Decision: Accepted
Name of Cornell College you applied to: College of Arts and Sciences
Objective-
SAT I (breakdown): 2170; 730 Reading, 690 Math, 750 Writing (previous scores of 2110ish and 1920ish)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: 770 Math 2, 750 Physics
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.833
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 42/945 (THE ANSWER, THE ULTIMATE ANSWER, THE ANSWER TO LIFE, THE UNIVERSE, AAAAND EVERYTHING!! 42!!!)
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Calc AB (5), AP Physics 1 (4), AP Physics 2 (4), AP Psych (4) (Note: I have not reported these scores to Cornell yet)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Compootur Science A, AP Physics C: Mechanics, AP Physics C: E&M, AP Calc BC, AP US Gov, AP Microecon, AP Lit, AP Latin-Vergil
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Eagle Scout, Bronze Eagle Palm, Dr. Bernard Harris Supernova Award, Thomas Alva Edison Supernova Award (first in District to earn both of these Supernova Awards), 5th in State for Pyraminx Speedcubing at US National Rubik’s Cube Competition 2015, AP Scholar with Honors
Subjective-
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Boy Scouts (since 7th Grade, Junior Assistant Scoutmaster), Venture Crew (since 10th grade, Vice President of Communications), Mu Alpha Theta (since 11th grade, Vice President), Math Team (since 11th grade), JCL/Latin Club (since 10th grade), AP Academy (since 10th grade), NHS (since 10th grade), Beta Club (since 10th grade), Speedcubing (more of a personal hobby, but I still mentioned it as an “activity”…since 10th grade)
Job/Work Experience: I work at a Kennel (not the kind people adopt dogs/cats from, one that people board their pets at while they go on vacation, a good way to meet many derps and doges)…and yes, scooping poop DOES have a learning curve to it!!!
Volunteer/Community service: ~150 hours since 9th Grade
Summer Activities: since 11th-12th grade summer, the Kennel, otherwise, camping with Venture Crew/Boy Scouts, and cubing and astronomy on my own time, and a few other minor things
Essays:
Common App-Wrote about going to my first Cubing Competition (US Nats 2015) and the overall experience and how speedcubing is a great hobby I can use to escape the stress of my life, while still doing something “intellectually based”
Supplement-Wrote about my passion for astronomy, how I’m a pretty good astrophotographer (if I do say so myself, I’ve taken pics of Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, with awesome detail), and how I would totally utilize the astronomy/astrophysics research opportunities at Cornell, all while worshiping the almighty Sagan
Teacher Recommendation: Waived FERPA Rights, however one from BC Calc teacher, one from Physics 1 & 2 teacher, and one from Latin 1/Latin 2/Latin 3/AP Latin-Vergil teacher (<-aka the coolest teacher in our school)
Counselor Rec: Waived FERPA Rights, however she had JUST been assigned as my guidance counselor after my counselor for 9th-11th had retired…I thought I was screwed, because I liked my last counselor a lot and knew her well, but it turns out my new counselor is super nice and supportive and obviously knows what she’s doing!!
Additional Rec: NOPE!!
Interview: NOPE!!!
Other-
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Astronomy with Astrophysics Concentration, ALL HAIL THE ALMIGHTY SAGAN!!! THANK THE FATHER (CARL SAGAN), THE SON (NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON), AND THE SPIRIT OF SCIENCE (BILL NYE)!!!
State (if domestic applicant): SC
Country (if international applicant): 'Murica, Bo!
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White (Mozzarella, NOT Parmesan)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 80,000-100,000 I think, not quite sure
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): NOPE!!!
Reflection-
Strengths: My geographic-demographic (SC), essays, see below (I kinda repeat myself a lot)
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: One of the few astronomy majors, one of the few people from South Carolina, also because Charleston has been in national/world news, like, what, 2, 3 times this year??? Perhaps that made them notice my application more…?
Weaknesses: GPA, SAT 1, EC’s, Volunteer Hours, No research experience related to Astrophysics, White Male (unless affirmative action is not a thing, or as much of a thing as I see it)
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I am an astronomy bum from South Carolina who also cubes, I guess that’s unique…
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted at the College of Charleston
Your “Big Red” factor - the most unique thing in your application: My supplement essay
Hello future applicants!!! I had no faith in this at all and did not expect to be accepted. Nonetheless, I can confirm that having essays that show EXTREME INTRINSIC PASSION for a specific thing (especially in your supplement essay, for me this was astronomy), and also explain why Cornell is the best place for you to expand this passion, YOUR CHANCES WILL INCREASE A TON!!! High School (and I would even say the last year or so of middle school) should be all about finding a subject that you’re passionate about, and expressing that passion through your 4 years.
Also, at the beginning of this thread, I mentioned some possible foreshadowing characteristics that could indicate your admission decision prior to the release of decisions…I can also confirm that these scenarios mean nothing; you will know of your decision when your decision is released (for us that was December 10th at 5pm).
