<p>I'm applying to Cornell ED at the end of this year.
I was born in russia and moved here when I was 6,
skipped middle school all together to hitchhike around the
world with my father on life insurance money as a result of
my mother's death from stroke. Now I'm in foster care and a
junior at Clarence High School in upstate NY. I skipped 10th
grade so that I could be with my age group and I have a 3.7
gpa on a 4.0 scale.
newSATV:670 (I got a 100 on the english regents exam)
newSATm:570 (hopefully will improve after kaplan course)
newSATw:670
APs: EnglishLan, EnglishLit, Biology, US history, Government.
honors french and Advanced painting among others.
ECs: (hope to improve senior year)
NHS
International club treasurer/vice-president
Yearbook senior editor
Art partner
Vollunteer at SPCS, local animal shelter, city food bank,
nursing home.
Summer full-time/ fall part-time job at fashionbug</p>
<p>I hope to major in international relations and minor in psychology
and art. I know the stats aren't as impressive as some other peoples,
but do you guys think I can get in on my "overcoming adversity" stats
and my "thirst for learning" ?????
please let me know....thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!</p>
<p>cornell is not out of reach. It is however, quite a reach for sure. Don't get your hopes too high, but there's a legitimate chance of getting in, albeit a rather small one, in my opinion. I'd definitely say apply to schools with less competitive admissions as well.</p>
<p>Any other comments?
I still haven't taken the SATIIs, how many should I take to look 'better'? Also my recomendations and essays will be amazing.</p>
<p>To be admitted into Cornell's school of Arts ans Sciences (the school your majors are taught in), you must submit 2 SAT II scores in any subject. I would suggest, based on the AP classes you have taken, to take SAT II US History, SATII Biology, and another subject test as a backup if you don't do well in one of the former.</p>
<p>you have a unique background which from that brief description above, I can sympathesize with. In addiition to doing well on standarized scores, write a great personal essay and you have a great shot. You wont realize what level that essay based on your background could take you.</p>
<p>Thank you for the encouragment.
I just got my ACT scores....Eng30, Math24, Read.27, Sci26...average 27. I know a 27 is just where the cutoff is...I hope to improve (I only had two years of math since elementary school) are these scores going to hurt my chances if i sent them in?</p>
<p>I personally dont think you have a great shot unless you raise your SAT score. I dont know much about the ACT so I wont comment on that. Improve them you'll have a much much better chances.</p>
<p>A lot will probably depend on your essay and how the adcomm is feeling about your situation on that particular day. Also, how much time do you spend volunteering and working?</p>
<p>Yeah, I know I have to raise the SAT score (the kaplan course should help). I know its all luck of the draw too. I have 60 vollunteer hours and hope to get 50 this summer, and I worked weekends during school and now full-time. Any suggestions about ec's or anything else?</p>
<p>But considering your living situation and all and the fact that you skipped middle school and 10th grade...I think you might have ok chances. The year is still early. Study this summer for SATs and SAT IIs and raise those. Your GPA will be ok, i believe. Just write a KILLER essay. (Send it to one of those essay editing services? Sure they cost a lot of $ but they help)</p>
<p>Lilly888
Your living situation is unique and good for you for being ambitious about college. You can craft a strong foundation for your future by choosing a brilliant match for college, and this college must offer good financial aide packages and high contact with your teachers. This college must also take an interest in you, and be a place where your strong verbals can allow you to succeed. Your verbal ability is strong and your AP load shows ambition. Your math skills are lacking but there is no reason why you can't fulfill the math requirements for a degree. Cornell is a Reach...and not necessarily a place where you can put down roots and bloom into your strongest self. Be careful...colleges that highly selective/prestigious are not necessarily the only colleges that can offer you incredible riches in terms of friendship, support and a strong foundation.
Since you have lost one parent and are in foster care for a time, as a parent myself, I think you are on the wrong path. You can always do graduate school in a large university like Cornell or UMich, but for undergraduate school, I think you should apply to smaller colleges of 1800- 6000 people tops. Why? Results are just as great if not better for getting into good graduate schools from the LACs, and classroom size is 100 times better...leading to closer relationships with wonderful teachers and I really think the Liberal Arts Colleges are much better options for you. During the years you are 18-22, close interactions with teachers and strong adults who know you by name can still make a huge difference in your personal growth, and your parents did their best but were unable to fully guide you all 18 years. LACs offer a different kind of parenting/mentoring but a style of education that I think will bring you more fulfillment and strength. Read up on the Liberal Arts Colleges...many of the top forty schools are fabulous. I am not saying you should not apply to Reach schools..go ahead and apply to a couple reaches but make sure to identify true match schools and visit them and interview there as well. I think you should give LACs a hard look and you should try to visit several of them.
By the way, have you kept up your fluidity in Russian? Have you considered applying to schools that would appreciate this and are strong in languages, since you study French and do so well in English? Being bilingual would be a plus for international relations studies. What kind of social life on a campus would be a fit for you? Sporty, arty, liberal vs conservative, north, south, midwest locations, diversity issues, is urban atmosphere important to you, or would you try a school in a quiet town if it is a strong match? One match school that comes to my mind for you that is very strong in languages is Dickinson, but I don't know if their art scene would appeal to you. Develop that match list, look at LACs with strong financial aide packages.<br>
Open your mind to schools that are not large and are not Ivies and work up a reastic list of Reach and Match and Safties. I agree that some great schools will make you an offer but you will get the most milage attending a school that is also renowned for intimacy with faculty in my humble parental opinion.
Good luck during your search this year...I am sure you will locate that open door.</p>
<p>Thank you sooo much Faline2, your letter was so thoughtful! Yes, I will keep my options open to all kinds of good schools. I'm interested in Cornell because, I believe, I have a lot to offer a school like that and it has a lot to offer me (like classes for people who speak russian because it's a heritage language but don't know how to read and write). Also, because of my situation (not going to school for five years), my sat/act scores aren't as good but I developed a drive and determination for education that I think any college would welcome. I know strong bonds are crucial for people my age but my foster mother is very supportive of me and she's a great parental figure, so I'm not focusing as much on class size as I am on academics. My essays will be outstanding for highly selective schools, but it all depends on who reads it. You've got to aim high, and that's what I'm doing by applying to Cornell, I just hope they see my potential. LACs are terrific though,
and there are many of them in new england (where I want to go to school) so I'm keeping my options open...but wishing for Cornell nonetheless!
Anyone else with suggestions??</p>
<p>honestly, not to show down your chances or anything, but I do not think you will make it. Why, because you have a 1240, and you are not a URM, despite not being born here. Your weak score does not even come on verbal, where they would be more forgiving b/c it is not ur first language, but your math is atrocious. The average SAT Math at Cornell is like a 710.</p>
<p>Don't ever give up hope. Listen to Faline2. I don't think Cornell is the right place for you just yet. Why don't you go to a decent school for the next two years and then transfer into Cornell? Many people do this. Just make sure you do well at your transfer school.</p>
<p>i think thats a bit harsh collegekid. I know cornell's 25th percentile is rising, but still, 1240 isn't too far off, and she's good a good GPA. We've all said her chances aren't great, but it's not impossible. However, eternity and faline have an excellent point. 2 years of doing well at a smaller or less selective school could greatly improve you, and you could apply to cornell (or any other tip-top school) as a transfer.</p>
<p>are you guys kidding, her gpa is a 3.7, which will certainly not compensate for a 1240 SATs..Cornell is an ivy leageu school, with a 1240 and 3.7 gpa you better be a URM or some spectacular athlete..to be honest and not to sound rude, you have no chance</p>
<p>im not sure how cornell admissions will view your application. reach but possible.</p>
<p>here's my main concern that no one has adressed. Lets suppose you get into Cornell. You will have a lot of catching up to do in an already competitive environment. Skipping a grade, not taking a lot of math,etc. makes me feel that if Cornell admissions accepts you, they will be setting you up for failure. I think you have a lot of potential, but you have not tapped that potential because you skipped a grade+middle school(wow!). I don't think Cornell is a place where you want to play catch up to students who haven't been through the struggles that you have been and have much better scores and have already put their academic potential to use. You on the otherhand, while I'm sure you have lots of academic potential, have not demonstrated it through test scores/etc.</p>
<p>I suggest attending a state school, possibly UVA/Michigan/etc. Get back on your feet the first two years, and if you feel like you're back to speed and excelling there, transfer to Cornell.</p>
<p>Your transfer application to Cornell would look very impressive because you would have gotten over the obstacles and gotten back up to speed.</p>
<p>Also, I'm not trying to be rude, but can you afford a 4-year tuition/room/board to Cornell? If you have to take a lot of loans, you are just going to put even more weight on your already heavy shoulders. Transferring sounds like the best plan for you.</p>
<p>Good luck and feel free to PM if you have any questions.</p>
<p>Have fun in college! Don't go to college just for the purpose of transferring to Cornell. Make friends and have a social life, but at the same, study hard. Don't let college control your life; you control your college experience. Don't treat your immediate college as a "transfer" college but more as place where you can really develop your intelligence and knowledge. You have a great a future ahead of you so take advantage of it. </p>
<p>I ended up doing poorly in high school but I initially attended a decent school (univ. of CO, Boulder). I worked hard and accumulated a 3.7 as an engineering major. Now, I'm tranferring to one of the top schools for engineering in the East. I am not transferring for the sole purpose of prestige. I have a lot of family in the East Coast and it has always been my dream to live in NY.</p>
<p>One of the things I would change If I go back to my earlier college days is:
1) I wouldn't always been so focused on "transferring" out.
2) I would have had more fun; joined more clubs and sports.</p>
<p>I believe Lilly will be admitted into a very good LAC or state school..however let me point out that admission to UVa from out of state requires Ivy League stats and is highly competitive, and is much more difficult than from in-state residence. See UVa common data set to confirm. Not a likely option.</p>
<p>Lilly, I am happy that your foster parent is an exceptional person who is greatly supportive of you. Perhaps Cornell would give you a break due to Russian language factors but do take our advice and do not focus all your attachment and emotions to a Reach School. It is the deadly mistake that many of us make.<br>
It is hard to get attached to more than one place and even sort of unnatural in feeling to do so, but you must. Give your heart and visualize yourself at a handful of places and stay open during this process, and your attachments will quite naturally, be shifting and uncertain. By all means, take the advice of everyone and make sure to attach to safety schools first and foremost. But pick safety schools where you know you could settle in and be happy. So start reading up and looking very hard to discover the atmospheres of schools that might overlook your math scores and be glad to have you in their student body.<br>
interesting work ahead and best wishes!</p>
<p>Thank you all for your comments. You have made some valid points...I know it'll be hard for me to "catch up" but only in the math. Since I skipped 10th grade, I had to double up on English last year and will have to take 2 AP history classes this upcoming year. I think having 8 classes a day, 4 of which are APs, will give me sufficient prep for a tough school. I really don't think I'll be behind in anything other than math, and that has nothing to do with my major. Transferring sounds like a great idea if getting in on the first try doesn't work. Regarding financial issues, I would have to take out loans and apply for scholarships. Is the math score on the SATs really such a big deal if I have a B in class?
Thanks again for the input.</p>