***OFFICIAL CORNELL C/O 2024 RD RESULTS***

Haven’t seen a thread yet, so here it is! Please post only results.

Remove the “a” in the bold, size, and color of your decision.

[aB][asize=4][acolor=#008000]Decision: Accepted[/color][/size]**
[aB][asize=4][acolor=#FFA500]Decision: Deferred[/color][/size]**
[aB][asize=4][acolor=#FF0000]Decision: Rejected[/color][/size]**

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown):
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II:
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
Weighted GPA:
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load:
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service:
Summer Activities:
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

Teacher Rec #1:
Teacher Rec #2:
Counselor Rec:
Additional Rec:
Interview:

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?:
Intended Major:
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant):
School Type:
Ethnicity:
Gender:
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflection

Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:

General Comments:

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): N/A
ACT (breakdown): 33 (30M, 32R, 33E, 35S)
SAT II: N/A
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.65
Weighted GPA: 4.31
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): ~15/380
AP (place score in parenthesis): European History (3), Language and Composition (2). Did not report either score.
IB (place score in parenthesis): Philosophy SL (3). Did not report.
Senior Year Course Load: All IB courses (Diploma candidate)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Football (was top player in section at my position, but was not recruited to play at Cornell), 9 other activities I wasn’t invested in
Job/Work Experience: None
Volunteer/Community service: Nothing major (around 200 hours between 9th and 12th grade)
Summer Activities: None
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 8. My personal statement clearly showed my personality and my thought process. In the CALS-specific essay I explained my love for my desired major really well, but gave a generic response as to how I would benefit from a Cornell education.
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): Probably 8 or so, although I was not able to read them

Teacher Rec #1: From a teacher that I have a great relationship with. Probably highlighted my positive attributes well.
Teacher Rec #2: From a teacher I had for two years who taught the subject I plan on studying in college. I don’t have much of a relationship with them, but I’ve been a great student in their class.
Counselor Rec: Once again I didn’t have a great relationship with them, but I still believe it was well written and reflected well on me.
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: N/A

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Biological Sciences (CALS)
State (if domestic applicant): NY
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Below average inner-city public school. It only graduates 65% of students and its reputation is not great. Typically sends one student to a top 20 school every two years.
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: $40k to $50k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection

Strengths: IB Diploma Candidate, great ACT science score, perfect grades in biology (4.0 UW and 5.0 W), good essays and recommendations
Weaknesses: Low cumulative UW GPA, lack of important ECs, no ECs related to intended major, no leadership positions, no awards, no clear hooks, from below average school
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I believe my high grades in biology proved I can succeed in college. Beyond that, the people who read my essays and recs probably felt they could use someone with my personality and experiences in their incoming class.
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: I was also accepted at Utica, Binghamton, St. Lawrence, Rochester, Villanova, and Colgate. I was waitlisted at Hamilton.

General Comments: I think my main takeaway from the application process is that it is unpredictable and that there are many ways to prove to a college that you would be a great addition to their community. Although stats are important, the effect you can have on campus and the contributions you can make are far more important. In the end, you will end up where you are meant to be, because a school will only admit you if they believe you are a good fit for them.

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Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): n/a
ACT (breakdown): 33c w/ 35e, 31m,33r, 32s
SAT II: didn’t submit
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.97
Weighted GPA: 4.45
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 4/656
AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc AB (5), Lang (5), US History (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load: AP CS A, AP Lit, AP gov/econ, AP calc BC, AP Physics 1
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): not major but AP scholar with honor

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

  • Self taught in several computer science languages
  • California scholarship federation
    -captain of varsity baseball, 3 year varsity
    -club baseball
    -giving baseball lessons
    -Chem club
    -Mu Alpha Theta (math honors society)
    Job/Work Experience: n/a
    Volunteer/Community service:
    Summer Activities: summer classes, travel baseball
    Essays (rating 1-10, details):
    Common App (7/10) good idea, weak delivery imo

Cornell Arts & Sciences Supplement (9/10) Strong desire and reasoning to pursue liberal arts education, specific to what I wanted to do at Cornell
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
AP calc AB teacher (7/10) I had a feeling it was generic, but never read it
Honors English 10 teacher (9/10) I really participated in that class and she liked me a lot
Counselor (7/10) large public school so i barely know her

Interview: Went very well (8.5/10?)

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes, did not receive any
Intended Major: Math
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Latino and white
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 250-300k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM

Reflection

Strengths: Supplemental essay, interview, very strong grades and rank
Weaknesses: lack of subject tests, a good (but not as good as I wanted) ACT score, extracurriculars were good but not awesome
Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected: my interview went really well, and I think that I was able to really convey a compelling reason as to why I specifically want to attend Cornell in my supplement
Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
Accepted: Cornell, NYU, Swarthmore, Boston U, UCSB, UCI, Berkeley (engineering here tho)
waitlisted: Dartmouth, UCLA
rejected: Yale, Columbia, Brown

General Comments:
Don’t be an idiot and wait until the last second to write essays because I truly think I could’ve snagged at least one or two more acceptances if I worked harder on crafting essays.
04-20-2020 at 8:08 am
1 replies

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