ED vs RD chances at Cornell

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

Hello all! I recently visited Cornell and absolutely fell in love with the school—especially the Near Eastern Studies and Arabic programs, a professor of which I was fortunate enough to meet with and have a conversation about the school. With this major in mind and my passion for Arabic, I intend to apply to the CAS, but I’m not entirely sure whether ED or RD is better, stats-wise. On the surface, ED has a vastly higher acceptance rate, but I don’t know if I can stand out enough among that small a pool of applicants who have likely already selected themselves as the cream of the crop. I know if admitted I will attend Cornell, but I would like some insight as to how best stand out among the much smaller ED pool. For reference,

ACT: 33
GPA: 4.47 or so—straight As and straight A+s junior year, all honors or AP courses (I have gotten 5s on all exams). I did get a B+ in sophomore chemistry :confused:

NSLI-Y 2015 Arabic scholar
President of Arabic Club
TA for Arabic 1 class
Volunteer ESL tutor and Arabic translator at Coptic church
I hold several other non-Arabic-related director and leadership roles, among them Director of Logistics (2 years) of school Model Congress conference, Director of Outreach (1 year) for the same conference, Model Congress club treasurer, and LiNK Chair of Education and Outreach

I love Cornell and truly believe that the community there is a thriving, intellectually curious one. I hope to continue growing as best I can in the coming years—the hardest part I’m sure will be getting admitted there!

2

It’s much harder to stand out during the RD round because the pool is so much larger. Apply ED if you know you want to go there. You have a good shot, especially since you are interested in an uncommon major.

3

Agreed, generally you have a better shot of getting into colleges with ED. That’s why most people would encourage you to ED your dream school.

4

Apply ED if Cornell is your first choice. It is the ultimate way of showing love. Sometimes when your stats are very outstanding, during the RD round Cornell may think it is a back up school for you and WL or reject you.

5

Apply ED. It is a win/win for you & Cornell. It improves your chances of acceptance because the more students they admit ED, the higher their “yield”, which is one the measuring sticks for perceived quality.

6

Very true.