Cornell ED Class of 2023 Results

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
21

[asize=4][acolor=#008000]Decision: Accepted [/color][/size]

I hope this helps someone!

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1550 (770 Verbal, 780 Math) (Single sitting)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: 800 Chemistry, 780 Math II
Unweighted GPA: 97.79/100 UW (Don’t know my GPA out of 4)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Does not rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): Note: my school really limits the number of APs that we can take
AP Latin (4), AP Chemistry (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load:AP Comp. Sci. A, AP Physics C, AP Calc. BC, AP Lit. and Comp., AP Psych.,Honors Latin
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:
These are just the ones I listed on my application
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
-Co-founder and co-president of a club that helps people learn programming and engineering.
-Co-president of our school’s chapter of the Technology Student Association and won some national and state-level awards.
-Captain of our school’s Science Olympiad Chapter.
-Worked on a research project with a finance professor from the University of Oklahoma
-Currently working on a printer that uses Python,Google APIs,and Arduino to print online orders from a Google Forms page for my parents’ restaurant
-National Latin Exam 2 golds, 1 silver
-Intel and Hackster Planet Pulse Challenge, 3rd place category
-HackerRank World CodeSprint 11- 1580/6212
-NHS
-3rd place at a programming competition at a local university.
Job/Work Experience: I work at my parents’ Chinese Restaurant
Volunteer/Community service: Habitat for Humanity, Nativity Miguel (a middle school that serves the underprivileged), Soup Kitchen
Summer Activities: Took 2 college-level classes at Carnegie Mellon University and got As in both (Principles of Computing and Reasoning with Data)
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 7/10 for my common app (I felt it was a bit impersonal and full of fluff, so please avoid what I did), 9/10 for my supplement (I really put a lot of effort into writing this and everyone I showed it to liked it.)
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
I waived my right to read my recommendations, but my teachers seemed to like me.
Teacher Rec #1: From my AP Chemistry teacher
Teacher Rec #2: From my Pre-Calculus teacher
Counselor Rec: I feel that it was personalized since we had a long meeting discussing the recommendation
Additional Rec: A good recommendation from the professor that I worked with in the research project.

Interview: Went really well I think. We talked for about an hour, but it got awkward at times since it was my first interview.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No (big oof)
Intended Major and College: College of Engineering, Computer Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): Pennsylvania
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private/religious
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: <$50k (I wanted to apply for financial aid, but my parents convinced me not to. You probably should though)
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First generation, neither parents graduated from college.

Reflection

Strengths: My testing and extracurriculars. For my extracurriculars, I simply pursued the things that I loved to do and really developed a deep “spike” in engineering.
Weaknesses: My essays, definitely. I’m a bad writer.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted probably because my extracurriculars matched the major that I want to pursue and because of standardized testing. I can’t think of anything else since I feel that my APs and essays are relatively weak.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted to Penn State, University Park

General Comments: I’m not sure if this will work for you, but really try to pursue the things that you love to do and are passionate about. I think that was the one thing that helped make me stand out with my otherwise pretty average profile. But really, I’m at a loss as to why I’m accepted and some others who are more qualified aren’t. I’m not too special and even my strength isn’t as strong as some others. Maybe I’ve just seen too many good applicants on CC, lol.

22

**Decision: Deferred **

Hopefully this helps someone!

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1530, EBRW 730, Math 800, Essay 22
SAT II: Math 2C 800, Physics 800
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.93, school does not rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): Calculus AB&BC (5), Physics C - Mech (5), Physics C - E&M (5), Chemistry (5), Statistics (5), Computer Science A (5), English Lang and Comp (4)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
Nothing too big, but constant AIME qualifier + almost represented my country at IYPT. My research paper was also taken interest by the editor of a SCI-E journal, if that counts.

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Physics Club (Leader), Math Circle (Leader), Varsity Basketball, Math Team, Curling Club, Boy Scout
Volunteer/Community service: Led an Appropriate Technology Project (Leader)
Summer Activities: MIT Camp + writing research papers with independent research.

Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App (9) - pretty good I’d say. Teachers and friends told me it was rly interesting.
Supplements (7) - was good, but it was pretty boring.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Counselor (7) - She think’s I’m very organized and has a good impression of me
Physics Teacher (9) - He told me I’m his best physics student in my grade
English Lang Teacher (7) - He has a good impression of me, and he was happy to write my rec
Outside Rec: Math Circle director (8) - He knew me for 6 years, and he offered me that he’d write my recs.

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major and College: Physics, Arts & Sciences
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): South Korea
School Type: Charter School
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: ~$120000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Nope

Reflection

Strengths: Strong physics related ECs, pretty good academics.
Weaknesses: I guess I didn’t show much personality in my essays. I talked too much about physics.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I honestly don’t know.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: None yet

General Comments:

I thought I had a good chance because my counselor and teachers were confident that I’d get in. Rip. Maybe I’ll get in regular decision :confused: Congrats to anyone who’s been accepted ED!

23

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown):1510 (M: 800, RW: 710)
ACT (breakdown):Didn’t take
SAT II:800 Chem, 800 Math 2
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.51/5.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Not Available
AP (place score in parenthesis): Chem(5), Gov(5), Calc AB(4), Calc BC(4), Stat (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load:
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Honor, National Spanish Exam - Silver Medalist, Eagle Scout

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Marching Band (Drum Major and Equipment Manager), Jazz Band (Lead Tenor Sax), Local youth committee for parks and rec. dept (Director of Technology), TEDx Youth (Budget Manager and Community Liaison), NHS
Job/Work Experience: Work 40 hrs/ week in the summer as a lifeguard, 15-20 hours/ week at a ski shop during the school year
Volunteer/Community service: NHS Volunteering, Habitat for Humanity
Summer Activities: Work
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App: 9/10, wrote about the day my dad died and the emotional struggle after
CA Personal Statement: 8/10, wrote about my eagle project and the motivation behind it
Cornell Supplement: Showed my love for math and detailed my passion to be a biomedical engineer as a result of my dad’s death

Teacher Rec #1: Chem Teacher: 9/10, Have a very close relationship with him. Didn’t read it but he told me what he wrote about
Teacher Rec #2: Calc/Stat Teacher: 8/10, Didn’t read either, but close with him as well and have spent much time talking about math and life
Counselor Rec: 10/10, My Guidance Counselor is actually a family friend, and I know she wrote an awesome rec.
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: Was awesome, bonded very well with my interviewer and had an awesome time talking about opportunities at Cornell and life in general

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major and College: Biomedical Engineering, CoE
State (if domestic applicant): PA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type:Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: <60k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Not very wealthy, strong story

Reflection

Strengths: SAT II scores and AP score. Essays, essays, essays
Weaknesses: SAT Score, not many nat’l awards or anything like that
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: My essays. I really took my time on them and put a boatload of effort in. I did my best to write a really powerful story
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: 2 State Schools nothing big

General Comments : GO BIG RED I’m so excited to attend! For those looking at this like a guide as I did, put a SERIOUS amount of work into your essays. Not everybody has the most amazing story, but everybody can make one.

1 Like
24

Decision: Rejected :((

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1350 (math-730 and eng-620)
ACT (breakdown):did not take
SAT II: math2- 650 chem- 650 math1- 700
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): school didnt give
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1 out of 11
AP (place score in parenthesis): did not take
IB (place score in parenthesis): predicted 40/45

Senior Year Course Load: math hl. chem hl, psych hl, phy sl, eng sl, hindi sl

i was in a different school in 9th and 10th

for my 10th grade i gave the ICSE board exam- 89% overall across 10 subjects

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
Australian National chemistry award- Merit
EUMIND certificate of excellence 2017 - best article
EUMIND certificate of excellence 2018
100% attendance grade 10 (it was kind of a big deal in my school)

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
School Marshal (Head of the Student Council) 2017-18
Best Co-chair in **MUN 2017
Deputy Secretary General in ***MUN 2018
Co-founder and Treasurer of Debate Society
CEO – School Enterprise Challenge
Model United Nations (2015-2018)
Electronic Keyboard - Trinity College London - Grade 2
Participation in ISA (International School Award by the British Council)
won tons of inter house competitions
made certificates and invitations for most school events

Job/Work Experience:
Freelance Birthday Photographer 2017, 2018 (paid)
Volunteer for data collection at Faasos Food Services Pvt. Ltd. (unoaid)

Volunteer/Community service:
Founder of Cleanliness Drive (School Project)
Volunteer at many organisations
Organising Sports day for children from a tribal hamlet (year 2017 and 2018
India’s first 24 hours Beach clean-up drive
Young Environmentalists Programme Trust- Eco friendly Idol Making
Clean-up Drive at Sangharsh Nagar
Butterfly Garden
Happiness Quotient Play

in all approx more than 250-300 hours

Summer Activities: I travel every summer so no activity in specific

Essays (rating 1-10, details):

common app essay- really good, have of my friends and teachers have read it and they all really liked it
(it is a bit personal so wont talk about details)

cornell supplement essay: it was good- i talked about how my experiences make human development the perfect major for me and how I wish to use my education in the future.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1:8.5/10- psych hl teacher- she really likes me but might have rushed the letter so might not have been the best
Teacher Rec #2:7.5/10- chem hl teacher- i am not a great chemistry student, but the teacher knows me really well; so the entire letter might have been mainly about my personality and nothing much about my grades
Counselor Rec: 10/10- she knows me since i was 6 or 7 yrs old
Additional Rec: none
Interview: did not happen

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major and College: human development in college of human ecology
State (if domestic applicant): n.a.
Country (if international applicant): India
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Sexuality: straight
Income Bracket: $40,000 per year
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection

Strengths: extracurriculars, essay and letters maybe
Weaknesses: scores, asian, indian
i dont know if this counts- my subjects have been very science oriented and the only relted subject is psychology which i only took/ am taking during my dp years; but i really want to study human development/ psychology
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: umass amherst ($14k per year Award ) and university of illinois, chicago ($7.7k per year merit scholarship )

General Comments: wish i applied from some country where they get no applications from

25

[asize=4][acolor=#008000]Decision: Accepted [/color][/size]

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1410 (one sitting)
ACT (breakdown): didn’t send
SAT II: didn’t take
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
AP (place score in parenthesis): n/a
IB (place score in parenthesis): IB diploma program ( two years of all IB classes)
Senior Year Course Load:
IB Biology HL
IB English HL
IB Math SL
IB Psychology HL
IB History HL
IB French AB SL
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
Cum Laude

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): indoor track (1 year), varsity cross country (3 years, captain, team manager, first runner), varsity riding ( competed on two competition teams, IEA and JHC), weightlifting (2 years), Global Issues Network Club (implemented a recycling program), completed two nutritionally based research projects on my own ( not official or published research), Junior class president
Job/Work Experience: Worked in a veterinary lab (2 years), worked at an environmental learning center (4 years)
Volunteer/Community service: volunteered on rescue cow farm, launched an environmental program in an inner city school
Summer Activities: working at two jobs listed above and volunteering at cow farm, completed nutrition course through eCornell
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8 I think
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 8 - Bio teacher
Teacher Rec #2: 8- Psych teacher
Counselor Rex: 7-8
Additional Rec:
Interview:

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major and College: Nutritional sciences in Human Ecology
State (if domestic applicant): MD
Country (if international applicant): US
School Type: private boarding
Ethnicity: white
Gender: female
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): idk

Reflection

Strengths: passion for environment and nutrition reflected in my ECs and essays, strong GPA, in IB
Weaknesses: low SAT, no specific hooks, didn’t take chemistry, focused too much on the environmental science in my essay which isn’t the major I’m applying for but my experience with environmental science led me to my passion for nutrition so I thought it was crucial to include
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I mentioned a specific professor I was influenced by, maybe my essays were good, ECs reflect my passions
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: idk I applied Ed

General Comments :
I really did not think I was going to in because my sat is so low. If you are worried about your test scores still apply. They are obviously not the only deciding factor. Show a passion!

26

Rejected

College of Human Ecology. 34 ACT (35 M, 35 R, 34 E, 33 S); 3.95/4 Unweighted and 5.1 Weighted; 11 AP Classes; 1000 plus service hours; Did not apply for Financial Aid

So sad I did not get in, really thought I had a good chance. Good luck to the rest of you regular decision applicants and those who got deferred. Congrats to everyone who got in!!!

27

I just want to update my original post. I originally said that I did not apply for financial aid, but apparently I accidentally did apply for financial aid because I received an email saying “Our records indicate that you wish to be considered for financial aid; however, your application is currently incomplete.” It allowed me to finish my financial aid application even though I passed the deadline and I submitted it. At least for me, selecting and not selecting financial aid did not affect my chances.

28

Decision: Deferred HumEc

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 750 Reading, 660 Math, 1410 Composite
ACT (breakdown): 35/25/34/31, 10/12 Writing, 31 Composite
SAT II: none of my scores were worth sending lol
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.67
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): my school doesn’t rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): Biology (4)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics, AP Spanish, Honors everything else: US History II, English, Calc
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Presidential Service Award (100+ hours), National Hispanic Recognition Program

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Competitive dance for 13 years (captain for 2 years of HS), NHS (exec board), Spanish NHS, School Ambassador, School Musical (dance captain for 2 years), Future Doctors of America Club, Service club, health/wellness club
Job/Work Experience: private dance coaching
Volunteer/Community service: presidential service award, local hospital volunteer (4 years), team captain of pancreatic cancer research walk, organized christmas card drive for recovering soldiers, meals on wheels, special needs dance team, lector, eucharistic minister
Summer Activities: envision youth leadership medical forum
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
common app: 8/10, really creative and i thought it had an awesome hook and was true to myself
cornell supplement: 7/10, unique but might have been too abstract
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
I couldn’t read any of them so idk how to rate them lol
Teacher Rec #1: chem teacher, liked me
Teacher Rec #2: spanish teacher, liked me and did well in her class, had her for two years
Teacher Red #3: liked me but i only had her for one year
Counselor Rec: never really used my counselor but generally knew me
Additional Rec: ballet teacher, known her for 10 years and we’re very close but her letter was kind of bland
Interview: 8/10, thought it went very well, but was mostly just me asking questions about the school

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: no
Intended Major and College: Human Biology, Health, and Society
State (if domestic applicant): NJ
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: very competitive private, all-girls catholic
Ethnicity: Cuban
Gender: F
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): nothing

Reflection

Strengths: essays, interview, ED status
Weaknesses: GPA, test scores, too long of a resume (i put unnecessary things on it and it was 3 pages lol)
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: my scores/grades are not amazing but my essays definitely kept me from flat out being denied
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: haven’t heard back from anywhere else but i applied to bucknell, tufts, lehigh, colgate, UNC chapel hill, elon, providence, and hawaii (lol)

General Comments: i hoped for an acceptance but everything happens for a reason and now its just time to wait until April! goes to show you that even if your scores and stuff aren’t spectacular you still have a shot!

29

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1520 (760)(760)(22)
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II: 780 Math II, 720 Literature
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis): 41/45 (HL English A Literature 7, HL Biology 7, HL History 6, SL Mathematics 7, SL Spanish B 6, SL Music 6)
Senior Year Course Load:
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

International European Music Competition - High school Piano National Champion
International History Bee & Bowl - Varsity National Bowl Champions
Taipei Cicero English Debate Competition - Varsity National Finalists
TISSA National Soccer Competition - Varsity National Finalists
TISSA National Volleyball Competition - Junior Varsity National Finalists

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

Self-published a collection of short stories and poems written over the course of 4 years
Student Council Vice President
NGO project leader to organize groups of students from my school to work with the elderly with dementia
Principal Cellist of school orchestra
JV/Varsity Cross-country
JV/Varsity Soccer
Classics Club
Cooking Club
Crafts Club
Organized and performed solo piano concert for the underprivileged and the money from the tickets were donated to charity

Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service: Government licensed volunteer, worked in care homes, organized summer camps, led an anti-drug campaign
Summer Activities:
Essays (rating 1-10, details):

Common App 10/10: Talked about my love of English in a traditional Asian family and how I struggled against family expectations, very personal and unique
Supplement 9/10: Wrote about very specific courses in Cornell’s English curriculum that I was really excited to study, really showed my interested and understanding of the school

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 9/10, English teacher for junior and senior year, really liked me and enjoyed my contributions in class
Teacher Rec #2: 9/10, Biology teacher for junior and senior year, was pretty close with her
Counselor Rec: 10/10, Only knew him for a short time but got really close with him, he really liked me and wanted me to get in
Additional Rec:
Interview: Went very well. He said he liked my energy and excitability and hoped that I’d get accepted

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major and College: English
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): Taiwan
School Type: International school
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflection: feelsgoodman :wink: I had my doubts (as everyone else does), but it’s really relieving know that work paid off.

Strengths: Nice assortment of ECs, couple of competitions, decent grades. It was obvious what I wanted to do at Cornell, and I had already produced something substantial out of my passions.
Weaknesses: SAT I was a bit low, but I only improved 10 points from my first try, so I didn’t feel like wasting more time for a couple more points.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I had a total of 20 drafts for my Common App and Cornell supplement. It really pays off the invest time in creating memorable essays, I guess.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: UMich (withdrawn)

General Comments :

Congrats to those who got in and good luck to those that were deferred or rejected. I wish the best for all applicants.

30

@theravenslamarSb i really do not know man, I also had legacy. It’s crazy, but everything happens for a reason. My twin brother also did not get in, he applied to hotel administration.

All I can think of for why I did not get in is ethnicity maybe? I am a white male and not first generation. I also live in South Florida not northeast, which could of been a reason.

These are my stats: (rejected)

College of Human Ecology. 34 ACT (35 M, 35 R, 34 E, 33 S); 3.95/4 Unweighted and 5.1 Weighted; 11 AP Classes; 1000 plus service hours; Legacy; Class Rank: 14/526; Did not apply for Financial Aid

So sad I did not get in, really thought I had a good chance. Good luck to the rest of you regular decision applicants and those who got deferred. Congrats to everyone who got in!!!

31

Replace the “[a” below with “[” .

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 670 R, 670 M
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): only have weighted GPA which was 4.0 (sent in my MP1 grades which was a 4.35)
AP (place score in parenthesis): World History, Computer Science Principles, Language and Composition, Literature, Psychology, French, and Physics. Did not submit scores.
Senior Year Course Load: AP World, French, CSP, and Literature. Also regular calculus and astronomy.
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Model UN honorable delegate award
high honors
national honor society
national french honor society
national art honor society

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Founder of my school’s first debate team, Girls Learn International (President), Model United Nations (secretary and historian), French Honor Society (Secretary), Feminist Club, Girls Club, and Cultural Awareness Club.
Job/Work Experience: Lifeguard for 3 years and hostess at a restaurant.
Volunteer/Community service: Over 100 hours of community service.
Summer Activities: Lifeguarding, debate camp, ACLU advocacy institute
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common app- 8/10 pretty good but I could have made it better
Supplement- 10/10 I really believe this is what got me in. I demonstrated interest and showed I know exactly what the major is.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Can’t rate any because I did not read them.
Teacher Rec #1: History teacher who I had a great relationship with.
Teacher Rec #2: English teacher whose class I preformed really well in.
Counselor Rec: We had a decent relationship and I made it really clear what I wanted in it
Additional Rec: Softball coach who could talk about leadership and my personal growth
Interview: Went great.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major and College: ILR
State (if domestic applicant): NJ
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: Luckily high
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

Reflection
I am INCREDIBLY lucky.
Strengths: Supplement was great, my extracurriculars match perfectly with my fit for ILR, I demonstrated as much interest as possible
Weaknesses: test score
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I believe it was my fit and love for ILR that got me in.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: None… ED baby

General Comments :
I cried for like 3 hours. I am beyond excited and grateful!!

1 Like
32

MODERATOR’S NOTE:
Please refer to post #1. If it’s not a result, as helpful as it might be, I’m deleting without notice.

33

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT 800 math 790 verbal
SAT II: Math 2:790, bio: 800
ACT (breakdown):na
unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9 guess weighted 4.5 or so
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 5 out 300
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Chemistry (5), AP phyics 5, AP Calc BC (4),
Senior Year Course Load: heavy IB
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): 4H awards girl scout gold

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Track varsity and 4H w Leadership, girl scouts
Job/Work Experience: Local Farm
Volunteer/Community service: Girl Scout Gold Award
Summer Activities: governors school for science, science research programs
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App (8/10).
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: (8/10) -
Teacher Rec #2: (8/10) -
Counselor Rec: (9/10),
Additional Rec: Na
Interview: went well

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Y
Intended Major and College: CALS
State (if domestic applicant): Mid Atlantic
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: white
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: NA
Hooks NA

Reflection

Strengths:Strong testing and GPA and 4H
Weaknesses: Come from state and school with lots of strong legacy students
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:I think 4h and girl scouts demonstrated interest in major
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: none so far
General Comments :

34

**Decision: Accepted **

Honestly don’t really know why Cornell accepted me of all people but…

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): Superscored 1550 (R&W: 780 M:770 Essay:17)
ACT (breakdown): n/a
SAT II: Bio M: 750, Math II: sent two scores - first time 720, second 800 (took this one in October after 1 week of hardo studying)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): Don’t know unweighted, but my GPA was 4.81/5.0 weighted. There was a pretty steep upward trend, though.
For reference, at my school an A(93+) in an AP or Accelerated class = 5.0, in an Honors class, 4.5
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Don’t know exactly, but probably about top 5% out of 400 or so students
AP (place score in parenthesis): Lang and Comp (5)
Didn’t have the option to take APs until junior year, and there were only very few possible APs. I tried to talk to my guidance counselor but she was unhelpful.
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load:
Full Year Courses:
AP Calc BC, AP French Lang and Culture, AP Psychology, AP Comp Sci
Accelerated English (required for 4 years), Strings Orchestra
Semester:
Wellness (required), AP Music Theory
I received all As for the first term
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
Didn’t really have many
National French Exam Gold Medal (freshman + sophomore yrs)
MA National History Day Qualifier
RIT Innovation and Creativity Award (this was a book award)

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Robotics Club (4 years, Software Manager jr yr, Project Manager sr yr), Violin (8 years, pit orchestra for the high school’s spring musical, Rivers Youth Orchestras (3 yrs)), Anime Club (4 yrs), Japanese Club (2 yrs), Swim Team (freshman yr)
Job/Work Experience:
Intern at ECE lab at Northeastern University (unpaid, 4 weeks)
Vascular Biology Intern at research lab headed by a Harvard professor (paid, 6 weeks)
Mentoring kids to code by programming games and utilising STEM toys like robots and drones. (paid, started working senior yr)

Didn’t publish any papers…

Volunteer/Community service:
My school had required 60 hours of community service so I just put the two organizations I volunteered at
Community Farm - used sustainable farming techniques to cultivate organic fruits and vegetables. Promoted environmental friendly practices to members of the town. Donated produce to the food pantry.
Usher - Ushered for seasonal town concerts. Raised money selling concessions to fund the high school’s music department.
Summer Activities:
Stuff mentioned above
CIT YMCA (rising soph)
Recreational sailing, e-skateboarding

Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App: 7-8/10
I personally don’t think my essay was executed that well. I wrote about how I came to like screamo and punk rock music. I mentioned my previous experience as a child being forced to play piano by my mom (gotta love tiger parenting) and how I grew from that conflict: switching to violin, an instrument that I chose myself. I then compared and contrasted violin and screamo music saying how they both are freely expressive, though they don’t seem to be (did some name-dropping here). Wrapped up by talking about how I learned to resist external forces and believe in my own power, proven by the progress I made with stage fright.

Engineering Supplement: 8-9/10
This essay was pretty straight forward. I talked about my goal (what problem I want to solve) as an engineer, said why I was motivated to do it, gave some examples of experiences, then wrote about what I would do at Cornell. Mentioned some professors that I hope to work with, classes I wanted to take. I also talked about the community (even gender distribution in engineering, which is rare) and collaborative environment. Wrapped up by referencing Cornell engineering’s motto.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
I didn’t get to read any of my recommendations.
Teacher Rec #1: 10/10
AP Lang and Comp Teacher wrote this. I think he liked me - I participated a lot and did pretty well in his class - and we talked a couple times outside of school. He is a genius and has a lot of experience writing recs (he writes like 40 a year or something)
Teacher Rec #2: 8-10/10
Precalc BC Teacher: I had a pretty good relationship with my teacher. We weren’t super close, but he could tell that I was a diligent student and worked well with others in class. He told me it was fun writing my rec? But I’m not sure what he meant by that.
Counselor Rec: don’t know rating. I wasn’t that close with my guidance counselor. I don’t have a high opinion of my guidance counselor, because she rarely gives me helpful advice, but I guess she must have pulled through.
Additional Rec:

Interview:
Engineering applicants don’t have an “interview” per se, but there was an opportunity to talk to an alumni.
She bought me coffee and we talked about Cornell mostly. She asked me some questions about why I wanted to go to Cornell ED, but most of the time it was me asking questions about Cornell, Ithaca, her experience there. She brought a book with pictures of Cornell, so that helped me find things to talk about. We talked for about an hour. Her husband and all 3 children went there which is pretty crazy. None of them were in Cornell Engineering, sadly.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major and College: Information Science, College of Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): MA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: public
Ethnicity: Chinese (don’t think I checked that box on the common app, but I did talk about it in my personal statement)
Gender: Female
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

I sent in a one page resume (it was so hard formatting it to be 1 pg. I made the font tiny. Decreasing page margins helps, too) but it didn’t have a much additional information not on the rest of my application.
While procrastinating writing essays, I made sure it was aesthetically pleasing. It probably didn’t make a difference.

Reflection

Strengths:
I think my letters of recommendation were quite strong. They probably carried me.
Being a female applying to college of engineering
I think a lot of my activities were stereotypical of Asian-Americans (robotics, violin), but I tried to make myself stand out from the crowd by addressing it in a different light in my Common App personal statement.
I also have some…uncommon… extracurriculars/activities, which I was pretty dedicated to. Call me a weeb all you want, but maybe anime club and japanese club helped me get into Cornell.
Fairly high GPA (based on other’s results, it seems like a high GPA is really important to Cornell)
Clear focus(es) related to major, as well as other activities to be continued in college (music, language)

Weaknesses:
Not many technical accomplishments or nationally recognized awards

Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:
See Strengths.

Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Haven’t heard from anywhere besides Cornell.

General Comments :

Hope this helps any future Cornell applicants, and can shed some light on Cornell’s admissions criteria.
Go Big Red!

1 Like
35

**Decision: Deferred **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1550 (one sitting) 770 math, 780 english
ACT (breakdown): didn’t take
SAT II: 780 math II, 760 biology
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): school doesn’t give unweighted, but 4.45 weighted
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 16/about 360
AP (place score in parenthesis): Biology (5), Lang (5), APUSH (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP Comp Sci Principles, AP Chem, AP Calc AB, AP Spanish, AP Lit, Honors Physics, Intern for the science department
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar, got book award from a college in Vermont, bronze medal on national spanish exam, two other things I can’t remember off the top of my head so they probably weren’t major

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
so my main stuff was theater which is kind of hard to describe all the various shows and whatnot i did but it was a lot throughout all of high school and then also for the past three years I’ve directed a play at my school for a competition and we moved on to semi finals every year which is cool cause leadership i guess!
tutoring like five kids junior year for bio and math
girls who code 11th+12th grade
choir throughout all four years of high school (section leader for two years)
dance 9th 10th and 11th grade
girl scouts 9th and 10th grade
Job/Work Experience: I literally work at a dairy queen i cant imagine that helping my application but hey i have to pay for college applications somehow so thats where i ended up haha
Volunteer/Community service: nhs and tri-m, I don’t have a lot of hours though probably around 50 in total
Summer Activities:
not really anything, ive gotten into multiple stem programs throughout high school for the summer but my dad has no money so i couldnt actually go to any of them
Essays (rating 1-10, details): okay so for the common app essay I wrote about my job and all the people I’ve met there and I thought it was pretty good so I guess 9/10??
supplement was a yikes cause I had too much to say about the school and too few words so idk like 6/10 it definitely hurt my application
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: AP Biology teacher 10/10 we’re really close so hopefully it was good
Teacher Rec #2: History teacher from 7th grade to 10th grade (he kept switching which classes he taught so it worked out well) 7??/10 he thought he had more time to write it than he did so it was pretty rushed but that’s a-okay it was probably still good
Counselor Rec: 9/10 okay so there’s this whole process you have to go through at my school to take 5 aps cause they think its too much for some reason so my counselor and I got to know each other pretty well through that so hopefully her rec was good
Additional Rec: didn’t submit one
Interview: didn’t have one :frowning:

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major and College: Biology at CALS (indicated molecular bio concentration in writing supp)
State (if domestic applicant): MA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: $125,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): first generation college student

Reflection

Strengths: sat and gpa?? i guess idk theyre kind of average
Weaknesses: EXTRACURRICULARS are so random and not biology related at all and also i had a recommendation letter from my theater teacher that sort of elaborated on all of them and my leadership roles in them but my guidance counselor didnt let me submit it, also my supplement was really very mediocre and sounded about as ramble-y as this whole post has been
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: CALS is all about fit for the school and i havent really shown interest for bio outside of classes at all, and also historically cornell has taken exactly one kid from my school each year for as long as weve had naviance to record that so i think they want to see who else from my school applies, and also im a mediocre candidate so theres that
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: nowhere so far, but i applied to UMASS Amherst, WPI, Northeastern, and Case Western early, and I’m applying regular to RPI, Rice, Johns Hopkins, and Brown (and getting into none of them probably)

General Comments : I was really sad that I didn’t get accepted and am a little bit stressed out because I have to watch all my friends commit to colleges and now I have to wait until April to find out where I want to go - BUT I’m optimistic for the future and am going to try my hardest to turn this deferral into an acceptance :slight_smile:

36

Decision: Deferred :frowning:

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 32
SAT II: N/A
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.6
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): Environmental Science, US Gov & Politics
Senior Year Course Load: AP US Gov, Physics H, Contemporary Literature, Precalculus, 3D Design, Band, Marching Band

Subjective: This isn’t everything b/c I don’t have time lol

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
National Speech and Debate Honor Society
Speech and Debate Club
-VP Honor Society
-Middle School Debate Tutor
Nationally Ranked Marching Band and Winter Percussion

Volunteer/Community service: Stanford Children’s Hospital Patient Ambassador
Summer Activities: Cornell Summer College
Essays (rating 1-10, details): All 10/10, tbh I spent too much time on them but they were super unique because they talked about my experiences in hospitals and why that has led me to wanting to become a healthcare interior designer and how Cornell is the only place I can receive this education
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 10/10, had for 2 years of math
Teacher Rec #2: 8/10, had for 3 years of English
Teacher Rec #3: 9/10, had for 1 year, APES teacher
Counselor Rec: 10/10, Vice Principal of school that I am super close with
Additional Rec: 10/10, two professors from Cornell that I had this summer
Interview: 8/10, she seemed to really like me and loved that I was the first person she had ever interviewed that was applying for her major

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Y
Intended Major and College: HumEc, Design & Environmental Analysis
State (if domestic applicant): CA
School Type: super competitive Bay Area public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: F
Income Bracket: Upper-mid
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): 3x Legacy (both parents & uncle)

Reflection

Strengths: ESSAYS, legacy, Cornell Summer College, LoR
Weaknesses: GRADES
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: GRADES
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Accepted to U of Arizona, haven’t applied anywhere else

General Comments :
Super devastated b/c I’m not doing so hot in math or physics b/c my teachers are terrible so there’s no way I’m getting in :frowning:

37

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1520
ACT (breakdown): n/a
SAT II: 750 Math 2
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.65
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): a 5, a 4, and a 3.
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: 4 APs, two honors, and a reg.
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):
None

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): football, tennis, orch. I do a lot with all of them tho and have a lot of stuff to go with them. also I build pcs.
Job/Work Experience: lifeguarding
Volunteer/Community service: teaching kids
Summer Activities: two service academy summer programs, two other programs, governor’s school.
Essays (rating 1-10, details): I gave it my best shot. 10/10 effort but I don’t know what they count it as. Just tried to write about myself.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: Math teacher.
Teacher Rec #2: History teacher.
Teacher Rec #3: Arts teacher.

It’s hard to write about recs because I can’t see them. I think they were good though so like 8/10 overall.

Counselor Rec: I do know my counselor pretty well so like maybe 8/10.
Additional Rec:
Interview:

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yeah, but it’s need-blind.
Intended Major and College: CALS
State (if domestic applicant): Not in-state.
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: High
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection

Strengths: Essays, ecs, and authenticity probably.
Weaknesses: gpa
Why you think you were accepted: I have no clue.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Pitt, UMass. Both with scholarship money.

38

[asize=4][acolor=#008000]Decision: Accepted [/color][/size]

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 27C (29E, 28S, 24R, 25M)
SAT II: N/A (applied CALS)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): N/A (4.3381 weighted; school doesn’t calculate unweighted correctly)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 2% (14/541)
AP (place score in parenthesis): N/A
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load:
AP Calc BC
AP EnviroSci
AP Psych
AP Macro/ AP Gov
AP English IV
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): several national art awards, dance awards, QB college prep scholar & NCM finalist

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): activism (LGBTQ+, animal rights, environment), HS drum major and librarian, biology & chemistry olympiad/ science UIL, dance team captain

Job/Work Experience: making snow cones (seasonal job every summer)
Volunteer/Community service: children’s STEAM museum & activism organizations
Summer Activities: research, leadership training, marching band rehearsals
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 10 for sure!!! I highlighted my essays so we

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: ap chem teacher — literally a second mother to me…she describe my personality in class and how my failures in school shaped my future (8/10)
Teacher Rec #2: ap english lang teacher — it was a very late recommendation but she is amazing with how she describes her students (8/10)
Counselor Rec: pretty basic I’m assuming (I have a pretty big class size, so not much room for personal connection) —> 5/10
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: N/A

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: well of course lol
Intended Major and College: environmental and sustainability studies @ CALS
State (if domestic applicant): TX
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: PUBLIC
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Gender: gender-fluid (physically…male)
Income Bracket: <$65,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM, first generation, association with QuestBridge

Reflection:

Strengths: essays, extracurriculars, awards & honors
Weaknesses: my test scores (extremely below average @ Cornell)
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: definitely my QuestBridge status (it strengthens my identity as a URM); my essays also brought out my love for environmental science and showcased my personality

Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: N/A

General Comments :

The college process (especially @ top 50 schools) is extremely random. Truth be told, this commonplace statement should be taken seriously: One “below average” factor will not deter admission. It is up to you to personalize your application around who YOU are and what YOU love. That’s all that you can really do.

39

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 34 (36 English and reading, 33 science, 30 math)
SAT II: 800 literature, 720 World History
Weighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.296
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP World History (5), AP US history (5), AP Lang (5), AP Stat (5), AP Chem (3), AP Latin (2-didn’t send)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP Calc AB, AP Physics 1, AP Econ (macro and micro), AP Gov, band, jazz band
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Marching band (section leader), Concert Band (All state and All District), Holocaust Transcription Program (president)
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: part of two different service based clubs in high school and three honor societies with service requirements
Summer Activities: Cornell Summer College (got an A in the class I took and also got a recommendation from my professor), three week band camp in August
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common app: 9-I wrote mine about the bachelor and how I watch that as a feminist. I think it showcased my personality and was memorable.
Cornell Specific: 8-I made it very specific to Cornell and it really showed how much I love Cornell.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

1 APUSH Teacher: 6-a good writer and I did well in the class but probably didn’t bring anything particularly notable to my application

2 AP Stat teacher: 6-same as above

Counselor Rec: 5-don’t know my counselor very well so it probably wasn’t that personal but I was able to talk to her about a B in sophomore year that she explained in my rec

3 Band Teacher : 9-this was my band teacher who has known me for 4 years. I’m very involved and have many leadership positions and I think his rec was the most likely to stand out

4 Cornell professor: 9.5-I took a class in the summer before senior year through Cornell summer college and asked my professor for a recommendation. I stood out in this class and got an A. I think this was super helpful in my decision

Interview: Went well, was only a phone interview because of the ED deadlines but we connected and I think I was able to show how much I love Cornell

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major and College: Government, arts and sciences
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: high
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Legacy (2 grandparents)

Reflection

Strengths: Strong essays and lots of proof that I love Cornell
Weaknesses: Most recommendations were probably average and I had a B from sophomore year
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I think the Summer College grade and the recommendation from a Cornell professor were the two biggest factors in my acceptance.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: had to withdraw all my others

General Comments : I highly recommend summer college if you think Cornell is your top choice.

40

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1500, Math: 750 Reading: 750
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: Math II: 800 Chem: 780 Math I: 740
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.21/4
Weighted GPA: 5.044/5
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 5/313
AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH: 5, Stats: 5, Bio: 5, Chem: 5, Gov: 5, Physics I: 5, Lang: 5, Calc AB: 5, Physics C Mechanics: 5, Comp Sci Principles: 5
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: APES, Honors Human Anatomy and Physiology, AP Calc BC, AP Art History, AP Spanish Lang, AP Lit, AP Studio Art
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AMC Elite 8 Bracket, AP National Scholar, AP Scholar with Distinction, AP Scholar

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Editor-in-Chief of school newspaper; Co-President, founder of Environmental Club, 4-year varsity swimmer; co-founder, and officer of Animal Protection Club; NHS, NAHS, NSHS
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service/Summer Activities: medical volunteer in public hospital in Uganda, Ecuador; political campaign volunteer; peer tutor, tutor at homeless shelter; write for local newspaper
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App Essay: 10/10; Arts and Sciences supplemental: 10/10 I like what I wrote
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): Don’t know

Teacher Rec #1: Physics teacher, good
Teacher Rec #2: English teacher, good
Counselor Rec: Really nice lady, great
Additional Rec: Club adviser and APES teacher, don’t know
Interview: Great

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Will do
Intended Major: Biology
State (if domestic applicant): Ohio
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian/Caucasian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: Lower middle class
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection

Strengths: Test scores, resume, essays
Weaknesses: ethnicity, major
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Test scores, resume, essays
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Didn’t apply anywhere else

General Comments: Do what makes you happy, not an admissions officer.