Chances of Getting into CORNELL UNIVERSITY'S AAP?

State Forums
1

Hey everyone, just wanted to know if you think I could get into Cornell University College of Architecture, Art, & Planning (AAP) based on my stats/description? I am currently a high school junior about to begin my spring semester, and I would love to be admitted to Cornell’s Architecture department.

ACADEMICS:

  • PSAT/NMSQT Total 1250 out of 1520, Reading/Writing 610 out of 760, and Math 640 out of 760.
  • (PREDICTED SAT BASED ON PSAT: Total of 1316 out of 1600, Reading/Writing 642 out of 800, Math 674 out of 800)
  • Current Weighted GPA: 4.2188
  • Current Unweighted GPA: 3.9375
  • Current Class Rank: 47 out of 530 (Top 8.87%)
  • Final Grades for Spanish 1,2,3,4: 100%
  • currently have all A's in all courses ever taken except for 1 high B (89%) in Masonry I as a freshman
  • taken 3 AP classes so far (US History, English Lang, and Human Geography)
  • mostly honors courses, few standard
  • electives are architecture/construction/design related and spanish
  • self-taught art abilities convinced art department at my school to put me in art II after me passing the art I mastery exam and them approving my art portfolio/sketchbooks
  • strong recommendations/references

EXTRACURRICULARS:

  • 5 Honor Societies (math, technical, achiever, honor, spanish) **Treasurer for National Achiever Society **Junior Representative for National Honor Society
  • Team Captain for Lacrosse at my high school (our very first lax team this year, also my first time playing)
  • 1st degree black belt in taekwondo (practicing since 2015)
  • talented and self-taught in music (singer) and visual arts

SUMMER PLANS:

  • 1 week architecture residential camp at NC State University
  • 1 week architecture residential camp at UNC Charlotte
  • 3 week physics residential camp at NCSSM (North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics)

SENIOR YEAR PLANS:

  • 7 AP Classes (Physics, Psychology, Calculus AB, Calculus BC, Spanish Language, Spanish Literature, English Literature)
  • 1 Honors Course (Civics/Economics)
  • Join National Art Honor Society
  • Gain officer/board position in other 3 societies (spanish, technical, math)

I would really appreciate any tips/advice/opinion on how to be a more competitive student for Cornell! I am trying to improve my test scores but I guess I’m just not a good test taker but hopefully everything else makes up for it. Thanks in advance!

2

I dont know if this comes into play, but I am also Female Asian/Pacific Islander with a low-income family; my mom is a naturalized u.s. citizen and my father is a disabled u.s. veteran.

3

The most important part of your admissions package is your portfolio. The competition is so fierce getting in (5-7%), the school takes extreme care in looking for students who are deeply creative and passionate. The interview is critical to the school in terms of your knowledge of not only the school and the program but the profession. A typical class has about 60 students. By graduation 5 years later, that number is significantly reduced. The interview is to see just how serious and committed you are to architecture. With regards to your portfolio, do not put in any kinds of architectural drawings or models or renderings unless it was done at a reputable summer architecture program like Cornell’s. The caveat being only if you received a high mark by your instructore because it showed merit. Overly loading up your portfolio with summer architecture program exercises would not be advised. As you know, this is perhaps the best program in the country, Cornell Architecture has a specific pedagogy not entirely consistent with lesser schools like NC State. The portfolio should demonstrate your creativity - that simple. Your grades should reflect what you would need to get into an Ivy League university.