<p>For those of you who applied to Cornell and were accepted, think you can help my friend out?</p>
<p>He's really smart, has straight A's, passionate extracurriculars with leadership positions, etc. but he's worried that his freshman and sophomore years were too weak.</p>
<p>Note, he did get all A's during his first two years of high school - but in total he only took 5 honors classes during freshman and sophomore years, and the rest were CP. Added, there was 1 AP available for sophomores which he didn't take. With people here taking rigorous courseloads with 8 or 9 honors, he has really gotten worried.</p>
<p>Although, next year (junior year) he's stuffing his courseload with 2 AP's and 4 or 5 honors courses, so he's going to try and save himself...</p>
<p>Does he still have a shot at Cornell? Perhaps you can share how many honors/AP classes you took, total, in high school? Should he even be worried? Thanks!</p>
<p>Just do the best you can and then take a shot. Without our knowledge of SATs scores, AP grades, curriculum, or extracuricular activities, asking whether he has a change is like asking us to flip a coin and give us an answer based on that. If college admissions was as predictable as you would like it to be, there would not be all this madness associated with college admission, and yes it is madness indeed.</p>
<p>Timduncanbball: Because I'm not? Does that answer your silly question? It happens to be my best friend whom I am very concerned for, save his college obsessions. Personally I have no interest in Cornell anyway, I've always wanted to go to NYU.</p>
<p>Thats probably not a very rigorous course load, to answer your question, or at least it does not appear to be (depends on the school). He didn't take the only AP sophmore class, and that the reviewers might not like, because they like to see taken opportunities. But other things can compensate for that lack of rigor, or rigor can compensate for the lack of other things. Hope that answers the question.</p>
<p>i still don't understand how colleges know what APs your high school offers and doesn't offer to certain students. my high school offered i think 17 APs. after i graduated, there are 20. i only took 5. does this look bad (transfer candidate)? and how do they know???</p>
<p>"don't go off jumping into conclusions..." hahahaha.... so you say you have no interest in Cornell whatsoever???? hmmm... well GL to your Friend, looks good to me!!! lol</p>
<p>All high schools send, along with the guidance counselor recommendation, a school profile. It should show, among other things, the APs available to the kids at the high school. I don't think it is a set form, but it should give adcoms a sense of where an applicant stands in relation to his grade peers in high school. Also, over time, adcoms become familiar with many of the high schools in their regions and they have a sense of what is available at a particular school. Having taken one AP more or less will not affect an admissions decision. Remember, they look at the whole application.</p>
<p>"I'm interested in colleges such as Cornell, Stanford, NYU, and UC Berkeley.
Although so far I have straight A's (sophomore) and am ranked in the top 5% of my class, I feel like I haven't been taking enough honors. How does this rank with other people who have the same prospective colleges?</p>
<p>I really really want to get into Cornell, but I'm not sure that my courseload is "rigorous enough", at least not freshman and sophomore years.</p>
<p>I feel like I messed up freshman and sophomore year with only 2 & 3 respectively...And even though I will bulk it up junior year, I feel like colleges will think I have been slacking so far.</p>
<p>Help?"</p>
<p>Hahahahahahahaha, you have no interest in Cornell? lol, sorry but that's pretty funny</p>
<p>That’s brutal…a little more sensitivity….Junior year courses look challenging, challenging is always good tho…and keep up the good grades…also, which college are you planning on applying to?? Make sure that your interest in that college comes across…that helps a lot! GL lol!</p>
<p>they have no idea when you are allowed to take AP's. seriously, chill out. my school wouldnt let sophomores take APs when I was a sophomore, but the next year they could. it really doesnt matter, just make sure you take APs by your jr and sr years and you will be fine. but seriously chill out, youre only a junior...you have a lot more stress ahead of you, dont waste it on what you cant change</p>
<p>lol don't worry about it, it's just cuz u said it was ur friend in one of those stereotypical "my friend" situations when it's obviously you. </p>
<p>But anyways, if you improve throughout the years it will definitely help. Your rank will help and if you take more APs and Honors as HS goes on and do well then that's fine. I think you do have a chance if you score good SATs, finish out hs getting stronger and stronger like it looks like you are, and write good essays. It is good that you are thinking about it now becuase it will help motivate you, but like that person said the past is the past. If anything let it motivate you to do better, but don't let it make you depressed...people change. Best of luck!!</p>
<p>i wouldn't worry about those classes- just make sure you have little things that compensate for the honors- even if it is in amazing essays or recommendations- </p>