***Official Cornell University Class of 2019 Regular Decision Results ONLY***

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
61

Decision: Accepted CAS

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2300 (750 CR, 750 M, 800 W)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: 800 Math II, 780 Latin, 740 Physics
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): my school doesn’t release ranking, but 1/58
AP (place score in parenthesis): Lang (5), Comp Sci (4), APUSH (5), Latin (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Spanish Lang, AP Physics 1, AP English Lit, Hand Bells, Ethics, Government, AP Calc AB
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Finalist

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Latin Club (pretty much every office over the years), Taekwondo 1st Dan/to-be black belt, student government representative, school quiz bowl coach, attended a variety of state Spanish and latin competitions over the years, private lessons for flute, created 2 original board games, writing
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: 100+ hours (NHS, county library, helping out at my Taekwondo school and flute class)
Summer Activities: research for an article about AI and music that I submitted to IEEE Potentials, turned one of my board games into an online version
Essays: Common App 8/10, I chose the one about background and takes about how my dual Indian and American background had enriched my life
Cornell 7/10, I described my passion for languages and computer science, how they tie together, and why it was better for me to apply to CAS instead of CE for computer science (double majors)
Teacher Recommendation: one from my physics teacher of two years and one from my Latin teacher of three, didn’t read either of them, both know me and my passion/dedication very well
Counselor Rec: didn’t read, probably a decent rec although he doesn’t know me that well
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: 8/10, the most laid-back of all of my interviews, most of it was my asking her questions about the Cornell life
Other: N/A

Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major: Computer Science + Linguistics
State (if domestic applicant): FL
School Type: College Prep (private)
Ethnicity: Indian (South Asian)
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: N/A
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): URM

Reflection

Strengths: Academics, test scores, Common App essay
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: my passion and dedication for the things I care about, though they ma be few; URM
Weaknesses: extra-curriculars, I didn’t get to visit
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I showed my passion for what I wanted to study and connected it well with Cornell. My interview reflected that I had clearly thought about Cornell as an experience in itself and wanted to learn everything I could about it.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: accepted Cornell/UF, waitlisted Emory/Rice, rejected MIT/Carnegie Mellon/Harvard
Your “Big Red” factor - the most unique thing in your application: my dedication/passion, also being a female minority

After a surprisingly awful decision season, I am overjoyed to be accepted at Cornell. Congratulations to everyone who got in!

62

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2340 (790 CR, 770 M, 780 W)
ACT: N/A
SAT II: 770 USH, 760 Physics
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/117
AP (place score in parenthesis): USH (5), English Language (5), Physics B (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP English Literature, AP Calc AB, AP Physics C, AP Euro, honors gov, other random classes (hardest course load available)
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Connecticut Governor’s Scholar, Harvard Book Award?

Subjective:
•Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Debate Team (captain), Political Science Club (founder and president), School Newspaper (editor)
•Job/Work Experience: Worked for the past four years at a local library
•Volunteer/Community service: Volunteer as a tech volunteer at a different local library, I ran a program over the summer that teaches middle school students debate techniques
•Personal Statement: Common app was great, Cornell essay was probably a 7/10

Other
•Applied for Financial Aid?: Yep
• Intended Major : I put computer science on the application
•State (if domestic applicant): CT
•Country (if international applicant):
•School Type: Small parochial
•Ethnicity: Whiter than Casper the Friendly Ghost
•Gender: Female
•Income Bracket: Don’t worry bout it
•Hooks (URM, first generation college, research, etc.): Woman in computer science?

Reflection
•Strengths: SAT, GPA, woman in STEM
•Weaknesses: Very few real hooks, few major awards
•Schools were you accepted/waitlisted to? Accepted to Dartmouth, Duke, UVA, UNC-CH, UConn, Georgetown; Waitlisted at Amherst, Northwestern, Yale
•Schools you were rejected from? Brown, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford
•Schools you are waiting for?
General Comments: Apply to as many schools as you can, the schools I got into versus the schools I got rejected from/waitlisted at seem completely random to me

63

Decision: Accepted to CAS

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2350 (800 Math, 790 Writing, 760 Reading)
ACT (breakdown): 36 (36 Math and English, 35 Reading, 35 Science)
SAT II: 800 Math2, 760 bio and us history
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 2%
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5’s on us history bio and stats
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: ap micro, ap french, ap comp sci, ap calc bc
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): none

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Started entrepreneurship club, eagle scout, captain of varsity ski team, played violin for 15 years
Job/Work Experience: none
Volunteer/Community service: not much
Summer Activities: Tenacity-Volunteering to teach tennis to inner city kids, Expensive academic camps that probably didn’t help my application
Essays: Cornell essay was excellent, 10/10–very specific to the school, common app essay was good, but not polished–8/10
Teacher Recommendation: one teacher basically let me write my own reccomendation so that was a 10/10, also got a rec from a college prof for a class that I got a A in over the summer
others were pretty good i’m guessing
Counselor Rec: prob generic
Additional Rec: college prof
Interview: Didn’t respond to the guy that emailed me haha
Other

Applied for Financial Aid?:no
Intended Major: Economics/finance
State (if domestic applicant): MA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public Large Competitive
Ethnicity: Super White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 250K
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): …

Reflection- For an applicant like me, statistically stronger than the average applicant, but not a shoo-in by any measure, it all comes down to luck. Also my essay for cornell was very convincing that I really wanted to go there, but then again I skipped the cornell interview, so who knows.

Strengths: Test Scores,

What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: none
Weaknesses: white kid with no hooks
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: hey they need some kids with good test scores and grades right? even if they are white
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted: UMich, BC, BU, Villanova, Waitlisted: Georgetown. Rejected: Princeton Dartmouth Penn and Duke
Your “Big Red” factor - the most unique thing in your application: wanting to get involved at cornell–like I said, I have a pretty generic application but it’s a pretty good generic one

64

Decision: Waitlisted

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): Took it twice: 2220 and 2200. Highest Subscores: CR: 700 WR: 790 M: 780
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II: Math 2 800, Chemistry 770, Lit 710, French 700
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.96
AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc BC (5), Comp Sci (5), Chemistry (4), English Lang (3)
Senior Year Course Load: AP Lit, AP Physics C: Mech, AP French, 3D Art, US Govt/Econ, AP Stats
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National Merit Scholar Commended, AP Scholar with Honors

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): (Vice President) of Astronomy Club, (Secretary) of Mobile Application Club, French Honor Society Member, Indian Carnatic Singing
Volunteer/Community service: Volunteer at the Tech Museum 150+ hours
Summer Activities: iOS programming course
Essays: Cornell essay was one of my best ones because I actually enjoyed writing it (9/10). Common App essay was decent (8/10)
Teacher Recommendation: Asked my Chem and French teachers. Had them for several years. I was one of my French teachers favorite students :).
Counselor Rec: Not sure how this is, but it’s probably good.
Additional Rec: Had my manager at the Tech museum write it.

Applied for Financial Aid?:
Intended Major: Computer Science in the College of Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): California
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Indian
Gender: Male

Reflection

Strengths:
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: Projected myself as someone with diversified interests in both humanities (through language learning) and the sciences.
Weaknesses: Maybe should have gotten a higher SAT score and spent more time on the Common App essay.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Cornell is competitive as it is. I think I was probably cut out because there were people with marginally better statistics.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Got into UC San Diego, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Santa Cruz . Got into UIUC, Purdue, UWash, Santa Clara. Rejected from Stanford, Caltech, MIT, Duke, Princeton, and Yale. Waitlisted at Cornell and UMich (applied on the last day of rolling admission at UMich :P).
Your “Big Red” factor - the most unique thing in your application: I think my Cornell essay really stood out because my “Engineering idea” sounds preposterous at first, but creative.

65

**Decision: Waitlisted **

Objective:

ACT: 33. E: 33, M: 35, R: 31(from different test), S: 35
SAT II: Bio M: 710
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.86
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP scores: Did not report
IB scores: N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Spanish, AP Calc BC, AP English, Psych/hon, Econ/hon, Physics/hon, other electives
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Eagle Scout Badge, Coaches Award from football team, a bunch of school given awards in different subjects

Subjective:

Extracurriculars: Boy Scouts (eagle scout), varsity football, varsity baseball, BBYO (jewish youth group), Schools for Africa club, Have taken electric guitar lessons for years (have recorded many songs), Fantasy football commissioner, rec basketball for town league
Job/Work Experience: Work at Amherst College dining hall as a food runner
Volunteer/Community service: Lots through Boy Scouts including a big service project I did with a local adult literacy organization, Internship with a Umass Judaic studies professor over the summer (wrote an additional rec)
Essays: I thought they were great. Wrote common app about being a boy scout amidst the homophobic laws banning gay scouts in my uber-liberal and progressive area and how it affected me and my eventual decision to continue and become an eagle scout (had a professional writer who is a friend of my mom’s read it and edit). Focused on my interest in actuarial science in my Cornell Essay.
Teacher Recommendations: AP Euro teacher: 9/10(very smart, great writer), Calc teacher: 9/10 (read it, excellent rec)
Counselor Rec: 7/10, doesn’t know me too well, and english is her 2nd language. I sort of told her what to focus on.
Additional Rec: Umass Judaic studies and holocaust professor
Interview: Got an alumni chat thing, not an official interview

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Math with Actuarial Science track
State (if domestic applicant): MA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Medium size public (~1000 students)
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 140,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection

Strengths: Common App, ACT, extracurriculars
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: Unique and specific major and interest
Weaknesses: Did not list APs (a four and two threes), GPA isnt outstanding for Cornell, Counselor rec, Mid-year was only so-so
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Showed an interest, they liked what I offered, who knows. It’s all so random. Will try super hard to get off Waitlist, and make a case for Spring 2016 admittance too
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Accepted: Washington and Lee, Maryland (Honors), Wisconsin-Madison, Umass (Honors)
Waitlisted: Michigan, Cornell
Rejected: Penn, Harvard, Northwestern, Duke (ED), Wash U, UVA
Your “Big Red” factor - the most unique thing in your application: Interest in Actuarial Science and eventually becoming a sports actuary

66

**Decision: Rejected **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2300 (770 CR, 770 Math, 760 W) (2270 single sitting)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: 740 Bio E, 740 Lit
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): Not given to me by school. Probably 3.8-9? Weighted 4.33.
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):Top 5%
AP (place score in parenthesis): None at my school
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Most rigorous available to me
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Award for Wordmasters lol, Girl Scout Gold Award, National Merit Finalist

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Soccer (9,10)
Girl Scouts (9,10,11,12) - Gold Award, highest possible achievement
Community Service Club (9,10,11,12) - Chairperson
Mock Trial (9,10,11,12) - 3rd at state two years in a row
Spanish Club (9,10,11,12) - Vice President
Model UN (10,11,12) - Some awards
Model Congress (11,12)
Debate - (11,12)
Yearbook - (10,11,12)
FBLA - Co-founder, VP (12)
Non-profit organization (not getting specific because it makes me identifiable) - founder, pres (12)
Other non-profit (lol) - peer mentor (11,12)

Job/Work Experience:

Volunteer/Community service:
Created a penpal program to connect disadvantaged students in my ethnic homeland with students at my school.
Volunteered as a peer mentor to a girl living in the aforementioned homeland

Summer Activities:
Internship at arguably the best cancer institute in the US. Did research, co-author on abstract. Pretty cool experience.

Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App: 8/10. Idk, it was well written, but I wasn’t a huge fan of it. It was almost too deep haha. I wrote about my cultural identity, and how I want to build bridges (metaphorically, of course - I ain’t no engineer :D).

Supplement: 8-9/10 Thought it was pretty good. Displayed interest in school.

Counselor: 7/10 just because I have no idea
English teacher: 9/10 she told me it was very very strong
History teacher: at least 7-8/10, but I’m not really sure

Interview: Didn’t get one

Applied for Financial Aid?: Well, I hit yes on common app, but then never turned anything other than FAFSA in, so…
Intended Major: Poli Sci
State (if domestic applicant): PA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: South Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: >200k (I’m not getting any need based fin aid)
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc): None

Reflection:
Strengths: SAT, rank, course load rigor, created a non-profit
Weaknesses: Common App Essay? I’m not really sure. Subject tests could have been better. Lol is being Asian a weakness?
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: The applicant pool is competitive, and I guess I didn’t stand out enough.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
Accepted: Swarthmore, Vanderbilt, Temple, Rutgers, NJIT, Drexel, Northeastern
Deferred: Yale -->rejected
Rejected: Duke, all Ivies except Columbia
Waitlisted: Columbia

Not to sound arrogant, but my Cornell rejection was the one the surprised me most. I know it’s selective and competitive, but… I don’t know, I thought I was a solid applicant.

67

**Decision: Accepted CoE **

Objective:

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): Didn’t Send
ACT: 34 (M:36 R:35 E:34 S:32 Essay:10)
SAT II: Math II-800 Chem-790 USH-740
Unweighted GPA (out of 100): U/W-92 W-96
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Not Sure
AP (place score in parenthesis): Chemistry (5), Eng. Lang. (5), Stats (4), US History (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc BC, AP Lit, AP Physics C, AP Bio, AP Gov, Basic Piano
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Honor, NHS, School Science Award

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Varsity Ice Hockey, Club Ice Hockey, Chemagination, MUN
Job/Work Experience: Refereed ice hockey since 7th grade
Volunteer/Community service: Volunteered at a children’s hospital and tutored for NHS
Summer Activities: Vacation
Essays: Cornell-8/10 Common App-8/10
Teacher Recommendation: Didn’t read, but I’m sure they were good
Counselor Rec: Didn’t read, but I’m sure it was good
Additional Rec: None
Interview: None

Other

State (if domestic applicant): NJ
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public, medium sized
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: M
Income Bracket: Prefer not to say
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Legacy

Reflection

Strengths:
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: Probably dedication to ice hockey
Weaknesses: GPA (Relatively low for Cornell admits at my school), ECs
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Course rigor, ACT, Legacy (Thanks dad for getting a 4.0 at Cornell! lol), 10 years of involvement with ice hockey
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted-UVA (OOS-Legacy), Lehigh (Eckardt Scholar), Colgate, Boston College, Rutgers Honors College Waitlist-Columbia and WUSTL Rejected-Tufts, JHU, Georgetown, Princeton, Harvard, UPenn, and Duke
Your “Big Red” factor - the most unique thing in your application: Being an Asian ice hockey player is quite rare by itself, but my long term commitment (10 years) to the sport probably stuck out. Aside from playing the sport I got involved with refereeing at a relatively young age, so I guess they saw my ability to commit fully to one thing and achieve.

68

Decision: Accepted.

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): didn’t send
ACT (breakdown): 31
SAT II: N/A
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.96
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 5/182
AP (place score in parenthesis): Micro (4) Macro (5) Lang (5) Euro (4) US History (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Psych, AP Gov, AP Music Theory, AP Lit, Sociology, Orchestra, Japanese
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Mostly school-wide awards, some music awards

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Job/Work Experience: worked as a counselor for a summer esl program for international students for 4 years
Volunteer/Community service: a bunch of cultural clubs (chinese, japanese, taiwanese), SCCUP (students for cross cultural understanding program), speaking partner for foreign students to improve english, tutoring, counselor at a summer ESL program for international students, volunteer to an orphanage in mexico, president and founder of a foundation to raise money for the kids at my school to pay their tuition if their families are affected by cancer, track manager. All very consistent, done for at least 3 or 4 years.
Essays: 9/10…wrote about my empathy and experience in what I want to major in. talked more about others than myself
Teacher Recommendation: pretty great, they came from my japanese teacher and the dean of humanities
Counselor Rec: N/A
Additional Rec: One from my employer at the summer job. Probably good
Interview: This actually went really well.
Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Development Sociology
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: private, small, christian school
Ethnicity: Chinese
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: low-mid $80,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

Reflection

Strengths:
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: All of my EC’s supplemented my major well. Also, it’s kind of a random major
Weaknesses: test scores
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: i have no idea how i got accepted
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted (UCLA, UCSD, UCSB, NYU, King’s College London, Bard College Berlin, University of the Pacific, Clark University, Brandeis, Colby) Waitlisted (Uchicago) Rejected (Wustl, Duke, Brown)
Your “Big Red” factor - the most unique thing in your application: uhhh i talked about first hand experience in third world countries as well as the economy in China. nothing really though

69

MODERATOR’S NOTE:
@rasen58 @easycadence
As I said in post #1, non-result posts will be deleted.

70

**[color=#008000]Decision: Accepted **/color

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2130 (730M, 730W, 670CR)
ACT (breakdown): 34
SAT II: 730 math 2, 740 chem
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9ish. 4.21 weighted.
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Not ranked, but top 5%
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP US Gov, 5. AP BC Calc, 5.
IB (place score in parenthesis): SL Chem, 5. SL CS, 6.
Senior Year Course Load: IBHL Math 2, IBHL Chem 2, IBHL Computer science 2, IBHL English 12, physics 1, Spanish 2
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Rensselaer medal

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Swim (assist. coach), dive (assist. coach), soccer (coach), NHS, mathletes (vice president), peer tutoring, track and field, a couple other little things.
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: week-long service project (x3); coaching soccer, swim and dive; peer tutoring.
Summer Activities: 2 week engineering camp at Virginia Tech, dive team, service projects.
Essays: common app was good, 9/10. Cornell supplement was decent. I was very specific about what I liked about cornell and why I wanted to go. 8/10
Teacher Recommendation: Didn’t read but probably very good.
Counselor Rec: didn’t read, probably generic. I didn’t know my counselor really well.
Additional Rec: Didn’t read, probably good.
Interview: N/A

Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: Computer science (college of engineering)
State (if domestic applicant): Virginia
Country (if international applicant): USA
School Type: Public, but consistently rated in the top in the country
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: 100,000+
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): female in engineering

Reflection

Strengths: ACT, essays
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: Emphasized how much I loved and want to go to Cornell
Weaknesses:
Why you think you were accepted: String application, showed a passion for Cornell and computer science
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted: Virginia Tech, CalPoly, Rensselaer. Rejected: MIT
Your “Big Red” factor - the most unique thing in your application: Showed a passion for Cornell and computer science

I’m honestly still in shock that I got in. I received a likely letter a few weeks ago, but I didn’t really believe it was going to happen. I’m so happy!!

A note to everyone applying: I have one of the lowest SATs of anyone who’s posted here, but I still got in. So don’t be afraid to try! You never know what might happen.

71

Decision: Waitlisted CoE

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2310 (750 CR 800 M 760 W)
ACT (breakdown): didn’t send
SAT II: 770 Math 2, 760 physics, 580 Latin
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 20/646
AP (place score in parenthesis): Physics B (5), English Language (5), Psychology (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): NA
Senior Year Course Load: AP English Lit, AP Physics C, IB Latin SL (AP not offered), AP US Govt, AP Macro, AP Calc BC, Engineering 4, AP Comp Sci
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Magna cum Laude (Latin I) Summa cum Laude (Latin II) on NLE, National Merit Finalist, US Presidential Scholar Candidate

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
100 Member all girls volunteer club (12-Pres, 11-VP, 10-Treas): I updated everything this year, adding an online application and VolunteerSpot
Belles: about 30/300 girls selected to be official hostesses of city. Wear antebellum dress and greet people at events, also do volunteering in casual wear. [Less frilly version of Azalea Trail Maids-Google image it!]
Engineering Outreach: go to local elementary and middle schools, get kids excited about STEM
Latin Convention: attended, school hosted one year [decorated, planned games, led people around]
Latin club: host Saturnalia party for ~100 kids each year (12-rerum scriptores)
Alabama leadership program: my HS representative, three day event
Inner City Art Camp volunteer: about 20 hours one week in summer, my cousin’s church brings in underprivileged inner city kids and does art activities (main assistant in visual arts room)
Job/Work Experience: none
Volunteer/Community service: above, about 300 hours (I don’t count)
Summer Activities: only ones on app were Alabama leadership program and Inner City Art Camp volunteer
Essays:
Common App: about criticism by classmates on engineering group project. We were creative, but everyone else did the same thing. Shows my quick thinking, response to criticism, determination, creativity, etc.
Why Cornell: talked about senior engineering project (working with first grade class, making physics game), engaging girls in STEM
Teacher Recommendation:
AP Physics and Engineering Teacher: didn’t read, should be excellent. Told my parents I was crazy smart one time [he’s taught several kids that have gone to Stanford, MIT, JHU, Duke, etc. for reference]. Known for three years.
Latin teacher: didn’t read but would have been glowing. I participate a lot in class, she likes me. Known for three years.
Counselor Rec: Should have been decent. Had to fill out forms about my interests, awards, parent brag sheet, etc.
Additional Rec: none
Interview: none

Applied for Financial Aid?: yes
Intended Major: electrical engineering
State (if domestic applicant): Alabama
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: public school, competitive for top 20 or so kids [to be really highly ranked you have to do IB; I am the highest AP kid. Top ten take 8 IB classes with 3 HLs]
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: 100k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): nope

Reflection

Strengths: engineering electives [one every year. I know SolidWorks (with FEA), MATLAB, LabVIEW, Multisim, LaTeX]. Female Alabama native interested in engineering (by native I mean that my parents were born here, went to state schools, dad grew up on a farm…)
Weaknesses: SAT IIs, class rank, no major awards, no demonstrated interest
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Lots of applicants from school. I didn’t want to apply (parents made me), and that probably came through somehow.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
All for electrical engineering
Accepted: Brown, Carnegie Mellon, Tufts (Stern Scholar), Case Western (likely letter, 30k/yr merit), UIUC (James Scholar, 6k/yr merit)
Waitlisted: WUSTL, Rice, Northwestern
Rejected: None
Your “Big Red” factor - the most unique thing in your application: extensive experience in engineering classes

72

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective: CAS

SAT I (breakdown): 2200 (M:800, CR:680, W:720)
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II: Math II: 800, Physics: 800
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn’t rank
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis): Math HL (7), Physics HL (7), Computer Science HL (7), Language and Literature SL (7), Spanish AB Initio (6), Economics SL (7), TOK/EE (2)
Senior Year Course Load: Full IB Diploma
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Individual initiated and lead charity effort in my city
President/Head of Debate Club (Placed at several noteworthy tournaments)
MUN (Received Honors at several conferences)
Varsity Basketball Captain
Paid Voice Actor
Secretary of Student Council
First Place at annual science symposium
Job/Work Experience: Summer Internship at Cyber-security Firm
Volunteer/Community service: See ECs
Summer Activities: See Work Experience, Public Forum Debate camp at Harvard University
Essays: Put alot of time into them and tried to make them all funny, perhaps 8/10
Teacher Recommendation: Teachers did not speak the best english so I don’t assume any of the recommendations were stellar, although I’m sure they said nice things about me (6/10)
Counselor Rec: Counsellor was aweful, spoke to me once and did not help at all with the application (4/10)
Additional Rec:
Interview: Was not offered one
Other

Applied for Financial Aid?:
Intended Major: Computer Science
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): India
School Type: International
Ethnicity: South Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: No FA so…
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): International

Reflection

Strengths: I do not feel as though I am the best person to evaluate but I think the essays channeled my character and did not harp on my extracurriculars or academic successes that were evident in other areas of the application, just tried to put across who I was as a person and what mattered to me.
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself:
Weaknesses: SAT Scores

Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:
Where else were you Accepted: Georgia Tech, UCLA, UCSD, Carnegie Mellon, UPenn, Offers from UK Colleges (Imperial, UCL, Durham, Warwick, Edinborough), and Cornell now of course.
Rejected: Harvard, UC Berkeley, UT Austin
Your “Big Red” factor - the most unique thing in your application:

73

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective: CALS (AEM)

SAT I (breakdown): 2040 (670 CR, 630 Math, 740 Writing)

Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.9
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): NA
AP (place score in parenthesis): English Lang. (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP English Literature, AP Biology, AP Calculus, Comparative Govt., Intermediate French, Model UN class

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NA?

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
-Community Service Club/Peer Mediation Certification- ~100 volunteer hours-including helping construct homes in a poor West-African village
-Summer class at Emory U. for Experimental Economics
-Club Soccer on a nationally ranked African team (the #1 team in West-Africa)
-Competitive ranked Chess Player
-Future Business Leaders (Treasurer 2x and founder in my school)
-Varsity Soccer (4x, captain grades 11-12)
-Advanced Orchestra (first string cello, taught myself several instruments including African Djembe, xylophone, clarinet)
-Schoolwide Science fair (one 1st place and 1 second place award)
-Model UN (1 of 6 selected for conference in Ghana and South Africa)

**I work on my dad’s plantation and so I’m poised to take over his 20-acre rubber-tree plantation as soon as I finish college

Honors
-Principals Award 2x- awarded to a select few who show excellence in effort and attitude
-Senator Greg Ball Honor Roll-awarded to those in NY state who show consistency in making High Honor roll status
-Excellence Awards in various subjects-(Algebra II, English 10/11, African History, Sciences, many others)
-National J. Honor Society

Essays/ Recommendations: Had 2 pretty solid recommendations written; wrote my common app essay on my experience transitioning from a 1st world country to a third world country and making the most out of it.
Counselor Rec: Solid
Additional Rec:
Interview:
Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Applied Economics and Management (AEM)
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): Ivory Coast
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: African-American
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Low-middle class
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Good essays and URM

Reflection

Strengths:
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: My match for the school (CALS)
Weaknesses: SAT Score, major awards
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I showed my fit for the school and add diversity
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Notre Dame Mendoza, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UVA, UNC, USC, UMiami, UConn, Emory. Rejected at Harvard (lol)
Your “Big Red” factor - the most unique thing in your application: My experience working on a rubber tree plantation probably. Will attend. LET’S GO RED!!!

74

**Decision: Accepted **

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2290 (750 CR, 800 M, 740 WR) superscored (2250 highest in 1 sitting)
ACT (breakdown): 36 (36 English, 36 Math, 36 Reading, 36 Science, 8 Writing) superscored
SAT II: Math Level 2 (800), Biology M (780), Literature (700)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): #1 (unavailable at time of submission/evaluation)
AP (place score in parenthesis): Human Geography (4), US Govt and Politics (5), Calculus BC (5), English Lang (5), Statistics (4), Biology (5), US History (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A (not offered at my school)
Senior Year Course Load: AP English, AP Environmental Science, AP Chemistry, AP Spanish, AP Physics C Mech, AP European History
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): USABO semifinalist, AP scholar with distinction, National Merit Scholar

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Mu Alpha Theta (President sr yr, Theta e-board jr yr), National Honor Society (VP), Academic Games (Co-president), Science Olympiad (VP), Book Club (secretary), Iota Sigma Christian Fellowship (secretary), Peer Assistance Team, Generation 2 Generations (volunteering at nursing homes; PR), Young Musician’s Club (PR), orchestra
Job/Work Experience: summer research intern at LSU Health Sciences Center
Volunteer/Community service: 2 summers in Children’s Hospital (~70 hours/summer), 3 summers in my church’s Vacation Bible School (~40 hours/summer)
Summer Activities: see above; also traveled to China, Seattle, Vancouver
Essays: Common App essay was on my personal struggles with peer pressure. Cornell supplement was on my love of biology and creative writing and how I could tie them to my experience at Cornell.
Teacher Recommendation: I’m guessing they were good? Never got to read them.
Counselor Rec: See above.
Additional Rec: See above. I had my research mentor write an additional rec letter.
Interview: It was lovely! I talked with an alumnus named Roger. He didn’t ask me too many questions (mostly talked about himself and his son, haha) but it was a pleasant experience over hot chocolate. :slight_smile:

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Nope…I’m regretting it now.
Intended Major: Biology
State (if domestic applicant): Louisiana
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: ~180,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Possibly the research?

Reflection
Strengths: GPA, ACT score, essays, research experience, course load
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: Um…the fact that I was a human being? That I was super passionate about both bio and writing?
Weaknesses: SAT score, volunteer experience, one-dimensional ECs (too many academic ones)
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Strong academics
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted - WashU, Emory, USC, Tulane, UNC Chapel Hill. Waitlisted - Northwestern. Rejected - Yale.
Your “Big Red” factor - the most unique thing in your application: Er, I’m afraid I’m not a particularly unique person. Maybe the research?

75

So I’m mad late on this lol, sorry but hopefully this along with all the other posts can help future Cornell applicants.

[ size=4][ color=#008000]Decision: Accepted [/size][/green]

College of Engineering (Undecided Major)

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 730 R/ 770 M/ 800 W/ 11 E 2300 Combined (1 sitting)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: 750 Chemistry, 750 Math 1, 760 Math 2
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.33
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/220
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 Chemistry, 5 US History, 5 Language and Composition, 4 World History
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus BC, AP Lit, AP Physics 2, Psychology (took AP test), Anatomy, Religion
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Honor, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Medalist Award, Excellence awards in both academics and music, golf award for 2nd place in 2012.

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Guitar Ensemble, Guitar Trio, Jazz Band, Rocket Club, Track (quit after like 2 months towards the end of junior year), Golf.
Job/Work Experience: Mechanical Engineering Internship at WTC
Volunteer/Community service: Hospital
Summer Activities: Origami, Guitar, Piano.
Essays: Main essay was on how the guitar inspires me and is more to me than just an instrument. Probably a 7/10 because it may have come off as a generic theme. I actually decided to revamp my engineering essay a day before it was due (i don’t recommend this) as a “spur of the moment” type of thing. I’d say this one may be an 8/10,
Teacher Recommendation: Math teacher for 2 years, 10/10. AP US teacher, 11/10.
Counselor Rec: Didn’t read, probably good.
Additional Rec:Did not send.
Interview: Awesome. We talked for 2 hours about all types of things and I really got to know how Cornell impacted him. I was able to convey my desire to go to Cornell and my own interests.
Other: I took a tour of Cornell and loved it, so I think that passion came through in my essays.

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes, received none. Took a loan.
Intended Major: Don’t know. Possibly Computer Science Major with Minor in Applied Mathematics.
State (if domestic applicant): New York.
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private, Catholic
Ethnicity: Indian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket:>200k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Not really. According to the past records of the last 10 years, Cornell has always taken 1 student from the school I went to, so it was somewhat guaranteed someone would be going. About 3-4 got in from my school.

Reflection: I was really scared because before getting this I had been rejected from MIT, Caltech, Stanford and Carnegie Mellon, I was really motivated when I learned I got in.

Strengths:
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: Convey passion, and do really well on your essays. For engineering, I think the supplemental essay stands out the most, so work heavily on that. Also, I feel Cornell really focused on academics, so try to have a good average and all-around good AP scores.
Weaknesses: Generic applicant maybe? Asian applying to engineering with interest in math and sciences.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I think my essay was a unique one. It talked about my gradual exposure to the world of science through literature (from a measly book recommendation to a hunger for more knowledge) that culminated in how I could maybe help the world develop a solution to a devastating problem.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:

Accepted: Georgia Tech, RIT, RPI
Deferred: Early Action MIT, later rejected. Early Action Caltech, later rejected. Regular Decision (waitlist) Carnegie Mellon, later rejected.
Rejected: Stanford, Princeton, UPenn (rejected their waitlist)
Your “Big Red” factor - the most unique thing in your application:

Essays.

Good luck future applicants!

76

[ b][ size=4][ color=#008000]Decision: Accepted [/size]**[/color]

College of Engineering (MechE)

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2060 (670 R / 700 M / 690 W)
ACT (breakdown): Didn’t submit
SAT II: 770 Physics / 750 Chemistry / 760 Math II
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.4
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1/41
AP (place score in parenthesis): World History (5) Biology (4) Chemistry (5) Physics B (5) Macroeconomics (5)

IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Calculus AB (5) Environmental Science (5) Literature (3), moderate, not difficult
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): 6th place globally at World Robot Olympiad 2012, AP Scholar with Distinction, 9 academic and music awards (school), Judges choice at Botball 2013 Qatar

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
- Executive Student Council Secretary
- Engineering Captain of the Robotics team
- Captain and MVP of Varsity Academic Games for 2 years
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service:
- Qatar Animal Welfare Society
- Community service and marine life conservation in the Maldives
- General volunteer work at school (tutoring etc…)
Summer Activities: nothing substantial other than engaging in a bunch of hobbies.
Essays: Very strong; the common app essay took 3 drafts until it was perfected and the supplement was written in a day but luckily came out great the first time. Lots of emphasis on the essays.
Teacher Recommendation: One was a 10/10 and the other was probably a 9 or 8/10
Counselor Rec: 10/10
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: Went great! It was at a coffee shop in Amman, Jordan where I met with Alexandra who worked at the U.S. embassy. It wasn’t too long (around 30-40 minutes) but i answered all the questions eloquently and carried an interesting conversation at the same time.
Other: I really emphasised my 6 big hobbies that all in some way revolve around science and engineering. More specifically, I wrote my commonapp essay on my interest in watchmaking and horology and then tied it to my interest in MechE

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: Mechanical Engineering
State (if domestic applicant): N/A
Country (if international applicant): U.S. Citizen by my application would have been placed alongside Jordanian applicants’.
School Type: Private, International
Ethnicity: Asian (Middle-Eastern)
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: ~100,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Nothing really, I guess my Robotics achievements stood out

Reflection: Cornell’s application was the one I spent the most time and effort on; so it makes sense that it was accepted; overall i was happy the effort paid off.

Strengths:
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: I focused on my engineering-related hobbies and my extra curriculars to get them off the terrible scent of my test scores haha
Weaknesses: SAT SCORES! I was happy with a 2060 but damn for engineering that’s like 25th percentile.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Strong essays and overall a cohesive, focused application.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
- Accepted: Georgia Tech, UC San Diego, UC Davis, U of Toronto, McGill
- Rejected: Stanford (Deferred/Rejected), USC
- Waitlisted: UCLA, UC Berkeley, UC Santa Barbara, U of Michigan
Your “Big Red” factor - the most unique thing in your application: My interest in watches