I'm not really ivy material, but I'd like to be chanced for Cornell..

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

<p>First off, PLEASE don't yell at me for asking=] This is gonna be my "super reach" school.
I'd like to go into the Hotel industry (I think), and Cornell seems to be the best place to do so. My dad thinks I have a chance at getting in here, but I don't think so much. It's also the easiest ivy to get into apparently, so I thought "what the heck" and decided to put up a chance thread. </p>

<p>So yeah, chances please?</p>

<p>(Current junior, all accurate estimations)
White Male from Minnesota
Decent Public school near St. Paul
Upper-Middle Class Income.
UW GPA 3.12 (This can be explained. I learned some valuable life lessons.)
W GPA: 3.19
ACT: 29 (trying to improve to 30-32 or higher)
PSAT: 157 (not taking the SAT)
Class Rank: Top 38% (9th grade & beggining of 11th were bad... some 'bad' grades in some classes that I should not have taken. Depression.)
I'm quite a writer, since I do it all the time, so I think my essays will be TOP OF THE LINE.</p>

<p>Good Recs. GREAT. </p>

<p>Honors Courses: (If it was offered, I took it. Hardest possible.)
- HONORS US History
- HONORS 10th Grade English
- HONORS Advanced Algebra
- AP English Lit.
- HONORS Chemistry (I'm taking the AP Test)
- College Level Anatomy
- AP English Comp.
- AP Psychology
- HONORS Calculus
- AP Spanish Language
- HONORS Economics (maybe micro/macro AP Test)
- HONORS Physics (AP Test)
- AP Statistics
- APUSH</p>

<p>Extra Curricular Activities:</p>

<p>Varsity Cross Country (6 years)
- Captain
- Hosted several team events</p>

<p>Varsity Track ( 4 years)
- Captain 2 years</p>

<p>-PT Job at Department Store since June '08</p>

<p>Intro. Med. Residential Program @ U-Wisconsin this summer... in August.
- This was competetive to get into.</p>

<p>Environmental Club (2 years so far)
- minor volunteering
- possible president next year?</p>

<p>School Band (5 years)
- Pep Band
- Section leader
- Orchestra Ensemble
- Jazz Ensemble- 2 years</p>

<p>Piano (13 years)
-Participated in various recitals/ competitions.. no awards.</p>

<p>Guitar ( 3 years)
- Been teaching myself</p>

<p>MSWE Leadership Team (Model Students With Enthuisiasm)
-Red Ribbon Week President (Organized an anti-drug and alcohol themed week of activities for the school.)
- Active in community volunteering through this program.
- Elected on to the Executive Board</p>

<p>WEB (Where Everybody Belongs)
- Group Leader.. volunteered to assist underclassmen with adapting to a new school
- Did twice as much volunteering than anyone else</p>

<p>Junior Class Comittee (probably senior too)</p>

<p>Peer Tutors (Roughly 3-4 hours weekly)</p>

<p>Student Senate (Elected for Junior Year)
- Hoping to work up to President or Vice by senior Year</p>

<p>Fall Musical (will be 3 years)
- Medium sized roles, likely a lead role junior or senior year</p>

<p>Winter One-Act Play Competition (2 years)
- Small roles. This just gives me something to do in the winter.</p>

<p>Student Ambassadors (Freshman Year)</p>

<p>I write novels in my spare time. My longest was 210 pages. I want to get something published soon.</p>

<p>I am a dedicated rower.. I row 4-6 times a week in the summer, and 3-4 times in the school year.</p>

<p>Chances/Advice?</p>

2

<p>Sorry.. But very low chance.. If you still want to attend, perhaps you should look into transferring for your junior year.</p>

3

<p>It's not IMPOSSIBLE though, is it?
As I said, it's the most competitive school I'm applying to by a longggggg shot.</p>

4

<p>cornell emphasizes fit the most. Convey that in your essays you would be a good fit for the Hotel program. Do some research on wikipedia. or on the cornell website to find out some specifics and toss them in. They WILL be able to overlook your bad GPA if you show them that you will fit in there. Also, do more hours at work, and try to get your boss to write you a rec letter. Business experience is very valuable with them (it goes along with the fit of the program). They do not need to see you work in a hotel; any decent service industry job (IE, not Mcdonalds or crap like that) will suffice. I would advise you to drop some of your crappier ECs, or ones that you dont like and try to pick up more hours at work, or at least focus your ECs as you enter Jr summer and Sr year.</p>

5

<p>Impossible. </p>

<p>My suitemate is from Minnesota, had a 3.9 and was a guaranteed transfer--not even a direct admit. 28 ACT.</p>

<p>And this has to be the hundredth, "I got a bad GPA because I was like really depressed" thread. Do you really think Cornell would overlook the most important aspect of your application because you were going through a mood swing? Furthermore, your extracurricular activities are all over the place without a theme or focus: instruments, a sport or two, and some diversity stuff.</p>

<p>The quality of your essay has more to do with the passion and genuine interest you elaborate on rather than the diction or stylistic elements. And I doubt you'll be able to display either when you're applying for "the heck of it," and aren't sure if you even want to be a Hotelie.</p>

<p>Seriously, save yourself the cash and effort.</p>

6

<p>^^what is a guaranteed transfer?????????????</p>

7

<p>Cornell's way of artifically lowering its acceptance rate by accepting applicants as transfers the following year.</p>

8

<p>
[quote]
Cornell's way of artifically (sic) lowering its acceptance rate by accepting applicants as transfers the following year.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Except that Cornell could care less about its acceptance rate. Every year there are some students that Cornell would like to admit as students, but can't, for lack of space in the freshman dorm. GTs aren't trying to artificially do anything, save for educate worthwhile students.</p>

9

<p>If you can manage to get your class rank to top 25% and ACTs to 30+, I will give you a slight chance. Otherwise, it's going to be nearly impossible.</p>

10

<p>All of these kids going straight off of numbers are nuts. Cornell is focused on fit. And if you don't believe me, ask the kids with 2300+ SAT scores who got rejected early decision and the kids with sub 2000 scores that were accepted!!!</p>

11

<p>Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to get up into the top quarter of the class. I have the improving trend (with the minor exception, which I may retake this summer), but it didn't get me that high up. I know it's a killer; but I think I can explain what I learned from my past mistakes and how I can apply the results of my mistakes in the future.</p>

<p>Getting a 30 on the ACT is almost a given for me though. I rock standerdized tests.</p>

<p>Thanks for replying everyone. </p>

<p>EDIT
@ Jay: I'm not applying for "the heck of it." This is a school that I'd be extremely honored to attend, and not only because it's an ivy, but because of the peple that go there. If there's one thing that I hate about high school, it's being stuck with people that truly don't care or apply themselves to anything. It's almost depressing to sit there and watch people throw these opporotunities that are being given to them away because they'd rather go get wasted. At a school the calibur or Cornell, or any othe ivies for that matter, I'll know that my peers and oher people arond me are all dedicated and applied people who are where they are for the sole purpose of making a future for themselves. The motivation you can get from being around other highly motivated people makes you rise to heights you never thought possible. That's what I want from Cornell.</p>

<p>But yeah, I'm not saying that I think I have a good chance. Not at all.</p>

<p>So I'm just going to stick with "possible" but "super super massive reach."</p>

12

<p>I'm sorry, but the truth is that your chance is slim to even none</p>

13

<p>Do you have hospitality working experience? If you don't, I don't see you being accepted.</p>

<p>
[quote]
Getting a 30 on the ACT is almost a given for me though. I rock standerdized tests.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>A 30 on the ACT is not a high score, at least not by my standard. However, hotel, and Cornell in general is fit-based, and hotel school, based on my unsubstantiated knowledge, is much more lenient with stats.</p>

14

<p>
[quote]
At a school the calibur or Cornell, or any othe ivies for that matter, I'll know that my peers and oher people arond me are all dedicated and applied people who are where they are for the sole purpose of making a future for themselves. The motivation you can get from being around other highly motivated people makes you rise to heights you never thought possible.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>You'd be surprised how untrue this is. Cornell, and the Ivy League in general, is not an academic utopia. It's full of unqualified admits, including legacies, athletes, and affirmative action URM's. These people will rarely be the constituency of an intellectual haven. In fact, add those people in with the sheltered kids who spent their entire youth studying and now they want to get wasted and join a frat so they can enjoy their lives. Add them all up and Cornell is actually starving for the kind of people you describe.</p>

<p>I had similar notions before arriving. Those visions of grandeur were squashed about 3 minutes after I showed up. My RA had a bright blue mohawk, my roommate had already organized his drinking mugs, and one of the very first phone conversations I overheard was like this, "Dude, I got f<em>cking trashed last night. Nah it was at (some frat). A bunch of sluts were there. Yea we're gonna do the same s</em>it tonight, bro. Later."</p>

<p>Now let everyone, especially CayugaRed, vehemently disagree with everything I've said.</p>

15

<p>i think that the cool thing to do is what you describe dontno </p>

<p>but even those who party all the time are still capable of Acing classes...</p>

<p>Cornell (if you get in) is more about self-discovery (figuring out what works for you)</p>

16

<p>
[quote]
i think that the cool thing to do is what you describe dontno

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Of course it's the cool thing to do. But I was warning the OP about the realistic environment at Cornell. </p>

<p>He said:</p>

<p>
[quote]
I'll know that my peers and oher people arond me are all dedicated and applied people who are where they are for the sole purpose of making a future for themselves.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>This just isn't true at all.</p>

<p>I also forgot my favorite Cornell quote (this is a real quote I swear). Right before a final at around noon that counted for 40% of the course grade:</p>

<p>"Dude, I went out last night for awhile. I'm actually still kinda drunk."</p>

17

<p>guys (and girls) say that just to keep up that "cool' appearance...same was done in high school... </p>

<p>for all we know they crammed for 12hrs before going out...</p>

18

<p>
[quote]
Now let everyone, especially CayugaRed, vehemently disagree with everything I've said.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>I'm not certain why I was singled out on this, as I've never denied that a fair number of students at Cornell are less than academically-minded. Look no further than the number of students coming on this website to scope out the "easy" classes before second semester.</p>

<p>But what I have always maintained is that Cornell offers a lot of opportunities and resources to students, and anybody willing to put in a little bit of hard work and effort can be handsomely rewarded by the academic environment that Cornell offers. And yes, there are certainly those students who choose to waste their time at Cornell. But you will also find plenty of other students who share your values. </p>

<p>The other thing is that this is college. It's the time to let loose and perhaps learn from our mistakes every once in a while. Bombing a final may seem like a big thing in college, but in the grand scheme of things it's really water off of a duck's back. Now I don't mean to suggest that everybody shouldn't spend a couple nights a week in the library, but we shouldn't take our collegiate efforts so seriously as to not have any fun.</p>

<p>If I think about the 25 or so kids who I shared a floor with freshmen year, I was surprised by a lot of the behavior that was demonstrated. One kid (a hotelie, to boot) started doing a lot of hard drugs, and well, we never saw him again. Another kid drank and smoked his way through his freshmen year, but suddenly got serious half way through his career at Cornell. He'll be getting his Phd from Harvard next year.</p>

<p>So I don't really know what to tell you.</p>

19

<p>And what does having a blue mohawk have anything to do with anything?</p>

20

<p>dontno, you make some good points, but did you really expect everyone at Cornell to wear big owl glasses and a pocket protector and spend all their time studying? sure hope not. one reason i'm applying is because I don't want everyone around me to be a pretentious loser who studies all the time and can't have fun. the fact that (most) people at cornell are smart yet still walk around with blue mohawks (not generally an indicator of intelligence...) and get wasted at frat parties is appealing. wow, a school where lots of people are smart, but fun too....sounds good to me. I mean, it's college. Put thousands of 18-22 yr olds together...did you expect people would study 24/7? nahh, college is the time to have fun. you have the rest of your life to work.</p>