I want to apply to Cornell but I feel like my test scores are weighing me down. My GPA is 4.4 and it will be higher by regular admissions because I am taking 6 AP classes right now. My SAT is 1470 (790 math). I can talk about winning a national competition and placing 4th at an international competition so I think I have things that make me stand out. However, I took the SAT subject tests because Cornell requires them and I scored 740 on math 2 and 570 on biology e. I did not take an AP science my junior year because I opted to take AP computer science principles, and that is the reason my bio subject test is so bad. At this point in my senior year, I feel like if I try to retake it, all the time I use to study for a course I didn’t take will start impacting my grades and take away time from writing my application essays. Will these scores severely hurt my chances at making it to Cornell?
Cornell is a reach school for even the best of the best students. Do you have a balanced list of schools you want to apply to with a few reaches, match schools, and safeties?
Reach: Princeton, Cornell, UPenn, Northwestern
Match: UMD, NYU, UIUC
Safety: NC State, Drexel
I think your matches are “reachy” since you can’t be instate for both UIUC and UMD (depending on your intended major).
That said, which college at Cornell are you applying? Some no longer require the SAT II tests.
The students I know who got into Cornell had stats like yours and a lot of ECs.
I am in-state for UMD and I plan on applying to the engineering school at Cornell for computer science.
I wouldn’t consider NC State a safety.