Good SAT(new one!) && GPA -- EC's on low side. :[ Chance Cornell ED

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>**
this part's important.
So, currently, I am a Senior ( beggining this upcoming school year ) who transferred to South Forsyth HS (class of 600-700) from a private school of 11 ppl in my class. Ranking is in top 10 percent. I moved up to number 41 and hopefully more as my AP classes are counted. This is only because I transfferred and my old school did not offer any AP classes until Senior Year, so my weighted GPA did not transfer, but I have a 4.0 Unweighted/Weighted currently and all A's in all my classes. This is my first year taking AP classes because there is more offered at South.
I talked to UPenn admissions person at one of their "seminar" events and she said to get my school's old profile so they know if i took advantage of everything there.
**</p>

<p>Stats:
GPA: 4.0 unweighted/(4.05)weighted (they counted one of my AP class.. reason is low b/c i transferred)
SAT: 670/730/760 (2160)-> Can't get CR up!? ugh
SAT II : Bio M: 730, Math IIC : taking june 7th expecting 750 +
PSAT: 71/75/73:219
Gender: F
Considering Major: Computer Science => College of Engineering (Cornell)</p>

<p>Junior Courses:
Ap Calculus AB- A
AP Computer Science A - A
IB Math Studies - A ( Mainly a bonus class for the 5.0 GPA)
AP World History (online) - A
British Lit-A
Chemistry (tried to get to honors, but schedule didn't fit right)-A
Economics- A
Courses Senior Year:
hardest course load as I think I could handle
Calc II from Georgia Insitute of Technology
AP Environmental Science (easy, relax class? haha)
AP Euro History
AP English - idk which one. Our school offers one to juniors and one to seniors
AP Chemistry
IB Physics - might take AP exam
AP Statistics </p>

<p>ECs: I have ALWAYS struggled with this because at our small private school which i went to my frosh, soph, half of juniro year, did not offern any clubs other than student council and yearbook. Once i transferred, I tried to get involved in clubs, but most of them are done competing or admitting ppl like NHS or other honors societies. =\ </p>

<p>But I am in
Science Olympiad - won 5th in regional for Chem lab w/ being half way through regular chem.
Math Olympiad
Culture Club - got voted secretary for next year
Sports:
XC - frosh year/soph year
Soccer - frosh/soph year
Track and Field - Junior</p>

<p>Schools considering:
1. Cornell ED - I have researched this school 100x more than any other school and I have really fallen in love with every aspect of it but the fact that it's a 4 hour drive from NYC ( which isn't that big of a deal)
2. UPenn
3. MIT (yeah right.. no way in hell i'll get in there, but it's worth a try:])
4. Olin ( my parents want me to?)
5. Georgia Institute of Technology (Safety)
6. Carnegie Mellon (low reach maybe? )
7. UC-Berkeley - OOS
8. California Institute of Technology
9. Stanford
10. UCLA - OOS</p>

<p>Ok, so I know like 80-90% of those are reaches, but I can't find any other safety engineering school other then Tech ( which i abs. do not want to attend because I am tired of Georgia. haha)</p>

<p>Thank you!!</p>

2

<p>bump.......</p>

3

<p>In general-Can't argue with a 4.0! Your GPA really is a strong factor in your application, and every other area of your application qualifies for top schools, even if they don't give your app a boost. The college class looks pretty cool. I think that really strong essays would benefit you to a greater degree than most, since I don't get as strong of a sense of personality from your app as I could.</p>

<p>Cornell ED-Given that it's ED, your chances go up some. I think your chances here are better than you think. Your ECs might not necessarily wow me, but they show serious time commitment outside of class, and your GPA is amazing, so I think your have around 30% chance, maybe better.</p>

<p>UPenn-Penn's harder to get into than Cornell, so this will be a major reach. Still a possibility though, largely because you have a 4.0. </p>

<p>MIT-MIT is really awesomely holistic, so your essays will be a major factor here. If your scores, competitions, recs and essays show aptitude and interest in the sciences, you've got a shot here. Of course, MIT looks for all those Siemens and Intel people, but there's only so many, and MIT definitely looks at you as a whole person. It is definitely a major reach, but if you work hard on your app it might be a possibility.</p>

<p>Olin-Not familiar with the school</p>

<p>Georgia Institute of Technology-Not familiar, but I'm assuming that you're pretty sure it's a safety.</p>

<p>Carnegie Mellon-I would agree with your assessment; it's probably a low reach if not a match, because you exceed their average GPA to a great enough degree that it will be a benefit to you to a greater degree than it is at
Stanford, MIT, etc. Decent chances here. 40% or better I'd say. </p>

<p>UC-Berkeley-Really hard to get into out of state. Definitely a reach. On the other hand, there is the famous UC emphasis on stats, so maybe that will work in your favor and give you a better chance.</p>

<p>California Institute of Technology-Large reach. Maybe not as large a reach as Stanford, but a reach. </p>

<p>Stanford-Large reach. You have a chance, but it has a lot to do with the applicant pool. It's also much like MIT---make your app the best it possibly can be, and you might have a pretty good shot.</p>

<p>UCLA-Slightly easier to get into than Berkeley, and UCs have relatively heavy stats emphasis compared to other schools, which is a boost for you. Maybe a lower reach, and definitely a possibility.</p>

<p>I'd encourage you to look for more match-level engineering programs. It shouldn't be too hard to look it up on the internet. I know there's some kinda "school of mines" which a few of my math-science friends looked into. I'm sure there's plenty more.</p>

<p>Anyway, I'm just a HS Junior too (senior next year) so please take my (rather long winded) opinion with a grain of salt. Best of luck!</p>

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<p>Thanks silverchris so much for your input! i really do appreciate it, and i will consider what you have said and try to find more matches/safeties because I know I will need them.</p>

5

<p>bump......</p>

6

<p>anyone else??</p>

7

<p>Well, engineering schools, particularly computer science departments, are really looking for females. There aren't many majoring in computer science, so that could be a pretty sizable boost for you.</p>