Help Calm My Nerves... PLEASE!

<p>Lately I've been doubting myself way too much and I just wanted to hear from someone else that I won't get rejected at all the schools I apply to.</p>

<p>--</p>

<p>Sophomore Transfer
Applying to Cornell, Dartmouth, Penn, and Stanford
Currently at University of Florida</p>

<p>--</p>

<p>-SAT : 1430 (740M, 690V)
-SAT II: ~710
-Engineering Physics Major at Cornell and Dart; Physics at others
-College GPA: 4.0
-This semester I'm taking 6 classes and a lab; as of now I have 6 A's and a B.
-Dean's List, President's Honor Roll, etc.
-Good EC's
-Letters of Recommendation (3; one outstanding, others great) <em>BUT NONE ARE FROM COLLEGE PROFESSORS</em>
-Essays are decent/good (Everyone tells me they're good/great but I'm skeptical)</p>

<p>--</p>

<p>URM (Hispanic); First Generation College Student
HS GPA: 5.239W, 3.7UW
Rank: 11/1150 (Top 1% of Senior Class)
AP National Scholar (12 Exams; all >4)
Several other awards (e.g. Outstanding Senior: Science; GPA > 5.0 Award; Honor Roll; etc.)</p>

<p>--</p>

<p>Thanks for reading... and please humor me; I'm really unsure about my chances.</p>

<p>-Eddie-</p>

<p>i say your stat outweighs my numerically if you don't count into ECs, so there is no need to calm your nerve.</p>

<p>additionally you did a fair job of choosing what school to apply.</p>

<p>
[quote]
-Letters of Recommendation (3; one outstanding, others great) <em>BUT NONE ARE FROM COLLEGE PROFESSORS</em>

[/quote]
</p>

<p>If they know you more than any professor would, then you are perfectly fine.</p>

<p>i don't get it, your GPA is 4.0 and you're worried? Am I missing something here?</p>

<p>At the very least... I would think in at Cornell... of course since you said engineering I have no idea... do you have the required coursework done for the program?</p>

<p>Did you follow the suggested course plan for the specific major you are applying to at Cornell? That seems to be just as important along with the gpa and toughness of the course.</p>

<p>i feel like we're being scammed..who freaks out when they have a college 4.0?</p>

<p>A lot of people do, but people with high stats tend to attract less sympathy, and people with low stats tend to attract flames.</p>

<p>trust me, students with 4.0s worry about acceptances, esp. when applying to schools like these.</p>

<p>as for the OPs evaluation, you have a very good chance at the schools ur applying. however, i do know that other schools of that caliber require at least one rec from a professor, though im not sure of the exact ones you are applying to.</p>

<p>I agree with Blackdream. Besides, people with 4.0s get rejected too... 4.2s even. Porrell's got great stats, but we're all human and for the most part a majority of us worry about college applications, regardless of our stats.</p>

<p>Now with that said, Porrell, I don't think you have anything to worry about, but you might want to check up on what these people have said about the course work and any kind of specifics regarding the source of your letters of recommendation... one of the first things adcoms look for is following directions. har har. just kidding on that one (sorta)... just something a counselor told me once.</p>

<p>Thanks everyone for the responses... I think the recs will be alright; I was looking to see if it was required that they were college profs and it didn't say. It assumes that you will get them from college professors, but it does not require. I explain in my "Why do you want to transfer" essays that personal relationships between professors and students are nonexistant at UF and that it is one of the major reasons I want to transfer. Once again, thanks guys... </p>

<p>By the way, I had a bunch of AP credits here at UF and therefore did not have to take most of the classes that are considered pre-reqs (e.g. Calc 1 and 2, Chem 1, Physics w/ Calc 1 and 2 (mech, e&m), etc.) do you think Cornell will frown upon this, because it says that I have to complete pre-reqs for Engineering major and I they won't accept credit for all of my classes. I have taken Calc 3 and DFQ, and also taken Modern Physics and Chem 2; so it shows that I do have the knowledge required.</p>

<p>-Eddie-</p>

<p>I use APs as most of my prerequistes.</p>

<p>I am not sure about my recs, I gave them the courtesy of allowing them to do it themselves.They have nothing bad to say about me. </p>

<p>I remember I messed up the first midterm in my Physics class(I got 75) cuz I was sick (there are 2 midterms total), I asked my professor how can I get an A, and she told me to "Get A on everything after that midterm".(kinda reminds me of a Japanese General's response to their emperor's question of "How to pervent Japan from getting nuked" -- "Shot down every US plane entering Japan"). Well I pulled it off, and I supposed that I've impress her.</p>

<p>It's not that they would have bad things to say about me... it's just that I don't feel comfortable asking someone who doesn't know me to recommend me. Instead, I asked two of my really close teachers in high school to do it and both wrote excellent recs. For the third recommendation, I asked the CFO of ANI (Alabama Neurological Institute - Internship this summer as Managerial Consultant) and he wrote a decent recommendation. I hope those recs will suffice as the first two are outstanding. As for the pre-reqs, as long as Cornell doesn't frown upon my not having taken all of the required courses because I already have credit for them, I'll be ok.</p>

<p>By the way, good luck to all of you in your transfer endeavors.</p>

<p>-Eddie-</p>

<p>if your gpa is better than mine then you're not going to get any comfort from me.</p>