I am a currently a junior in high school. Cornell University is my dream school. I am high interested in the CAPS (Chinese Asia Pacific Studies) program. I was wondering if anyone familiar with the school could give me an honest opinion about the application progress.
About Me:
I am currently a home educated student who is dual enrolled at my community college.
I am planning on applying early decision.
SAT Accumulative Score: 1840 (Reading 640, Math 540, Writing 620)
ACT Composite: 29
I am taking the Literature and Math 1 subject exams this weekend.
Un-Weighted Core 5 only GPA: 3.43
I have been studying Chinese for six years with the Chinese School of South Jersey.
I spent my freshman summer studying Mandarin at the University of Pennsylvania’ Startalk Program which is a merit based selective program. This program was funded by a $1200 scholarship from the Bureau of Education. It covers a year of high school Chinese in five weeks. I earned a B+ from Penn professors.
Last summer I received a full scholarship from the State Department and the NSLI-Y program to study Mandarin in Sichuan, China for six weeks. I received an A from my Chinese teachers at the Deyang Foreign Language School.
I will be leaving on another scholarship from the State Department and NSLI-Y to finish my senior year in Beijing. Because of I have had a very heavy course load so that I can graduate early.
Obviously I have other extra curiculars and jobs such as Girl Scouts (Silver + Bronze + Gold Award), 4-H, and Dance/ Official Assistant Dance Teacher.
I am high committed to Chinese language and hope to live and work in China after college. I don’t know if my skills are specialized enough to make up for my scores. I am also looking forward to the essay portion of the Common App so that could help!
My critical reading score is actually dead center for Cornell. My math is low, however I know for a fact I am not applying for a math or science major. I have a lot of real life, highly specialized, and competitive experiences that all directly point towards my intended major. I have been working for this major since the seventh grade, once I start a Chinese major I am not quitting it. I have loved this subject since kindergarten and at this point its what I know I want to do with my life.
In your opinion, does a proven track record of being committed to a specialized major make up for testing scores at all?
Anything’s possible. You can give it a shot. But the Ivies get many more applications than they have room for. The problem is that there will be plenty of students with much higher scores and better grades than you, many of whom will be rejected. It’s hard to see you being competitive with those students.
Perhaps your special skills will outweigh your low scores and grades. But I suspect that other students with an extensive background in learning the Chinese language may be similarly motivated to apply. The competition may be quite stiff.
Unfortunately, with those test scores and GPA it’s a huge huge huge reach. I don’t know if you’re asian or not, but if you are it’s going to be even more difficult unless you have a phenomenal hook… I doubt mere interest in a subject is a strong enough hook to get you in.
I would try to get all of your scores up up up. Even if you don’t intend to major in math, a school of Cornell’s caliber can be picky and expect better scores. However, what do I know? Perhaps the adcoms will be intrigued by you and let you in. I wouldn’t count on it though. Make sure to apply to a large variety of safety schools; many schools have strong programs in Chinese.
@RamenUniversity I’m not Asian. It’s also not a mere interest. This is something I have been working towards from a young age. I also have certified levels of proficiency from the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Language. This is my career path and what I’m doing with my life. I’m not some white kid who thinks that Mandarin is the power language of the future. The NSLI-Y program is fully funded by the State Department and has a 15% admit rate. If I had a “mere” interest why I would spend every Sunday working as a TA and taking classes at a Chinese school, I would not jam pack four years of high school into three, I would not even consider attending high school in China, and I definitely wouldn’t put any money into a college education where I will definitely have to have a Master’s for a decent career.
I realize the competition is huge, however, I’m committed and I think its worth the risk.