<p>I e-mailed Cornell asking how they look at GPA, whether or not they re-calculate it according to their own standards and whether or not they look at non-academic courses.
And this is the reply I got:</p>
<p>"Thank you for your recent e-mail. Cornell actually looks at the specific
courses and the grades you received in those courses. This is more
important than the reported GPA."</p>
<p>So let's say I want to apply to CALS Biology. Does that mean they will care more about my science and math marks more than my overall GPA?</p>
<p>They are mostly concerned about what type of classes you took in high school. They like to see you taking the most difficult classes your school offers, AP, Honors, or IB. They will then look at the grades in those difficult classes. Cornell could care less about whether you got an A or C in Guitar. (unless you're a music major i guess)</p>
<p>If I'm applying to the Animal Sciences major with Biology as 2nd choice (CALS), and I'm taking 2 science APs with strong 4.0s in each, will that weigh more than other classes? I got a 100 on the AP Bio midterm even, which I hope will clearly get the message across that I'll excel in the ag school, haha...</p>
<p>yeah im sure it helps a lot to show that you do well in the classes that you want to major in, but they want to see good grades across the board.</p>
<p>GPA didn't matter too much for me, I had a B+ average. I Had strong SATs, Hard Courses, and Passions</p>
<p>I don't think your midterms matter that much...I mean, of course a 100 looks good, but every school has a different grading system and a B at one school might=an A at another. I think they mean that they like look at how well you did in the context of both the difficulty of your classes, as well as your environment and school as a whole...so like your actual numerical GPA probably doesn't mean too much.</p>