<p>I try to be a hardworking student. I am in 6 different clubs at my high school and I am an officer of 5 of them: Students Against Destructive Decisions (President), Drama Company (President), Biology Club (Secretary and Treasurer), Acapella group (Treasurer and Tenor Section Leader), The School's Literary magazine (Publicity and Coordinating Editor), and a member of the National Honor Society. I have approximately a 3.8 GPA (unweighted) and above a 4.0 (weighted). I have taken 6 AP Classes: AP Environmental Science (3), AP Chemisty (3), AP Literature (3), AP Physics (5), AP Statistics (Pending), and AP Biology (Pending). I recieved a 1910 on my SATs and a 28 on my ACTs, with a 720 in the Chemistry SAT II and a 670 in the Physics SAT II. I have over 600 hours of community service and I am applying to CALS for Biological Engineering...PLEASE HELP ME OUT!!!! This is my top (and favorite school) and I want to know if I have a chance of getting in (and how great that chance is!!!)!</p>
<p>I’d say it’s a reach school, especially since your SAT I/II & ACT scores are considerably low.
(Cornell doesn’t consider the writing portion of the SATs btw)</p>
<p>Very high reach</p>
<p>If you don’t get your SAT up by approx. 200 pts or your ACT by 3-4 pts. your chances are slim.</p>
<p>As has been pointed out above, your SAT and ACT scores are much too low. Unless you have some very special hooks or write really really extraordinary essays (words can be very powerful sometimes on some people), your chances are not good. Don’t pin all your hopes on it.</p>
<p>So I guess I’m not getting in?</p>
<p>Unfortunitely, you must neet the minimum threshhold of GPA (in rigorous courses) & test scores to even get in the conversation for admission. You’ve met that in your course work but have not with the test scores (SAT I & ACT, your SAT II’s are fine). If you are an underclassman and have your heart set on Cornell there is still time to raise your test scores, if you are a senior, you should have started this thread when you were a Soph.</p>
<p>I got in with a 1910 over all SAT but I had a weak writing section and stronger Math and CRs my SAT II’s were a lot better though… if you ED you’ll have a shot I guess</p>
<p>honestly, your scores and grades are on the low end. maybe if you have legacy and a great essay you have a chance. good luck</p>
<p>If Cornell is your dream school, you have time to raise your SAT score. Given your other credentials, there is no reason you can’t score above a 2000 which will give you a realistic shot at being admitted ED.</p>
<p>Standardized tests like the SAT are all about familiarity with the question types (generally) so do whatever it takes to do tons of practice problems and take the test again. You have time, but don’t waste it.</p>
<p>kingorange9: The best advice is always the truth. I’m not an expert on Cornell admissions, but I’d say these responses are fairly accurate. It is very important that you do not get discouraged by them. Be confident, even in your CC posts. I assume your applying next year? You and I are on the same page: I scored a 1280 on the SAT I, and I have a 3.8 GPA. I have a significant upward trend in my GPA since freshman year, and my ECs aren’t exactly spectacular. When I started a chance thread for myself a few weeks ago, I heard the same thing. Last weekend I took a practice SAT I, and scored a 750 on CR, notably contrasting with the 610 on the real test. They say a 1280 on the SAT roughly translates to about a 29 ACT composite. Right now, I’m half way through a practice ACT and I scored a 33 on English and 29 on Math, and this is my first exposure to the ACT-style questions. </p>
<p>As mikeyc765 said, these standardized tests are all about strategy and how well you know them. Take a few practice tests, study your weak points, and load up on vocabulary. Aim for around a 1400 (writing section doesn’t matter too much) on the SAT I, and a 32 on the ACT. It seems a bit daunting, but you’ll be surprised by how well you do.</p>
<p>Also, as I have learned, you’ll need to centralize your ECs. Instead of being involved in 5 clubs, devote your time to 1 or 2, particularly ones that are relevant to your major. The admissions office looks for students that show they really are interested in the particular college at Cornell they are applying to, one who’s EC’s, some sort of internship, and essay demonstrate this interest.</p>
<p>What was your SAT essay score? You should aim for at least 11. On the test I took, I thought I wrote a pretty mediocre essay compared to the practice ones, and I scored a 10; I’m hoping for a 12 in April. I composed the essays according to a “formula” that someone showed me. It it almost like a fill-in-the-blank-and-score-high method. If your interested, I’ll post it.</p>
<p>Here is my chance thread from a couple weeks ago: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/cornell-university/1261661-am-i-track-cornell.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/cornell-university/1261661-am-i-track-cornell.html</a></p>
<p>The point is that you have plenty of time to prepare yourself before the application process next year. Don’t think that you are “not getting in.” You still have plenty of time. As long as you remain interested, do regular and extensive research, prep for the next tests, and truly dream of going to Cornell, you still have a shot. If you’d like, we can keep can in touch as we prepare for applications next year. I’ll check this thread again in about 40 minutes.</p>
<pre><code> P.S. Colene, csdad, cortana431, and others are very helpful and seem to know a lot about Cornell. Ask any question, and (most of the time) someone will help.
</code></pre>
<p>Edit: make that 45 minutes. I’m taking a break.</p>
<p>Sadly, I am a senior, but I appreciate all of the truth and advice :)</p>
<p>Applying Regular Decision? Your chances are very low, then. Where else are you applying?</p>
<p>“Sadly, I am a senior, but I appreciate all of the truth and advice”</p>
<p>…just out of curiosity, when did you start taking the SAT / ACT, how many times did you take them, & did you take any kind of prep course for them?</p>
<p>So I took the SATs twice…Once in the spring of my junior year and once at the beginning of my senior year. In my junior year I received the 1910, but in my senior I completely flopped because I had no time to study. Yes, I applied regular decision but, I also applied to Binghamton University (Safety School: was accepted), Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Safety School: was accepted), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Target School: pending), Boston University (Target School: Pending), obviously Cornell University (Reach School: Pending), and Columbia University (Reach School: Pending).</p>
<p>This is a pet peeve of mine. GC’s should be advising kids, who they anticipate applying to top level schools, to begin taking the SAT / ACT in the Spring of their Soph. year. They then have a lot of time & opportunity to raise their scores to the levels needed. We did this with our D & it made all the difference.</p>
<p>@csdad
My first attempt at the SATs was during March (I think) of my junior year, which I scored a 1230 on the 1600-scale.
My second attempt was during October of my senior year, and I was able to raise it up to a 1530.
In my opinion, it really depends on how much the kid tries, not how many times they take the SATs.</p>
<p>Raising your score 300 points in 6 months is rare. Many more examples of students needing 18 months & three attempts before they see an end result increase of anywhere near that magnitude.</p>
<p>“Unfortunitely, you must neet the minimum threshhold of GPA (in rigorous courses) & test scores to even get in the conversation for admission.” - csdad</p>
<p>What do you think the minimum threshhold is for GPA?</p>
<p>Difficult to say based on high schools calculating GPA differently from school to school. Mostly “A”'s in the most rigorous courses is most desired. Top 10% of class is another plus (of course with more & more high schools not ranking this is becoming less factored). Of my D’s 30 high school credits she had 3 “B”'s and the rest were “A”'s, I thought her GPA was around average for applicants her year.</p>