<p>Does anyone know Cornell miracle stories? (low SAT, low GPA, not so great: ECs, essays, or SAT IIs) Just thought this might cheer up some people anxiously waiting for Thursday, including me!</p>
<p>i’ll help bring attention to this too, as i am also very interested!</p>
<p>Last year, my brother’s kid got rejected at Syracuse, but got into Cornell.</p>
<p>But he had stats that were certainly in Cornell’s ballpark.</p>
<p>I have a 1920 sat and got in!</p>
<p>I’ll one up you with a 1910! :P</p>
<p>But my CR was 660 and math 700…</p>
<p>Very nice congrats!</p>
<p>1990/1270, 3.4 increasing trend, top 25% ----> Hotel school '16</p>
<p>ECs and interview were great though, so it’s not really a miracle haha</p>
<p>Miracles do occur but one has to really work hard to make them occur. :-)</p>
<p>I consider myself a miracle because all my stats (SATs and GPA) were a huge strech for Cornell. 630 CR, 660 Math, 1290 combined for the 2(which Cornell looks at) and 1860 overall though they apparently don’t look at wrtiting. SAT IIs are horrible, 600 math Lvl II, 570 US History. My Weighted GPA is 3.98, not even hitting the 4 mark. UW is 3.77. I had to pretty much rely entirely on extracurriculars and reccs for interest. Extracurriculars were relatively high, reccs weren’t earth shattering but they were pretty good too.</p>
<p>I got in with an 1890 sat score…</p>
<p>Well I too have found a girl on this CC forum who claims that she has been accepted with an SAT score of 1780. So can’t predict what’s going to happen. I would say keep your fingers crossed and hope for the best.</p>
<p>I know an international student(girl frommy country) who got admitted by Cornell with only 1800 in the sat but she had EXCELLENT EC’s and everything else was just great!
She didn’t enrol there after all bcz she had a stingy finaid offer(50% only !!)</p>
<p>Take into consideration that students are notorius for inaccurately reporting test scores, either purposely or innocently, to others, especially the more time passes.</p>
<p>Celebrate now, once your actually at Cornell, be prepared to work you ass off.</p>
<p>Miracle stories are few and far in-between. I really don’t understand everyone’s obsession with miracle applicants who very luckily get into top schools. If a student honestly (with a decent amount of work ethic) can’t perform that well in a public high school, the competition, rigor, and curving at Cornell will undoubtedly destroy them.</p>
<p>That said, I know of one guy from school who continuously wrote “University of Cornell” on his essays and still got in (not a miracle, just hilarious from a guy who continuously spoke of [University of] Cornell).</p>
<p>Hm. Not sure if “miracle” as I had many other things that I did during high school but I got accepted with a 1790 SAT score.</p>
<p>Miracle stories are more likely if you happen to be a recruited minority…</p>
<p>The students who get in with SAT scores below Cornell’s median (mid 1400) and not in the top 10% or in the far end of it are almost always minorities, athletes, legacies, alumni who donate, and applicants with an affiliation with the school (such as a parent who is a professor there). Yes, miracle stories do happen but they are VERY rare, as HONORLIONS said, and should NOT be an incentive for anyone with similar stats to apply. And I agree, anyone who gets in with sub 2000 SATs and mediocre grades in AP classes should think twice about attending simply because the courseload there may be beyond them, despite being accepted.</p>
<p>The reasons the averages are the averages is because it’s the characteristics of MOST applicants, not all. You’ll have people with high SATs and low GPAs and vice versa. Now, with a “miracle” applicant, my intuition is that something had to stand out in the essays or circumstances of the applicant.</p>
<p>I also feel that if you are a low GPA/low SAT student, you really have to consider whether or not Cornell is the right place for you. Because chances are, you are going to struggle relative to your classmates; especially if you are in a major where grades depend heavily on a curve (think sciences and engineering). A serious question you have to ask yourself is whether or not you thrive under pressure and can motivate yourself through frustration. Why were you a well below average candidate? Do you really think you have it in you to “turn it around” for 4 years? If so, how hard will that be for you? Cornell looks great on a resume, but if you are going to be frustrated and stressed, you’d probably be happier at another school.</p>
<p>That said, if you get in, I am also of the firm belief that high school credentials get thrown out the door day 1 of orientation. So many things about most people change during college that a below average candidate can rise and an above average candidate can drop off in terms of academics. I tend to think the most important quality coming in is work ethic. While a fair number of Cornellians were able to get through high school with little effort (relatively speaking), only a select few of those students are so smart that they can put relatively little effort into their classes. My roommate was an example of this type of person (and yes, it’s annoying). He would study at most probably 2-3 hours for his exams and still get A’s and he was an engineer.</p>
<p>I had a 27 ACT and was accepted ED.
No, I am not a minority nor an athlete. I took every AP class the school offered, had a high GPA and class rank, strong EC’s, and good essays (in my opinion). Subject test scores were 740’s and my AP scores were 4s and 5s. Honestly, my act was the only thing bringing me down. I think if everything else is great they may overlook low scores.</p>