<p>I will most likely sound like an overly-ambitious and tacky teenager, but a few weeks from now, I will be entering my sophomore year of high school and I'm concerned about Cornell admissions. I apologize if this post turns out to be novel-length.
Cornell has been my dream school since I was a little kid- it is relatively close to home (NYS resident), it is where my aunt and uncle went to school and met, it has a great English program, and is downright beautiful.
I (obviously) plan on applying there when the time comes- but I'm afraid it will have to be my "reach-school."
It isn't that I don't think I'm "smart-enough" or blah, blah, but in school, I'm not sure I'm even in the top 5% in terms of rank. </p>
<p>Here's where it will get long and sappy- my freshman year, I took all the science classes I could. I took honors chemistry two years early along with a research enrichment program. Chemistry was very difficult for me, and by difficult, I don't mean that I got a 92 average; my final grade was an 85, and my grade on the NYS regents was an 83. It brought my final, cumulative freshman average for everything down to about a 93 (UW). I did win the science fair, though. Throughout high school I had planned on participating in a prestigious college science research program at my school, in which you find your own mentor and intern over the summer in a lab.</p>
<p>HOWEVER, over the summer while I was at a writing program at Brown, I had an epiphany. I hate science. Not hate, but I know for a fact that I would not be productive in a lab. I won the science fair at school because my experiment was relatively practical, and I presented well to my judges, which took up a large portion of your score. I was planning on taking AP physics B in 10th grade, however I know that the highest grade I'd be able to scrape would most likely be a 75-80, as I am not talented in algebra (which is why I did poorly in chemistry). Ever since I was a child, the humanities have been my "forte" I guess you could say, and I love to write. This year I am switching my courses from science based to things like journalism, psychology, public speaking, etc. I also did not get into honors math (algebra 2/trig) as you needed at least a 90 on the regents, and I got an 87 on Geometry.
English and history are always my best subjects, and ever since middle school I have not gotten a grade in either of those courses below a 95. In English this year, I had a final average of a 99. So all in all, as I will be taking courses I actually really enjoy, I am also expecting much better grades, and finally showing my true "passion."</p>
<p>As for test scores, I am unfortunately not a good test taker. I have yet to take the SATs, so I am in no place to say this- but my guess is that if I work like absolutely no other (which I plan on doing), I'll probably get a 1900-2150.
My ECs so far include my school's competive Model UN team, Literary Magazine, the school newspaper, varsity swim team, Interact (community service), and Recycle Club. I'm not captain or president of any of these.</p>
<p>Sorry for the dissertation. But I'm really dying for some advice. What can I do this year, and the rest of my high school career to make me stand out on apps, and take away from my weaknesses? I won't die if I don't get into Cornell a few years from now, but I'm still going to give it my absolute best shot. I've been trying to look for programs outside of school for my writing (and more), so if you have anything in mind, please share! As of right now I feel like I don't have the slightest chance of getting into my dream school- please suggest anything that is going to benefit me even remotely! Thank you so much!!</p>