College Searches Similar to Cornell/ Chances of getting into Cornell

College Search & Selection
1

I’m an oncoming junior in high school. I’ve been doing college searches for awhile now and I’ve got a list I’m working on for colleges. My top choice is Cornell, which I’m thinking might be a reach.

I’ve got a ~3.95 GPA, I’ve taken the ACT once but didn’t get as high a score as I’d like but I’ll be taking it again this year. Haven’t taken the SAT yet but I plan do so this fall, expecting maybe a 2000 or a little over hopefully.
I’m ranked #7 in my class but that’s an improvement from freshman year at #8 so I’m hoping to be #3-#4 senior year.
I don’t do any school sports although I have taken ballet since I was 3. In school, I’m an active member of Student Counsel, and I’m secretary in my schools Youth in Government delegation (I plan on running for club president, with likely win because it’s a small club, next year) I also do 4H and I’m a camp counselor during summer. As for things I’m planning on doing, I plan on hospital volunteering coming up and I’m thinking about starting an astronomy club in school (I’m also a part of a community Astro club) I’m involved with a lot of art things in my school (I’ve won three art competitions) I’m taking AP/CCP English, AP Physics, and AP Gov this year, and senior year I’ll most likely be doing AP Language, AP Chem and possibly AP Physics Mechanics, as well as AP Calculus. Those are really the only AP classes my school offers, so if I do all of these, I’ll have taken the most advanced classes I can. I’ll be a part of my schools Scholar Association (they took away NHS and replaced it with some local scholars association for whatever reason, but it’s probably still a good thing to do)

Anyways, as I’ve said Cornell is my top choice. I don’t know if I’m good enough for this college and my guidance counselor shave advised me the chances are very slim (but then, probably 90% of the students that have gone to my school have only ended up going to local colleges, so they probably aren’t as familiar with selective school admissions. As far as I know, only one student has gone to Cornell and that was like 20 years ago) but that I should still try for it, just making sure I’ve got safeties.

So far, here’s my up to date list of colleges I’m interested in:

Reach Schools:

  1. Cornell
  2. Wesleyan University

Level:

  1. University of Rochester
  2. Case Western ( which is in-state )
  3. University of Virginia
  4. George Washington

Safety:

  1. University of Vermont
  2. University of Georgia

Looking at colleges I’m trying to find ones that have the same campus vibes as Cornell. I personally think U or R and Case has the same vibes to it from what I understand (I’ve toured Case and I am touring Cornell sometime this summer, along with possibly U of R )

So really, the point to this post is this: With my stats, am I Cornell worthy? Are these other schools good alternatives? And what are other schools that would be good alternatives but easier to get into ( 25% to 50% AR)

I’m from Ohio so I’m primarily looking at schools in the East/Northeast or anywhere within reasonable distance from here (so basically, no schools from California!)

Any help would be much appreciated.

2

Also I’m intending of majoring in biological sciences. hoping to career in medical science and or plant sciences with the goal of being an astronaut…if this helps any

3

How did Wesleyan sneak in there? It’s a great school, but it doesn’t seem to fit with the rest of your list.

Cornell is a reach for everyone. This year’s acceptance rate was 12.5%.

SAT scoring changed last year. It’s now out of 1600. I would urge you to aim for at least a 1500, which I think should put you in the top half of applicants. Keep your grades up, do very well on the ACT or SAT and write a great essay and you should be a plausible candidate for Cornell.

4

@Astromae2033 First thing, you are Cornell worthy! Unfortunately, with admit rates like they are these days, schools like Cornell are turning away many students who would do well there. Although UVA may be more of a reach for an OOS student, I think your other match-level schools are on target, depending on your ACT/SAT score. If you can get a 1500+ or 34+ and show interest, I think you have a nice list. Be sure to check EFC so that your safeties and matches are do-able from a financial as well as a scholastic standpoint.

5

Assuming finances are not a concern, the University of Michigan and Cornell have a lot in common. Like Cornell, Michigan is a reach for OOS students…so is UVa by the way.

Another good reach to consider is Northwestern.

6

Plant Science generally is in a College of Agriculture. Run the college search engines for that major, and see what you find. Most of those will be in large public universities, so while the vibes will be different, they will not all be completely unlike Cornell.

7

@Astromae2033, look at the Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Biological Sciences. Your potential majors are listed. The admission rate is higher than the College of Arts and Sciences.
https://cals.cornell.edu/academics/departments-majors#majors

8

A lot will depend on your test scores. My daughter got into Cornell with a similar GPA (3.97 uw) and a score of 2300 on the SAT . . . a figure that would probably correspond to around 1520 on the current 1600-based SAT.

She ended up at Rice–another reach school that you might want to consider.

Besides having a beautiful campus (though very different from Cornell’s rural setting), Rice has an excellent bio program, and lots of students do research at the Texas Medical Center, which is located right across Main Street from campus. (TMC is the world’s largest medical complex, and it is home of the esteemed MD Anderson Cancer Center).

In addition, Rice has strong links with NASA, and some students intern at NASA’s large Houston facility.

9

I’d like to help you but I have no idea of it.

10

Our D had similar stats to yours (3.95, SAT 2070, class rank 6th, 5 APs, Nat. Honor Society President) and the only two schools she was waitlisted at were Wesleyan and Vandy. She just graduated from Emory University, which has a terrific medical program due to the Center for Disease Control on campus. Rice sounds like it might be a strong fit for you with NASA internships but it is a reach school (as well as Northwestern.)

11

I’ve definitely considered Rice, as a reach school. I love everything about it. The only thing that would potentially turn me away from it is the distance; being from Ohio it’s quite a stretch, unfortunately. Definitely a school I’ll be considering though.

12

People who attracted to Cornell often apply to Lehigh as well. Both schools were founded in the 1860s by wealthy industrialists with funky names and beards (Ezra Cornell and Asa Packer). Both schools were established to provide education in practical fields (like engineering and business), not just liberal arts, which was an unusual idea at the time. Both schools are located in mid-Atlantic states, outside of the major metro areas, in distinctive natural settings: Cornell has gorges, Lehigh is on a mountainside. Both schools are nationally competitive in wrestling (but not in anything else).

So there are some definite similarities in terms of history and vibe. However, Cornell is significantly larger, more research oriented, and more selective. Lehigh is significantly smaller, more oriented towards undergraduate teaching, and less selective. Lehigh has a good reputation for STEM programs, including biology, but probably not plant sciences specifically. Plant sciences programs are usually associated with agricultural schools; Cornell has an ag school but Lehigh never did.

13

U of Michigan & U of Wisconsin. Also McGill & U of Toronto.

14

What is it about Cornell that you are trying to match? The cold weather :slight_smile: The beautiful campus? The great student vibe? The size? The academic program choices? etc…

Here’s a suggestion out of left field: Tulane. I have 2 daughters: one graduated from Cornell, one is currently attending Tulane. They are similar people and both love their schools, although they are in very different climates, locations, etc, but I think the student vibe is actually pretty similar. Cornell is academically more rigorous, but I think you need more match schools and Tulane is probably a better shot for you. Yes, it probably requires you to budget flights to get to/from there, but many of those other schools are a long drive from Ohio and if your parents are dropping you off that probably means a hotel, etc, so on balance it’s not that different.

Also, BTW, I think UVM is a good choice and you could probably get into their honors program (5 years ago the dorms looked very nice for honors, I’m not sure if it’s still the same), and maybe you want to check out James Madison University, and Ithaca College.

FYI my daughter at Tulane scored a 36 on her ACT, was top 5% of her HS class (competitive HS), had great ECs, and was waitlisted at UVA!, dinged at Princeton, and got in everywhere else (including Cornell, she’s a warm weather kid). UVA IMHO out of state requires some “hook”, as they have very few slots for OOS. The stats would have you believe it’s a match, and it would be if you were in state. Same thing for UNC Chapel Hill (she did get accepted there, but that’s harder OOS than Cornell).