Should I apply ED to ILR or Dyson given stats/chance of acceptance? (Chance/Reverse Chance me)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

Hello Cornellians–

 Cornell is my top choice, but I fear that my stats/profile are out of range for my preferred college (Dyson). I want to go into something related to finance, so Dyson would be my optimal choice. At the same time, I want to optimize my chances of admissions. Please let me know if it’d be better it to apply to ILR, given my interests.

Demographics:
White, Jewish male
Not applying for financial aid

GPA: 3.7/4.0 W
High School: competitive, T10 private school in Texas
Class Rank: N/A
SAT: 1470 (760M/710RW) note***– ILR accepts SAT, Dyson is “score-free”
Please keep this in mind. My academics will look weak in an Dyson AO’s eyes without this test score.
AP’s: AP Calc AB (5), AP Stat (4), AP US History (3), AP Calc BC, AP Micro, AP Macro, AP Psych, AP Physics Mech

EC’s:
Founder/VP of school’s Investment Club: Guiding 3 teams in natl. competition, lead meetings, club portfolio
Co-founder for free SAT/ACT tutoring service to low-income kids: Led marketing in 3 schools, Recruited 20+ tutors
Admin for Discord Investing Community: Grown to 600+ members nation-wide, guide beginners via 1-on-1 Zoom calls, share equity research
Equity Research: 5+ online courses on financial valuation modeling, proficient in Excel
Varsity Track Captain, Conference championship competitor in 4 events
Varsity Football Starter, Conference champion runner-ups (x2)
Internship w/ Financial Advisor over the summer
Lifeguard (2 years), 600+ combined hours, multiple awards, regional competitions on lifeguarding skills
Volunteering, most service hours in chapter’s grade, volunteer w/ local philanthropies, Pres. Communication (10th grade)
Piano Player, Test w/ ABRSM bi-annually, Grade 1-5 Piano, 1-4 Theory, biannual community recitals, play recreationally

Awards:
Lifeguarding Regional Comp. 2nd place
Volunteering, most service hours in the chapter’s grade
Piano certificates, 9 total (ABRSM), passed with distinction x4
T&F School Record Holder
AP Scholar

Essay: 10/10, highlighting how day-trading stocks has grown me to constantly make better choices in my everyday life. I’ve been told it’s the best part of my application
Cornell Supp: 8.5/10 I think it’s pretty unique. Def poured my heart out into it, and will be able to fit both Dyson/ILR prompts. Would love for someone to proof read!

 All in all, should I take a chance and apply to Dyson, or risk the AO’s thinking that I’m not a good fit for ILR given my heavy interests in finance/investing? Or even apply to like CAS Economics?
2

Choose the school that has the major you want to study. Cornell as a whole is selective----don’t rely on an intra-school transfer once you’re there. Make sure to apply widely (safeties, matches, and reaches,) and hope for the best! :smile:

3

Well considering that the majority of Dyson’s ~155 freshman class are In-state (I’m out-of-state), Legacy, or recruited athletes, don’t you think that I’d be better off applying to ILR? It seems that out of Dyson’s 3-6% acceptance rate I have a slim-to-none chance of getting in, considering I don’t have any hooks.

4

Do you have a source for the statement that the majority of Dyson frosh being made up of in-state, legacy or recruited athletes?

5

Your background seems like a great fit for Dyson and not-so-great for ILR. Both schools are heavy on in-state kids. I think that you should definitely risk it on Dyson since it seems like so much of a better fit. Your ECs are also quite good, especially for what Dyson is looking for. It’s true that you’ll have better admission chances at ILR, but I think that Dyson would be a much better fit.