<p>Hi, so I'm a junior just finishing up my year. I'm debating whether to apply ED to Cornell or UPenn, and I can't really make up my mind. I think that I'm more qualified for Cornell based on standardized testing, but I still have to take the SAT twice more. I'm also applying to WashU regular decision. What are my chances at each, and which do you think is the best option in terms of partying, academics, and social scene overall? Here are my credentials:</p>
<p>Grades: (school does not offer GPA) Straight As with the exception of one B+ sophomore year. All highest possible courses in a dual curriculum school. </p>
<p>APs taken:
European History (5)
Calc AB (unknown)
Literature (unknown)
US History (unknown)
US Gov (unknown)</p>
<p>-College level Hebrew taken as well as 3 years of Spanish</p>
<p>SAT/ACT:</p>
<p>ACT - 31 (32 superscore for Wash U)
best subsections:
36 English
32 Math
32 Reading
29 Science</p>
<p>Extracurriculars:
-Student Council for 2 years (and hopefully president of the school for next year)
-Model UN (progression on team and award won at national level)
-Founder and President of Debate Club
-Chief of Writers for School E-letter
-3 years on yearbook
-3 years of creative newspaper
-lead roles in the school comedies
-weekly tutor for a child with a minor learning disability
-weekly youth groups leader
-active member of Israel advocacy group both in school and out (selected by high school to attend two national conferences and invited to White House with out-of-school- Pro-Israel group)</p>
<p>♠Your ecs will definitely help but but your CR+M and your course load will put you at reach for cornell unless you have some serious sort of hook/ your school is heavily tied with Cornell, given that you are not valedictorian or salutatorian and your class doesn’t rank.</p>
<p>All three of the schools will be a reach (at this point), though none are impossible for you. One thing which may hurt you at Cornell is that (I believe) Cornell doesn’t look at the SAT-W, which is your strongest section. I don’t know whether Wash U or Penn do. </p>
<p>Another 100 points in the SAT CR-R would put you closer to the median attending student for all three – however, the admissions rates for all are so low that no one is a lock at any of these schools.</p>
<p>ED – which school is your first choice. Assuming you can afford the schools, that’s what you should consider</p>
<p>Cortana --top 10% if not top 5%
Islander–attorney and prob a major in English
Zephyr - what about my act? On the websites, my scores fall into their midrange. Do you think that will help of I use my act? I</p>
<p>I also forgot about 750 us history 720 math I and 670 for literature in sat iis</p>
<p>I can’t say anything about Washington, but I can talk about the other two schools.</p>
<p>In terms of academics, Cornell may have more top programs than Penn, but since you’re interested in becoming an attorney, this won’t matter too much. Getting into law school is more dependent on your grades and LSAT score than your major or the school you attend (from my knowledge anyway).</p>
<p>In terms of the social scene, Cornell is in Ithaca, a mid-sized city pretty much in the middle of nowhere, while Penn is in the major city of Philadelphia. As a consequence, there tends to be much more to do at Penn while at Cornell there isn’t such a guarantee off of campus. At Cornell, Greek Life also has more sway in the social scene since there isn’t as much to do in the Ithaca area; but one could also argue that Greek Life at Cornell is a bit worse with all the recent incidents and administration crackdowns. Penn’s Greek Life is fairly big as well, but one doesn’t have to depend on it nearly as much for a nightlife.</p>
<p>Partying at Penn is probably better than at Cornell. There are no under-21 bars/clubs in Ithaca and freshmen are barred from frat parties the first halves of each semester. The number of “open” parties has certainly decreased over recent years, too.</p>
<p>ED is a huge commitment, and if you’re unsure, you really should just apply RD to both. But if you’re positive that the school is your absolute first choice when time comes, go right ahead. (: Just keep in mind that you might change from November to May.</p>
<p>Everything seems good to me except for standardized testing, which you mentioned that you’re retaking. Oh, also, for WashU, they’re really big on demonstrated interest. Apparently, it can have Tufts’ Syndrome with its admissions.</p>