Cornell - ED Chances Class of 2020

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1

Friends

Wish to open this thread to discuss chances of getting into Cornell with ED for Class of 2020.

Brief Profile of Mine to begin with

School Profile : very competitive :

GPA : 4.22 Weighted (with Non-Academic Credits included)-- Stripping off Non-Academic Credits is 4.25 Weighted (Not so great though): - Unfortunately All Honors / AP Courses. Impacted the Unweighted GPA due to high degree of expectations from school for these courses.

APs : Completed 4 so far - Opted 4 more next year : E/M-BC- PSYCH-COMP SCI (School Allows maximum 6 to 8 APs in general. 10 to the most demanding)

SAT scores: 750 R – 740 M-- 800 W

Subject SATs : 750 M and 760 Chemistry

APs :; Messed up a bit this year : APUSH 5 ; AP WORLD 4 : AP ENG 4 : AP CHEM 3 (I did not get in the details)

Hooks : None so far

ECs: Debate club (Co-Captain) :
Orchestra Club (VP):

NHS,

Honors Math Club, Volunteering Local Hosp 100 hrs. Playing chess at Expert level .

2

It seems like you have a solid chance. Really good SAT especially. What undergrad school are you applying for? I’m hoping for the Cornell IRL school

My info:
Competitive public HS
GPA: 3.9 w, 3.6 uw
ACT: 32 composite
Subject SAT: 760 world history and 630 French (will retake)
AP: 5 on APUSH, AP Euro, AP Psych. 4 on AP English. Taking 3 more ap classes this year

No hook :frowning: unless dual citizen or trilingual counts? It’s one of the only somewhat special things about me

EC: Marching and concert band, section leader
GSA (president)
French club officer
World language honors society
Work at Panera bread

Cornell is my reach school and I’m not really expecting to get in, but I’m still going to try! Good luck to all who apply!

3

Objective:
SAT I: 2250 (800 on math, 730 on writing, 720 on critical reading)
Chem: 750 math ii 790
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.78
Weighted GPA: 4.39 (out of a 5.0 scale) (All CP’s Frosh yr- moved up in order to pursue more of a challenge)
AP Scores: AP Chem: 4 AP Language+Comp: 3 AP physics 1: 3
Senior Year Course Load: 6 AP’s, studying physics c by myself
Major Awards: New Jersey Regional Science Fair: 3rd Place Behavioral Science Category Winner, Public Health Award, NHS, Spanish NHS, Science NHS, Tri-M Music NHS, 3rd Place Chemistry Olympics (I was told that NHS’s count), 2013-14 NJ Football State Championships

Subjective:
Extracurriculars: Mixed Choir, Male Acapella Choir (Captain), Marching Band (Section Leader and captain), Jazz Band (Section Leader), Habitat for Humanity Club, Environmental Club, Volunteering at a Hospital, Music Tutor, 12 years of Tae Kwon Do experience (age 6-age 18) , 10 years of Golf experience (joined golf team junior year) 4 years of playing football (7th grade-10th grade), co founded and co prez of an alateen like organization at my school
Job/Work Experience: Music Teacher, Music Assistant, tae kwon do instructor
Volunteer/Community Service: Music Tutor (I returned to my old middle school to aid my teacher in running a summer music program), Volunteered at a Hospita, tae kwon do instructor. About 500 Hours of Community Service

State: NJ
School Type: Public, unranked
Ethnicity: White/Caucasian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Not too good (prefer not to say), gonna apply for financial aid
Hooks: Nothing

4

Im also going for Arts and Sciences as a chem major.
@dragon95 i think you have a great chance, nice job being well rounded and doing more than just academics
@axvd97 definitely bring french up to 700+ but not much of an impact, other than that ur academics seem pretty good plus they’re gonna like ur leadership and work experience cuz it shows motivation. Its a reach, but then again its a reach for all of us haha don’t rule urself out just yet

5

Objective: CALS - Env. Engineering
SAT I: 2110, won’t submit
ACT: 34 (36 eng, 33 everything else, essay 8)
SAT II: Math II (800), US History (760)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): No idea, 97.8 with 100 scale (didn’t take challenging classes in 9/10 because my school didn’t offer any besides AP World (didn’t get into) and AP Bio for 10th graders (taking it in senior year)
Weighted GPA: –
AP Scores: AP Human Geo (5), Physics I (4), US (5), Environmental Sci (5)
Senior Year Course Load: 6 AP, 1 College English, 1 College Business
Major Awards: Envirothon 1st Place Regionals, Sci. Olympiad Regionals Top 5 in 3 events, Top 10 DECA REgionals (Business)

Subjective:
Extracurriculars: Science Olympiad Treasurer/President, Key Club Member, Astronomy Club Fundraising Manager, Cofounder of Astronomy Night, Member of DECA, Member of National Honor Society
Job/Work Experience: KMart
Volunteer/Community Service: Trauma Admin at a hospital, beach clean up participant, etc.

State: NY
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: <60K
Hooks: First to attend college, low-income

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Best of luck! Hopefully you guys will come to Cornell next year :slight_smile:

7

Hey guys! Here are my stats:

Applying to Arts and Sciences, probably for history and/or computer science!

Academics:

Unweighted GPA: 4.0 (school doesn’t do weighted)
Unweighted Rank: 1st

5 APs so far:
AP European History: 5
AP US History: 5
AP Calculus AB: 5
AP English Lang & Comp: 5
AP Chemistry: 4 (meh)

Awards: AP Scholar With Distinction, National Merit Semifinalist (at least), National History Day-Regional, 3rd Place.

SAT I: Math: 760 Writing: 800 Reading: 800
SAT IIs: US History: 800 World History: 800 Math II: 800

Possibly 4 or 5 next year, depending on whether I can cram APES in there. If not: AP Calculus BC, AP US Gov, AP Computer Science, AP Lit.

As a side note, does anyone know if Arts and Sciences accepts APCS as a science course?

Extracurriculars:

International internship at the Suzhou Institute of Nano-Technology and Nano-Bionics, doing research into AI in medical applications
President and founder of our school’s History Club
Vice-President of school’s Chess Club
Varsity chess player
Played in pit orchestra for school musical three years
Member of school-district wide advanced orchestra for three years
Solo & Ensemble 3 years, ratings: II, I, I
Member of JROTC for 2 years, Petty Officer 3rd Class, Supply Officer.
Member of JSA (Junior State of America): two years
Community Service: Played at various retirement centers, volunteered at local YMCA and local festivals like Salmon Days.
Self-published several plays and novellas/short stories and classical music essays/guides

Location and Demographics:

Gender: Male
State: Washington (no, not DC)
Race: Asian-American (Chinese)
Both parents attended college and both have grad degrees
Income Bracket:150,000-200,000
Public school
Hook: none.

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@daniel98609- great stats! Are you applying ED? I have heard that they may not accept students from far away if they think they may not come all the way to Ithaca (this affects their yield, and thus rankings). Obviously, with your stats, you will have many opportunities, so if Cornell is your #1 choice, consider applying ED. In either case, make sure your essay demonstrates enthusiasm for Cornell and what you can contribute. Good luck!

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@Renomamma Am applying ED. I’m aiming to present myself as a person with a big diversity of interests in my essays, which I think is pretty accurate and which fits the essence of what Arts & Sciences is about. Also, I know for a fact that at least one other person from my school is also applying ED (to engineering) and possibly another also to Arts and Sciences. Would Cornell try to limit the number of admitted students from my school?

10

Great that you’re applying ED!!!
They do tend to compare students within the same high schools, so I hear. But it’s really hard to predict. Do you think you are a stronger candidate than the other student applying to Arts and Sciences? Have you visited Cornell? Make sure your essays reflect your knowledge of the campus along with your enthusiasm and what you have to offer. (And have a few adults you trust read them). Also, very strong letters of recommendation probably play a big part too.
Best of luck to you. Apply to other schools you love as well. College admissions is hard to predict at top schools.

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@daniel98609- are you ranked #1 at your school? (not sure what unweighted rank means exactly). That’s impressive :wink:

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@Renomamma: I believe that I’m definitely in the running for #1 student in our high school, though there’s quite a few people with 4.0s so unweighted rank of 1 doesn’t mean that much. As to the other candidate: I know him somewhat well and I think he’s quite qualified, but I know my standardized testing scores are better than his and I’m pretty sure my ECs and overall GPA are as well. I’m not entirely sure if he’s doing ED, either. I’ve unfortunately never had the time to visit the school, but my friend who’s applying to Engineering is visiting this summer and has promised to provide me with plenty of insight. I’ll take your advice to heart on the essays! I know that for a school like Cornell they can really be the make-or-break factor.

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@daniel98609, if your essays and letters are anywhere near as phenomenal as your scores, grades, and ECs, I’d say you’re golden! Write about something unique and pick teachers who love you for your letters.

Cornell doesn’t know if you have visited or not, it just helps you write your essay…and personally I wouldn’t apply ED to a place I hadn’t visited. But I understand visiting is not always possible.

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Objective:
SAT I: 2250 (800 on math, 730 on writing, 720 on critical reading)
sat2 Chem: 750 math ii 790
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.78
Weighted GPA: 4.39 (out of a 5.0 scale) (All CP’s Frosh yr- moved up in order to pursue more of a challenge)
AP Scores: AP Chem: 4 AP Language+Comp: 3 AP physics 1: 3
Senior Year Course Load: 6 AP’s, studying physics c by myself
Major Awards: New Jersey Regional Science Fair: 3rd Place Behavioral Science Category Winner, Public Health Award, NHS, Spanish NHS (also VP), Science NHS, Tri-M Music NHS, 3rd Place Chemistry Olympics (I was told that NHS’s count), 2013-14 NJ Football State Championships

Subjective:
Extracurriculars: Mixed Choir, Male Acapella Choir (Captain), Marching Band (Section Leader and captain), Jazz Band (Section Leader), Habitat for Humanity Club, Environmental Club, Volunteering at a Hospital, Music Tutor, 12 years of Tae Kwon Do experience (age 6-age 18) , 10 years of Golf experience (joined golf team junior year) 4 years of playing football (7th grade-10th grade), co founded and co prez of an alateen like organization at my school
Job/Work Experience: Music Teacher, Music Assistant, tae kwon do instructor
Volunteer/Community Service: Music Tutor (I returned to my old middle school to aid my teacher in running a summer music program), Volunteered at a Hospita, tae kwon do instructor. About 500 Hours of Community Service

State: NJ
School Type: Public, unranked
Ethnicity: White/Caucasian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Not too good (prefer not to say), gonna apply for financial aid
Hooks: Nothing

What do you guys think? I’m going to cas for chemistry major

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@daniel98609 You sound similar to a guy named Daniel Hou…

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@daniel98609 dude why are you not applying for mit or harvard

17

Hey guys!

I’m applying for animal science under CALs :slight_smile:

Objective:

ACT: 35

SAT Subject Tests: Math 2 (750), US History (740)

Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.85

AP Scores: AP Gov: 4, AP Stats: 4, AP Euro: 4, AP Language and Comp: 4, APUSH 5, AP Chemisty: 3

Senior Year Course Load: AP World Lit, AP Psych, AP Biology, AP Spanish, AP Calc BC, Concert Band

Major Awards: AP Scholar

Subjective:
Extracurriculars: Model UN (chief officer of logistics), Speech (novice captain), Project Earth (captain), Math Team, Science Club (treasurer), Jazz Band, Marching Band (section leader), 12 years of piano

Job/Work Experience: Lifeguard 3 summers

Volunteer/Community Service: Animal Humane Society, Fairview Southdale Hospital, Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, Windmill Animal Rescue, Minnesota Zoo, Library, work as Student Commissioner for the Energy and Environment Commission in my city, and run the Student Environmental Leadership Council for the city. Over 500 hours of service

State: MN
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Half white, Half Mexican
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: <120,000
Hooks: Nothing

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Half Mexican is a hook (URM). I think your chances are good!

19

Hey guys!
I’m an International Exchange Students applying to arts and science ED, want to major in Physics!

Objective:

-ACT : 32
-SAT Subjects : Physics (730) - Math 2 (730)

Senior Year (12-grade):
-Weighted GPA (5.0 scale) : 4.5
-Senior course load : AP Statistics - AP Physics - AP Calculus BC

Junior year stats (home-country HS):

  • Overall Rank : top 10%
  • Scientific subjects rank : top 1% (1000 students)
  • Class Rank : 3/24

Subjective:

  • 4 weeks summer program at Oxford University (Theoretical Physics and Math)
  • Played for 6 years Basketball and won a national "junior" tournament in my country.
  • EdX Course at Boston University on system of linear differential equations
  • Peer tutoring in my school - Physics and Math
  • Foreign language tutor in my HS
  • Volunteer work ( 40+ hours)
  • Strong Reccomandation letters

thanks

20

This is a great thread!! I’m applying ED to Engineering. Here are my stats :slight_smile:
-Not submitting SAT 1, but ACT Composite 34(32R, 34E, 35S, 35M, 9 on essay)
-SAT 2: USH 690 and Chemistry 700. Math 2 and Physics pending(scores come in oct 22)
-AP Chem-4 and AP USH-4
-Currently taking: AP English lit&comp, AP Physics 2, AP Stats, AP Psych, Band, AP Calc, and independent AP Computer Science
-top 5% of ~250, public school. GPA weighted 4.17 unweighted something like 3.85
-Math club, pres of physics club, model congress officer, flute section leader, national honor society, run xc fall, track spring, and crossfit (competition training and participating) in winter, and I tutor a few middle schoolers in math to make a little bit of money.
-past two summers spent doing research in biomedical engineering and then pharmacology labs @ Yale, wrote about that in essays (this is essentially my main focus, as I want to be in STEM)
-summer before that worked the whole summer for a summer camp w no pay, got >1000 volunteer hours from it
-Awards: Smith College book award, excellence in English award freshman year, scholar arts in sept 2015, high honors freshman through junior year.

I’m a white female, upper/middle class income family. My hook is a little complicated, but basically one side of my family had to flee an invasion and how they built themselves back up is sort of core to my beliefs and morals.

My recommendations will be very strong, asked my physics teacher, chem teacher (each had me for 2 years), and my xc coach. I also have a rec from the chair of a department at Yale.
Thanks so much to anyone with an idea of my chances!