<p>Honestly I would say Cornell is definitely a match and not a reach for you… your stats are great, and you do things which the typical applicants to elite schools aren’t really going (ie, serious athletics vs just being on the track team and doing a bunch of science research you got through connections). You’re also a girl who’s interested in engineering with high SAT scores, and the fact that there simply aren’t many female engineers also plays in your favor</p>
<p>However, I wouldn’t shun many schools just because they’re too “urban”. I’m not sure how you would find time to ski on a regular basis in college unless you’re on the ski team. Some cities are more bike-friendly than others, so I’d suggest really looking into that. Ann Arbor in particular is pretty good as far as biking goes, and UMich engineering is a great program.</p>
<p>Don’t forget that many schools in “city” environments have outing clubs and the like. Here at Brown we have a fairly active one, and Brown isn’t really anywhere near any outdoorsy-type stuff other than the beach. You should look more into schools you just think you would enjoy being at, you’ll find other outdoors-types once you get there</p>