Oh no! Did I just ruin my chances? My grades have dropped in 1st Sem. Senior Year!

<p>There is no point in worrying about something you have no control over at this point. The most selective tier of schools could have rejected you even if you had maintained all A’s. As a general rule of thumb for non-seniors, however, a drop like this will not be mitigated by a rigorous course load since it is showing that when challenged with college level rigor, you are finding the work very challenging. Nor can you take an easier schedule thinking it is better to maintain your A’s. These top tier schools can afford to be so selective that they can fill their classes with students getting A’s taking the most rigorous course schedules, who continue to do so when faced with college applications, and have no need to cut back on the time they allocate to be active in their extra-curriculars. This is no small feat but possible when you have 15+ credible applicants for every class spot.</p>

<p>Unicameral, how in the world is that schedule above average for Cornell? Nothing is really above average for Cornell; it’s an ivy…</p>

<p>With your GPA dropping, and your SAT kind of low (For Ivies, that is, it’s a great score otherwise), I don’t think your chances are great for the ivies, and other very top schools. You still have a chance at them though, and you have a great chance at the rest.</p>