No school for THREE months..am I crazy for trying??

Colleges & Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

<p>Please chance me...I know its a long shot and I am not doing it just to do it ..I love Cornell and it is my number one school. I would have applied ED if I had realized I was going to try for it. I just really would like to know how you think they will look at my GPA in regards to my surgery. </p>

<p>Issue= As a freshman I was out from November to the beginning of February because of major knee surgery. I originally entered high school an honors kid on scholarship, but after receiving minimal help from my school in regards to my absence my grades plummeted. As an underclassmen I struggled to get the grades I knew I could get because I had to teach myself basically 3 months of work from all of my classes. However, as a junior and senior my grades have been good, so I decided I would apply to Cornell because even though I know I have a .0002 % chance I love the school.</p>

<p>GPA = 3.2</p>

<p>Freshman year= 84 average
Sophomore year = 85 average (mainly because I was in Spanish II without knowing Spanish I ><)
Junior year= 91
Senior year= 93 - 95</p>

<p>APUSH = 3 (I didn't take the class, but I took the test just to take it)</p>

<p>I go to a catholic school in Queens, New York. It offers a few APs but for the majority of them you have to be a senior to take them. </p>

<p>I applied to the College of Human Ecology and chose to do the alternate as well and applied for CAS.</p>

<p>SAT (super scored)</p>

<p>Critical Reading = 640
Math = 630
Writing = 640
Composite = 1910</p>

<p>SAT II's</p>

<p>Lit = 650
U.S History = 680</p>

<p>Senior year courses</p>

<p>AP English
AP Government and Politics
AP Psychology
Pre Calculus
Poetry
Health (required)
Gym (required)
Sacred Art and Christianity (required)
Human Sexuality and Love (required)</p>

<p>Extracurricular Activities</p>

<p>I am Editor-in-Chief of my high schools award winning newspaper.
(the past 13 years we have been voted #1 in the Brooklyn-Queens Diocese except one year we were second)</p>

<p>I am President of the Quill and Scroll Society ( The National Journalism Honor Society)</p>

<p>I participated in The-N teen press conference. Stars from the shows Degrassi and Beyond the Break were there getting their shows out to the teens.</p>

<p>I received a Full Scholarship to Study Abroad in Germany the summer before my junior year.</p>

<p>I am Treasurer of the German Club.</p>

<p>I started a book club with teens in my community. Through this I organized and managed a book exchange.</p>

<p>I took French classes over the summer in Manhattan, and I am currently teaching myself Italian.</p>

<p>Volunteer Work</p>

<p>Elementary School After Care program = 120 hours
Tutoring 10th to 12th grade= 420 hours
School Volunteer (Open House, Guidance Office, etc.) = 120 hours</p>

<p>Teacher Recommendations</p>

<p>The first one is amazing my English teacher, that I absolutely adore, wrote it. I had him for English 11 honors and now for Poetry (that is why I took the class!)</p>

<p>The second should be pretty good he had me as a freshman, when I went through my surgery, then again as a junior and again for drivers ed.</p>

<p>My Essay</p>

<p>The common app one is about the English teacher who wrote my recommendation and how he has influenced me. On a scale of 1 to 10 it would achieve at least an 8 although probably higher. I spent forever on it and my guidance counselor, who has been head of the department for a while, (I go to the largest Catholic high school in America) said it was the best essay that she has ever seen.</p>

<p>My supplements were really good as well. I tied in my pursuit of knowledge with my future career goals and how the PAM major facilitates everything I need. Id give it at least an 8 as well.</p>

<p>For Cornell, my uncle went there and sent in a letter for me. I am not exactly sure what he put, but I didn't think it could hurt.</p>

<p>Thank you for taking the time to help me out. I have no clue what is going to happen. I know my chances are horrendous at best, but I wanted to see your thoughts (especially concerning the surgery factor ><).</p>

2

<p>I’m sorry to tell you that even though you have decent extracurriculars, the stats just wont cut it. 5% max</p>

3

<p>Your GPA is understandable, but your SAT scores are not. Are you taking SATs again, if allowed?</p>

<p>If you do improve your SAT Reasoning substantially, I think you have an excellent shot as long as you can reveal your passion in your essays.</p>

4

<p>Will Cornell take the February ACT? I don’t think that they have one in January…My problem with the SAT is omitting so I believe my score will improve if I take a test like the ACT</p>

5

<p>I go to Cornell and I got in with SATs of 630-Math, 690-Reading, and 630-Writing, with a 3.8 gpa. You should definitely write to the admissions about your knee surgery and being out for 3 months. A really good essay could make up for your SATs. I think that is what happened with me.</p>

6

<p>I don’t like to chance people, but to give you some hope I’ll let you know that I am a freshman in CALS, and I got in with SAT scores of 630 for math, 660 for verbal, and 690 for writing and both of my SAT IIs were 670. I also submitted my ACT score of 30. So, scores are certainly not everything. Just make sure the rest of your application shines (essays especially).</p>

7

<p>I got lower SAT’s than you and got offered Guarenteed Transfer Admission. you def. have a shot.</p>

8

<p>you know, this would be a great test of the ‘hollistic’ applications process. your major surgery tells a compelling story. it presented you with hardships and put you at a severe academic disadvantage from other students. missing that enormous chunk of time even during the 1st year can affect your ability to achieve in subsequent years, yet the trend in gpa is upward. you made some strange decisions- taking an ap exam without taking the course, and taking spanish 2 when you didn’t take spanish 1. these decisions are not likely to perceived as ambitious but rather as overzealous and irresponsible. had you avoided span. 2, your soph. year would be more impressive and indicative of your actual abilities! regardless, you should convey your story as best you can.</p>

<p>what will hold you back is your sat score. i don’t know about the times or deadlines for the last possible exam dates, but a good act score could be enough to make you one of those ‘interesting, compelling’ candidates that these top schools claim to love.</p>

9

<p>Cornell doesn’t rely on numbers as much as the other top schools, they say that, and I honestly believe it. That’s why people from other Ivys try to attack us, we don’t have 790 average SAT scores. That’s just not who we are, and I like it. So I vote yes, you’ll get in.</p>

10

<p>^ o_o You would actually put him as a “likely.” Giving him a 10% chance is more than generous.</p>

11

<p>For BlueDevilBBall…a bit of my story for you ><</p>

<p>I didn’t take Spanish II without taking Spanish I. What happened was my school messed up my schedule and put me in French and then the week before my surgery moved me to Spanish I. When I got back to school, I took Spanish I for the rest of the year and passed it with a mid 80’s grade. My Spanish I teacher later got fired the next year because she was really bad and I had the hardest Spanish II teacher. So I didn’t have a foundation in Spanish I that I would have gained through the first few months and was expected to have that knowledge in Spanish II. In Spanish I we went over the skiing/winter chapter for 3 months to give you an example as to how bad my teacher was. </p>

<p>As for me taking the APUSH test, my school is flagged by bad teachers. Ask anyone that goes there and they can draw up a list of teachers and their classes that are to be avoided at all costs. The majority of students in APUSH in my school fail with 1’s and 2’s. II believe out of maybe 100 kids only 3 got 5’s. I decided to take regular U.S History have a 98 average and then take the AP test with an actual higher probability of doing better than I would have. </p>

<p>sorry for the length </p>

<p>p.s. incognito123 – I’m a girl ;)</p>

12

<p>There are always exceptions (as every CCer who has one has been quick to demonstrate on this thread), but no, in this competitive admissions year, your odds are not good. You have a chance - but your odds are not good at all.</p>

13

<p>jenjen9ny: don’t lose hope. No one here really can tell you.</p>