Chances for Cornell *(SO FAR)*? Thanks!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

<p>RESUME</p>

<p>Honors/Awards
-National Honors Society
-Spanish National Honors Society
-Tri-M International Music Honors Society
-Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society
~A Tri-State (NY, NJ, CT) Competition.
~Nine groups out of sixty groups that auditioned were selected for this honor
~Young Musician’s Concert
--Performance at Alice Tully Hall
~Strings International Music Festival Scholarship
--invited to have master classes with renown musicians from the Philadelphia Orchestra<br>
-Tilles Scholar Award (C.W. Post Chamber Music Festival)
~one of few chosen for scholarship into the festival
-LISELA (Long Island Science Education Leadership Association) Award
~awarded for excellent leadership role in Earth Science
-Earth Science Leadership Award
~awarded for excellence in Earth Science
-Honor Roll
~all four quarters of the high school years</p>

<p>Clubs/Activities
-Member of Mathletes
~team was ranked 2nd place in Long Island
-Member of the Ping-Pong Club
-Member of the Chess Club
-AMC (American Math Competition) Participant
-Tri-M (Modern Music Masters)
~chamber ensembles
--leader of trio ensemble outside of school
~performances
~master class with Shanghai Quartet at Tilles Center
-GERF (Geological and Ecological Resource Foundation)
~one of few students in school selected to give a presentation to the Board of Education about earth science and the importance of setting up this foundation at school; the foundation would serve as a visual aid for earth science students, making it easier and more fun for them to learn.
-LISFA (Long Island String Festival Association)
~Associate Principal Cellist {3rd chair}
-All-County NMEA (Nassau Music Educators Association)
~Principal Cellist {1st chair}
-All State NYSSMA (The New York State School Music Association) Conference
~orchestral performance in Boston, Massachusetts
-School Symphony/Chamber Orchestra
~Principal Cellist (1st chair}</p>

<p>Athletics
-Boys Swimming (Varsity)</p>

<p>Community Service/Work Experience
-In-School Volunteering
~Chairperson for Nyssma Festival
--checked attendance for incoming Nyssma auditioners
--helped in setting up rooms for festival
[12+ hours]
-Gig Performances as trio and quartet ensembles
~leader of gig groups; arranged job dates and times, rehearsal dates, music
preparation, etc.
--churches
>mass accompaniment
--parties
--country Clubs
>performed for the Master Works Foundation at Woodbury
Country Club
--Weddings
-North Shore LIJ (Long Island Jewish Hospital)
~office work; filing
~equipment management/transport
~patient care
[50+ hours]
-LuHi Tennis Camp at SportTime
~Volunteer Counselor (PIT): Person In Training
--aided in running camp
--clean up
--served lunch
--office work
--organizing equipment/t-shirts
[200+ hours]</p>

<p>Summer Programs
-C.W. Post Chamber Music Festival
~master classes
--with the Pierrot Consort and members of the Emerson Quartet
~chamber ensembles
~performances
--best ensembles of festival selected to perform</p>

<p>GPA: 4.0 (almost certain)
SAT 2: Biology M-710
I'll probably take 3 more; math IC, Chem and US History next year, and probably two or three more during the senior year.
AP: Euro-?</p>

<p>I HAVENT TAKEN THE SAT YET SO CAN ANYONE GIVE ME AN IDEA OF WHAT A GOOD SCORE WOULD BE? I ALSO TAKE AP EURO THIS YEAR AND IM GOING TO TAKE AP US NEXT YEAR, AND PROBABLY 6 MORE APS.</p>

2

<p>wait, you're going to take 6 in one year? don't burn yourself out, man. Been there and it ain't pretty.</p>

3

<p>Looks good. Your ec's show you to be an involved person. </p>

<p>Why don't you pick a few select extracurriculars that you really felt passionate about in an essay and include it in the folder. </p>

<p>Make sure to attach a personal picture along with this essay. You don't need to show them a pic of you smiling in front of your bathroom mirror. When I say personal picture, put in a picture that shows you involved in an extracurricular activity (working hard at habitat for humanity but still showing a smile on your face, etc..) </p>

<p>That will make your folder look more original and unique than the average application which will be a big plus for you.</p>

4

<p>its tough nibee? wow. well i've missed out on taking APs during my junior year. im only taking AP US for the junior year, and for sophomore year i took AP Euro. a lot of kids in my school have already taken like 4 or 5 after junior year. so i should make up for this by taking a lot in senior year. so must be hard huh? well im gunna try my best and hopefully i wont die lol. well first, during senior year i only have to focus on APs and no SATs anymore. so thats why i think the APs are manageable. well maybe ill take a little more SAT 2s, but im gunna try my best and ill see what happens. thx for ur advice. ill try not to die lol.</p>

5

<p>yeah, I took at least 4 ap's a year, but I tried six in my senior and it just wasn't possible for me. Utter meltdown. If you don't get the senioritis and you keep on task you'll be fine, but take care of yourself, that's first priority :D</p>

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<p>thx eternityhope for ur comment and advice. but we wont know for sure until i take the SATs. ill try my best on that. and yea ill be sure to mention my best ECs on my essays. ill probably know which ones are my best by next year, but for the past two years, ive been getting really involved in many different things, and see what im best at. so i really havent decided what my best is yet, but im sure i will the junior year. i like the idea about the "original" portfolio. ill be sure to do what u said. again, thx for ur advice!</p>

7

<p>lol nibee. u look like a person who can make harvard. lol took 4 APs in a year? and then 6? wow. i wish i could do that... well anyway, u live in Long Island? what county do u live in? i live in Nassau County. jus wonderin lol</p>

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<p>I live in suffolk :D
you can msg me at hotmail:<a href="mailto:bodapatin@hotmail.com">bodapatin@hotmail.com</a>
or aim:theshadowyone666</p>

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<p>o lol aight. and also, do u have any advice or comments on my resume so far? i need to know what else i might need or wutever. thx a lot</p>

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<p>i'm in suffolk</p>

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<p>woo,</p>

<p>I didn't mean include them in some essay. That makes it sound like I just want you to throw in a few statements here and there describing your favorite extracurriculars (EC's).</p>

<p>I meant for you to write a completely new essay dedicated about one or two particular EC activities that you felt were the ones you truly enjoyed and did with passion. Attach a pic of you being involved in that specific EC activity. </p>

<p>Make sure you work very hard on this specific essay - it will be the key part of your portfolio. Why?</p>

<p>Almost everyone who applies to top schools have many AP classes and close to a 4.0 with a great SAT scores. What makes an admissions officer really find a candidate interesting is the student's life outside of school and the student's personality. If you do what I told you, it will make your personality really stand out - out of the thousands of competitive applicants.</p>

12

<p>wow thats the best advice ive ever heard lol. thx. but i love doing all the things i talked about, and it's hard for me to decide. i probably will find one or two i like best, but for now, im not sure. do u think it's a good idea if i talk about let's say, "well-roundedness" or "versatile characteristic" in my essays in case i cant decide what i like best yet? or do u think colleges PREFER that we limit to more specific things? i like doing everything, so i wanted to know if it's okay to not have decided on one or two specific things to decide. ill definitely try to find my two best ones, but JUST IN CASE i can't. thats all im wondering so far. anyway, thx for ur advice.</p>

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<p>Woo, I know this is long but I highly recommend that you read it thoroughly. It is meant for you and I think if you read this, it will help you.</p>

<p>Look, there's nothing wrong with your reaction. It is only natural. </p>

<p>Let me tell you something. Everyone wants to look brilliant and versatile. I mean who doesn't want to tell the admissions officer that they are everywhere in the community and have taken a phenomenal amount of interest in extracurriculars.</p>

<p>The plan to talk about specific ec's rather than all of them is still much more efficient. Here's why. An admissions officer simply has to look at your ec files in order to determine whether or not you have been involved in the community. You don't need to write an essay and specifically tell him about your numerous community activities in order for him to butter him up about your "versatile" skills. </p>

<p>Almost everyone who applies to these top schools has pages and pages of extracurriculars. Your not the only one who has been extremely "versatile" as a high school student. Thousands of students clearly want their ec's to stand out; they are all going to be indicated them in an essay and have their couselor's recommendation include those numerous activities they have done outside of school.</p>

<p>This conveys a message to the admissions officer that you are certainly involved in the community. So the admissions officer will say "this kid right here is not someone who limits himself to school and academics. He certainly takes part in the community and that is a good thing." </p>

<p>However, if you really want your admissions officer to ADMIRE you (in other words want your folder to truly stand out); you've got to show your personality as not just involved, but truly passionate and real. What this means is that you won't seem like just a application folder anymore; instead you seem much more animated and creative - in short, much more human and real. This is what seperates you from that other kid who also had the same, long list of ec's.</p>

<p>How does one do this? How does one show their personality like this? The only real choice that you have through your essay. Some might say interview. Well, most schools actually place much more importance on your essay than your interview. The reason is simple: Your essay is your only communication medium inside that committee room. Only one person interviews you but everyone reads your essay. It is the only way that you speak and show your feelings and creativeness. Your essay can be an amazing asset. </p>

<p>By picking specific ec activities and talking about them; your writing prose and content go much deeper and beyond the superficial areas. </p>

<p>As a result, you won't seem like a kid trying to impress an admissions committee about how versatile you are. Instead, you will convey something deeper and more meaningful to them: your livelihood and passions. When you focus and narrow down on a topic and speak about yourself very experiences very deeply; it shows your feelings, thoughts, and ideas so much more. It makes you seem so much more human and real; not just as an application folder sitting in front of their eyes out of the thousands! It makes you more unique and real in front of their eyes. </p>

<p>I have had many friends with tons of ec activities and 4.0 GPA along with a very rigorous cirriculum and a good SAT score get rejected from places like Dartmouth, UPenn. After all these years (I'm now at one of the top engineering schools in the country), my friends and I realize why we got rejected from certain places we tried to get into back then. We just never conveyed ourself enough to the admissions committee.</p>

<p>Here's the deal. Think of it as two different cases.</p>

<p>Case # 1) This kid named Jill has her list of ec activities and talks about how she is very versatile and yada yada.... She also relists most of his ec activities in an essay of its own.</p>

<p>Case #2) This kid named Jenny has the same list of ec activities. Instead of listing all the activities over again in another essay, she picks one activity that she felt the most passionate about. Jenny than goes very in depth and talks about her feelings and experiences about that one activity. She even talks about how it has helped her be a slightly different person in life. How it has helped her to look at things in a different and more optimistic perspective and than Jenny backs this up by listing the specific events in that one ativity that really impacted her.</p>

<p>To me, Jenny shows much more of his personality than Jill. I really didn't need Jill to relist all her ec's and I feel that Jill is trying to FORCE IT. She's trying too hard to get the admission's admiration and that is just pathetic. Goodbye Jill.</p>

<p>Jenny on the other hand has done a superior job of conveying her personality and experiences. She did not seem like she was forcing it across. It is clear that Jenny is not trying hard to capture anybody's attention, she is simply speaking about who she is and how she feels about life. This person has much more of an impact on me than Jill.</p>

<p>Jill is just one of the thousands of applicants who seem like they really, really want in this college. That's all I can say about her other. She may have good grades and good test scores but thousands who apply to these top schools have those same credentials; Jill just is not standing out in her application to me.</p>

<p>Jenny is someone who I can visualize as a real person outside of her material application file that I'm holding. That coupled with good grades and SAT scores and recommendations presents a MUCH stronger file than Jill's. She isn't perfect but she is someone who the admissions would take very seriously. Chances are in her favor that they will take her.
Get the point?</p>

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<p>eternityhope. thx for taking the time to give me this advice. i really get ur point now. ill definitely follow ur advice on my essays. in choosing a specific EC like u say, to talk about in my essay, would this be a good idea? i really have passion in music. i love playing my cello and relieving myself of stress from the burdens of school. at the same time, i take great passion in playing for others in the community. especially during my time playing for my community at churches, weddings, etc, i always hope afterwards that everyone enjoyed our performances, and perhaps receieved a message that music can be an essential aspect in life, not just as an entertainment. hmm does this sound corny? lol. well anyway, id say music is going to be the topic of my choice for my essay. ill DEFINITELY show how "real" and "passionate" i am in my essays. thx a lot for ur advice. and also, if i do choose music as my EC of choice, do u think u can give just a "little" idea of how i can incorporate that into a passionate essay? thx a lot again.</p>

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<p>Dude I wrote you a massive letter and posted it. You want to know more? I mean comeon bro; i get tired of typing all that much. Your not a bad kid but, I really get sick of typing up long, long real big notes and post them up online unless I really, REALLY have to.</p>

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<p>o yea u have a point lol. sry. u've given me so much advice already. im being too selfish. thx</p>

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<p>bump bump bump</p>