<p>hi, does anyone know if the rumor that cornell tends to be lenient on people who live in ithaca/are involved with cornell is true? i've lived in ithaca for about 4 years now, and both my parents work at cornell (my dad teaches there as well).
i'm a junior this year, and last summer i interned at the cornell cooperative extension for about a month. also, this summer i am planning on interning at a cornell chemical engineering lab, for about a month as well.
i am a fairly good student and take challenging classes (all ap/honors, but my science this year is apes...) and i get mostly a's with occasional b's. my october sat score was 2130 (700 math, 690 writing, 740 reading), but im planning on being an engineer so my math score is definitely lower than i'd like. however, i studied really hard for math and retook the sat again in may, (i find out my scores tomorrow) so hopefully my math score will be in the mid/high 700s. umm wat else? i took the bio sat ii last year and got a 710, planning to retake in october. also i'm taking the sat ii math level 2 and sat ii french in june, hoping for around 750 for both.
o and ec: i have figure skated competitively for 4+ years, played piano since 5th grade, am involved with french club and green team at my high school but don't hold any leadership positions, and going to be the web manager of the school newspaper for next year.
umm so i know my stats arent perfect, but wat do u think my chances are of getting into cornell early decision?</p>
<p>They sound fantastic. Yes, cornell tries to keep a very close tie with Ithaca and the surrounding area, and you have parents who work for Cornell.</p>
<p>You might also contact the figure skating coach, it could only help your application.</p>
<p>Engineering does look at stats and rigour, though, so make sure you do well in your hard math/sciences, and get decent scores on your SAT/ACTs</p>
<p>well i got my sat scores back…i don’t know whether i should be happy or sad… the good news is that since i worked my butt off for math, i got the 800 i was aiming for. but the bad news is that my critical reading score this time was 690 (740 last time…i don’t know what happened this time) and my writing score was 670 this time (690 last time).
i really don’t know why my reading and writing scores were so low, i actually thought the questions were straight-forward…
o well i really hope cornell does superscore, does anyone know if it does?
one more thing… i’ve been pretty bummed out all day because of my reading and writing scores, but everyone has told me that i shouldn’t worry because cornell will primarily look at my math score since i’m applying to the engineering college. what do u guys think?
and thanks chendrix, that made me feel better haha :)</p>
<p>Your SAT scores are significantly above the average accepted applicant (not sure on the exact number but I would guess around 1450/1600). Superscored, you have an 800 M and 740 CR, a 1540/1600. Cornell does not look at Writing so your score on that doesn’t matter.</p>
<p>By far the most over-represented population at Cornell are people from Tompkins County. Not that that’s a bad thing. </p>
<p>My understanding is that faculty/staff students can be subject to a higher threshold for admission, but only because so many of them apply due to the tuition discount provided. That said, you appear to be more than qualified.</p>
<p>i think the upward trend in SAT math will work greatly in your favor. engineers have 750+ 's on math and with the 800 you’re at the top. cornell, as mentioned, does not weigh the writing very heavily (if at all) so as far as SAT goes, you’re well above average.</p>
<p>i also presume it can’t hurt to have legacy… haha. good luck.</p>
<p>they only count one grade for your SAT so I don’t see how an upward trend would be apparent.</p>
<p>don’t they still ‘see’ all scores? getting a 700 and then an 800 shows a dramatic improvement.</p>
<p>The improvement piece doesn’t really matter. They simply take his highest scores. They don’t use the other scores to make admissions decisions.</p>
<p>omg thanks so much guys, this makes me feel so much better about myself 
lol keep the comments coming please, i love input :))</p>
<p>would you guys say Cornell focuses more on standardized test scores or high school transcripts?</p>
<p>^both count for a significant amount, just like at most schools. it’s impossible to know beyond that.</p>
<p>Your high school transcript (GPA, class rigor, class rank/percentile) is considered more important. I’m not sure how much more though.</p>