<p>I guess this question goes for most colleges, not just Cornell. But here goes:</p>
<p>Now, according to Cornell, ethnic status is a "considered" factor(wouldn't think it would give someone that much of a leg up), but every time I post that I have URM status, people tell me that I'm "competitive" and have okay to good chances of admission. (Early decision)</p>
<p>My GPA is about 3.57 W (Unless Cornell has some different way of adding it up) and I scored 800CR and 600(retaking)M. My ECs aren't that great either. It seems that if a white or Asian student posted these stats, the general response would be "you have no chance". So how much weight do they really put on URM status? Do URMs face any competition from non-URMs at all?</p>
<p>The answer is "significantly." This applies to most of the private colleges out there. It's hard to quantify since your race is considered in the context of your application but I believe URM's have SAT scores 150 points lower than non-URM's at Yale. I'd guess it's worth about the same at Cornell.</p>
<p>Hmm. I don't know what to say about that. I think it's unfair in a way but it works out well for me.</p>
<p>1400/1600 is not bad at all...i'm sure there are plenty of whites and asians who have gotten in with this type of score...</p>
<p>once you bring up that math you'll be competitive...</p>
<p>I'm pretty confident in my standardized test scores. It's my GPA and academic performance that really seem sub-par (for Cornell). I have two Cs on my transcript and a D(but I repeated that for credit and got an A).</p>
<p>You'll be fine. Colleges need athletes and URMs (especially African Americans), and they'll overlook a C or two to get them - especially if they've got decent test scores.</p>
<p>By the way, awesome screename. (picket sign) Bathe the whales! :)</p>
<p>I surely hope so. I'll take all the help I can get.</p>
<p>Ha ha, thanks. =)</p>