Early decision to... and sorta a chance me while you're at it

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>I'm in quite a predicament. I can't decide whether to ED to Cornell or Carnegie Mellon, therefore, I am deciding to ask the College Confidential Community on chances and suggestions.</p>

<p>For starters, here's a summary. If I apply Cornell ED, I don't think my chances are great (if you want to chance me, scroll down until you see an @@@) but if I apply to Carnegie ED, my chances seem to be better (even though they take less ED, as I heard. Although it sounds counter intuitive, the other factors ((ie. stronger applicants for ED)) seem to even it out)</p>

<p>Cornell will give great financial aid (As stated on by their website...), but I'm not sure how it compares to the aid given by Carnegie. Carnegie Mellon states that they will meet all financial needs if I apply early (but doesn't guarantee it if I apply regular); what does that really mean? Will it be similar to Cornell's Financial aid?</p>

<p>@@@</p>

<p>To Cornell, Carnegie Mellon, Northwestern, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.</p>

<p>ACT= 33</p>

<p>SAT = 2400... minus 2400, I didn't take it.</p>

<p>SAT subs. 800 Chem, 770 Math, 680 USH, Will not send USH.</p>

<p>AP scores= Irrelevant (and crappy) because they won't even look at them in admissions.</p>

<p>GPA: 3.5-6ish unweighted, 4.3-ish weighted. I attend a large-ish public high school with a graduating class of 500-550.</p>

<p>EC's:</p>

<p>Roughly 100-150 hours of community service. </p>

<p>WYSE (Science Olympiad), regional victory in Chemistry. 11,12</p>

<p>Math club. 11,12 I scored the highest in my school at state :).... but placed about 70-ish out of 150 or so at state. :(</p>

<p>Around 5-10 regional math competitions, with state qualifying competition one year, won, or placed. Can't remember them all.</p>

2

<p>Bump 10char</p>

3

<p>First of all, I don’t know your class rank so its a little difficult to chance. I know that Cornell puts a lot of emphasis on grades and test scores (especially grades). If you have a high class rank (lets say top 5% or so), I would go for cornell ED b/c I think you do have a chance with your decent ACT score and fairly high SAT subject scores (excluding USH). However, if you do not have a high class rank, I think it would be better to try Carnegie b/c it is a little less selective than Cornell.</p>

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<p>Sorry, correction. Ranked around 25-35/500-550</p>

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<p>Okay, considering you are in the top 5%-7%, I would go for Cornell ED. No guarantee that you’ll get in but to be honest, I don’t think you need to apply ED to get into Carnegie. You’ll probably have no major problem getting in RD.</p>

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<p>I believe both of these schools meet need with some percentage of loans which would make ED problematic if you require financial aid.</p>

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<p>@Goldowl: I know these schools don’t just look at stats. I mean, I feel as if these schools are selective enough so that they can pick and choose. </p>

<p>@Electron Blue: I believe I qualify for enough aid at Cornell so that they would only allow (or require) me to borrow $3,000 a year.</p>

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<p>And I thought “need” was grants and scholarships… with the rest being loans and/or how much of the bill your parents/guardian foots. That’s not the case!!! What if they do not meet all financial needs? More loans?</p>

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<p>Be very clear on this Rocky, some schools meet need with loans and lots of them. You and your family come up with your EFC, the balance is the “need” piece. That might be met entirely with grants at a small number of elite schools, but most schools will package loans into the mix. When you apply ED you surrender your right to compare financial aid packages. Some schools, NYU for example, are notorious for packages with 20-30K in loans per year. </p>

<p>I looked up Cornell and it appears they do not use loans in the financial aid packages of students from families making less than $75K/year. A word of caution though, this applies to families with typical assets. If your family owns a second home (or investment property), has its own business or significant assets somewhere, this may not apply to you. This may be a school you could apply to ED with financial need but you and your parents need to make sure of your financial situation.</p>

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<p>“I can’t decide whether to ED to Cornell or Carnegie Mellon”</p>

<p>Since you need FA and you don’t have a dream school, you shouldn’t do ED at all. Apply RD to various schools and choose the best fit, with FA as part of the consideration.</p>

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<p>@Vossron:</p>

<p>Well, I agree I don’t really have a dream school, but really, how will I know a school will be right for me unless I attend it for a while? I mean, a lot of the campuses I visited had beautiful campuses and most of them I felt as if “Hey, I could go to this school”. </p>

<p>But basically, I felt those two campuses as a “Hey, I could go here for 4 years.” I mean, they both have beautiful campuses and have programs I like and I feel as if I will have no problem finding a job after graduating. So while I don’t have a “dream” school, I have found 2 schools that I really like and think I have a flying chance at. But I guess it really boils down to financial aid, and I feel Cornell will provide better, but I feel I have a better chance at being accepted to Carnegie.</p>

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<p>Bump 10char.</p>

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<p>The general “wisdom” is that ED doesn’t improve your chances much, if at all, at the top schools, and if you need financial aid or don’t have a dream school, you’d be better off applying RD so you can see your options (including aid packages) and give yourself more time to think it over.</p>

<p>It is, of course, not our decision, so I wish the the best of luck regardless of what decision you ultimately make.</p>

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<p>Why are the numbers so different? (30% versus 20%?)</p>

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<p><a href=“http://dpb.cornell.edu/documents/1000001.pdf[/url]”>http://dpb.cornell.edu/documents/1000001.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Also, can someone please explain why only 35% submitted a rank? Surely most high schools rank.</p>

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<p>The numbers are generally explained away by athletes and legacy candidates, who tend to apply early, among other similar factors. There may be a small increase in your chances, but that’d be situational…if you can provide x and the school wants that, being read earlier might provide a boost in that they are less likely to have filled the need for x.</p>

<p>A lot of the boarding schools don’t rank…I know mine sent 100 apps to Cornell a couple years ago, and it’s certainly not the only one. So…maybe the majority of schools rank, but those that don’t apparently send the majority of the candidates.</p>

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<p>So, a misleading figure, dang!</p>

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<p>Anyone else? Bump.</p>

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<p>Bump…</p>

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<p>Okay, last time. Bump.</p>