<p>So I actually go to Cornell (CAS) but my best friend who is graduating next year wants to go too. He actually lives in Ithaca and goes to a school that he says is really popular with Cornell (Ithaca High School I think). Anyway, I didn't think his chances were too good but I wanted to know what everyone else thought. Hopefully he doesn't see this :)
Anyway, I don't know all of his stats but i do know that</p>
<p>He has a 3.6ish gpa-3.7
Perfect SAT score
I think his subject SATs were 740 in chem and 800 in math
He is a very good piano player (I also play piano) and he does a bunch of extra currics
I convinced him to try early admission</p>
<p>Sorry that is pretty much all I know
So what do you guys think?? Is the 3.6 too low for Cornell?</p>
<p>No, they accept 3.6s, but it would be an advantage to raise it if he can (not by taking easy classes.) I don’t think that he’ll be at too much of a disadvantage because his SAT will even out his okay-good GPA. They’ll probably weigh his extra curriculars most, and he comes from a good high school, so he has a shot.</p>
<p>A 3.6 is on the lower side, but certainly not out of Cornell’s range. His 2400 SAT will help him out a lot, and his Subject Test scores are pretty good. If his rank is good, his EC’s are decent, and he has solid recs and essays he’s got a pretty good shot ED or RD.</p>
<p>I don’t know. Test scores are great but for someone with those test scores as “3.6ish” gpa suggests a possible “brilliant underachiever,” unless the school is known for tough grading. Someone whose academic performance lags their native ability (which the data suggest) may not be seen as a great catch by highly selective academic institutions. I’d say the distribution of grades by year matters. If he started as a B student but has worked his way up to a 3.6 through better grades sophomore and junior years, he may have a pretty good chance. If his grades have gone the other way, very little chance. If they’ve been random As and Bs, then it’s harder to say. It also depends a lot on teacher and GC recs, and who the competition is coming out of Ithaca High. I assume Cornell doesn’t want to fill its entering class with too many locals, and it probably has its pick of a lot of very strong local applicants. A candidate with the same stats from a state (or locality) where Cornell doesn’t draw well might have a better chance.</p>
<p>Something suspicious about this thread, though: OP, you say this guy is your “best friend” but you’re not sure where he goes to HS (“Ithaca High School, I think”)? That sounds improbable. Whazzup?</p>
<p>^Ya he is a really good friend but we didn’t go to the same school (we actually lived in different states for a while). I wasn’t too sure only cuase we don’t talk too much about stuff like his high school name. I mean he has mentioned it but its not like all we talk about is his high school lol.</p>
<p>Oh and by the way you are completely right. He is one of those kids who are really smart but sort of lazy/not too inspired. As for his high school I am not sure how hard it is or if the grades are over-inflated or not.</p>
<p>Then that doesn’t bode well for his admission to highly selective colleges, especially if his teacher/GC recs hint at that–or perhaps even if they offer nothing to contradict that first impression, which is what I’d immediately see in those stats.</p>