Cornell or NYU

<p>I’m currently a junior and I am planning to ED to NYU stern OR Cornell University</p>

<p>Grades/ test scores:
GPA: 3.7 (I did badly in sophomore yr, but junior yr it’s a 4.0)
SAT I: 2250
SAT II Math: 800
SAT II Physics: 800
SAT II Chemistry: 750
This year I am taking 5 AP Tests
Senior year I will be taking 4 to 5 AP Tests
My course load is pretty decent: sophomore year I doubled up in science
My junior yr schedule is as follow:
AP Physics C
AP Chemistry
AP US
AP Calc AB
French Honors
LA regular</p>

<p>Extracurricular activities:
For certain I will/am doing the following activities:
Molecular research club that is in partnership with my state university (I will be president of this club next year, or at least have a secretary position) (9th grade, 10th grade, 11th grade)
Science league competition (9th, 10th grade)
Academic Decathlon (won medals and will be getting a position for next year) (10th, 11th grade)
Red Cross Club (9th grade, 11th grade)
Volunteer Hours (120 hours)
National Honors society (12th grade)
Math honors society (12th grade)</p>

<p>Now here are some tentative activities that I might do:
National Physics Olympiad (at least up to quarter finals)
American Math competition
If I become the president of the molecular club I mentioned above, I’ll be doing a summer internship at the state university
JV Track (11th grade)</p>

<p>So here are my questions:
Again, I’m applying ED to NYU stern OR Cornell Univeristy</p>

<p>1.) Do you believe that I have a good chance at these colleges?
2.) What other colleges might suit me well?
3.) What other clubs/activities should I do to better my chance?
4.) Are my volunteer hours enough or do I need more?</p>

<p>Ive been worried recently because many people in my school (seniors) had GPA's of 3.8 and they got rejected from cornell. I only have a 3.7, so do i even stand a chance?</p>

<p>Thank you all for your responses and I’d be happy to check your resumes as well!</p>

<p>Looks pretty good. You defs stand a chance, but several points you need to clarify:
SAT I breakdown (cornell does not officially look at writing)
race/ethnicity
which college / program are you applying for in cornell? AEM? CAS economics?
1.) Do you believe that I have a good chance at these colleges?
yes, pretty good. Still reach. ED will help a lot for either of these colleges. For cornell, ED sure helps a HUGE deal. Only you can answer for yourself which of these to ED (which environment you like better, what program fits you more, etc)
2.) What other colleges might suit me well?
Have you considered wharton?
3.) What other clubs/activities should I do to better my chance?
Keep doing what you have been doing. Stop trying to add random stuff to ur list (track?) It can only hurt you
Olympiads are always good if you manage to make it
4.) Are my volunteer hours enough or do I need more?
just do your share.</p>

<p>Thank you so much for your response</p>

<p>I did consider wharton, but isnt it extremely difficult? especially with a GPA of 3.70 like mine?</p>

<p>also my weighted is around 4.3 and for the SAT breakdown it is Math: 800, Reading: 770</p>

<p>Kind of early for you to worry about this stuff I think.
Your scores, stats, ecs are good.
You are a chance for top schools, but without what they call a hook, you just have a chance, not a great chance. At the top schools, hooks matter a lot. Medium stats and ecs with a great hook are better than absolutely stellar stats with no hook. Always make sure you have a safety as the top schools such as Cornell reject many with perfect applications. I am wishing you very good luck and success with your applications next year.</p>

<p>I completely agree with you about the hooks</p>

<p>what are some example hooks? sports? academic competitions</p>

<p>odds are if you don’t know them, you don’t have one
example, nationally ranked high school football player - even with medium stats, he still has a great shot at Stanford.
just try your best in school and get the best grades you can
don’t worry about this stuff until your senior year.
just enjoy your junior year
small differences in gpa and test scores are not very significant
you have plenty time</p>

<p>so basically your saying that 3.7 is an acceptable GPA at the colleges im looking at</p>

<p>But my concern is that numbers do matter to a certain extent. And frankly a 3.7 is one of those make it or break it situations</p>

<p>somehow, I think you know that there is no such thing as an “acceptable” gpa. yes numbers do matter, you need good numbers for the top schools, but there is a lot more to admissions than numbers. 3.7 puts you in range. now just stop the stress, you are a year away from this stuff. if you can’t stop thinking about this even though it is many months away, then talk to someone in your guidance office and they will also tell you don’t worry until next fall.</p>

<p>a 1570 is a very impressive SAT score. the 3.7 is a bit low (but really, it’s not that bad), but one minor flaw will not put your application the trash bin. =] i think you have a great shot at both cornell and NYU</p>