Chances at Cornell, Northwestern engineering schools and Stanford? (regular decision)

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Info about me:

white female, 17, senior

looking to major in biomedical engineering

current classes: AP calc BC, AP bio, AP physics C (took 1/2 last year), AP lit, economics, honors symphonic band

gpa: weighted 4.7, unweighted 3.8
class rank: 9/276, top 3%
act: 34, however, i took it twice, and superscored it would be a 35. my highest in each area is 34 for science and reading and 35 for english and math
sat ii: 770 math 2, 750 physics, 760 biology m

AP classes taken: psychology, 5; US gov, 4; language and comp, 5; physics 1/2, 4 on both; US history, 5

extracurriculars:

-band, 4 yrs, I was section leader and we performed in a bowl game and went to state finals. we are performing in Carnegie hall this year
-model UN, 3 yrs, I have been to several conferences, won an award, and am the PR officer
-academic challenge, 4yrs, vice president on varsity team
-drama club, 4yrs, worked on set design, painting, and tech crew
-helped found a school Chinese club with friends
-NHS, 2yrs, tutored someone in math for a year
-venture crew, was a founding member and am now vice president/treasurer
-Cleveland Youth Wind Symphony, 2yrs, prestigious audition based group, going on a concert tour in Europe this summer

job: I am an intern at my school IT department, since last spring

community service: over 200 hrs, mostly through venture crew and NHS

All in all, I’ve taken the most challenging classes at my school, and have involved myself heavily in my school’s community. I’d love to hear my chances and any last minute tips for those Stanford short answer essays. Thanks!

2

To the best of my knowledge, those three schools do not superscore the ACT, only the SAT. I’m not entirely sure though (actually, I’m positive about Northwestern, not the other two)
Note: I can’t give a good chance for Cornell (because no one I know goes there or has any experience there)
Anyways:

For Northwestern, that 750 physics might hurt you a little bit. But just a little bit. I’m hoping you got amazing grades last year and an amazing AP Physics C first semester grade!
Everything else is pretty solid, but a biomedical engineer major is the most competitive at Northwestern (according to a friend of mine at Northwestern). You do have a decent chance though, don’t lose hope! Did you apply to HPME by any chance? Or are you not looking into medicine at all?
As for Stanford, in all honesty I know a person who has slightly better stats but got rejected ED from Stanford. He didn’t apply for engineering though, so I’m not sure. I’d say you hover at the 50/50 mark. If you wish I can PM you his stats and we can try to find out where you stand roughly (I have another friend who got accepted in 2014 to use as a comparison).
Of course though, essays are a really important thing that all three of those schools consider, so if your essays are superb (especially the personal statement for Northwestern oh my God), you’ll have a better chance of getting in.
Good luck!

3

A 750 is fine, the difference between a 750 and an 800 is virtually negligible. Your stats are aligned with every other competitive applicant but being a female interested in biomedical engineering may help.

4

@Brajia ^ believe it or not, there is a huge difference between 750 and 800!

5

@uclaparent9 Not to admissions officers. I read an article form an MIT admissions officer talking about how a student wanted to retake a 760. The officer said he almost forced her to not take it again because it wouldn’t help her. After you reach a certain score it doesn’t matter. Here is the link: http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/whats_the_big_deal_about_402

“Because to us, a 760 math is the same as any higher score she could receive on the retest.”

6

@Brajia Although the difference between a 750 and 800 isn’t all that noteworthy, 760 still isn’t an 800.

7

@ayyyyyyy Clearly a 760 is not equal to an 800 but to say she has lower chances because of her 750 is ridiculous.

8

@Brajia Yeah, I agree. To OP, a 750, especially in physics, will only help you. Don’t worry about it.

9

@Brajia Of course there are much more kids who argue that 750 is as good as 800, … as there are much more kids who get 750 than 800! Sorry to say that but it is just a wishful thinking.

I always read this ridiculous argument which kids with SAT of 2250 (or so) make that Harvards rejects 1/3 or 2/3 (?) of kids with 2400 SAT but nobody question them whether they are aware what percent of 2250,s are being rejected at the same time?

One MIT guy made a comment few years ago… now all kids think that every adcom thinks the same way!

10

@uclaparent9 chances are if an MIT admissions officer says that scores are not as important as people make them, it goes for admissions officers in other selective universities. I’ve heard numerous statements from other selective colleges where they discuss how people overestimate the importance of scores. And of course more kids with 2250’s will get rejected simply because more kids have that score. They DON’T get rejected because of their scores. There is a difference. A little research on forums and results thread will show you that MOST (not the overwhelming majority but over 50%) of 2400s and 4.0 gpas are rejected at hypercompetitive schools simple because after a certain score your essays, recs, and ec’s become the most important factor.