***CORNELL CLASS OF 2020 RD RESULTS ONLY***

Colleges & Universities A-Z Cornell University
41

Decision: Accepted

Name of Cornell College you applied to: College of Arts and Sciences

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2200 (700CR, 770M, 730W, 9 Essay)
GPA: 3.88UW 4.25W
AP Tests (score): US History (4), English Language and Composition (3), US Government & Politics (4), Chemistry (4), Calculus BC (5), Microeconics (5), English Literature and Composition (3)
Senior Year Course Load: French 3 (Audit), AP European History, IB Spanish SL/5, IB English HL2, IB Mathematics HL2, IB Theory of Knowledge, IB German HL2/5, IB Physics SL, AP Macroeconomics

Subjective:

Extracurriculars: National Honor Society (VP), Head of School Tutoring Program, Mathematics Club (Secretary), Robotics Club (Treasurer), Model United Nations, Varsity Track/Cross Country, Dance
Job/Work Experience: Internships for New York PR/marketing company and German regional theater; research assistant at local university for economics professor
Volunteer/Community service: Recycling, Homeless Shelter, Tutoring (~150hrs total)
Essays: Common App essay was about Mario Kart; Cornell CAS essay was about very many specific things that Cornell and Ithaca has to offer and how they align with me personally
Teacher Recommendation: English Teacher/NHS Sponsor (9/10), Mathematics Teacher (9/10), History Teacher (7/10)
Counselor Rec: (8/10)?
Additional Rec: Peer Rec (10/10)

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Mathematics
State: Indiana
School Type: Charter (Public)
Ethnicity: Caucasian with dual citizenship (German)
Gender: Male

Reflection:

What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: Well-rounded and fairly alternative for a Midwesterner.
Weaknesses: Scores could have been better; likewise with grades
Your “Big Red” factor - the most unique thing in your application: Mario Kart essay; interest in the combination of maths and languages

42

Waitlisted :0

Name of Cornell College you applied to: College of Engineering

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2360 (800 M, 780 CR, 780 W)
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II: 800 Math 2 | 790 Chem
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.97
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1% of around 460
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 Chem, 5 APUSH, 5 WHAP
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Computer Science, AP Physics 2, AP Calc AB, AP Lang Comp, AP Stats, Chamber Orchestra
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): (Nothing outstanding) National Merit Semifinalist/Finalist, Merck State Science Day (6th County Chemistry), AP Scholar, School award for Outstanding Male Scholar/Athlete

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Varsity Cross Country 3 years (Captain for 2 years), Varsity Track 4 years, Science Club/SNHS 2 years (Co-Founder, Co-President), Orchestra/Chamber Orchestra 4 years, Classical Indian vocal music 12 years
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service: Key Club 4 years (Editor for 3 years), taught classes to younger students at classical music school 4 years
Summer Activities: New Jersey Governor’s School in the Sciences, xc summer training, daily vocal lessons
Essays: Common App (9/10) about classical music lessons I took each summer that changed my perception of music and culture and pushed me to grow, Cornell Supp (9.5/10) was about my scientific curiosity
Teacher Recommendation: Rec #1 (9/10) - APUSH Teacher had for 2 years
Rec #2 (9.5/10) - AP Chem Teacher who nominated me for NJGSS and wrote me a great letter that helped me get in
Counselor Rec: (6/10) - Counselor switched halfway through high school, didn’t know me that well
Additional Rec: (7/10) - evaluation by my Gov School counselor

Interview: None
Other

Applied for Financial Aid? Yes
Intended Major: Computer Science
State (if domestic applicant): NJ
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Large Public
Ethnicity: Indian
Gender: M
Income Bracket: around 100k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection

Strengths:
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: Passion for STEM? Not really a hook, nearly everyone who applied to CoE probably had or should have had this
Weaknesses: Asian male applying to Computer Science/Engineering, lack of major awards
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I don’t know, I just want a decision -> bottom of post
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Accepted (1): Rutgers (Presidential)
Waitlisted (3) : Caltech, UChicago, and this
Rejected (10) : Princeton, Harvard, Columbia, Yale, UPenn, MIT, Carnegie Mellon, UC Berkeley, Harvey Mudd, Duke
Your “Big Red” factor - the most unique thing in your application: Cornell values academic pursuit and especially a love of scientific learning and research, and so do I, and I tried channelling this connection through my essays.

I’m not really sure why I got rejected by basically every single place other than perhaps the combination of my ethnicity, gender, and chosen field of study. Does anyone have any advice that could help me get off the waitlist??

43

[aB][asize=4][acolor=#FF0000]Decision: Rejected[/color][/size]**

Name of Cornell College you applied to: Engineering

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2400
ACT (breakdown): 36 all sections
SAT II: 800 math2, 800 chem, 800 bio, 800 US History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 on macro, micro, bio, chem, physics c mechanics, physics c e&m, us history, bc calc, comp sci, gov, english language, environmental science, world history, spanish
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: multi and lin alg at local state university, honors other classes
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): 2x usamo qualifier, intel semifinalist, national merit semifinalist, usaco gold, all eastern violin

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): varsity tennis captain, NHS president, class president, math team captain, violin
Job/Work Experience: research at local university
Volunteer/Community service: 300 hrs at local homeless shelter
Summer Activities: research, volunteering
Essays: pretty good. Reviewed and approved by english teacher
Teacher Recommendation: math teacher: “best student I’ve ever had. He knows more math than me.”
Counselor Rec: was on pretty good terms with her
Additional Rec:
Interview: n/a
Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: no
Intended Major: cs
State (if domestic applicant): NY
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: top ranked public in nyc
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 100-150k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

Reflection

Strengths: math/cs/violin
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: national awards
Weaknesses:
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: asian, not enough hooks
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: accepted berkeley and caltech, rejected all ivies and mit and stanford
Your “Big Red” factor - the most unique thing in your application: idk

44

@HS1998Classof2020 lol RIP. Im on wait list and i dont have anything near that… or you are a troll

45

@HS1998Classof2020 I have alot of friends with crazy high stats like yours and they were rejected too. I think its just very subjective. They want people who reach a certain academic criteria and then after that they look at the non-academic personal stuff. They seem to want to know who you are beyond the grades. Its always good to put something like that in your essay I think. Everyone that I know who was accepted at Ivies had a nice simple personal, non bragging, essay. They didn’t even mention their grades or other accolades, just plainly stated who they are as a person. Would you be interested in going to another college for a year and then transferring to an Ivy? I bet they’d take you for sure. You deserve it!

46

Decision: Accepted

Name of Cornell College you applied to: College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 1830: Highest scores (took SAT twice) 620 M, 600 R, 610W
ACT (breakdown): 30: Highest Scores (took ACT twice) 31 E, 33 R, 29 S, 27 M
SAT II: None
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): ~3.7 (92.63/100)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP World History (3), APUSH (3), AP Language and Composition (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP Literature and Composition, AP United States Government and Politics, AP Biology, Dual Enrollment courses in Calculus and Global Environment
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar, Scholar Athlete Award, Girl Scout Silver Award

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Trained dog in 4-H program for ten years with four State Grand Championship titles and one Reserved Grand Championship title, 4-H Public Presentations for eight years with four years competing at Regionals, (4-H Teen Ambassador for two years and reinstated the program in my county). Rowed for school’s crew team for four years, three years Varsity and have been a two time State Champion in my boat and two time National Semi-Finalist and competed at the Head of the Charles Regatta. Participated in a Jazz band for a year playing the flute. (School Ambassador for three years, Special Olympics leader for five years, CIT training at 4-H camp for three years). Raised over $5000 for a food cupboard that supports families at a school for students with disabilities. Member of my school’s chapter of National Honor Society.
Job/Work Experience:None
Volunteer/Community service:Raising money for the food cupboard, volunteering at the school that houses the food cupboard, helping at Learn-to-Row programs.
Summer Activities: 4-H Career Explorations at Cornell, attended with full scholarship. CIT Training at 4-H camp. Visited and helped with a research project at Cornell’s Agriculture Experimental Station in New York.
Essays: Personal was about failure at a 4-H State Competition with my dog and how I placed third and missed out on Reserved Champion and how I overcame that. Supplement was about how I discovered that I wanted a career in agriculture
Teacher Recommendation: two teacher recs, didn’t see either but probably around 9/10.
Counselor Rec: Again, didn’t see but around 9/10.
Additional Rec:None
Interview:None

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Agricultural Sciences
State (if domestic applicant): New York
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: N/A
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection

Strengths: Definitely my essays, years and accomplishments in 4-H and crew and many connections made with Cornell through 4-H.
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: Tried to focus on how much 4-H has had an impact on me and my future.
Weaknesses: Definitely my SAT scores, GPA, and AP scores
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Connections, determination to attend was shown through essays and recommendations, high midyear report
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted at SUNY Cobleskill and the University of Rochester. Didn’t apply anywhere else and therefore, didn’t get rejected anywhere.
Your “Big Red” factor - the most unique thing in your application: My essays

DON’T GIVE UP HOPE!!!
I have wanted to attend Cornell since I was in tenth grade and did everything in my power to show Cornell how much I’ve wanted to be one of their students! This proves that you don’t have to have a perfect GPA or a 2400 on the SAT to get in! You just have to show them how much you will strive at their school!

47

Decision: Accepted as a Tradition Fellow

Name of Cornell College you applied to: Human Ecology

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2290 (760CR 780M 750W 12E)
ACT (breakdown): 32 (forgot the breakdown)
SAT II: 730 Lit 700 Bio 680 Chem (LOOL)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.92
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 9/652
AP (place score in parenthesis): Bio (4) Chem (3) World History (4) Calc AB (5) Lang (5) APUSH (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: H Microbiology, H Molecular Genetics, APES, AP Calc BC, AP Lit, Journalism
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Girl Scout Gold Award, AP Scholar w/ Distinction, NHS, CSF

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): tutoring club (President for 2 years, VP for 1), Editor-in-Chief for school newspaper (Life editor since sophomore year), charity club (treasurer for 2 years), service club (president for 2 years), NHS board member
Job/Work Experience: Private tutor with 5 clients; I work 10 hours a week; Currently an intern at UCLA medical center
Volunteer/Community service: I have about 600 hours, a lot of them from the tutoring club and my NPO. About 150 of them is from volunteering at the UCLA Medical Center
Summer Activities: I volunteer a lot during the summers with my own NPO and do a lot of planning for the organizations I’m in, but most of the time I just chill and work out lol – not much to talk about
Essays: I would give my Common App a 8/10; I talked about how my love for storytelling was a segue into the medical field and how my love for writing makes my passion for medicine stronger. And my supplement was the best essay I’ve written for college apps! I spent half a week toiling over the supplement. Essays are important guys!!!
Teacher Recommendation: 10/10 from two of them; While both of them were teachers from my underclassmen years, my APWH teacher is the advisor for two of my clubs and I was his TA during my junior year, and I graded essays for my Honors English 9 teacher in addition to working with some of his struggling students very closely during the first semester of senior year. I read both letters and the one from my APWH was very personal and moving (it made me cry a lot lol), while the other was also touching and sweet. The other, from my Calc AB teacher, would probably be 7/10 - not as personal but spoke a lot about my academic and leadership potential.
Counselor Rec: 7/10 probably… I don’t know her very well and I don’t particularly like her, but our school requires us to provide a “brag sheet” for our teachers and counselors to use for reference. As long as she stuck to that, it should be fine
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: N/A
Supplementary Material: N/A

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Global & Public Health Science
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Large public (4000+)
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: F
Income Bracket: 180k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): N/A

Reflection

Strengths: SAT, Rank, Essays, Recs
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: Essays essays essays
Weaknesses: SAT 2, ACT, EC’s (a bit - I do think they are strong but definitely not outstanding haha)
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Essays!!! I really talked about why I wanted to go into public health as a premed
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: UCLA, UC Berkeley, Boston U, NYU, Fordham, U of Minnesota (Accepted); USC, Stanford, Penn (Rejected); Brown (Waitlisted)
Your “Big Red” factor - the most unique thing in your application: ESSAYS.

48

Decision: Accepted

Name of Cornell College you applied to: College of Arts and Sciences

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): Didn’t take
ACT (breakdown): 32
SAT II: 700 Literature, 700 U.S. History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.90
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): None
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Euro (4), AP U.S. History (5), AP Language & Composition (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Statistics, AP U.S. Government and Politics, AP Micro Econ, AP Literature, Symphony Orchestra, ASB (Student Government), Journalism
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): The New York Times Summer Contest First Place Winner (article published on The New York Times), won several national and state journalism awards, AP Scholar

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Job/Work Experience: Weekly intern/reporter at my city newspaper, paid show violinist for several professional community musical productions, The New York Times Student Council Member (20 ish “ambassadors” worldwide)
Volunteer/ Leadership roles: Writer for another city newspaper (The Pilot) for four years, violinist at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, founder and president of charity for building music programs at underprivileged schools, commissioner for my high school student government, editor for my school newspaper, concertmaster of school symphony orchestra, president of school instrumental music council
Summer Activities: San Jose Mercury News “Mosaic” student reporter (14 selected total, basically worked with professional writers for the Mercury News for two weeks and developed a student paper), California Scholastic Press Association Workshop (journalist, 24 selected total), Stanford Youth Leadership Conference
Essays: Common App personal statement 8/10 – I wrote about my love for journalism in the form of an allegory of the Wizard of Oz. It started with the fact that I was born in Kansas, and from there I talked about how I traveled down my own “yellow brick road” during my pursuit of journalism in search of courage (like the Lion), a heart (like the Tinman), and a mind (like the Scarecrow). I used a personal story of how an interview with an undocumented student changed my view as a journalist, and how it led me to find all of these elements.
“Why Cornell” supplement 7/10 – I really tried to tie my passion for reading quirky novels and paperbacks as a kid to my interest in comparative literature (my major). I also tied in specific examples of Cornell itself (community service centers, particular programs of the English Department, the Cornell daily newspaper) that correlated with my own interests.
Teacher Recommendation: Although I didn’t actually get to read them, I’d give…
9/10 for my Lit teacher’s letter – He actually spent hours writing a separate, customized letter for each college I applied to! He was so dedicated, I’m almost certain he wrote a great letter. I’m also totally biased toward literature (if you couldn’t tell already haha).
7-8/10 for Chem teacher’s letter – I legitimately suck at chemistry, but I kept close with this teacher and he seemed most fond of my classroom ethic, so I chose him to write my second letter. He was also really patient and listened to my concerns, but I heard from someone he includes “constructive criticism,” which honestly could have gone either way.
Counselor Rec: 9/10. She really took into consideration what I would like to highlight (don’t be afraid to tell your teachers the parts you would like to showcase! It helps them out too, so they’re not starting blind.)
Additional Rec: Journalism advisor for my school paper, 8/10.
Interview: 8/10. Went really great! It was definitely more casual than the others and consisted mostly of me asking her questions (which was different, but cool, in its own Cornell sort of way). Also she was wearing sunglasses and I could not tell her facial expressions AT ALL, so I just blindly sort of spewed out as many questions as I could and tried to be as composed as possible XD
Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Comparative Literature
State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant): U.S.
School Type: Medium-sized Public (2,000+)
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: F
Income Bracket: 400k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection

Strengths: Essays, Extracurriculars and Leadership
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: Journalism! Colleges are really looking for a CONSISTENT passion in something, not many scattered ones. Read this article, it was honestly so helpful for me (http://blog.prepscholar.com/how-to-get-into-harvard-and-the-ivy-league-by-a-harvard-alum)
Weaknesses: ACT and SAT II were borderline, GPA could have been better (I had 5 B’s)
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Unique leadership roles (I think being published in the NYT and playing music to a high standard really helped). Also, conveying myself as a humanitarian every chance I had (essays, letters of rec, charity work), and tying that into Cornell’s interdisciplinary mission.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: I applied to hecka schools so brace yourselves for wall text… (Accepted) NYU, Boston University, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, UC Irvine, UC Davis, University of Illinois Urbana Champagne, University of Washington. (Waitlisted) UCLA. (Rejected) Duke, Columbia, UChicago, Northwestern, Yale, Brown, Harvard, UPenn, Barnard, Berkeley.
Your “Big Red” factor - the most unique thing in your application: Unique extracurriculars and JOURNALISM

Good luck to everyone! No matter where you end up, have faith that it is the right place for you. I promise you will be happy no matter what school you get into, Ivy League or not :slight_smile:

49

Decision: Accepted (Dean’s Scholar + Likely Letter)

Name of Cornell College you applied to: College of Engineering

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2090 (620 CR, 730 M, 740 W)
ACT (breakdown): did not take
SAT II: Math II (790), Chemistry (700), US History (700)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2%
AP (place score in parenthesis): World (3), Chemistry (3), Biology (4), Lang (5), Calc (5), Comp Sci A (5), US History (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): did not take
Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP Stats, Computer Science 7-8, AP Physics C
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): California State Science Fair 1st place in category, several other awards in science

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Science fair, FIRST robotics, varsity basketball, AP Scholar w/ Distinction
Job/Work Experience: Local computer science/engineering company employee (Engineering assistant)
Volunteer/Community service: Non-profit volunteer (CFO)
Summer Activities: Working as an engineering assistant
Essays: 10/10 (Looking my scores, I knew my essays had to be perfect. I worked on them with so many people for the entire summer)
Teacher Recommendation: 8/10
Counselor Rec: 10/10 (she is a family friend)
Additional Rec: 10/10 (boss at work)
Interview: It was very long and we seemed to get along and were interested in the same things.

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Electrical and Computer Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: F
Income Bracket: Would not get financial aid
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Woman in engineering, first generation

Reflection:

Strengths: Recommendations, awards
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: I tried to emphasize WHY I love engineering and why I want to pursue it, rather than solely what I have done.
Weaknesses: Clearly my SAT score
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Cornell must have seen me as a good fit. Also I am a female in engineering.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted - UPenn, UCLA, Georgia Tech, Rice; Waitlisted - Princeton; Rejected - MIT, Caltech, Berkeley
Your “Big Red” factor - the most unique thing in your application: My emphasis about where my passion for engineering stems from, why I want to be an engineer, and how Cornell would further foster this. It is possible to succeed in college admissions with lower scores! Just do your best to fill in the gaps and make sure you stand out.

50

Pick one:

[aB][asize=4][acolor=#FF0000]Decision: Rejected[/color][/size]**

Name of Cornell College you applied to: Arts and Sciences

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2280 (760 CR 770M 750 W)
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II: 770 M2 800 Chem 800 Physics
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.95
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
AP (place score in parenthesis): Chem 5, Phys1 5, Phys2 5, Calc AB 5, Bio 4
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load:
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Job/Work Experience: not much
Volunteer/Community service: 100+ hours in a local food bank
Summer Activities: some math/science camps
Essays: Overall 7/10. Not stellar, but I they won’t hurt my app
Teacher Recommendation: 10/10, the chem teacher is like my best friend
Counselor Rec: 6/10 School got a new counselor this year, don’t think he knows me
Additional Rec:
Interview:
Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: no
Intended Major: Biology
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Large Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 250k +
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none I can think of

Reflection
A little surprised I didn’t even get waitlisted. Two kids from my school got in with somewhat worse stats than mine. They were underrepresented minorities though (African-American/Hispanic) so maybe that played a role.

Strengths: test scores, GPA
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself:
Weaknesses: essays/personal statements. I don’t think I’m very unique :confused:
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I have no idea. Luck of the draw I guess. I guess my stats didn’t pull through on this one.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Accepted: Cal, UCLA, UCSD, UoP (accelerated dent program), Rice, NYU
Waitlisted: CMC, CMU
rejected: Caltech, Yale

51

Decision: Accepted - RD

Objective
SAT I (breakdown): 800(CR) 760 (writing) 750 (math)
SAT II: Math 740 Biology 770
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.91
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): None
Senior Year Course Load: Heavy
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Model UN
Job/Work Experience: Teaching every summer for last 3 years.
Volunteer/Community service: Charity Work, Presidential Service Award
Summer Activities: Human Rights Overseas study trips, teaching
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 10
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): Unknown, I think 10

Teacher Rec #1:Should be great
Teacher Rec #2:Should be great
Counselor Rec: Should be great
Additional Rec: none
Interview: Very good.

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Government
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private
Gender: Female
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

[ B]Reflection:**

Strengths:passion exhibited consistently in one area, civil rights/global issues. Good writer.
Weaknesses: no major awards
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: No idea
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted Brown, waitlist Swarthmore, Amherst and Georgetown; Rejected UC Berkeley, UCLA, Yale and Princeton.
General Comments: No idea why accepted or rejected at any of the schools.

52

Dang it I’m late to the party.

Decision: Accepted

Name of Cornell College you applied to: Arts and Sciences

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2260 CR: 720 M: 800 W: 740
ACT (breakdown): 35 composite
SAT II: World Hist. (770) Chem. (780) U.S. Hist. (800) Math II (800)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.95
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): my school refuses to do that
AP (place score in parenthesis): World Hist. (5) APUSH (5) Chem (5) Comp Sci A (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): school does not offer
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics C, AP Calc BC, AP French, SUPA Econ., some normal classes
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Scholarship Semifinalist, AP Scholar with Honor

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Asian Club (VP) Table Tennis Club (Treas.) Robotics Club (Treas.)
Job/Work Experience: none
Volunteer/Community service: 150+ hours at the public library
Summer Activities: learned 2 languages (mentioned it in essay, at least)
Essays: Decent, at least 8/10 (wrote them within an hour each)
Teacher Recommendation: Good, probably 19/20 (had 2)
Counselor Rec: Probably good
Additional Rec: none
Interview: none

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: undecided
State (if domestic applicant): NY (under an hour from Cornell)
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: public, suburban
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: M
Income Bracket: 80,000-100,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none that I can think of

Reflection:

Strengths: maybe that essay, my scores, definitely my location
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: soul-searching
Weaknesses: I don’t want to say “my race”, extracurriculars
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Location? Seriously I don’t know.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Rejected after deferred at Princeton, accepted at Stony Brook and UT Austin, waitlisted at Rice
Your “Big Red” factor - the most unique thing in your application: Probably something weird.

53

Decision: Accepted with John McMullen Scholarship

Name of Cornell College you applied to: College of Engineering

Objective:

SAT: meh
ACT (breakdown): meh
SAT II: Math II (800), Chemistry (790)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): Weighted 4.6 (school only does weighted)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 1% out of 660
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Calculus BC (5), AP Physics C: Mechanics (5), AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism (5); AP Chemistry (5); AP Computer Science (5); AP Statistics (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): nope
Senior Year Course Load: AP English, AP Econ, AP Biology and AP Spanish, Cooking, Psychology
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Math awards slightly lower in caliber than USAMO. USACO, but not gold.

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Quiz Bowl (Captain), Math stuff (Captain), Debate, Music stuff.
Job/Work Experience: Grader/Teacher Assistant @ Art of Problem Solving.

Volunteer/Community service: I started a math circle
Summer Activities: Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Sciences, SLEEP
Essays: Common App: 7/10 [interesting talent]. Cornell Essay: 10/10

Teacher Recommendation: 8/10 (Physics teacher–didnt’ see this)
Teacher Recommendation 2: 6/10 (history teacher – i didnt see this either, I did ok in his class but he seemed like knew how to write recs)
Counselor Rec: 10/10 (we’re on a first name basis)
Additional Rec: 7/10 (from math team coach–didnt see)
Interview: Interviewer said he chose cornell because of the gender ratio (more girls). I was very sleepy during it and might have said something out of the ordinary that stuck w/him.

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: yessss
Intended Major: Applied Engineering Physics/CS & premed
State (if domestic applicant): PA
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: M
Income Bracket: [100,150]
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Male asian interested in STEM

Reflection: If you want to be admitted everywhere you apply (and you’re not a URM), make USAMO/MOP, compete in Intel/Siemens/STS (and do well). You will admitted everywhere. ECS/Grades/Essays dont matter AT ALL if you have that. I also think art is very important and a lot of STEM-crazy people forget to look at the beautiful side of engineering and mathematics. Also, if someone else in your school has a stronger application, don’t apply early to the same place as them :p. Also, go to a good high school–if youre at a sucky one with not a lot of opportunity you will be at a disadvantage (colleges say this doesn’t matter, but honestly, it does).

Strengths: My common app essay flowed like wax dripping from a candlewick, ready to melt the swollen hearts of poor, exhausted admissions officers. Also, my Cornell-specific essay was VERY persuasive.

Weaknesses: Upperbody mostly

Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I think I fit Cornell. I like learning everything, and Cornell doesn’t restrict you from learning something in a different college. My application showed this. I also wrote my Cornell application in three hours whereas my others took months, so I’m not sure what to take from that…

Your “Big Red” factor - the most unique thing in your application: I trained myself to have a photographic memory

54

Decision: Accepted
Name of Cornell College you applied to: Engineering

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2250 (740 reading, 760 math, 750 writing)
ACT (breakdown): 35 (35 english, 34 math, 36 reading, 36 science,)
SAT Math 2 subject test: 800
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 8 of 435
AP (place score in parenthesis): Euro (4), Calc BC (5), English Lang (4), Physics 1 (4), APUSH (5), Gov, Spanish, Bio, Macro, English literature
Senior Year Course Load: AP gov, AP Spanish, AP bio, Honors Multivariable Calculus, Honors Music Theory, AP Macroeconomics, AP English Literature
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Finalist

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): NHS, Science NHS, Spanish NHS (executive board member), Cross Country, DECA, Jazz band, Boys State
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service: Mission Trips, Special Olympics Peer Mentor, Camp counselor
Essays: (8/10) Talked about experiences I’ve had were I’ve been creative and had to solve problems, described Cornell as a great engineering school referencing historically significant achievements, described importance of collaboration with others.

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Undecided Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): Kansas
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: >100,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflection

Strengths: Essays were pretty good, test scores were good
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: tried to portray myself as a good engineering student
Weaknesses: grades weren’t great
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Rejected- Northwestern, Dartmouth, / Waitlisted- Rice, Vanderbilt, / Accepted- Georgia Tech, Arizona, Washington University in St Louis, Colorado School of Mines, Tulsa
Your “Big Red” factor - the most unique thing in your application: It was probably pretty clear in my essays that Cornell was my top choice

55

Decision: Accepted

Name of Cornell College you applied to: College of Engineering

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2190: 800 M; 720 CR; 670 W (lol)
ACT (breakdown): did not send
SAT II: 800 Math II; 800 Math I; 800 Physics
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA: 4.0 (all classes had same weight b/c the school was selective)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school does not rank (only 50 kids in my grade)
AP (place score in parenthesis): All of my AP’s are self-studied: AP Calc BC (5); AP Computer Science (5); AP Microeconomics (5); AP Macroeconomics (5); AP Psychology (5); AP Statistics (5); AP Physics C: Mechanics (4, rip retaking this year for the 5 lol); AP Physics C: Electricity & Magnetism (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: All dual-enrollment college courses. Senior/Junior undergraduate level courses in Math and Computer Science as well as some grad courses.

Math: Ordinary Differential Equations, Rings and Fields, Abstract Algebra (grad level), Real Analysis, Complex Analysis
CS: Systems Programming, Assembly and Machine Organization, Foundations of CS, Programming Language Design

+Self-studied AP’s: AP Politics and Government, AP Human Geography

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Intel ISEF Regional 3rd, Massachusetts State Fair 4th, USACO Gold, WPI Programming Contest 1st place, 2nd place gold division Cyber Patriot (internationally), National Merit Finalist, NMF $2500 Award Winner, AP National Scholar, Rensselaer Medal, HiMCM (meritorious)

Minor Awards: AIME Qualif. 2 times - scored a 6. Qualified for MAML 2 (proof based Massachusetts Contest for top 5% of math people) 3 times (freshman, junior and senior year). Local WOCOMAL competition top 25 for a few years, some other stuff.

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Math Team captain, Programming Team captain, ARML Regional Team, Research (engineering and designing mobile applications to solve health problems), National Honors Society, Science Olympiad, Science Bowl, Mock Trial, Varsity Crew, 1st Clarinet in Marching Band
Job/Work Experience: Paid research software internship Junior year of high school + Part time software job offered by that company after internship. Also private tutoring.
Volunteer/Community service: 300+ hours volunteering as a math tutor at a local center.
Summer Activities: Software internships, taking Coursera classes online, and reading textbooks to self-study subjects I find interesting.
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Essay #1 (Common App, 9/10): Edited this one quite a bit, really tried to create a polished version of my vision of myself and what I wanted to do in life. Wrote about research and applying research through engineering.
Essay #2 (A whole host of smaller essays actually, 9/10): I wrote pretty genuinely about everything, but the highlight was writing about how I started programming at the age of 9 and made a YouTube channel to teach people Java that has now become a small community of 2200+ subscribed people.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1 (CS Teacher, 9/10): We got to know each other pretty well, and she liked me personally. She also advised part of my research during junior year.
Teacher Rec #2 (Humanities Teacher, 6/10): Knew me pretty well but didn’t get to know him too closely throughout the year. He liked me as a student. Was probably pretty generic.
Counselor Rec (4/10): Talked to her like once throughout the year. Her essay was probably rather generic, rip.
Additional Rec (Employer/Boss, 10/10): He was a great guy, and was so impressed with me that he offered me a full-time job, and then when I declined he offered a part time job near the end of my internship. He told me that in his rec he said I was working at the level of most other people with PhD’s in our group.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Computer Science
State (if domestic applicant): MA
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Public Magnet (50 people per grade, only 11th and 12th grade)
Ethnicity: White
Gender: M
Income Bracket: ~100K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First generation immigrant, but that doesn’t really count for anything…

Reflection

Strengths: Work experience, Self-studied AP’s, High-level college courses, maybe research.
Weaknesses: SAT Writing, didn’t make ISEF international fair.
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Lots of excellent applicants, no legacy or URM status, college admission is a crapshot as I’ve learned. Also applying to CS, to which the majority of applicants are guys.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:

Accepted:
Duke
Cornell

Wait List:
Carnegie Mellon SCS
UChicago
Georgia Tech (lol)

Rejected:
Harvard
MIT
Stanford
UC Berkeley (Engineering)
Brown
Caltech
Yale
Columbia
Upenn

General Comments: Kinda disappointed with my results. Oh well. Will probably choose Cornell over Duke next year, because it has more well developed CS (although the environment is a little more depressing unfortunately).

56

Decision: Waitlisted

Name of Cornell College you applied to: College of Engineering

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2250: 740 M; 740 CR; 770 W
ACT (breakdown): did not send
SAT II: 740 Math II; 730 Physics
Unweighted GPA: 95
Weighted GPA: 97 (Currently 101.74)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): My school does not rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP World (5); AP US History (5); AP English Lit (5); AP Physics 1 (5)
I also just took AP Macroeconomics, AP Calc AB, and AP Environmental so I don’t have the scores yet
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load:
AP Environmental
AP Macroeconomics
AP Calc AB
2 duel-enrollment college courses
Concert Band
Jazz Band

Awards: National Merit Finalist, AP Scholar with Honor, Perfect Score on National Latin Exam 2 years in a row

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Science Olympiad (leader board member); Concert Band (section leader- percussion); Jazz Band, Girls Varsity Soccer (Captain); Boys Varsity Wrestling; Girls Varsity Wrestling (Captain)

Volunteer/Community service: Local test prep center for SAT tutoring; Taking care of animals at an environmental center
Summer Activities: Volunteering at a local test prep center, volunteering at an environmental center
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Essay #1 (Common App, 8/10): I wrote about my experience joining the boys varsity wrestling team as an asthmatic girl, and how I dealt with people who told me that it was okay to lose because I was a girl wrestling boys, and how I lost every match in the season except for my last, where I won by 1 point. I ended the essay explaining how I won Rookie of the Year in my school for my work on the boys varsity wrestling team.
Essay #2 (8/10): I spoke about how competing in Science Olympiad allowed me discover what engineering was, and gave me the opportunity to pursue my love of building and creating.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1 (CS Teacher, 9/10): My AP Physics teacher who I went to tutoring with every single day, so I definitely got to know him very well and he knew me very well and was very impressed with my work in the class, especially because I was one of 4 juniors in a class of seniors, and one of only 7 in a class of 34 to get a 5.
Teacher Rec #2 (Humanities Teacher, 7/10): My AP English Lit teacher. I had a 97 in his class and actively participated every day. I didn’t know him too personally but I was active in class.
Counselor Rec (6/10): Talked to her a few times throughout my high school experience, but her essay was probably kind of generic.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Biomedical Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): NY
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Public Magnet (1100 kids, 283 in my grade)
Ethnicity: White
Gender: F
Income Bracket: ~120K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Female in STEM

Reflection

Strengths: High-level college courses, well-rounded in all subjects, Cornell is my dream school
Weaknesses: SAT subject test scores, maybe my essays but I thought they were good?
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I guess there were just too many applicants for them to take me, but I do think that I had a good chance.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:

Accepted:
Boston University
Northeastern University
SUNY Binghamton
SUNY Stony Brook
Lafayette
Webb Institute
Macaulay Honors at CUNY

Wait List:
Cornell
UPenn
Dartmouth

Rejected:
Harvard
Princeton
Swarthmore
Brown

General Comments: Extremely upset about my results. Hoping to get off the waitlist at Cornell because it’s my dream school.

57

Decision: Deferred

UPDATE: Decision: Accepted

Name of Cornell College you applied to: School of Human Ecology, majoring in Human Biology, Health, and Society

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 680 R, 760 M, 680 W

ACT (breakdown): N/A

SAT II: 760 Bio M, 770 Math II

Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.79

Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 71/3779

AP (place score in parenthesis): Did not submit scores, but
AP World (3), AP Euro (5), AP Stat (5), AP Eng Lang (4), AP Bio (4), APUSH (3),

IB (place score in parenthesis): IB Physics (5), IB Math SL (6), Scores not submitted

Senior Year Course Load:
IB Spanish SL, Bio HL, Eng Literature HL, History of Americas HL, Theory of Knowledge (IB Class), AP Calc, AP Macro

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
No Major awards, greatest I received were 2nd team all conference for golf in sophomore year, I received placing at state level competitions but never submitted because they came after submissions

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Varsity Golf (4 Year letter recipient, Senior year team captain, Rookie of the year, MVP sophomore year)
Mu Alpha Theta (3 year participant, helped in reestablishing the club following the loss of a sponsor)
Science Olympiad (Vice President)
Ultimate Frisbee Club (Founder, President)

Job/Work Experience:
Golf Course, 6 months during junior year
Pretzel Shop, 3 months during senior year

Volunteer/Community service:
Volunteered at a Buddhist Temple during junior/senior year
Volunteered as part of a junior golf association

Summer Activities:
Volunteered at a Buddhist Temple
Took AP Macro
Worked out a lot? Didn’t put that on my app lol

Essays: 6/10 common app, 7/10 cornell essay. Cornell essay really showed me, but wasn’t perfectly written
Teacher Recommendation: 9/10 from an english teacher who loved me sophomore year, ??/10 from a bio teacher who had me for two years and liked me a lot, but had to write a bunch of recs for a lot of people
Counselor Rec: 5/10??? I hear a lot of mixed reviews about even getting a counselor rec but she basically just stated my objectives and said I was cool
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview:N/A
Other: Nothing to see here really

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Human Biology, Health and Society
State (if domestic applicant): Florida
Country (if international applicant): United States
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: <125,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):
Dad was a medical researcher, and I was able to put that as legacy, but not sure if they took that into account that much, he wasn’t a professor or anyone intensely involved with the school system

Reflection

Strengths:
Held high level leaderships in almost every extracurricular I participated in, and I had a clear idea what I wanted from college
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself:
I presented that I had a problem that I really wanted to solve in my essay, and how HBHS major was an absolute perfect fit for my goals.
Weaknesses: Objectives were all substandard, but because I applied to Human Ecology it might’ve been different? They don’t give hard stats for individual colleges so I’m unsure, SAT was about 50% but GPA was poor
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:
Honestly unsure, getting off the waitlist was very, very surprising, but if I were to give it one reason it’d be extracurriculars and interest in the school
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Rejected at:
Brown
JHU
Duke
Emory (accepted into Oxford)
Rice
UNC Chapel Hill
WashU

I even ED’d to one of the above colleges, no early action applications though.

Accepted to:
University of Florida
University of South Florida
Your “Big Red” factor - the most unique thing in your application:
I know a lot of people have a lot of extracurriculars listed, but my essay was about my extracurricular and I was genuinely involved in trying to make clubs and such amazing, unlike people who attend merely to put it on their app.

58

Decision: Accepted

Name of Cornell College you applied to: Arts and Sciences

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2190
ACT (breakdown): n/a
SAT II: Math 770, Physics 730
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): ~3.8
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc BC (5), Stats (5) Physics C both (4), French (4), Bio (4), CS (4), Gov (4), Lang (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Yr Course Load: 5 AP classes
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Science Club (President), Varsity Lacrosse (captain), Physics/Bio/Science Olympiad, Debate Team
Job/Work Experience: -
Volunteer/Community service: -
Summer Activities: Interned at a Biophysics Lab, attended research seminars at local university.
Essays: Decent- nothing crazy unique or anything.
Teacher Recommendation: Math (great), English (wasn’t too close to the teacher)
Counselor Rec: 8-9/10
Additional Rec: -
Interview: Went well, talked for around an hour about different things.
Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: CS
State (if domestic applicant): West Coast!
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: F
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

Reflection- I was super surprised and ecstatic when I saw my acceptance! Sometimes you lose hope in the process, but at the end everything works out the way its supposed to so don’t stress too much. :slight_smile:

Strengths: ECs, leadership, recs, tough classes.
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: I tried to tell a story through the things I have done- related everything to Science and people. Also, woman in STEM.
Weaknesses: Didn’t have amaazing scores/grades or anything
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: UC Berkeley, GeorgiaTech, UCSD, Scripps, UW. Waitlisted at bunch of places like CMU, etc.
Your “Big Red” factor - the most unique thing in your application: Personality came through- enthusiasm to try and get involved in different things & do well in them.