<p>Hi everyone! I never thought I would do this, but here goes! Any input is greatly appreciated! :)</p>
<p>White male, Christian, first generation college student</p>
<p>GPA: 4.10 weighted, 3.88 unweighted
Ranking: Top 10%
SAT: CR: 670, M: 680, W: 710 (2060, improved from a 1840)
SAT II: Biology molecular: 740, APUSH: 640, Math I: 580 (cringing - guidance told me to state why - was withdrawing from old medication and adjusting to new one - greatly affected concentration and caused extreme heat flashes)
AP's/Honors -
Junior yr: AP Biology, AP Italian, AP U.S. History, Honors chem, Honors english/lit, honors science research
Senior yr: AP Macro, AP Statistics, 4H AB Precalc (Attempted to do an independent study over summer to get into AP Calc, but school would not accept it because it was a free course and wasn't sponsored by my school - even though it was through UPenn... mentioned it on the common app), AP Literature, Honors physics, honors adv. science research</p>
<p>EC's:
-President of Amnesty International (participated 3 years, pres. for 1)
-Paid secretary of St. Patrick's parish rectory (10th-12th)
-NHS Public relations committee (12th)
-Research assistant at Burke Medical Research Institute: investigated the effects of hypoxic preconditioning on Schwann cell viability - not so successful, but a ton of fun! (~260 hours over summer, 10th-11th)
-Data-based research assistant at Northern Westchester Hospital: studied stroke epidemiology and patient demographics - project was a success - helped understand patient demographics at solely a community level (~160 hours over summer, 11th-12th)
-Leader of St. Patrick's parish teen youth group: helped run pilgrimage to Madrid, Spain (World Youth Day 2010), ran local fundraisers, volunteered every year at Christmas dinner for the senior citizens/ the local homeless (9th-12th)
-Paid tutor for middle school/high school students in all subjects (mostly bio and math though)
-Science Olympiad competitor (9th, 11th, 12th) - anatomy and physiology</p>
<p>Awards:
-Society for in vitro Biology Award State/Regional (11th)
-Selected to represent Yorktown High School
and state of NY at the Congress of Future
Medical Leaders (National, 12th)
-National Academy of Future Physicians and
Medical Scientists Award of Excellence (National, 12th)
-Silver Pin awarded for highly ranked GPA (11th)
-Principal's List (9th-12th)</p>
<p>Recommendations: Honors/AP Bio teacher (amazing relationship), Honors eng. teacher (really personal rec), science research teacher (like a dad to me, spoke of intense work load/ work ethic), Supplemental rec from mentor at Northern Westchester Hospital - chief neurologist of the hospital</p>
<p>Essay: wrote about my dad pushing me to work on the railroad and not worry about college - spoke of how I'm going to lay down my own tracks before I truly embrace his American Dream of having a family and being promised financial stability.</p>
<p>Intended major: Human Biology, Health, and Society (HBHS)
Supplement: the majority of the essay spoke of my passion for the life sciences/ my family med history, and the last two paragraphs spoke about Human Ecology and how it fit perfectly in my life - wanted the pre-med track, but really loved how it wasn't necessarily about the core classes - more about those surrounding them that would help influence/refine one's goals.</p>
<p>It's always been my dream to attend Cornell.. I've had a lot of encouragement and a lot of discouragement.. I know I'm not the best student and may not be as qualified as the other truly amazing applicants, but it's not gonna stop me from trying :]</p>
<p>Thanks everyone! I really, really appreciate it!</p>