<p>So I got deferred. Had my good hard cry, and immediately got to work. I know I should send a letter to the admissions counselor, but I have a few questions:
[ul]
[<em>]Is e-mail okay? Should I also send a mail or fax copy?
[</em>]When should I do this? I was thinking a letter this week, explaining my strong interest and updates on how I've done in school, and a letter in February, after I've retaken ACT/SAT
[<em>]Can I edit my application or is it set in stone except for additions? I would really like to resubmit my CA essay.
[</em>]If I can't resubmit my CA essay, would it be okay to send a new version to the admission counselor asking them to consider it instead?
[li]Any extra advice on improving my app? I'm getting a letter from my coach and my GPA will definitely go up. Not sure how to get any new awards or leadership roles so fast.. :( [/li][/ul]
Please feel free to answer any or all of these if you can! Really disappointed but more determined than ever, I need cornell</p>
<p>Wait until Jan before you do anything. If you do it now, it would just get lost in the crazy pile. Adcoms are probably taking a lot of angry calls from entitled, rejected applicants right now. After the holidays, if you could, get your GC to contact Cornell to find out what was missing from your ED application. If the adcoms are willing to share that information with the GC then you could try to address it. Sometime in Jan, put another packet together for Cornell. Include another essay and let them know Cornell is still your first choice, first semester transcript (hope it’s good), additional awards, maybe additional LORs.</p>
<p>If your family could afford it, you may want to get some professional help on your essay, otherwise get another adult to review it.</p>
<p>PS - want to add that you should focus on your other RD applications right now and worry about this after you are all done with RDs.</p>
<p>Make sure any correspondences go directly to the counselor that handles your geographic area. On thing you could do is to e-mail them and respectfully explain that since you have been put into the regular admissions pool, a lot has changed and you will be updating them in late January after your grades are out. Be polite and respectful. Show your enthusiasm for Cornell. It is okay to do all of the things you have posted but give it a little time. Regular admissions books have not closed yet, so no decisions are being made yet.</p>
<p>Make sure your grades ARE on an upward trend and that you can demonstrate that. Make sure to update Cornell about any new accomplishments since the original application that they should be aware of.</p>
<p>It’s hard to say about the essay - it may no longer be the make or break. If you do rewrite it, make sure you heavily emphasize your “fit” for Cornell and the specific school you are applying to. I would suggest focusing more on your grades, activities, etc. </p>
<p>Sometimes you have to take a chance even if your counselor discourages you. Don’t pester the adcom, but do update them.</p>
<p>Another essay is out of the question – I’ve never heard of any EA/ED school accepting those for deferred students. </p>
<p>A letter of continued interest and a single update with major changes is what is typical. Good luck.</p>
<p>My older daughter was deferred from her ED (not Cornell) and WL at Cornell and Duke. She went to one of the top prep school in the NE where GC’s job was to get kids into best schools possible. The GC put the packet together for D1, and she encouraged D1 to write another essay. In the packet, the GC wrote another LOR for D1. She told D1 to keep it to one page. This GC did ultimately get my kid off both of those WL schools and all of her students who were wait listed. </p>
<p>As far as what the essay should be. I would recommend making it more about “updating” of your activities/awards, why Cornell continues to be your top choice and how you could contribute to the school (community). When addressing “fit” it is not about how Cornell could be the perfect school for you and what you could get out of going to Cornell. Adcoms already know what a great school Cornell is and how its education has benefited so many students. They want to know what you could do for the community as a whole. This bit of advice came from my younger daughter’s private college counselor when it comes to “Why school X” essays. OP may want to consider that as he/she is writing other RD essays.</p>
<p>Thank you all so much for the great ideas! I appreciate them a lot. 
I think I will definitely contact the person in January with some updates, and then probably again in February/march with updated SAT/ACT scores. Plus a new LOR.
Still torn about the essay. I made up a rough draft of my letter to the admissions officer and it’s a bit essay-ish, explaining my strong interest and what I can do, along with some updates of this year so far.</p>
<p>Also, should I be sending a copy to the CALS office as well, or is it just the regional rep who sees them?</p>
<p>All correspondences should go to your regional admissions counselor. While my d did not apply early decision, she was worried about the regular admissions process, so she did what you are planning on doing minus the extra essay. Cornell was her top choice and she kept herself as competitive as possible right to the end. She did all correspondences through e-mails, which they told her that they would print out and add to her file. She DID have some valuable information to add - like very competitive grades and a big senior project, so make sure that if you are contacting them, that you do, in fact, have some relevant information to offer them or there really is no point…</p>
<p>She did it on her own - not through her guidance counselor as she attended a public high school and the guidance counselors were not that available for intensive help. I can not say whether it helped or hurt, but I believe it was the former.</p>
<p>I’m torn on the essay. I don’t think it is necessary as long as your updates are clearly stated in your e-mail.</p>
<p>You might want to ask them about the SAT scores. I believe that the December scores may be the last ones they consider, but don’t quote me on that.</p>
<p>Finally, you may want to evaluate why you believe you were deferred. How do you believe you measure up against those who got in, and how can you make yourself stand out in the regular admissions process?..</p>
<p>Not to hijack this thread or anything, but I’m in the same exact situation - I was wondering if sending my grades for this term would be a good idea. I’ve consistently had basically a 4.0 (not a single B in 9th and 10th, and my IB scores are 41/42 for both 11th grade and 12th grade). Is it absolutely necessary for me to send this semester’s grades? Because I’ve sort of been slacking off a little, and although my grades haven’t dropped much, they’re certainly lower than before (mostly because of college applications, etc). Would it look bad NOT to send the grades?</p>
<p>Also, where can I find the email ID of the individual regional counselor? I know who he is, but I don’t know what his email address is (I realize that I shouldn’t email him now, but i’ll do so in 3 weeks or so).</p>
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<p>I asked the same exact question somewhere in the College Admissions forum… I was told that they won’t want to see a new version of the CA essay (yeah, I was totally bummed about that too). I was also told that they may or may not even want to see another LOR, but I think it would be useful to send one anyways.</p>
<p>I think that you have to for Cornell, along with the midyear report</p>
<p>^You can have your counselor send in your updated grades if they are pretty stellar. If not, I’m not sure if it would really be worth it</p>
<p>You are required to send in your first semester grades if you are applying RD. Since you are deferred from ED then you are in the RD pool.</p>
<p>Welp, another deferree here (and temporary thread hijacker! my apologies)</p>
<p>When are the updated midyear reports due by? Do they ever make decisions without midyear reports (such as rolling admissions for CALS)? I’m not saying that I’m not going to send them, just wondering. Thanks!</p>
<p>Just found this:
[Early</a> Decision Applicants?What?s Next? | Undergraduate Admissions Office](<a href=“http://blogs.cornell.edu/admissions/2011/12/13/early-decision-applicants…what’s-next/]Early”>http://blogs.cornell.edu/admissions/2011/12/13/early-decision-applicants…what’s-next/)</p>
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<p>So I guess it looks like they DO in fact want recommendations and a letter conveying your interest.</p>
<p>RD applicants do send in mid-year and final grades.</p>
<p>What admissions counselors DO want to see are upward trends in grades, new projects or activities that enhance your application and letters of recommendation that show that you continue to be a strong candidate. They want to know that Cornell is the place for you and why.</p>
<p>My d never applied ED but went trough the RD and wanted so badly to attend Cornell that she did all of these things as well to let the counselor know how serious she was about Cornell. She did it all through e-mails to her regional counselor, independent of her guidance counselor. </p>
<p>The key point here is that she DID have a lot to report because she worked very, very hard to get noticed to earn a spot. You have to keep in mind that there are are very strong candidates out there that want to attend Cornell as badly as you do. How hard are you willing to work to make it happen?</p>
<p>I guess my kid’s GC wasn’t that off after all. When a GC is only responsible for 30 students and have 3-4 other college counselors to consult with, he/she is required to know this sort of thing. I have shared a lot of information from my kid’s school GC and private college counselor on CC.</p>
<p>Your D’s were very fortunate to have the GC that they did and by sharing your story, you are helping many students that unfortunately, have public school GC’s that just don’t follow through and do leave many students to navigate the college process for themselves. As evidenced by college confidential, it can be confusing. I have a degree in school guidance (although not practicing), so I was able to guide my d because of that, and I share as well so that other students may be helped through the process. </p>
<p>If Cornell is a dream school like it was for my D, it is attainable with the right combination of a strong high school record, a strong work ethic as demonstrated through activities/projects, etc., initiative and sometimes even luck so that one is noticed by the adcoms because, let’s face it, Cornell is used to high achievers landing in their pool of applicants. </p>
<p>Thus, students who really, really want Cornell but may be “on the fence” in terms of qualifications have to be willing to take risks to make it happen and those that really want it will be inclined to do so.</p>
<p>My friend’s daughter went to a top public school in Westchester, NY. Her GC also was unwilling to do anything for her. She ended up helping her daughter put the packet together per the info I gave her. Her D got off 3 WLs the same year as my D - Duke, NU and Cornell. Her school’s GC also told her D not to bother.</p>
<p>That is basically my d’s story. We took matters into our own hands! While the GC gave her a good recommendation - that’s as far as it went. That is why your advice is so very valuable to many applicants that may get discouraged after an ED deferral. It IS possible, but it will take some work!</p>
<p>Reapply. My brother’s son was deferred at Stanford ED and then got in regular admission and is there now. One thing I would point out is that if you have the opportunity, go visit the school. I often talk to kids who tell me they really want to go to Cornell, but then they tell me they have never been to the school. See if you can schedule to meet with someone from the admissions office and take a tour. There is a bus that can take you up there from NYC. I don’t know where you live. Also consider applying to colleges at Cornell, other than Arts and Sciences. You will get the same education and 10 years from now no one will ask you whether you went to Arts and Sciences or one of the other schools that are a little bit easier to get into. Who cares. Cornell is Cornell. Good luck.</p>