ACCEPTED
College of Arts & Sciences – Likely Letter Recipient
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2100 (750 Writing [10 essay], 700 CR, 650 M)
ACT (breakdown): None
SAT II: SAT US History - 780 / SAT French - 710 / SAT World - 710
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 100.4
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn’t rank
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP English Language - 5 / AP US History - 5 / AP World History - 4
IB (place score in parenthesis): School doesn’t offer
Senior Year Course Load: AP Bio, AP Calc AB, AP Microeconomics, AP English Literature, AP French, Occupations, Religion 12, Dance
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar, National Achievement Scholarship Foundation Outstanding PSAT Participant, online writing awards, National French Contest 7th place nationwide in 10th grade
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
-Very Recent: writer for the Huffington Post Teen
-Editor-in-chief of school newspaper
-Contributor to my town’s newspaper (I write articles about college, SATs, and education)
-Multi Published writer in literary magazines (an essay about track and field, an essay about cosmetics & chemicals)
-College Essay was published in a magazine
-Have my own travel blog (features photos and entries on my trips abroad)
-Have my own healthy eating blog
-Quiz Bowl Team Captain
Job/Work Experience:
-Cashier at movie theater
Volunteer/Community service: I did not even list any on the Common App because it doesn’t help you get into elite schools. But I believe my recommendation writers spoke about the children’s museum that I volunteered at for two years. That was a huge commitment.
Summer Activities: Cashier at movie theater (Admissions officers love jobs and so do I)
Essays:
Common App – I chose the “place of solace” topic. My college essay was simple, yet beautiful, authentic, and richly detailed. It is all about my love of going to the library, and by far, it is the best piece of work I have ever written. I think that it is an honest portrayal of who I am, and it exemplifies my love of learning. I had this essay published in a national literary magazine. Please PM me if you’d like to read it.
Cornell Essay – I was a primary choice applicant to the College of Arts and Sciences, and for that essay, I talked about my passion for the French language and culture. I also mentioned that I liked to read world literature
Teacher Recommendation:
One from my French teacher (10/10) - I am a heavy participant in this class and I have been the top student for 4 years. I tutor, I share French literature that I read in my spare time with my teacher, I do research for the class, and I’ve taught a little.
AP US History Teacher (9/10) - I was the top student in this class and I won an award for my efforts. I adore history and I am also very concerned about social issues. He told me that I had the best projects and essays in the class.
Counselor Rec:
I’d give it a 9/10. We are close friends. In the summertime, my school made us fill out a sheet of all our hobbies, favorite media, and accomplishments - so I guess that helped too.
Additional Rec:
-Believe it or not, I submitted two family recommendations. They were each necessary, in my eyes. One was from my best friend in the world, coworker, peer, and cousin. We are extremely close, and she wrote me a 5-page recommendation letter which talked about my writing and my compassion for the environment.
-My second family letter was from my Aunt, who I love very much. She talked about my love for films and documentaries, my personality, my writing, and my healthy eating habits.
Interview: It was more of an informations session for Cornell, less of an interview. Pointless if you ask me.
Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: French Language, minor in Nutrition or Food Science
State (if domestic applicant): New York
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: African-American
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: $40,000, single parent home
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM
Reflection
Strengths: My writing and journalism, my grades and scores, my essay for sure, URM status too, choice of major
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: I made sure to highlight the fact that I am a published writer. I also think it’s different that I want to study French and Nutrition. Make sure your Common App essay defined who you are.
Weaknesses: SAT Math score is on the lower end, but to be honest, I’m proud of it. That’s the best I could achieve. I also did poorly on SAT Chemistry (570) - but that obviously didn’t matter and that’s not a strong point.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I have a singular passion for writing and I want to major in something atypical
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Your “Big Red” factor - the most unique thing in your application: My essay about my love of the library and my French essay.
I’m ecstatic! Congratulations to all who were admitted. I applied to all 8 Ivy League schools and Cornell is the first to admit me. I would really like to attend Columbia University or UPenn, however. I also applied to NYU, Fordham University, and then SUNY schools and Siena Colleges as safeties. We will see what happens, but I am happy to have Cornell as a fallback if the other Ivies don’t work out.
