Chances for ED at Cornell Engineering?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

My daughter is applying ED to Cornell. Curious about her chances. We live in NY state.

SAT Math 710
SAT Verbal 720

(Retook SAT Oct 1; waiting for scores; taking ACT 10/22)

SAT II Math 1 750
SAT II Chemistry 690

AP Lang & Comp 5

Senior Year Courses:
Calc BC
AP Physics C
AP Government
AP Lit & Comp
Spanish V (University in the HS)

Honors/Awards
NMS Commended Student
Ranked 2 of 623 students (suburban public school)
NHS
NSHS (Secretary/Treasurer)

ECs:
Drama Club, 4 years (officer)
Pep Band, 4 years
Math Team, 4 years

Community Service:
150 hrs classroom assistant to elementary school teacher
150+ hrs performing/rehearsing scholarship fund raiser musical each summer
95 hours volunteer CIT at summer camp at nature center
100+ hours singing in church choir
50+ hours assisting at annual church bible camp

Employment:
Worked one summer as asst director/ choreographer for school district summer enrichment theater program
Currently working as cantor leading music at church services on weekends

Leadership
Secretary/Treasurer of National Spanish Honor Society
President of Wind Ensemble (advanced band at HS; plays at NYSSMA level 6)
Section Leader in Voice Ensemble (advanced chorus at HS; sings at NYSSMA level 6)
Drama Club Officer

2

Forgot to add: her weighted GPA is 99.39; unweighted 97

3

Updated SAT scores as of 10/27! Please chance for ED Cornell Engineering:

1520/1600 760 Verbal 760 Math

Weighted GPA: 99.39, Unweighted 97

SAT II Math 1 750 (taken 11th grade)
SAT II Chemistry 690 (taken 10th grade)

AP Exams: AP Lang & Comp 5

Senior Year Courses:
Calc BC
AP Physics C
AP Government
AP Lit & Comp
Spanish V (University in the HS)

Honors/Awards
NMS Commended Student
Salutatorian: Ranked 2 of 623 students (suburban NY public school)
NHS
NSHS (Secretary/Treasurer)

ECs:
Drama Club, 4 years (officer)
Pep Band, 4 years
Math Team, 4 years

Community Service:
150 hrs classroom assistant to elementary school teacher
150+ hrs performing/rehearsing scholarship fund raiser musical each summer
95 hours volunteer CIT at summer camp at nature center
100+ hours singing in church choir
50+ hours assisting at annual church bible camp

Employment:
Worked one summer as asst director/ choreographer for school district summer enrichment theater program
Currently working as cantor leading music at church services on weekends

Leadership
Secretary/Treasurer of National Spanish Honor Society
President of Wind Ensemble (advanced band at HS; plays at NYSSMA level 6)
Section Leader in Voice Ensemble (advanced chorus at HS; sings at NYSSMA level 6)
Drama Club Officer

white female, upstate NY

4

You have a pretty decent shot. Being a woman will be your biggest advantage going into the stem field.

Great class rank, good SAT, average ECs.

ED helps quite a bit at Cornell. Definitely have some safeties because Cornell falls in the reach category for almost everyone

5

^Being a woman will not be their “biggest advantage.” Even if a candidate is a woman they still must be very academically qualified.

6

SAT of 1520 is great for ED Cornell, no need to retake that. Two 760s is very good… SAT II Chemistry is a tad low, I would retake that. What are junior year courses? Class rank is great.
The problem is not with the academics…
The ECs are not Ivy League level. I can’t see them wowing Cornell, so make sure the writing is spectacular.

7

Junior year courses were Honors Physics, Honors PreCalc, Honors USH, AP English Lang & Comp, Spanish V.

8

I believe she has a very good shot, good class rank, very nice scores, and a very great GPA. ED will increase odds a little bit so I would expect her to get in.

9

^^^^ miselading. No one should “expect to get in”… Awful advice

10

I think with any Ivy, you can’t ever really expect to get in. My daughter is applying to several schools–a combination of institute-type schools such as RPI (she received the RPI medal), WPI, and Stevens Tech. She is also applying to Northeastern, Lehigh, Villanova, and a SUNY school, Binghamton.

Cornell is her top choice, not necessarily because it’s an Ivy. She loved the campus, everything about the engineering program (facilities, structure, options such as the project teams) and the fact that it’s one of the only schools she visited where there were nearly as many women as men in engineering (48% female/52 male).

Of course, Cornell is the biggest reach for her. I appreciate the replies; it gives me insight into how possible (or not) Cornell acceptance might be.

Thank you!

11

My daughter’s Common App Essay is about how the cancer diagnosis and eventual passing of her younger sister marked her transition from childhood to adulthood. I believe it is a powerful and deeply personal essay.