cornell, virginia tech, chance me?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hi all,
I’m currently a junior at a relatively well- ranked high school in California (top 100 nationally.)
I am just beginning “the college search” and really have no idea where to begin.
I want to major in international relations while taking pre-med requisite courses and hopefully do undergrad science research. (just to keep options for grad school & beyond open)

Standardized test scores :
ACT 32
SAT 1340 (770 writing, 670 mathmatics)
AP World (soph year) :4
AP Chem (soph year) : 3
SAT Chem (retaking as it is easier to study/retake than the AP test) : 650
I didn’t study much for any of these tests (horrible test taker- im that person that panics and stares at the wall for half the time lol, but I created and am following through wtih a much better study plan for all of my AP tests this time around!)
i’ve taken most of the AP courses that my school has offered, and have gotten a pretty even mix of A’s and B’s throughout my high school career. My grades are on a slight upward trend as the courses have gotten harder, but my GPA is still relatively low.
UW GPA: 3.45
W GPA: 3.8
I might be able to raise it a little, especially the weighted, by the end of this quarter.

Courses:
Freshman year:
Speech and Debate
Spanish 2
Spanish 3
Geometry Honors
Art
English Honors
Biology
Dance P.E

Soph year:
Chem
AP Chem
AP World
Alg.2 Honors
Trig Honors
Spanish 4
English Honors
Research Internship (not in school)

Junior year:
research internship
AP Bio
AP U.S.
Spanish 5
AP Spanish
Pre Calc Honors
AP Lang
Anatomy Honors

Senior year (projected classes)
AP Gov/Econ
AP Lit
AP Comp. Sci A
AP Calc AB
AP Statistics
AP Pychology
AP Physics 1
AP Physics 2

Other accomplishments/awards:
varsity cross country and track all 4 years
lifeguard/taught swim lessons at local boys and girls club since frosh year
EMT certified
organized free science confernece 2 years in a row
wrote/editor in chief for school’s award winning science magazine
finalist in MIT think competition
awards in regional/state science olympiad
placed at regional science fairs and intel
did / published research, interned for local university
volunteered as a junior counselor–> counselor at girl scout camp a few weeks each summer for past 6 years
volunteered regularly at local food bank
i have legacy at cornell (several generations) if that helps?? haha.

My main goal in life is to be an orthopedic surgeon and then do doctors without borders.
I am passionate about languages (speak english , spanish, farsi, currently working on french and russian.)
and lately the more “sciency” stuff has started to feel like a chore (im sure all things do after a while, but)
I really love learning about the world, and politics, and culture, so I feel that international relations would be a good back up plan to med school. All of the science research I’ve done so far has been a wonderful experience, but in some ways its taught me that i don’t really want to pursue that pHD (maybe this will change…) although I definetely want to participate in this in some sort of way as an undergraduate.
this is really long whoops.

finnancial aid is important to me- would rather not get in huge debt as an undergrad!
considering some ivies, but dont really feel i have a shot. (cornell and yale perhaps, just to throw my name in the hat)
more thinking virginia tech ( I want to go east or west coast, maybe boston area, but def not southern/western/texas)
ucsd, I’m not really sure what else is out there that would accept me + is a good school + affordable

thank you so much!
-a typically panicked-reagarding-college junior
(sorry for the spelling and grammatical errors )

2

First of all, you have a terrible projected schedule for Senior year. That combination seems horrendous. Definitely take a second opinion but I think certified geniuses would struggle with that. I have a 1500 SAT and 33 ACT with a 4.933 weighted and I consider Cornell a far reach, so don’t get enveloped in the idea of attending there. Focus on VT. It sucks how hard the admissions process is in the US, but unless you are Native American or have founded a business don’t even consider Cornell

3

Yeah with a GPA like that, and your average ACT, Cornell is pretty much out of reach.

4

With legacy you might have a chance but it is definitely a reach school

5

Lowkey in the same boat here (hate tests, just starting college search). Maybe drop a class (I’m surprised your school lets you take 8 classes, especially since they’re all APs). I don’t really see a point in taking physics 1 and 2. I recommend focusing on the ACT to get that score up. And, of course for all of us, try to get all As this semester!

6

I don’t think that it is too important for you to improve your ACT score. You should focus on balancing out your schedule with some easier classes and then trying to get as high of a GPA as possible. Your ACT is already higher than and doesn’t match your GPA, so improving it and, therefore, increasing the disparity is not something I would recommend. Cornell and most certainly Yale seem out of reach, but I don’t see any reason for you to not apply if you like both schools. Your EC’s are also incredible – maybe take it a bit easy with those for now and focus on school. I don’t know if others would agree with me, but I might even suggest repeating your junior year. You are all around a great applicant, but with another opportunity to improve your GPA you would be competitive at top schools.

7

I think you have a shot at these schools. While they are reaches, they are reaches for everyone, so it is worth a shot. Your ACT score is good enough, GPA is a bit low, but the admissions process is holistic. Incorporate your love of languages into being an orthopedic surgeon, and make that clear in you essays. With good essays, strong recs, and some luck you should have a chance.

8

The UCs are just so competitive these days, dont be too surprised if you get rejected by most of them. Well-ranked high school doesn’t mean much, I came from a school often considered top 5 in california, and with stats even higher, many of my peers got rejected. Not saying you shouldn’t try, though, and it is holistic (though UCs more stats-based), just be realistic.