Cornell ED Class of 2024 Results

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
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Hey guys, the ED notification date for class of 2024 is coming up on December 12th, and I wanted to create the annual Cornell ED Class of X Results thread before actual results came out, so we could post prospectively and without bias after knowing the decision. Nonetheless, best of luck to everybody applying!

Replace the “[a” below with “[” .

[aB][asize=4][acolor=#008000]Decision: Accepted [/color][/size]**
[aB][asize=4][acolor=#FFA500]Decision: Deferred [/color][/size]**
[aB][asize=4][acolor=#FF0000]Decision: Rejected [/color][/size]**

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown):
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II:
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load:
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service:
Summer Activities:
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1:
Teacher Rec #2:
Counselor Rec:
Additional Rec:
Interview:

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?:
Intended Major and College:
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant):
School Type:
Ethnicity:
Gender:
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflection

Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:

General Comments :

2

**Decision: Accepted ILR **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1530 (750 Reading and 780 Math)
ACT (breakdown): didn’t take
SAT II: Math II 650, Literature 640 (Only took once and didn’t send either)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 10% out of 170 (school does not give ranks)
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Physics I, AP Physics II, AP English (didn’t take any tests)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Mock Trial; AP Calculus; AP Psychology; Science, Technology, Society; AP Programming; Honors Law and Economics; Honors Accounting
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Commended Scholar, some local awards for speaking and Mock Trial competitions. I also got tenth place at the state competition for debate my sophomore year.

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Mock Trial competition team for 3 years (lead attorney for 2), Public Forum Debate for 4 years, Red Cross Club for 2 years, National Honor Society for 2 years, Interact Club for 2 years, Dance for 8 years

Job/Work Experience: I’ve in customer service at Best Buy for over a year now; first and only job.

Volunteer/Community service: I was part of the International Business Internship Program which is difficult to explain if you aren’t in it, but we raised over $1,000 for victims of sexual assault. I’ve also done various volunteering through NHS and Interact Club including tutoring, and helping at miscellaneous school and community events.

Summer Activities: I went to the Law and Trial Summit and Internship for one week the summer before my junior year. We worked with a D.C. attorney and did legal research and wrote a case brief for a gender discrimination case against the National Park Service. The case is still in process, but if it goes to trial, my group will be credited with finding one of the reference cases that the attorney will be using. I also competed at the national competition for public forum debate in Florida the same summer, we didn’t do too well though.

Essays (rating 1-10, details):

CommonApp: pretty standard, I wrote about moving across the country when I was really young and how it taught me to embrace my fear and how I’ve had some amazing experiences because I haven’t been afraid to try. I feel like I should have written about Mock Trial or something else, but so much of my application is about it that I wanted to add another dimension and not seem like Mock Trial is the only thing in my life.

Why ILR: I wrote like 5 different versions of this one and probably wouldn’t have been happy no matter how long I spent on it. I think I made it clear that I understand what ILR is, but I struggled to fit in everything I wanted to and make it clear why the school was right for me. I tried to talk about like four separate things, how they relate to ILR, and why I believe I would like to pursue a career connected to ILR, but I worry it could have been too jumbled and not focused enough.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: a solid 9/10; she’s been my Mock Trial teacher and coach for three years and seen my leadership role on the team as well as everything I’ve done in and outside of the class to advance the team (writing grants for field trips, editing people’s material on my own time, etc.)
Teacher Rec #2: ehhhh probably like a 6 or 7, I’ve had her for class for two years now and I’ve worked really hard in her class and she really likes me, but there wasn’t anything extraordinary for her to write about. I think she definitely attested to my character and added maybe a personality to my application, but I don’t think it was spectacular.

Counselor Rec: not great at all, our counselors never talk to the students, so every letter of rec ends up being a generic summary of your activities and transcript.
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: I think it went well, she said I made it clear I understand what ILR is and that the school is the perfect match for me. I also elaborated on my leadership role in Mock Trial and what specifically my responsibilities are since it was difficult to portray in the application.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major and College: ILR
State (if domestic applicant): Pennsylvania

Country (if international applicant):
School Type: public

Ethnicity: white
Gender: female

Income Bracket: $38,700 - $82,500
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First generation college student

Reflection

Strengths: All of my extracurriculars are in some way connected to ILR and show that I have interest in the topics in the school. My SAT and GPA score are high, and I’ve taken almost every AP class my school offers and did well in them.

Weaknesses: I had a lot of trouble fitting everything I’ve done into my “why ILR essay,” so I think that could have been weak as I tried to cram a lot of stuff in there. I also didn’t take any of the AP tests, and I didn’t submit my SAT II scores or retake them because I wanted to improve my regular SAT score.

Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I think I am just a good fit for the school and that’s evident in my resume and whatnot.

Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Haven’t heard back from anywhere yet

General Comments :

I wrote this before the results came out to prevent bias

Good luck to everyone who applied!!

1 Like
3

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1510 (M: 800 R: 710) essay: 19
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II: French reading 700 (big oof ;-:wink:
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): school’s grading system is different; course load is pretty rigorous and my grades are ok, but not stellar.
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5: Psychology, Music Theory, Chinese, Human Geography 4: Micro, Macro, Stats (Self-studied everything except for HG & Stats)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: Law 12, AP Chem, AP Calc BC, AP Lang, AP French, Chem 12, Teaching Assistant for French classes
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): nothing super big…. associate’s diploma in flute, level 10 in piano, AP National Scholar (Canada), top 25% for math competitions, some school awards and regional music awards and scholarships

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Founder of the school uniform project to recycle uniforms and donate them to those in need (3 yrs)
Co-founder and president of school business club that raises fund for the uniform project and other charities (2 yrs)
Music: play flute in regional orchestra (4 yrs)
Vice president in a youth-run NGO that helps the local homeless (1 yr)
School department leadership positions for music and languages: help organize events and promote the respective subjects (1 yr each)
MUN: staff and delegate for multiple conferences (4 yrs)
Leadership position on a team that organizes talks to inspire youth (3 yrs)

Job/Work Experience: receptionist at a hotel (still working there part-time), internship at an NGO (2 months), and flute instructor (2 yrs)

Volunteer/Community service: volunteer at the NGO I interned for and at school (student ambassador, student receptionist)
Summer Activities: worked, volunteered, and prepared for music exams
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
CA: talked about music and exemplify how its values shape my characteristics using my internship at NGO as an example.
Supplement: talked about my love for helping others through my leadership positions and my job at hotel and how SHA can help me delve deeper into the hospitality field.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Didn’t read any letters, so I am not too sure…
Teacher Rec #1: AP Chem teacher, love her
Teacher Rec #2: AP French teacher, helped me succeed in school’s French program, super grateful for her
Counselor Rec: she is super great, worked with her on one of my extracurricular activity
Additional Rec: Music teacher, she is awesome and talked about my involvement in the music program at my school
Interview: it went well; it was with a current student who was super, super nice :slight_smile:

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: no
Intended Major and College: SHA
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): Canada
School Type: small private school, pretty competitive
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: F
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none lol

Reflection

Strengths: maybe EC’s? Used essays to tie everything together and demonstrated my love for music and helping others – two of my biggest passions
Weaknesses: grades and SAT, started working at a hotel pretty late
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: EC’s and demonstrated how SHA can help me develop essential skills to serve more people using my abilities, however, grades and SAT are not that good and I don’t have a lot of experience working in the hospitality industry.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:

General Comments : Good luck to everyone! Whatever the outcome is, everyone will go to wherever they belong and will be happy at any uni!

4

Decision: Accepted
Decision: Deferred
Decision: Rejected MechE

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown):
ACT (breakdown): 34 composite (35,35,35,29) sent 2nd score with 33 for the 29
SAT II: 800 Math II 730 Physics
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.72 uw 4.28 W
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): N/A
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load:
Multivariable calc, AP Calc BC, AP Lang, AP Bio, AP compsci, Honors Innovation (engineering)

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:
YSEA Science fair Award
AIAA award 2x
California Engineers Scholarship
School Engineering award (Best in HS)
4000$ Innovatuion and leadership Grant (Used for Patenting)

more listed in additional comments

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Won’t discuss, identity, but Strong

Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: N/A
Summer Activities: N/A
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
8, wont share
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 9, Research advisor and club sponsor for 4 years
Teacher Rec #2: 7, best student amoung all taught that year
Counselor Rec: 10, former Cornell recruiter
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: N/A

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: N/A
Intended Major and College: COE MechE
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private top 3 city
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: N/A
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): N/A

Reflection
Really weird process. I don’t understand.

Strengths:
Weaknesses: Grades? (rough private though)
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I dont know
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: None

General Comments : Good luck to everyone, congrats to those who got in

5

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

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1520 (only one take – 800 Math 720 R+W, 18 Essay 6/6/6)
ACT (breakdown): –
SAT II: 730 Math II (reported), 650 Chemistry (not reported)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): ~3.79, took additional classes to buffer, 4.44 (WGPA out of the 5.0)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): – School does not Rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 Chinese, 5 Psych, 4 Gov, 3 Lang, 2 BC, 2 Chem (only reported first four)
IB (place score in parenthesis): no IB offered at school
Senior Year Course Load: Newspaper, AP Biology, Anatomy, HEng 12 (dropped from Lit), Intro to Stat (dropped from MV Calc)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): N/A

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Division I Varsity Tennis (captain - 3 years), Newspaper + Yearbook (Business Manager $120k+), Math Team (Captain - 4 years), Science bowl
I added hobbies as a part of this – writing fanfic (yeah i put this down- generated over 200k+ views, piano and violin, and painting; attached an art portfolio)
Job/Work Experience: did SHIP at NIST, researched and presented to SigmaLabs (company) Team on software and manufacturing evaluations, FOUNDED my own art studio and writing workshop to voluntarily tutor and teach kids
Volunteer/Community service: Student County Board, Club that goes around the county to teach at low-income schools
Summer Activities:
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8 for CommonApp, will work to improve on it. My supp was done last minute 6
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): eh

Teacher Rec #1: Lang Teacher, loved me - 8
Teacher Rec #2: Had to write my own for my psych teacher - 7
Counselor Rec: generic rec that she gave everybody - 7
Additional Rec: had to write my own for my mentor - 7
Interview: went great, over an hour and a half but it doesn’t factor in much as it’s alumni - 10. i’m great at talking w people so i guess this was a good start to my future interviews

Other- Peer Rec 10

Applied for Financial Aid?: ya
Intended Major and College: Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): MD
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public; ultra-competitive
Ethnicity: Chinese-- East Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: 80-90k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflection

Strengths: founded my own art classes, etc-- unique application in the extracurriculars
Weaknesses: DOWNWARD TREND FOR MY GRADES! and the fact i’m chinese.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: gradez
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: idk this was my first one

General Comments : should’ve spent more time on this app tbh, could’ve gotten in if i tried a bit harder. kinda hurt because i let myself down, but i do have sibling legacy at harvard so i guess this opens up more doors of opportunity to me! congrats to everyone else who got in though! great things await you :slight_smile:

1 Like
6

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1510 (770 Math, 740 R&W)

ACT (breakdown): 34 (Don’t remember specifics, but I got rounded up from a 33.5)

SAT II: Chemistry, Math II, Physics - 750

Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.15 (ik its not supposed to be over 4 but my school’s weird, I also got like 2 B+s as final grades for an AP and CP class)

Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): I think I’m in the running for salutatorian, but in in the top 10% of a class of 168

AP (place score in parenthesis): Physics C: Mechanics, Chemistry, Calc AB, Computer Science Principles (5 for these), and Computer Science A (4)

IB (place score in parenthesis): –

Senior Year Course Load: AP Bio, APush, AP Spanish, AP English, AP Statistics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

National Hispanic Scholar
2nd for states in TSA, qualified for nationals
AP Scholar w/ Distinction
Rotary Student of the Month

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Marching Band (Brass Captain)
Kean Cancer and Computer Science Research
Varsity Tennis 3 years (Most likely senior captain but didn’t include in app.)

Job/Work Experience:

Wrote about working in my apartment but not being paid because the landlord allowed our family to live here for free as long as we did the chores around the building.

Volunteer/Community service:
Helping Middle School Band, Playing taps at Memorial services, etc.

Summer Activities:
Kean GSSRP Computational Mathematics (soph - junior) - basically did a research project for 6 weeks.
NYU Cali (junr - senr) - 1 week long camp for students to understand the college admissions process.

Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App: 9 - felt really good about it, I wrote about my heritage and focused on how I adopted those characteristics in my own life, so kinda cliche.
Specific Cornell Essay: 7 - It felt really generic, but I had teachers look it over and they said it was ok, ended up making lots of last minute changes in punctuation the day I submitted it, also felt kind of disorderly tbh

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
AP Chem teacher 1 - 9 - read it, it praised me a lot and he is known for getting students into the ivy league. It was very generic tho since it talked only of my achievements and not really my character.
Honors Physics teacher - 8 - knows me well, told me he focused on my character in the classroom and I felt like a leader when I had him.
AP Calc teacher - 7 - was also my tennis coach and she knew my ambitions pretty well. Just didn’t have much communication with her regarding my essay since she left this year for pregnancy.
Guidance counselor - 8 - knows me well, I think she wrote about how I advanced in my life and took advantage of the opportunities given to me by the school, a theme present in my common app essay.

Interview: lasted an hour, cried a bit at the end. It was a very weird interview, just a convo between 2 people and not really super focused on why Cornell. He did ask me what I would want to do there though, and I didn’t know if they had a marching band or not so I asked him if they did. I realize now that showed I didn’t do my research, but either way I ended up fine.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Y e s
Intended Major and College: Chemistry and Chemical Biology, CAS
State (if domestic applicant): NJ
Country (if international applicant): US
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Hispanic (Peruvian)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: ~90,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):
First Gen, hispanic, wrote of my parents struggles as well in my common app essay

Reflection

Strengths: My test scores, and I feel like my background could have played a role.
Weaknesses: Essays, specifically my why Cornell Essay. My Interview could have also gone better.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I think I brought diversity to the campus, and wrote about how I would take advantage of the various research opportunities found at Cornell.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted at NJIT.

General Comments : Can’t believe I’m writing one of these now, I remember when I’d read this till 3am waiting for today. Ik tons of others say this too but once ur on the other side it’s a pretty nice feeling :slight_smile:

7

**Decision: Deferred **

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 1540

Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9

IB (place score in parenthesis): 43

Senior Year Course Load: IBDP HL Art, Math, Lang A lit / SL Physics, Econs, Eng l&l

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Language academic award x2; 3 gold prizes in international art competitions (the third gold earning me the “representative” title); 3 of my pieces were chosen for an exhibition outside of school; certificate of commendation for mathematics; certificate of commendation for science; certificate of commendation for English

Subjective (for ECs and volunteers I added extra in my resume because common app only allows 10):

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): President of school’s design club; Head of layout for school’s economics & politics magazine; Producer of school’s cultural dance show; yearbook layout; art & tech club; senior ambassador; school’s arts platform; taekwondo

Job/Work Experience: N/A

Volunteer/Community service: volunteered every week at a national hospital (both psychiatric ward & children’s ward) for a year; a weeklong volunteer trip overseas (Philippines) to help disabled children; school’s peer support program; fundraised for 2 years for sex trafficking victims

Summer Activities: N/A

Essays (rating 1-10, details): I spent so goddamn long on my essays rewriting and fixing drafts, and got really good feedback from my counseller, english teacher, and alumnis, so I would think at least 9/10 but then again it differs for whoever reads it

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 10/10 from my art teacher, we had a really long chat on what she could write about and when she allowed me to briefly read it, it had all the information on my art prizes, ECs, exhibitions, and my conceptual thinking and creative process

Teacher Rec #2: 9/10 from my English teacher, she told me that she had never written a better recommendation for any of her students and she wrote about my teamwork with my classmates, how I helped others, how diligent I was, what I did for the community, etc

Counselor Rec: not sure

Additional Rec: 7/10 from my Economics teacher, I was a straight A student in his class and was also head of layout for the school’s economics magazine; (supposedly) he always talked about me to his other students, but I wasn’t as close to him as my other teachers

Interview: took 2 interviews, the on-campus art interview and the alumni interview; both went pretty well imo, and the prof from the art interview said my pieces were impressive; alumni interview was very Cornell based and I asked a lot of questions about the school

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major and College: Fine arts, AAP
State (if domestic applicant): International
Country (if international applicant): Singapore
School Type: International
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: $200k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): N/A, but my aunt attended the exact major I was applying to in Cornell, so I mentioned her in both my interviews

Reflection

Strengths:
Weaknesses: not doing a sport, and my grades in G9 were pretty bad (due to a medical condition, which was explained), not having SAT subject tests (is this needed though, for an art degree??)
Why you think you were deferred: maybe it was my portfolio? maybe it was my essays? who knows
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: N/A

General Comments : kinda bummed, worried because I really want to go to this school but my grades dropped a little since the last report :frowning:

8

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1480 (790 Math, 690 R &W) (hope that gives some people hope)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: 720 Chemistry
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0 (4.5 W)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top Decile
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Global History, AP US History, AP Computer Science Principles, AP Computer Science A, AP Physics 1 (5’s on these), AP Lang (4)

Senior Year Course Load: 3 AP Courses (AP Lit, AP Chemistry, AP Calculus A/B)

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): RPI Medal, Xerox Award for Innovation from University of Rochester, New York State Academic Excellence Scholarship

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
-First Robotics (Captain and Lead Programmer)

  • A Capella Club (Secretary)
    -Ensemble in the Musicals
    -Students Against Destructive Decisions Club (Secretary)
    -Took Mandarin from 3rd-9th Grade, receiving a diploma
    -Class Treasurer 10th-12th Grade
    -Debate Club (Secretary)
    -Selected to Navy and NSA Sponsored Camp for Cyber Security
    -JV/Varsity Basketball - SG (key bench player)
    -Supporting Lead in One-Act Plays

Job/Work Experience: Working At My Town Library as a Page, worked at Dunkin Donuts Previously

Volunteer/Community service:
Tutoring and STEM programs

Summer Activities:
Pace University Gen Cyber Camp

Essays (rating 1-10, details): I thought my common app was about a 7, but I really wanted to switch topics after I submitted, because I wrote about sports injuries. It was a solid essay, I just wished I wrote about my experience teaching a Mandarin song in chorus class. I thought my supplement was a 9 because I did a lot of research about the program and talked about how I want to start a cybersecurity firm and bring STEM programs across America.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 9 because it was my computer science teacher and I knew him for 7 years and he has been supportive of me in robotics, programming etc.

Teacher Rec #2: 8 because it was my chemistry teacher. I had her twice in high school and she told me she said I was one of the best students she has ever had.

Counselor Rec: 10 because he said that I was the best student who ever attended my school over its history.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major and College: College of Engineering (Computer Science)
State (if domestic applicant): New York
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female

Reflection

Strengths: extracurriculars, Cornell Supplement, and letters of rec
Weaknesses: SAT score, lack of AP courses, Common App essay
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:

I think I was accepted because Cornell looks at more than just grades, and I think I did a wide variety of extraciriculars and was had leadership positions in so many things. Also, I got a 790 on the math section and I know for engineering that the math is weighted more during decisions. Also, I wrote a very thorough essay for the supplement about cybersecurity and globalization.

Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted to Binghamton and Siena

9

Decision: Rejected

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1500 (800 Math, 700 R &W)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: 800 math2, 800 Chinese
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.87
Weighted GPA (out of 5.0): 4.30
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): NA
AP (place score in parenthesis):
Calc AB (5)
Physics C ME (5)
Chinese with listening (5)
Environmental Science (4)
Physics 1 (4)

Physics C E
Micro Econ
Macro Econ
Calc BC
Stats

Senior Year Course Load: 3 AP Courses (AP Calc BC, AP Physics C, AP Physics C)

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with distinction, President volunteer gold award, California drawing competition

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
-Culture Connection (Secretary)

  • Silver Lining (Co-funder)
    -Ted X (Business community)
    -Model UN (Delegate)
    -YCS Volunteer
    -Water for Nepal
    -Painting
    -SAT Tutoring
    -JV/Varsity Badminton for 2 years

Job/Work Experience: NA

Summer Activities:
-COSMOS summer program

Essays (rating 1-10, details): 7-8 (at least that’s what my editor told me. She likes my essay a lot lol)

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 7 Math department manager, I think he likes me.

Teacher Rec #2: 6 CS teacher, I got a B at APCS so…

Counselor Rec: 10 She likes me and says I have done a great job.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major and College: CALS (Statistics)
State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant): China citizen, US green card
School Type: Public (top 1 in California)
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female

Reflection

Strengths: extracurriculars, Cornell Supplement
Weaknesses: Rec letter
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:

Almost everyone I know who applied to CALS got immediately rejected, some even with 1550+ sat, so I guess I wasn’t that qualified lol

Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: waiting for my EA

10

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): DID NOT SUBMIT but 1470 (330r, 340w, 800m)

ACT (breakdown): 34 (35e, 34m, 35r, 32s) AND 33 (35e, 35m, 30r, 32s)

SAT II: 760 Math II, 740 Chemistry

Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.92

Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A

AP (place score in parenthesis):

AP Calculus BC and AB Subscore (5, 5), AP Chemistry (5), AP U.S History (5)

IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A

Senior Year Course Load:
AP Chinese Lang & Cult, Honors Shakespeare, AP Stats, AP Psych, AP Physics C Mech

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
President of Asian Student Organization (leadership)
President of Stock Investing Club (leadership)
Member/contributor to karate group and am a black belt (kind of leadership?)
Volunteer at an Academic Student Center
Worked at a math tutoring company
On city swim team (leadership kind of?) and played piano through Carnegie Hall’s achievement program
Participated in Math and Science teams

Job/Work Experience: Worked at a major math tutoring company

Volunteer/Community service: Community service at a academic student center

Summer Activities: Community service at a academic student center, job

Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common app: 8/10, Supplemental: 9.5/10. Common app was good but not super amazing, supplemental was ‘stunning’ according to an AP Lang Teacher.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: Calc BC Teacher (8/10)
Teacher Rec #2: AP Chem teacher (10/10)
Counselor Rec: (9/10)
Additional Rec: None
Interview: (9.5/10 out of 10)

Additional comments: Was very close to Chem teacher and counselor and ran a club with chem teacher.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major and College: Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): MA
School Type: top tier public school
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 200,000k+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

   Best possible interview I could've given, top tier GPA, extremely rigorous courseload in math and science and engineering, skipped grade of math

Reflection

Strengths: GPA, Interview, Essay
Weaknesses: Extracurriculars, no internships, no additional recc letter
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted b/c of strengths listed
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Not sure yet!

General Comments :

Write those essays like you mean it! I spent 80 hours on the Cornell Supplement alone perfecting it to near perfection (I’d like to say). I wish I spent more time on my common app to make it even better! Start early!

1 Like
11

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1480 (790 math 680 ERW and a 20 / 24 on essay)
ACT (breakdown): didn’t submit but I got a 32
SAT II:
800 on SAT II Chemistry
800 on SAT II Mathematics
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.81
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH (4) AP Euro (4) AP CSP (4) AP Chem (5) AP Calc AB (5) AP CSA (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: normal English, TA, normal econ (next sem), regular art class, AP Gov (not comparative), AP Stats, and AP Physics 2 (gonna self-study AP calc BC test)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.):
Platinum League for Cyberpatriot
AP Scholar with distinction
Honors roll all four years

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Tutoring for school + kumon-like center, Cyberpatriot, Baycyber, Chess Club (co-president), Cricket club
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: Tutoring (many hours for 4 years)
Summer Activities: Summer classes
Essays (rating 1-10, details): I would give it a 9 as it was really weird. It was about gaming and usually, you don’t do an essay on gaming. However, in my case, it was personalized to my life story and it actually worked, which I think really enhanced my application.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): Don’t know. They are confidential. They are probably good tho.

Teacher Rec #1: AP Chemistry teacher
Teacher Rec #2: AP Computer Science Principles teacher
Counselor Rec: It’s prob pretty average.
Additional Rec: None
Interview: None

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major and College: College of Engineering, Chemical Engineer
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant): United States
School Type: Public High School
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Poor (less than 30k)
Hooks (URM, first-generation college, etc.): first-generation college

Reflection

Strengths: essays were p good and unique. I did what ppl said not to do but it worked out in the end! AP scores + SAT Subject tests really enhanced my background for chemistry also. My EC list wasn’t that bad also, but it wasn’t that good either.
Weaknesses: SAT score, GPA, and awards
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I think I was accepted due to my very unique essay, AND the fact that I was born in New Zealand and raised in the United States as an Asian American. I feel like our low-income situation also helped.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: I was accepted into my safety for chemical engineering at the University of Minnesota: Twin Cities.

General Comments: Tip: If you want to write a cliche essay or an essay on a topic that is weird then go for it. Remember the essay is to show you, and if you truly write a unique essay, you can break the cliche every time, regardless of the topic.

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12

Decision: [asize=4]Decision: Accepted [/size]

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown):
ACT (breakdown): 33 (33 E; 32 M; 34 R; 34 S)
SAT II: Math level 2: 750 /Spanish: 730
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.927
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 96th percentile/ Top 4% of my class
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Calc AB & AP Psych (4)/ AP Chem (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis): IB Chem SL, IB Bio SL, IB History HL, IB Spanish HL, IB English HL, IB Calculus SL, IB T.O.K.
Senior Year Course Load: AP Gov, AP Calc BC, IB Calc, IB History, IB TOK, IB Spanish, IB Bio, IB Chem, IB English Lang & Lit
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Critics Choice for theatre at districts and state, Principals Honor Roll, Varsity Athletic Award, National Honor Thespian (6-star thespian), Top 10% GPA, AP Scholar with Honor

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
National Thespian Honor Society (Secretary)
Class of 2020 Board (Secretary)
Badminton (Captain)
Swim Team (Varsity swimmer)
National Math Honor Society (Tutor)
IB Mentorship (Mentor to IB students)
Science Honor Society
SECME
The League Against Cancer

Job/Work Experience:
I was an assistant for Registered Behavior Technicians and wrote their weekly notes for special needs children. Furthermore, I needed to translate to english what some of the technicians needed help understanding. This was a hands on experience with the psychological subject area.

Volunteer/Community service:
Volunteer at Miami Animal Rescue: We rescued animals from dangerous situations and provided immediate medical attention and shelter (This shelter won “Most dogs rescued Miami-Dade Animal Service”)

Summer Activities:
Camp Shriver Counselor: Worked with a group of 8-15 young adults with intellectual disabilities and taught them the experience of participating in a social and sports camp.

Essays (rating 1-10, details):
CA:
Talked about how I’ve improved in theatre from forgetting monologues in middle school to getting a critics choice and included how theatre has gotten me to expand my horizons and delve into new activities and become an inquisitive person overall.

Supplement:
Talked about my love for biology and how it’s helped me understand human behavior and become the superhero I’ve dreamt of being since I was a kid (Sounds rly messy but i organized it rly well so the story is depicted well)

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: 10/10. My IB Chem teacher gave it to me and she’s written essays that have gotten A LOT of people into ivies, love that woman.
Teacher Rec #2: 8.7/10. AP Calc teacher, I was his student in his second year teaching and he’s seen me grow in math a lot
Counselor Rec: 9.6/10. She sat me down and asked me a lot of questions about who i am and what I like to do, so i think her letter got my personality through really well.
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: N/A

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: YES
Intended Major and College: Biological Sciences @ Arts and Sciences
State (if domestic applicant): Florida
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public school, but we have IB so it’s pretty competitive
Ethnicity: Hispanic/Cuban
Gender: M
Income Bracket: $100k- $110k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Technically, I’m a first generation? My parents went to university in Cuba and I put it down but since it was in another coutry, many colleges don’t recognize it as legit but I’m not sure ab Cornell

Reflection

Strengths: My essays and recommendations were definitely very strong. My EC’s were pretty good too. My ACT was in their range. My GPA was rly high too. High in my class rank. Took IB classes
Weaknesses: Not much work experience. Could have been more significant EC’s. Not a lot of good awards. My resume was pretty weak ngl, just a repeat of my activities section lol
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: My essays and recs were probably what showed them a lot about who I am and what I’m like. I also think that since I’m hispanic, affirmative action was definitely a factor lol
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:

General Comments : Honestly, do not stress that much over this. You will get in where you’re meant to be. No matter what path you take, as long as you put in the effort, you will do amazing things in life! :slight_smile: Good luck to anyone in the application process I really hope everything goes well for you

13

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): never taken
ACT (breakdown): 35C(36E, 32M, 34R, 36S)
SAT II: never taken
Weighted GPA (out of 5.0): 4.44 (school does not do weighted)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 59/1383
AP (place score in parenthesis): HGAP (5), CSP (4), WHAP (4), SpLang (5), EngLang (5), USH (5), Psych (5), CSA (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: (all AP) Bio, Gov, Macro, BC Calc, EngLit, SpanishLit
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
-Psych Club (VP)
-Lots of tutoring: job, volunteer private
-Guitar with performances
-Spanish-related volunteering and competitions
-Other volunteering/community service
-Top 500 in Overwatch (yes, i actually included this)
Job/Work Experience: work at tutoring center
Volunteer/Community service: primarily focused on tutoring & helping kids struggling in school and/or with learning difficulties
Summer Activities: nothing of note, mostly just working
Essays (rating 1-10, details): I’d say 8 but it was a little risky. My common app is hard to judge because I’d say its pretty… strange. Two verified AOs on reddit read it, one called it “polarizing” and the other thoroughly enjoyed it. Without giving up too many specifics, it was about dreams (the literal sleeping type).
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): DIDN’T READ, so going based off of how well they know me, vague information they gave me in regards to what they focused on/their confidence/overall thoughts, & most importantly: their track record of fantastic acceptances in prior years

Teacher Rec #1: AP Psych teacher (9, probably… incredible teacher and my club sponsor)
Teacher Rec #2: AP SpanishLang (9, probably… also amazing and heavily influenced my interests in Spanish & language learning)
Teacher Rec #3: AP EnglishLang (9, probably… knows I’m a strong writer and I did a lot of really cool projects in class)
Counselor Rec: 4; not b/c there’d be anything negative, I just go to a massive school and she just started this year
Interview: not really an interview, just had the informational meeting. Went well, but I don’t think it was super important.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major and College: Human Development in Human Ecology
State (if domestic applicant): TX
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: <100k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflection

Strengths: I know they are the most subjective part, but I’m extremely confident that my LoRs and essays played a big role. They kinda tied all of my interests together in a really nice way (I think).
Weaknesses: IMO, my ECs are pretty lackluster. They aren’t unique or flashy… just stuff I enjoy doing. Also, no subject tests and a relatively lower math subsection.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Again, my LoRs and essays showed that at least my lackluster ECs were stuff that I truly enjoyed and was passionate about and I think they really did a good job of highlighting all of my unique interests!

General Comments : I know this is so cliche, but like… you really DON’T need to do anything super abnormal or impressive like doing cancer research or holding regional/state leadership positions or winning national awards. I really think my passions for language and helping others came across as super genuine b/c I didn’t focus my time on doing stuff I wasn’t actually interested in & my essays probably reinforced that. I really hope this gives some hope to future applicants—I know I spent a lot of time reading and stressing about my decision on these threads!

1 Like
14

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 740 English 800 Math Superscored
ACT (breakdown): 32 composite (did not send)
SAT II: Math 2, Chemistry 800
Weighted GPA (out of 100): 102.17
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2/1063 (goes to a large public school and most kids don’t try hard)
AP (place score in parenthesis): Chemistry, English Language & Composition, Statistics, US History, World History (5 on all)
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP biology, AP calc bc, AP microeconomics, regular English
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): local math team competition awards, school honor roll. (Nothing really fancy tbh)

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): NYDKC Division 8 Editor, school KC treasurer, Board positions in 3 other clubs, national honors society board position
Job/Work Experience: SYEP summer internship during junior year summer
Volunteer/Community service: Teaching Assistant at a prep place, earned around 130 hours
Summer Activities: Volunteer and SYEP
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Personal statement: 8.5 worked really hard on it and people said it was touching and real.
Supplement: 9 showed it to multiple friends who are currently at Cornell and said it was really cute and that I demonstrate my knowledge about Cornell as well as my passion
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

AP Stat: 10/10 it was rly good, she’s my favorite teacher and even though I don’t have classes with her this year I still go talk to her
AP Chem: 8.5/10 doesn’t really know me in terms of personality but I think she was able to write about my academic capability
Chem: 9.5/10 had her sophomore year but she saw my growth and my potential throughout junior year and I would always talk to her if I had any issue with school, knows me like a friend
Counselor: 5/10 barely knows me, we had a conflict in the past because of my schedule issues. But I don’t think he hates me it’s just he doesn’t know me that well compared to my teachers.
Interview: wonderful, it was an informal meeting and my interviewer was really sweet. She told me all about her college life experience and I asked a bunch of questions, didn’t really feel like an interview to me tho

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major and College: chemistry and chemical biology CAS
State (if domestic applicant): NY
Country (if international applicant): US
School Type: large large public (~4500 students)
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: male
Income Bracket: n/a
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): first generation

Reflection

Strengths: def recommendations and essays
Weaknesses: to me my extracurriculars are pretty solid but I never thought they’re ivy type of good activities
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: none, ea to Michigan and northeastern but now I gotta withdraw them all lol

General Comments : I really thought my extracurriculars weren’t good enough compared to all the national math champions and state swim team captains but THAT RLY DID NOT MATTER. Do what you’re passionate about and be consistent with what with do. Also really work on essays because atop of all the standardized scores they’re the ones that truly reflect who you are as a person instead of just numbers. Tell them what you’re passionate about and show that you’re really interested in going there.

1 Like
15

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1540 (770 Eng, 770 Math, 6/6/7 Essay)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: 750 Bio-M, 730 Spanish, 670 Math I
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9 (4.2 weighted)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 2/~619
AP (place score in parenthesis): Bio (4), World (5), Chem (3), Physics I (3), Calc AB (5), Spanish Lang (5), Lang (5), APUSH (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Comp Gov, AP US Gov, AP Calc BC, Orch H, Apologetics H, Science Research H, AP Lit, APES
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Coca-Cola Scholars Program Semi-Finalist, National Merit Semi-Finalist, Girl Scout Gold and Silver Awards, AP Scholar w/ Distinction, Toshiba Exploravision Honorable Mention, 4 scholarships through my high school, 2 other awards through my high school, 3 placings at local science fairs

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Viola (selected for seven all-county orchs 7 times, first chair, VP and treasurer of orch), church volunteer, school newspaper (editor), National/Math/Science/Social Studies/Spanish/English Honor Societies, Exec Board of campus ministry org, Badminton (1 yr varsity), 5 other minor clubs
Job/Work Experience: Page at library
Volunteer/Community service: Founded and run a tutoring program for Spanish-speaking students in my community
Summer Activities: Summer science research programs, Intern at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory researching biofuels
Essays (rating 1-10, details): CommonApp-9/10?, Supplement-7~8/10? (I find it hard to judge my own writing but my parents and guidance counselor thought they were great)
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 9/10? (APUSH, good writer, had a great relationship w/ him and I was a “leader” in his class)
Teacher Rec #2: 8/10? (Calc AB, thought very highly of me but we didn’t really have a relationship outside of class)
Counselor Rec: 10/10?
Additional Rec: 10/10 (from lab, mentor was CALS alum and cosigned my PI), I had another from school admin who worked with me on my tutoring program…she thinks very highly of me but idk how good the letter was
Interview: 9/10, thought I would be a great fit and said he would write a report in support

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?:
Intended Major and College: PAM, HumEc
State (if domestic applicant): NY
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private Catholic
Ethnicity: White
Gender: F
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): I speak Spanish fluently? (not really a hook but I didn’t know where else to mention this lol)

Reflection

Strengths: GRADES!!!, probably letters of rec
Weaknesses: No really strong leadership activity, ECs were more science-y but my major isn’t necessarily
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Fordham College LC Honors Program (I only applied to one other school EA and haven’t heard yet, I didn’t send the rest of my apps to save the fees - would HIGHLY RECOMMEND to any underclassmen because it saved me like $800+ but make sure you have the rest of your apps ready to go)

General Comments: Congrats to everyone else who got in, and good luck to future applicants!!! :slight_smile: (Also I hope this doesn’t post twice I messed up the first time)

16

[aB][asize=4]Decision: Accepted A&S [/size]**

SAT I (breakdown): 1310 (670 math, 630 english)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: N/A
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): Stats (4), English Lang (4), US History (3), Bio (3), Chem (2)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Micro/Macroeconomics, AP English Literature, AP Environmental Science, AP Calculus AB, AP Psychology, Concert Choir
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Honor Society, National French Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, International Thespian Society, Headmaster’s List (10th & 11th grade), AP Scholar, Gold Award in Commonwealth Essay Competition, etc

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Model UN (3 years), Theatre (since elementary school), Y.U.M. (Your Universal Meal) Co-Founder (a club my friends and I started to explore the different food cultures of the world), Student Activities Committee Member, Soccer (Left-back), Choir (Alto Member for 2 years), Darlingtones (all girls acapella group 1 yr), radio co-host on teenage issues, etc
Job/Work Experience: n/a
Volunteer/Community service: Teacher in Nigeria for street kids, street cleaning project in Nigeria, Santa for Seniors, making birthday packages for kids who can’t afford birthdays, etc
Summer Activities: YYGS, Summer@Brown, volunteer work

Interview: My alumni interview went really well. I asked loads of questions about SPECIFIC details concerning Cornell that you cannot really find on a website or brochure. Make sure to show genuine interest and be funny, if you can. No one likes people with beige personalities.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major and College: Economics
State (if domestic applicant): Im from Nigeria but i live in Georgia
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: College Prep
Ethnicity: Black
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: $110k+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): n/a

Reflection

Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: UGA and Stetson (both Accepted)

General Comments : You don’t have to get a 1540 on the SAT or a 35 on your ACT to be accepted. Work hard on prove to the school that they should want you just by being yourself and being able to eloquently communicate to the school who you are. Do not, FOR ONE SECOND, think that you have to be Einstein to get accepted. Just. be. you. And write a killer essay.

17

**Decision: Accepted **

Human Ecology: Healthcare Policy

Objective:
SAT I: 1560 (770 E/ 790 M)
SAT II: Bio E: 800, World: 760, US: 740
Unweighted GPA (out of 100): 97 UW (I think? school doesn’t make available) 101.4 W
Rank: 6/600
AP (place score in parenthesis): 15, if anyone actually wants them all message me; all 4’s and 5’s
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics, AP Chem, AP Calc BC, AP CSP, AP Gov, AP Lit + Health and Gym
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): No major, all local or team awards
FIRST Robotics Engineering Inspiration + Chairmans
Minor research award at local conference (major-related)
9th at regional Science Olympiad
NCWIT Regional Rising Star

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Robotics (Team Captain): Outreach coordinator, World Champ qualifiers every year as a result of outreach (not as impressive as it sounds imho)
Science Olympiad (Co President): Team started last year
Pre-Professional Club (Team Presenter): Shadowed healthcare professionals, introduced tourniquet technique to health class curriculum
MUN (Chair)
Research Program at National Laboratory (not particularly selective program): Protein crystallography with tuberculosis protein
Intern at local counseling service (only about 20 hours): Learned about community model and internal organization of the service.
Quiz Bowl (JV Captain)
Red Cross Club
Parent Teacher Student Association: Volunteering at local community events
Crew: I row recreationally 3x a week (I’m incredibly bad at it, absolutely not recruited)
Job/Work Experience: Not on application
Volunteer/Community service: All included in EC’s
Summer Activities: None

Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App: 7/10
Good but not exceptional. I actually wrote it under very weird circumstances (PM if interested). Basically opened with anecdote about me always being hungry and wanting seconds → me wanting more out of life. Not super standout topic imho and I’m an acceptable-but-not-exceptional writer.
Supp: 7-8/10
This was better, though I actually revised it less. Since I know a lot of my ECs seem random/unrelated and HumEc values fit, the bulk of my essay was about exploring the relationship of my EC’s to HumEc/my major. I talked about how I could never choose between STEM/Humanities and thus pursued things that involved both.

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: (6-7/10)
From physics teacher + robotics adviser. IMHO it seemed kind of… simple and not super descriptive/passionate but used superlatives. My teacher actually adores me but she isn’t the best writer / came across as somewhat unenthusiastic in tone. I was actually worried because on my app, I emphasized my participation in A activity in Robotics, but the letter only discusses my contribution to B activity.
Teacher Rec #2: (7?/10)
Did not read, but this teacher is a good writer + very personable,and I was the first student to retain a solid 100 average all year round in their class (US History).
Counselor Rec: Nothing particularly unique, I am one of my counselor’s favorites but there is nothing unique about our relationship.
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: Did not receive one

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major and College: Healthcare Policy; Human Ecology
State (if domestic applicant): NY
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Large Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: 300k+ (don’t ask me why my parents made me apply for financial aid, wish I knew)
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection
Strengths: I had a very good fit with Human Ecology which I was able to describe well in my essay. I was able to be very genuine/didn’t really have to try to push a narrative that didn’t fit. In addition, I was an overall strong applicant in most regards.
Weaknesses: My writing skills are good but not excellent. I also did everything last minute so I did not spend much time revising.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I was overall a strong applicant (especially in the context of my school) and I had a genuine fit with Human Ecology. I feel an equivalent draw to both the biological and social sciences, which is present in my EC’s and other application aspects. These concurrent interests match Human Ecology’s emphasis on analysis across life and social sciences. The bulleted EC’s I listed may not seem to really fit HumEc values upon first glance, but most of what I actually did in them does (I provided more details on my roles within my EC’s on my common app and within my essay)

Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
UMass- accepted
UVM -accepted

General Comments :
If you’re applying HumEc, go to an info session. They ask you detailed questions about yourself and take notes, have you fill out forms pertaining to yourself and your school and EC activities, and tell you exactly what they’re looking for in fit and essays for each major. I know they don’t technically track demonstrated interest, but they were taking very detailed notes on everyone there, so… Not to mention the essay advice probably rivals anything you’d pay for with an admissions coach.
In case you can’t visit, Human Ec HEAVILY emphasized that fit> all else. They STRESSED that they seek to alleviate contemporary human problems through an interdisciplinary lens. Use your essay to explain why your activities/experiences have contributed to you wanting to explore society through an interdisciplinary focus. In case I haven’t said it enough, INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDY INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDY INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDY. Copy and paste “interdisciplinary” about 50 more times for a fairly accurate recreation of an information session.

18

Accepted!

Stats
ACT: 34; SAT-: 800’s math, 720 in chem
GPA: 4.0 on the scale of 4
no ranking system in my high school
Leadership roles in stem clubs;
International Honorable Mention- Science Fair and won couple other Regional science fairs
Patent pending
Research exp with a college prof
publications , presented in international conference
Received a grant from university for summer research program at the Computer Systems Research Laboratory
Co founder of OBD Analytics Co. and entered in start up competitions and won as semifinalist or finalists
Participated in EarthX Hackathon
Sports -Jr varsity player
President’s Volunteer Service Award Gold Level
Volunteer at middle school
Volunteer at Senior citizens care center

19

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

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 33 Composite (35 Science, 34 English, 31 Reading, 31 Math)
SAT II: 710 Biology (didn’t study and didn’t send)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): ~3.8 (School does not calculate)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Unavailable but probably top 1/3 (Very elite school)
AP (place score in parenthesis): N/A
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: (School does not offer APs, but offers honors and accelerated)Physics, Calculus, Black American Literature, Integrated Liberal Studies (philosophy/anthropology/ethics), Spanish VI (highest level is VII, which was recently added to curriculum)

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.):

Marjot Research Grant winner
David Redden Science Conservatory research grant winner
Black Rock Forest Research Grant winner
AAAS (AJAS) national science honor society
2019 Riverdale Reader Essay contest winner

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

Peer Assistance Leader (Mentor) (11,12)
Black Student Alliance Leader (10,11)
Varsity Soccer (11) (Captain 12)
Varsity Track (9,10,11,12)
4x100 school record holder
Diversity Awareness Initiative for Students facilitator (9,10,11,12)
Global Studies Foreign Exchange Trip(11)

Job/Work Experience:
Lisman Labs for Molecular Ecology intern (10,11,12)
Bronx Connections Intern Fellowship (11,12)

Volunteer/Community service:
Do Something (9,10,11)
Grace International Church volunteer (working with kids all day for a week)

Summer Activities:
Lisman Labs
Bronx Connections
Grace International Church

Essays (rating 1-10, details):

Personal Essay: 9, college office says it was one of the best they read, it was about how west African ethics shifted due to British colonialism and how I can see those effects in my parents and family values. As well as how I want to act to reverse those negative effects.

Supplement: 8, Nothing spectacular, just strong. Science and Technology studies classes, helping my community in Nigeria, opportunity to find myself at Cornell, blah blah blah

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: 9, Freshman Advisor and Constructing America teacher (Mandatory co-taught junior year English X History Elective, meets twice a day) She got to know me on a personal level and I also worked with her during the summer at Bronx Connections. She sees me as a school leader and a bright young man of color. She got to see me mature. She is a Ph.D. and very intelligent.

Teacher Rec #2: 7, Freshman Geometry and Junior Pre-Calc w Trig teacher. He got to see me mature and is an incredibly smart man. So the Rec was probably very well written and calculative.

Counselor Rec: I got to see her one on one any time I wanted basically. She met with my parents and I a few times. My school’s college office is unlike 99% of others in the country probably.

Additional Rec 1: From my access program ABC (A Better Chance) 6/10 very generic but got the point across that I was already a scholar

Additional Rec 2: From a professor at Columbia teacher’s college, it was very optimistic about me lol. She said I was “destined for greatness” 8/10.

Interview: Never had one.

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major and College: Science and Technology Studies at Arts and Sciences.
State (if domestic applicant): New York, but its a private college
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Elite Private, Independent school (Riverdale Country School)
Ethnicity: Nigerian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 65,000-115,000
Hooks (URM, first-generation college, etc.):

My friend’s mom who is on the women’s board at Cornell put in a good word for me. My parents went to college in Nigeria, not the US. So not first generation but…

Reflection

Strengths:
I only got one grade below an A- in my last 2 years of high school.
Extracurriculars paint a well-rounded picture of what I do
Essay was clear, extremely well written and extremely powerful
33 on ACT is SLIGHTLY above average or average for Cornell
Weaknesses:
The lack of Honors classes (Only had 1, although all humanities classes at my school are regarder to colleges as AP level or higher) (Also, my school is just hard as ■■■■ in general)
I didn’t take standardized testing seriously, I only studied 5 months on and off for that ACT score with little dedication.

Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I think my vision and passion was clear. People think I have something special and accolades seem to gravitate towards me.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Didn’t check, didn’t need to :slight_smile:

General Comments: A lot was going on in my house during 10th grade so my grades took a dip, my counselor explained that for me. Also, I wasn’t told that honors classes will matter that much in the college process. if so, I would’ve tested in. 9/17 kids who applied to Cornell ED at my school got in this year. Overall Early and Regular last year only 2 people were not offered admission at some point. My school has a strong history with Cornell and Upenn.

20

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

(Filled out 1 day before decision to prevent any bias)

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1210 (i think 700 on English and 510 on math, I know im bad at math don’t judge me!)
ACT (breakdown): didn’t take
SAT II: Literature (690), US History (690), Math II (590, didn’t send this one)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0 UW (all As), our school doesn’t weight
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Tied with three others for rank 1
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP US History (3), AP Language and Composition (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis): what even is IB lol
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus AB, AP Government, bunch of other regular classes
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Science Award at my school (for high achievement in chemistry honors)

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
-Literally sO many clubs (these were my main commitments) - MUN, Speech and Debate, Mock Trial, DECA, FBLA, etc.
-Gay Straight alliance VP
-Took care of younger sister
-Horseback riding (only 9th grade though)
Job/Work Experience:
-Worked at MiMi’s bakery for 2.5 years
Volunteer/Community service:
-Not much of this, just helping out in school here and there
Summer Activities: Job
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App - 5.5/10, I wasn’t even planning to do ED to Cornell until the week before! Cornell Supp (4/10) Same reason as common app, had little time to do these…

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1: Band/Drama teacher, and omg like 11/10!! She loves me (I play bassoon), and we talk after class for like 15 minutes every day about literally the most random things
Teacher Rec #2: 10/10, APUSH teacher. He did not me THAT well, but it was an Advanced Placement course, so I think his rec was good
Counselor Rec: 10/10, I love her! She is technically my Mom’s cousin lol, so I see her during Christmas and family gatherings and we talk about school.
Additional Rec: I was going to get one from my research mentor over summer, but forgot to ask her in time
Interview: Went okay I guess. He was an engineering nerd and at points it got slightly political as, but over I think he sent a solid report to Cornell

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major and College: Double major in gender/sexuality studies and psychology (maybe minor in computer science, but don’t have much experience in it)
State (if domestic applicant): do not want to disclose for privacy reasons
Country (if international applicant): usa
School Type: public
Ethnicity: African American + Vietnamese
Gender: born female, currently identifying as queer
Income Bracket: Very Low
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Strong SAT Reading + English Score, URM

Reflection

Strengths: Strong SAT Reading score, Fantastic recommendations, good interview
Weaknesses: SAT math was slightly low, but this goes to show that scores don’t mean that much in college apps! If you think your score is too low, PLEASE still consider applying to your dream school!
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:

General Comments : Go BIG RED!!! I was SO excited when I saw the decision and literally could not believe it. My friend who had a 33 on the ACT got rejected though, so scores really aren’t everything!

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