Looking for an honest man to CHANCE ME

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

<p>Thank you for glancing at this thread, all help is greatly appreciated. </p>

<p>I am a white, female from the state of NY applying early decision to ILR<br>
SAT Score: 1400
Math:680
Critical Reading:720</p>

<p>My Junior Year GPA is a 101 or a 4.1 (weighted) and my overall high school GPA is a 94 or a 3.8 (weighted)
There was a huge amount of improvement junior year as you can tell XD</p>

<p>I took 6 AP Courses in high school
AP Literature (senior year), AP Government (senior year), AP US History (5), AP World History (5), AP Human Geography (5) and AP Chemistry (1) </p>

<p>I took the US History SAT 2 and got a 790 and am planning on taking Math 1 (hopefully gonna score somewhere in the 780-800 range) and Literature (hopefully score somewhere in the 740+). </p>

<p>I starred in my high school theater production all 4 years and directed for 1 year.
I also have 300 hours of community service from a theater group that uses theater to spread awareness about domestic abuse.
I had summer jobs for 2 summers, one was doing clerical work for a theater, the other was clerical work for a law firm. </p>

<p>Please help me, even if the answer is NO I want to hear it.</p>

2

<p>You just alienated 50% of potential respondents with that title. Well done. Actually, 99% because you said “honest.”</p>

<p>Your chances look decent.</p>

3

<p>Decent shot currently. I think the essay will be important; and improving those SAT scores wouldn’t hurt either.</p>

4

<p>I’m just curious… How did you manage a 1 in AP Chemistry? I would hide that.</p>

5

<p>SAT probably slightly below average IIRC, GPA is average-above average. From numbers alone you are probably at around the average, so going from that I’d say you have a chance to get in but I’d say at a disadvantage (<50%) IMO. Not saying you’ll need anything in addition to get in, just overall your numbers alone are too average.</p>

6

<p>I had bad cramps the day of the Chemistry AP test but took it anyway because my school said “if you don’t take the AP test, the highest you can get in the class is a 65” so I figured I would rather bomb the test than lower my GPA. </p>

<p>PS, I got to Brooklyn Tech High School which is a Specialized High School in NYC and it’s notoriously hard. So maybe that would improve my chances XD</p>

7

<p>Sorry I should add (wo)man lol. I was just watching a TV show and they made a reference to the “honest man” thing so it came into my head. But thank you for answering anyway</p>

8

<p>I had bad cramps the day of the Chemistry AP test but took it anyway because my school said “if you don’t take the AP test, the highest you can get in the class is a 65” so I figured I would rather bomb the test than lower my GPA.</p>

<p>I’ll admit that I lol’d a bit when I read what the school said, but moving on…</p>

<p>*PS, I got to Brooklyn Tech High School which is a Specialized High School in NYC and it’s notoriously hard. So maybe that would improve my chances XD *</p>

<p>If anything, that would hurt your chances a little since Brooklyn Tech is a competitive school. Cornell has no shortage of Brooklyn Tech, Stuyvesant, and Bronx Science alumni.</p>

9

<p>Yea it’s unfair but they want to give off the impression that kids are prepared for the tests after taking the classes so they threaten people like that. I could have only pulled a 3 tops in good health either way.</p>

10

<p>Don’t send the 1. That’s ridiculously bad.
Anyways, I’d say about average. Your app screams average… the outstanding features are

  1. ED
  2. Your high school name</p>

<p>You’ll have an average ED chance for the school.</p>

11

<p>@vivian: I’m a guy, which is why I chanced. You may not have been so lucky otherwise. </p>

<p>Congrats on your success despite Brooklyn Tech’s challenging curriculum. I agree that you shouldn’t send the 1.</p>

12

<p>Lol thanks studious and I am kinda relieved people are aware how suicidal Tech’s workload is.</p>

13

<p>The thing is it’s less about the workload (which you can pick on your own) than the school name, which really does matter in college apps. Trust me, that is far from the only school where the workload is extraordinarily heavy.</p>

14

<p>I find that even the regular classes at schools with a notorious workload are harder than at schools without that reputation. For example, the average of our Regents grades (the most basic classes) are 10+ points higher than the state average showing that even the most basic classes expect more from kids than elsewhere.</p>

15

<p>The reality is that college admissions consider schools as tiered (in terms of student desirability) and they weigh your app based on the school you came from. Hence, that’s also a major factor in why you hear so many more kids get in good colleges from higher tiered high schools than from lower tiered high schools. Your argument may be true but really the thing is that it’s simply that better schools get better kids and produce better kids - precisely how much each factor (the kids themselves are more self-motivated to begin with, an academically nurturing environment, quality of the staff and teaching, workload) contributes to admission success individually is really hard say. But let’s stick to the basics - the reality is that your school name helps you get into a good school a LOT more than simply the actual workload/difficulty of your school if your school does not have an established reputation. Whether you know it or not, there are connections at play here - politics are everywhere - and you can see this to be particularly true with the existence of feeder schools.</p>

<p>As a side note, this also shows how the system limits a lot of poor folks - if you are stuck in a bad high school with no name recognition, you can only make top colleges want you up to a point because your academic performance would not be valued as much as someone who does well in a better school (unless you are really miraculously amazing - maybe if you manage attract the attention of a school that wants that kind of diversity). Add onto that socioeconomic limitations of living in a poorer/less educated and motivated community and your need of financial aid (which non-need blind schools would discriminate against) and you can see how hard it is for many people to succeed in admissions, and also see why some schools are pushing now to take in first gens, low income families, URMs… etc … even though I feel that the execution leaves a bit to be desired, but that’s for another thread if it ever comes up again and we can get into how admissions is really like a game that colleges play.</p>

16

<p>I believe that you have somewhat of a chance if you do not report the AP Chem score and you continue an upward trend in your grades. Simply put, get the best grades you can Senior Year. While others slack off Senior year, really go for it. </p>

<p>Your AP classes seem to be in line overall with the course of study you are interested in as well as your EC’s to some extent. I would spend less time retaking the SAT and more time fine tuning your overall academic resume and continued related extracurricular experiences that make you a fit for ILR. Below is what ILR is looking for. </p>

<p>What type of student does ILR look for?</p>

<p>ILR looks for students with organizational and leadership skills, solid high school academic performance in the social sciences, math and writing, and who have a strong interest in the fields associated with Industrial and Labor Relations, such as history, economics, government, sociology, psychology, statistics, international relations, law and business.</p>

<p>The Admissions Committee takes into consideration the following information when reviewing applications.</p>

<pre><code>Applicants fit or match and understanding of the ILR program as stated in the essay
High school academic performance – emphasis on writing, math and the social sciences
References
Extracurricular experiences
Standardized tests
</code></pre>

<p>One concern is your lack of leadership - you still have time to gain leadership experience but not if you apply ED. I believe this is a critical piece of the application that cannot be overlooked and will greatly hurt you if you ignore this component. You also want to choose references that can truly highlight your academic strengths as well as leadership potential.</p>

<p>As far as the essay - no time like the present to start working on it. Make sure you really show how ILR at Cornell is a perfect fit for you.</p>

<p>The very best of luck to you!</p>