What is a 3.4 GPA on a 100 point scale?
**Decision: Accepted **
Once upon a time I was a nervous freshman browsing CC, and felt that I had almost no chance at any competitive schools, including Cornell. I’m posting this to help others in similar situations, and to let you guys know that it’s all possible!
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 800 Math, 750 CR (Superscored)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: 800 Math II, 800 Physics
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): ~3.75-ish, not sure
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10%
AP (place score in parenthesis): N/A
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Chem equivalent, AP Economics, AP Comp. Sci. Principles, AP Literature, AP Calculus BC, Statistics Honors
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Piano, Robotics, Tennis, Web-development
Job/Work Experience: Self-employed through side projects
Volunteer/Community service: Hospital front-desk, library
Summer Activities: Volunteering
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 9/10, felt that they were very well written, as I received some help from a student currently at Cornell and took advice from teachers / counselor.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: Pretty good, 8/10
Teacher Rec #2: Pretty good, 8/10
Counselor Rec: Must’ve been generic to some degree, 7/10
Additional Rec: Out of the park by my piano teacher, 10/10
Interview: Went really well, my interviewer was super nice and I got to ask a lot of questions.
Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Nope
Intended Major and College: Computer Science, College of Arts and Sciences
State (if domestic applicant): CT
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: ~200k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None at all
Reflection
Strengths: My essays and extracurriculars
Weaknesses: Grades; All A’s freshman year, lost my way sophomore year with straight B+'s, but had a very steep upward trend following (96% avg. senior year)
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Everything worked together really nicely, plus I sent my senior year quarter 1 grades which were really good and possibly made up for my sophomore year.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
General Comments :
was a bit reluctant to do this, but reading through these really helped when I was considering applying ED to Cornell, so here ya go!
**Decision: Accepted **
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1530 (740-W/R, 790-Math)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: 800-Math 2, 790-Bio M
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.95 / 4.4 (weighted)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A, but my class has ~800 kids
AP (place score in parenthesis): 4-Bio, Music Theory, Euro, APUSH, 5- Calc AB, Psych
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A, school doesn’t offer
Senior Year Course Load: AP Chem, AP English Language, AP Calc BC, AP US Gov, AP Microecon, AP Macroecon, Yoga, Choir
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Distinction, National Merit Commended, some regional awards from SciOly (do these count?? idk)
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Interact Club (Co-President), Science Olympiad (Test Events Captain), Piano, Choir (Section Leader)
Job/Work Experience: Tutor/Grader at Kumon
Volunteer/Community service: at local technology museum, animal shelter, Interact service events/projects, held book club meetings with elementary/middle school students
Summer Activities, volunteering at museum, classes, Interact-related stuff
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
common app (8.5/10): wrote about my intellectual curiosity and how it evolved
cornell supplement (8/10): wrote about my passions in psych and how it connects to CAS
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: psych teacher, didn’t read, but i’ll assume 8/10
Teacher Rec #2: math teacher, didn’t read, but i’ll assume 8/10
Counselor Rec: large public school, so prolly v generic, so 6 or 7/10
Additional Rec: n/a
Interview: was about an hour long, it was okay I think??
Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: yes, didn’t get any
Intended Major and College: Psychology, CAS
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: F
Income Bracket: 200k+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): n/a
Reflection
Strengths: academics, essay
Weaknesses: definitely awards LOL, nothing too impressive from that category
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Although my mom thinks otherwise, I definitely think it was my essays that got me in. I think I embodied Cornell’s academic values really well in both essays.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted Case Western (EA), withdrew everything else so I guess I’ll never know :’’)
General Comments: It was quite a surprise for me haha. Took a week for it all to fully sink in. Actually, I take that back. It still hasn’t sunk in. SO excited for next fall 
**Decision: Accepted **
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1510 (790 Math, 720 English)
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II: 780 Math 2, 730 Physics
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.87 (all A/A+ grades but 1 A- junior year)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
AP (place score in parenthesis): Statistics(5), English Language(4), Calc BC(3) - AB Subscore(4), Physics 1(2) (didn’t report)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: Multivariable Calculus, AP Physics C, AP Economics (Macro + Micro), AP Gov, AP French, Dual Enrollment Creative Writing
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): research awards at national/state/regional levels (nothing like STS/ISEF/Siemens level though), research publication & 2 patents pending, 3x research showcase presenter, professional membership in 3 science societies, athletic awards at national/state/regional level, debate awards at state/regional level, foreign language awards at international/national levels
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Env’t Volunteer Group (Co-Founder & President), Science Research, Nature Park Tours (Coordinator), Varsity Cross Country/Indoor Track/Outdoor Track (Co-Captain), Club Running, International Foreign Language Scholar (UPenn diploma, teaching assistant for 15 students locally), Debate Club (Officer & Mentor), Hospital Volunteer (300+ hours total)
Job/Work Experience: researched for 2 summers at a non-Cornell Ivy and MIT, teaching assistant for foreign language classes, environmental volunteer group
Volunteer/Community service: hospital volunteer, environmental volunteer group
Summer Activities: research, foreign language camps, science camp, nature park tours, hospital volunteer
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Personal Statement-7/10 (wasn’t bad but it wasn’t standout), Cornell Supplement-10/10 (very authentic and specific to the program I was interested in, showed how Cornell and I would mutually benefit if I was accepted)
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: AP Calc BC Teacher - idk but he/she really liked me so maybe 8/10
Teacher Rec #2: AP English Lang Teacher - idk but he/she really really liked so maybe 9/10
Counselor Rec: idk but he/she really liked me - 8/10
Additional Rec: track coach (and cornell alum) - 7/10. summer research MIT professor - idk but probs 7/10
Interview: went great! - 10/10
Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major and College: College of Engineering - applied for environmental engineering but will likely major in CS
State (if domestic applicant): NY
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: competitive public HS (33% overall acceptance rate last year to Cornell according to Naviance, generally almost 10% of entire graduating class admitted to Cornell)
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: too high to get good financial aid
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none
Reflection
Strengths: supplemental essay, cohesive story fleshed out through my application, solid overall resume
Weaknesses: test scores, GPA(?), overall course rigor(?), personal statement
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: sold myself well as an environmental engineering entrepreneur throughout my common app and wrote a really great supplemental essay specific to Cornell’s environmental engineering major
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted-SUNY Stony Brook, SUNY Binghamton; Deferred-MIT; Withdrew my other applications
General Comments : Make sure to write a supplemental essay that highlights specifics about cornell & the college/major you’re applying to. Good luck to all future applicants!!
Decision: Accepted
Objective:
- [] SAT I (Comp, Essay, CR, M, CW): 1560 (790 M, 770 CR, 22 essay)
[] ACT (Comp, Essay, Eng, Math, Read, Sci): 35 (35 E, M, R, S) and 11/12 essay
[] SAT II (Type, Score): 800 M2, 770 Chemistry
[] Weighted GPA (out of ??): Not sure tbh around 5.8 I think?
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): ~3.92
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 24/600
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): 14 total w/ 3 3’s, 3 4’s and the rest 5’s
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[] Senior Year Course Load: multivariable calc, ap music theory, internship class, ap stats, ap spanish 5, and health/speech
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nada
Subjective:
[ul]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): A couple low-level comp. sci. awards and state science fair finalist
[] Job/Work Experience: Tutoring, about 10 hours junior/senior year
[] Volunteer/Community service: Over 100 hours
[] Summer Activities: watched tv in my room, hung out with friends, didn’t really do anything special tbh
[] Essays: 4/10 common app, 7/10 Cornell-specific (it was well written, but didn’t really answer the prompt at all)
[] Teacher Recommendations: CS and calculus teachers; one of them was pretty good I think (7/10) and the other I have no idea
[li] Counselor Rec: very generic i’d expect[/li][/ul]
Other
- [] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yeah but only after I got my decision
[] Intended Major and College: College of Engineering, Computer Science
[] State (if domestic applicant): TX
[] School Type: Competitive public
[] Ethnicity: Asian
[] Gender: Female
[] Income Bracket: high
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Female in engineering
Reflection
[list]
[]Strengths: test scores, rank, course rigor (loaded up with honors courses), female in engineering
[]Weaknesses: essays (esp. common app), recs (possibly), extracurriculars
[]Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I had pretty good test scores based on the ranges for engineering, and my EC’s (though minimal) related to my major. Also, my why Cornell essay was an interesting read, even if it didn’t really answer the prompt. Also I’m a girl doing CS.
[]Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted - UT Austin CS (Turing Scholars)
[*]General comments: Not 100% sure where I’ll be going yet but if Cornell’s it then I’m looking forward to seeing y’all next year!
**Decision: Accepted **
I plan to apply CMU design major during ED round, but find out that I cannot finish my portfolio on time. So I decided to apply to Cornell on mid-October, all the process was very rushed, especially for the supplement.
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1380 (single sitting), 580 EBRW, 800 Math
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: 740 Math II, 610 Physics (take both of them in sophomore year, focused on other things so don’t have time to retake)
Unweighted GPA (out of 100): 89.206 (A+ for all math and science major, but bad scores for English and history)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 50%
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Calculus AB (3), AP Calculus BC (3), AP Computer Science A (3), AP Statistics (3), AP Chemistry (2), AP Physics 1 (2), AP Environmental Science (1) (got bad scores because never care about the exam, did not review at all, did not sent any score)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Studio Art, AP Physics C, AP Biology, AP Psychology, English 4
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): ARML, Math Team & Robotics Team & Golf Team state champion, web application competition state champion
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Programming Team (president, founder), Math Team (president), Physics Team (founder), Technology Team (vice president), Robotics Team (designer), Student Publication (vice president, designer), Golf Team & Golf Academy, Art Club
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: 60 hours
Summer Activities: Research, make 1 app and 2 websites, do 2 full user experience design projects, stay in the art studio 8 hrs a day for two months.
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Personal: 10, talking about my name and my character, very humorous; Supplement: 9, talking about what computer science means to me since I was 10.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: Vice Headmaster, also AP Computer Science teacher
Teacher Rec #2: Science Department Chair, also AP Environmental Science teacher and Robotics Team advisor
Counselor Rec: Math Department Chair, also AP Calculus BC, Linear Algebra teacher and golf team coach
Additional Rec: AP Studio Art teacher, teach me for 4 years.
Interview: N/A
Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major and College: Computer Science (Engineering)
State (if domestic applicant): GA
Country (if international applicant): Mainland China (but high school is in US)
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: 250k+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): N/A
Reflection
Strengths: The apps and the website I made. I’ve also sent my personal website about all of my works and my art portfolio. Finish all of my high school’s math class during sophomore year, took several college level class including multivariable calculus, linear algebra, applied linear algebra and discrete math as independet study with math department chair.
Weaknesses: Very weak in English and history, this cause me low GPA. Feel very anxious before all of the big exams so cannot get good scores on SAT and SAT II.
Why you think you were accepted: Don’t know.
Where else were you accepted: Rose Hulman Institution of Technology (apply for EA), University of Washington (did not successfully withdraw the application)
General Comments: Still can’t believe that today.
**Decision: Accepted **
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1550, one sitting (790 math, 760 reading/writing, perfect essay scores)
ACT (breakdown): NA
SAT II: 790 math 2, 760 reading comprehension
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.3-ish
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): NA (school refuses to rank us)
AP (place score in parenthesis): Calculus BC (4), English III (5), World History (4)
- yet to take: Environmental Science, Economics, English IV, CS A
IB (place score in parenthesis): NA
Senior Year Course Load: APES, English IV, APCS, AP Econ, Musical Theater, Web Technologies, Orchestra IV
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Finalist, state German contest stuff, All State Orchestra, other local music stuff, does NHS count?, AP Distinguished Scholar award (along those lines)
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): founded a few clubs (dance, Future Problem Solvers, Asian culture-related); orchestra council (all 4 years); theater (junior and senior year)
Job/Work Experience: NA
Volunteer/Community service: Classical Music for the World, Austin Korean School, Mobile Loaves and Fishes, a few other here and there but not as notable
Summer Activities: CS camps, leadership summits, overseas travel
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App #4) discovering my passion for CS after struggling to find self (9/10)
Cornell-req) interest in game design (10/10)
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): never read them, but a counselor told me that one of them was really good. hoping (assuming?) that they were good
Teacher Rec #1: CS teacher
Teacher Rec #2: English III teacher (this was the ‘really good’ one)
Counselor Rec: yes
Additional Rec: orchestra director
Interview: no
Other:
Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major and College: Arts and Sciences for CS (minor in game design)
State (if domestic applicant): Texas
Country (if international applicant):
School Type:
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: female
Income Bracket: $100k - $144k (or whatever that bracket is)
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): minority ethnicity and gender in my intended major (I guess?)
Reflection: Honestly, I have no idea how I got accepted in this super competitive year… I feel like my resume is so weak in comparison to that of an ideal candidate. But I’m so so so grateful.
Strengths: essays are my strong suit; good recs (I think); dedication to many activities
Weaknesses: not much diversity outside of music, honestly; low GPA; testing scores could’ve been higher
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: my resume showed that I at least tried a lot, even if things didn’t always work out- this showed determination, maybe?
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
- accepted to UT Dallas (full ride), A&M
- waitlisted at Boston College, CMU, UT Austin (capped, not a real waitlist)
- rejected from UPenn, UChicago, Rice
General Comments: wow sorry this was so vague lol I’m writing this so long after acceptance and writing my application… I’ve forgotten most things
.
**Decision: Accepted **
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): na
ACT (breakdown): 35 (35E 35M 33R 35S)
SAT II:na
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8ish (96/100)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):na
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 APES 5 World History 5 Lang 5 Psychology 4 Chem 4 Calc AB 3 Physics 1
IB (place score in parenthesis): na
Senior Year Course Load: 4 AP classes and some independent studies in my areas of interest
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): none
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
-Professional Folk harpist (approximately 60 jobs),
-Harp ensemble (80 professional shows),
-Speech and Debate (Captain, 2X national qualifier NSDA, District Student of the Year, Regional Coahes’ excellence a-ward, helped runs summer program),
-started 501© non-profit performing science shows in low-income schools (partnership with UofR, other organizations), -Research (Environ. Tox. 2nd author on paper, presented at poster symposiums), worked on paper for UNEP with prof. (no authorship tho),
-JETS team national qualifier (captain),
-Environmental club (pres.)
Job/Work Experience: harp
Volunteer/Community service: harp/ non-profit
Summer Activities:harp/ research
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App: 8/10: pretty clever, was about me aspiring to be like this famous harper who traveled the irish countryside and how he made me also travel to my different jobs and what I learned from those jobs
CALS Major Interest: 10/10 Freaking great- talked about how my family garden I worked in made me recognize the importance of diversity and innovation, really tied back to my intended major (Environmental Engineering)
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: 8/10:My APES teacher, who inspired my love for environmental science and sustainability. I’m the TA for the class and president of her club. I imagine it’s pretty good.
Teacher Rec #2: 7/10: Yeah this was probably good. Her son’s my best friend and she’s head of speech and debate… probably pretty solid.
Counselor Rec:8/10 – We’re both environmentalists in an otherwise extremely Trump-loving school so we hit it off really well. Said he could write me an ‘outstanding’ recommendation.
Additional Rec: 9/10: Harp instructor- she’s known me since I was four and watched me grow up… pretty good
Interview:
Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yep
Intended Major and College: CALS
State (if domestic applicant): NY
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: middle class
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): na (I have legacy at Cornell but didn’t mention it)
Reflection:
1.Fit Matters. And they can tell when you belong.I was killing my Cornell Application. I didn’t vibe with the Dartmouth Essays nor their campus when I visited. Same with Stanford’s Essays. I didn’t get into the latter two. Lesson learned: If you aren’t vibin’ with a campus or their essays of one of these great unis, 9 times out of 10 you won’t be getting the dub.
2. For CALS, genuine passion for Life Sciences is the most important part of the application. I love doing environmental research and working in my family garden, working on my neighbor’s farm, etc. and they recognized that.
Strengths: Extracurriculars, CALS essay
Weaknesses: I’m a scattered applicant, my interests are literally all over lol
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Strong applicant, and the essay got me in
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Accepted: GA Tech, Cornell, Tufts, Northeastern (27k/yr.), safeties
Waitlisted: Brown, Oberlin (wth…)
Rejected: Stanford, Dartmouth
General Comments : If you thought your crush’s texts were full of mixed signals, try college admissions. Peace.