Settled but scared out of mind. chances please!

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hi. I'm going to apply to Cornell early this Fall and I was just wondering what my chances are at Cornell.</p>

<p>It's kinda long, but I really need your help.</p>

<p>SAT I:
Math 730
CR 660
Writing 700
Total 2090 (highest from each section, planning to take it again, but I think this score will pretty much be the score the adcoms will see)</p>

<p>TOEFL:
Since I'm an international student and have lower than 670 CR score, I need to take TOEFL. I'm expecting a good score. (my English is pretty good, I just suck at SAT)</p>

<p>SAT II:
Chem 720
Math IIC: expecting 750+
USH: 740</p>

<p>GPA
3.7 uw, but I will rush report my senior first quarter grade in the hopes of making up my not so good junior year grade. </p>

<p>School Info
Doesn't rank. I don't know the decile. Pretty competetive public school in VA.
Avg. SAT is about 1200 (old scale)</p>

<p>Recs.
*GC rec = expecting very good rec. saw me through hard times and saw me overcome obstacles and knows me well.
*Teacher 1 rec = knows me well. really likes me and trusts me. good grade in class.
*Teacher 2 rec = descent rec. As international student this Eng teacher will have to write about my English skills and she was surprised at my English abilities. AP Eng class.
*A rec from a alumni = Korean, a professor in Korea. knows me well and my family situation</p>

<p>ECs.
*Boys State - leadership position and highest honor of receiving the best citizen medal
*County Youth Leadership Program - very selective program with summer internship at the govt. center
*Select chorus group - the liaison. various coast wide 1st places awards
*Volunteer tutor for the underpreviledged children
*Essay awards (1st places)
*Small business - translation for the poor</p>

<p>Essay
Will talk about how discrimination against Asians motivated me to take action and helped me bring my English to my peer's level in a year. Just a bit about my family situation (family split up to support me. Just a bit not to seem desperate and needy and all that). </p>

<p>Interest
College of Arts and Science. Interdisciplinary Program - International Relations.</p>

<p>No financial aid needed.</p>

<p>Hook?
Lived in the U.S. for 5 years. Asian very assimiliated into American culture (like 20 asians out of 800 at Boys State..). </p>

<p>Extra
Not going to report AP scores. For some courses I don't have them and only reporting some would seem like I'm hiding something so I will not report any until after senior year.</p>

<p>Rush report SAT I in Nov. and senior year first quarter transcript.</p>

<p>BTW, would a rec from a graduate alumni who knows me help me?</p>

<p>I think that's all.
Thanks for reading through if you have.
Please post your opinion and maybe some suggestions.</p>

2

<p>please help</p>

3

<p>youre in
50% chance</p>

4

<p>Any others besides Cornell? Id say 30-40% chance there stats and EC's look regular, I would try for that Grad rec letter only if the grad is influential (ie donated $). But I am not to sure about Cornell admissions, isnt that the school with the highest suicide rate? lol hope this helps</p>

5

<p>Master, how can I maximize my chances?</p>

<p>I'm going to apply to
Cornell College of Arts and Science ED
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill EA
Rice University Interim Decision</p>

<p>I didn't really think that my ECs were regular... I should tied them up to a common theme or something cuz maybe they look like they're all over the place..</p>

6

<p>Your AI is 213--right at the borderline (two years ago half the people with 211 or above got into Cornell, half didn't). I agree that your ECs need work--and if it was your junior grades that were low, that means you have a downward trend.</p>

<p>If you want to improve your chances at admission, do not apply ED to anyplace. Instead work on the first semester senior grades and get 4.0 on them. Then apply regular admission to everyplace on your list.</p>

<p>To keep you from freaking out and doing poorly on your essays or in school, pick an easier school to apply to than the 3 impossibly tough ones on your list--and get a early admission decision from that school. Then, when you are more relaxed you can do the apps to these three schools without tons of pressure wondering whether you will get in or not.</p>

<p>P.S. I don't see living in the US for 5 years as a hook at all. If you lived here that long and still need to take the TOEFL, the schools are going to wonder. I'd write on something completely different and never mention the time spent in the US at all.</p>

<p>And a rec from a graduate alumnus is not going to help unless they are a large donor and know you well. A better recommendation would be from a parent of one of the students you tutored talking about how much your tutoring has helped this student.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

7

<p>thanks </p>

<p>I have to take TOEFL because some colleges require it no matter what if I had been educated outside the U.S.</p>

8

<p>Yes, that's true. My point is that if you lived here for five years already some of these schools that you have chosen (since they are really tough ones) might expect you to have better than a 660 SAT Verbal score.
It seems odd, though that the cutoff is so high. Obviously, over 50% of the US students can't even get 500 SAT Verbal scores, so having to get a 670 as a foreign student to avoid taking the TOEFL seems extremely tough.</p>

<p>Also, it's a real shame that you missed the cutoff by only 10 points.</p>

9

<p>yea... well I'm gonna take it again in Nov, but not like expecting miracles like some people are. (I don't trust the blue book! for it seems like you get 200 less than on practice tests... all the pressure, new environment, the unfamiliarity really knocks off the scores...) </p>

<p>I'm pretty sure I'll do well on TOEFL though. All my English teachers were surprised by my English ;)... </p>

<p>I guess it might seem suspicious if my CR is low and TOEFL is high.</p>

<p>Calcruzer, what do you think about my "plan?" since I don't need financial aid, I'm leaning toward applying ED to Cornell.
As I said, (I changed my senior schedule to a bit easier courses but still rigorous courses to get higher GPA) I'm going to rush report my senior year first quarter transcripts (perhaps signed my GC with new GPA) and Nov. SAT I scores.</p>

<p>Thanks everyone so much!</p>

<p>Anymore?</p>

10

<p>lol im sorry
i would like to recant my prediction
i only said that because right now i score about the same as you on the SAt and i wanted to make myself feel better by letting someone who has the same sat score as me know they have a good chance at cornell
kind of retarded but oh well
i tricked myself</p>

11

<p>haha that's ok.
We all do that..</p>

<p>so you're shooing for Cornell, too I assume?</p>

12

<p>well, not quite
its too rural for me</p>