Cornell CALS - Biology major

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Applying ED from within NYS, with moderate grades my first two years and excellent grades my last two.</p>

<p>Weighted GPA: 91.810
(Weighted) Class Rank 45 in class of 205</p>

<p>First two years was in 3 honors courses with 2 regents courses. Honors were Global (9) & AP History (10), English (9 & 10), and Biology (9) & Chemistry (10). Regents were Algebra (9) & Geometry (10), and Spanish (9 & 10). </p>

<p>I am a Full IB Diploma candidate, one of 15 at my school. During my junior year (and the second half of my sophomore year) I showed huge improvements in my abilities academically and have since then been getting consistent 95s+ in my IB HL courses.</p>

<p>I have a 2020 SAT (720 CR, 600 Math, 700 Writing [9 on essay]) which will be super-scored to a 2030 (610 in Math section my first time).
I have a 29 ACT composite (34 English, 27 Math, 29 Reading, 26 science [8 on essay]), and due to disruptions in my testing center the second time I took it, my scores have been canceled and my money refunded, as it is too late for another retake.</p>

<p>Co-curricular activities:
Sudent Council 9th
JV Football 9th and 10th
Varsity Outdoor Track 10th-12th
Peer tutor 11th
JV/Varsity Cross-country 11th & 12th
Varsity Indoor Track 11th & 12th
Academic All-Stars trivia team 11th & 12th
NHS 11th & Officer 12th
Community Interact group (volunteering) 12th
Drama club 12th</p>

<p>Paid work:
Local supermarket for 10th-12th grade, working at least 10 hours/week.</p>

<p>I have earned 8 credit hours at the local community college from high school courses, and 4 credit hours from the same college for a summer course in precalc.</p>

<p>Anyhow, I was bullied a lot for being obese in my first two years, and that kind of screwed over my GPA a bit. Is that going to hold me back? What do you all think? My essays are stellar in my opinion, and my recommendations come from a teacher and coach for all 4 years and another math teacher who helped me take college courses over the summer.</p>

<p>I'm also a first generation college student from a location of NYS with higher rates of poverty than most other counties. One in five younger than 18 in my county is below the poverty line.</p>

2

<p>Forgot to mention: I finished my Freshman year ranked 110 of 210, and have advanced 65 ranks since.</p>

3

<p>I guess the thing I’m wondering most is how much would Cornell look past the numbers (as they say they do)?</p>

<p>And where might I include the information about my situation in the 9th-10th grade? Should I put it in the extra info section, as it is obviously extra info? Or work it into an essay?</p>

4

<p>bump for more</p>

5

<p>I think your rank will hurt you drastically and your test scores, while decent, aren’t close to impressive. Colleges don’t care about testing excuses, thus we don’t either. Being bullied isn’t an excuse for your bad grades unfortunately either.</p>

6

<p>That is in fact the assumption I have come to. I have to wow the admissions staff with my writing ability. My class rank is horrid, along with my GPA. Is there anything you (or anyone, for that matter) might suggest to help my chances?</p>

7

<p>bumpity bump</p>

8

<p>one more bump</p>

9

<p>bumpity bumpity</p>

10

<p>I don’t know. From what I’ve heard CALS is one of the easier schools to get into at Cornell, however, it’s still highly selective. I think your SAT score and ECs are competitive, but your GPA and class rank are slightly low. It’s a tough one, but I’d say it’s a reach. I would write a damn good essay and gather up some great LORs. Maybe highlight the fact that you were bullied and your grades suffered, however, you overcame it and continued to do well.</p>

11

<p>It’s a low reach but ED would be easier</p>

12

<p>Yeah, definitely ED.</p>