<p>Unsure about which college. I want to do either Engineering, Chemistry, or Biology. I heard biology would be easiest to get into for NY residents but that wouldn't be a deciding factor.</p>
<p>Catholic prep school in NYC
GPA- 97 ... top 5% of class of ~650
ACT- 35 (E35, M35, R33, S36) writing unavailable
SAT IIs: MathII- 720, Chem- 680 (or should I send Bio M instead, 680)</p>
<p>Couple honor courses each year. All my math and science courses
Senior year sched- AP Chem, AP Calc, AP Psych, Physics honors</p>
<ul>
<li>My ECs are decent.. no fancy math or science awards or competitions
Tutoring, Boy Scouts, a lot of in school stuff, NHS, both science and math NHS, baseball for 2 years and intramural softball for the other 2 years, Greek orthodox youth association</li>
<li>Good letters of recommendation</li>
</ul>
<p>Haha, I’d love a real answer. I know my ACT is good, but I probably fall short everywhere else. No great EC’s, my SAT IIs are all terrible percentiles, no APs untill senior year (and only 3).</p>
<p>The TC is pretty much in the same situation/type of school I was in previously. He/she would definitely need high quality essays and recommendations as assistance. Also, be sure to apply to the college with a major that seems to best fit your interests. On a final note, if you’re going to submit the ACT, you need the Writing section I believe. You could always check your desired college’s acceptance requirements just to be sure.</p>
<p>From what I’ve read about Cornell, they look for “fit”. Your EC’s should have a focus, be it engineering, science, or whatever. They want your interests to match the focus of the school you’re applying to. If you don’t get it, it definitely will not be because of your stats.</p>
<p>I’m not sure that I agree with the statement that ECs have to have focus and fit the focus of college you are applying to.</p>
<p>My D applied College of Engineering and did not have any math/science ECs. Her ECs were mainly in one sport where she showed a lot of dedication and persistance. She did not have a lot of big awards but did a lot of volunteer coaching, teaching, training, in addition to competing. And she got a likely letter from the CoE.</p>
<p>I know women are a minority in the CoE so perhaps the ECs are not as key. </p>
<p>That said, I think all colleges want to see who you are as a person. What are you passionate about? How do you spend your free time? I think they are pretty good at sensing the resume padders vs. the kids with a true interest in something that will add to the campus life. Also, make sure you are clear about who you are and what you love. If you are a good fit, you will get in. Sometimes colleges are doing you a favor by rejecting you. They know their school is not the right fit for you. </p>
<p>aren’t the SAT IIs a bit low for engineering though? the thing with bio is there are a bunch of different bio majors to choose from and 3 are in contract colleges. chem is in arts and engineering is in engineering. i think you need to narrow your focus to apply the right way</p>