<p>So I am currently an undergraduate architecture student, in my first year (just finished my first semester) at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. I am applying to transfer to Cooper Union and Cornell University, for the Fall of 2014. </p>
<p>I applied to both Cooper and Cornell in my senior year of high school. Cornell I applied ED, was deferred, and then eventually denied. Cooper I applied under the regular deadline, since they did not have an early application for architecture applicants. I was also rejected there. My third choice, Pratt, accepted me with some pretty generous scholarship money. I was also accepted to Rensselaer, Syracuse, Northeastern, and some others, all with varying degrees of merit scholarship. I ultimately decided with Pratt. However, I have been planning on reapplying as a transfer ever since. </p>
<p>This first semester was rough for me, due to several factors outside of school. Unfortunately, it did negatively affect my academic performances. At the semester's end, my grades were:</p>
<p>--Advanced Literary/Critical Studies for Arch. Students: A-
--Intro. to Transdisciplinary Writing: A-
--History/Theory of Architecture 1: A-
--Design 1 Studio: B-
--Technics Studio: C+</p>
<p>My Design studio was an upward hike for me. I started off rather slow and rough, due to the out of school problems I was going through. However, after my midterm, I made it a point to redeem myself and really work to put together a great final presentation, which I did. My final work was chosen to be documented for the architecture school's archives. Unfortunately, my final grade is cumulative, and thus it encompasses my shortcomings earlier in the semester.</p>
<p>As for technics, which is a study in structures (something which absolutely fascinates and interests me), the biggest problem I ran into was that it was partner-based. Now I don't mean to say my partner was incompetent, but unfortunately whereas I was calculated and would like to plan out design approaches, he preferred spontaneity and repetitive trial and error. Given my more passive nature, I let him have his way and dealt with him accordingly. His "ideas" proved for all of our projects to be inefficient, time-consuming, and flawed. I know for a fact that I could have done so much better in this course if I had been paired with a better partner, and this is what frustrates me so. </p>
<p>My college GPA as of now is approximately a 3.1.</p>
<p>In high school, I took a multitude of AP courses; eight in total.</p>
<p>--AP Physics B
--AP Chemistry
--AP Environmental Science
--AP English Language and Composition
--AP English Literature and Composition
--AP Calculus AB
--AP Calculus BC
--AP Statistics</p>
<p>I was an A and B student in high school. Admittedly, I did pull one C, in AP Stats, my junior year of high school. I received mostly 4s and 5s, with the occasional 3 on all of my AP exams.</p>
<p>High school GPA was 3.8 unweighted.
SAT: CR--710 Math--660 Writing--720 Superscore: 2090</p>
<p>I was a member of a bunch of science clubs in school and I did community service and volunteering and all of that. I played sports all four years of high school. But my most important EC was an internship I did during my senior year with an architecture firm in New Jersey.</p>
<p>As for my plans on transferring, I plan on putting together an absolutely amazing portfolio where I redo and improve all of my work from this past semester. Looking back to the portfolio I had during my senior applications, my transfer portfolio would be an astronomical leap in improvement. </p>
<p>I am a bit of am explorer, I explore New York City all the time, finding new sites of interest and observing ongoing construction efforts. I could totally talk about my experiences as an architecture student in the city in my interview, and how it correlates to my dreams of being a world-renowned architect responsible for projects on the scale of the new World Trade Center and the Burj Khalifa, and I intend to.</p>
<p>I am obviously ridiculously ambitious, passionate, and determined, almost unhealthily so. The question I am posing is, do I have a legitimate shot at Cornell and Cooper. I mean, take away that forsaken C+, and I feel like I have a bit of potential. But I received this C+ a few days ago, and I have been feeling crushed ever since. I know that grades are super important. And I don't want to feel as if my chances at Cornell and Cooper are slipping out of my grasp all because I was paired up with a person who couldn't perform.</p>