS was my second choice and Engineering my first, so I was accepted to my first choice and I’m not sure how CAS reacted to my essay. For my engineering essay (which is somewhat similar–talking about an engineering idea or interest in engineering), I started off with my experience of using a certain book for a science project and eventually being exposed to the world of astronomy and biology etc. Then I talked about my engineering idea.
I’d recommend maybe starting off with a personal narrative and then transitioning to the big picture (i.e. start off with maybe how biology literature, for instance, is something more than just words but a gateway into another realm. Doesn’t have to be that, but you get the idea ^_^). Then transition to the big picture, how Cornell is the facilitator between you and the pursuit of your interests. What you mention–conducting research and community service–are great topics.
Personal qualities and research environment can go hand in hand. Maybe mention how doing research has helped you grow as an individual? Something along those lines maybe.
Good luck!
@DaedricSaiyan thanks for the helpful tips, I’ll definitely take that into account when writing my essays!
also does anyone know if cornell and johns hopkins will like it if i visited the schools prior to applying?
@kobe24mamba np good luck! And tours should help, if anything it’ll help you get an idea about the school, if it’s a right fit for you, and what is special to the school that can’t just be seen on a website. I’m not sure if tours indicate preference, they do for some colleges apparently.
I went to my little brother’s high school college meeting and the guy there was telling us admissions is based on many factors, but interest is very key. Sometimes if there’s a hard decision, they (apparently) look at who showed more interest. I don’t know if the same holds true for ivies and top-tier schools, but it doesn’t hurt to check the campus out.
Why do you keep making the same threads over and over again
will EDing to JHU significantly help my chances? does anyone know anything about Cornell’s ED?
could someone please provide any other insight into my chances of getting into these?
You can only list 10 ECs on Common App. Group them or remove unimportant ones.
@PartyNextDoor I’m planning on listing the rest of the ECs on the extra comments section