Cornell RD Class of 2025

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
26

Guys what are my chances for Cornell??

I applied from India as an RD Applicant

Major:Computer Science(College of Arts and Sciences)
Second Major: Environment and Sustainability

ACT: 36/36

SAT Subject Test: Maths 2 and Chemistry-800/800

Grades: 10th-96.6%(School 3rd, All India CS Topper); 11th-94%(Both mid year and finals-school topper); 12th-99.25%(School Topper); Unfortunately, school does not report rank, but says top 5%(I have been the subject topper in all subjects, so I made 2 of my teachers put that in their LORs)

APs-I just gave the papers, as my school follows the Indian board ICSE/ISC and does not offer classes. Calculus BC, Physics C Mechanics, Chemistry, Computer Science A, and EVS-all 5

ECs: I did a lot of STEM related work. Full details regarding my profile is available on my site here: https://www.arhaanaggarwal.com/

Essays: I think I wrote a good Why Cornell Essay which showed a lot of interest. My Common App Essay was also very good and everyone I showed it to liked it a lot.

LORs: I submitted recs from my CS(teacher taught me in 9th, 11th, and 12th) and Chemistry(teacher taught me in 11th and 12th) teachers. They both loved me, and I am sure that my CS rec was extraordinary, and even my Chemistry rec would’ve been pretty good(as good as the teacher could’ve given). According to the Chemistry teacher it was the best rec she had ever written. The only thing I see with my recs is that my CS rec was around 3-4 pages long.

I know Cornell is a long shot even for the best of applicants, but I really want to get in, and want an idea about how my profile is and what else I should do to better my chances.

Thanks in advance guys

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27

Hi @Alamere I guess you made this after Stanford. Good to see you man, hope we get into Cornell.

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29

Yeah me too… the net price calc was a lil shaky but we lost some income in the past year due to COVID so I’m hoping I get more aid with that circumstance.

30

Yeah me too, unfortunately Cornell isn’t need blind for international students so that makes it tougher for me to get in.

31

Yes, that is the dilemma! Still not sure which one will have a better chance

32

It’s not about best chances. You should apply to the school that has the major you want and you’re most interested in. If you’re trying to game the system and get into the school that yields the best results yet your ECs and coursework show you would be a better match in one of the other colleges there you aren’t doing yourself any help. Each college reviews their own applicants as opposed to one AO reviewing applicants for the entire school. There’s no guarantee you can transfer among colleges so easily either so keep that in mind.

33

I agree with you about each college reviewing their own applicants. Though ECs and other requirements match in case of Biology for both CAS and CALS (very little difference) so from that point, it is interchangable.

34

My S21 has a very good SAT score, initially, he was planning on applying to Cornell A&S which is test-optional but later decided to apply for Dyson school of business which is test blind, and submitted his application yesterday. We already sent his official SAT score as well. Will Cornell look at his score or not? Will the SAT play any role? He has a full SAT math2 score as well. Just curious, I’m sure one aspect will not make/break his admission.

35

Anyone applying for CALS biological engineering?

36

For test blind, no, they will completely disregard his scores.

37

When I look at Cornell’s Common App submission pdf file, all the test scores (SAT, ACT, SAT Subject Tests, and AP tests) are there. Does that mean the application downloaded by the school looks different?

38

I don’t know what it looks like on their end, but if you applied to one of their test blind schools, they’re completely disregarded per their admissions website. Not all of their schools are test blind so the ones that are not test blind will take the submitted SAT/ACT.

I know prior to this year, Engineering got rid of Subject tests altogether and said if you submit them, they won’t waste their time looking at them, so it could be the same thing there.

AP tests are not the same as ACT or SAT so if you took those they should still be looking at them.

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39

Hi! I’m a NY resident who applied to CALS as a Biological sciences major. I know my sister attending Cornell Engineering doesn’t have any affect on my decision, but I’m curious if my sister attending would make me seem more likely to attend as well?

40

Probably not or else perhaps you would’ve applied ED in their eyes? But this year, who knows what’s going on in their minds.

41

Yeah that makes sense. It honestly sucks because I wanted to ED (to another school but Cornell was another option) but I can’t financially.

42

That also makes sense, which is why in this year, anything can really happen. I do know people who have siblings that have gotten in RD after not applying ED so it can happen. Similar situation also, one in COE and the other applying to a different school. Remember at Cornell, each College reviews the app. Hopefully in your essay you made a point to mention having a sister there, even though it’s also already on the demographics of the CA. When mentioned in the essay, it just shows it off even more.
Good luck!

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43

Anyone had an informational interview yet? Does the fact that she requested and got one mean anything w/r/t chances of admission? We should have applied ED, but it was too early in the process to make that decision. We didn’t realize how perfectly the Engineering college would fit.

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44

Mine is in 1 hour, and as far as I know, there is no correlation to admissions in any way.

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45

My neighbor is an alum and used to give interviews. They don’t mean anything. All they do is send a small summary. My sister also had the WORST interview, yet still got accepted to Cornell Engineering. My interviewer was VERY awkward. Still won’t matter. Don’t stress.

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46

@asdfgabjkl and @MotherCopter

Correct that they don’t mean anything and give no advantage. This year they are also not submitting any summary or writing anything up. The only thing Cornell is getting is whether or not the informational meeting occurred.

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