The Laundry List of Q's

<p>rising senior
Weighted GPA : 4.67 (4.6 scale- 5.6 for honors)
Unweighted: Not sure but the A range.
Rank: 6/530ish</p>

<p>SAT I Cr 750 M 680 W 640
sat II’s in Lit- 740 and US history-690, In october is math IIC and bio</p>

<p>School Activities:
Mock Trial- 2 years- the first year I was an understudy and this year I was a witness for the prosecution.
Math League – I just started this year.
Science League- I did freshman and sophomore year.
JSA- It’s a new club in my school.</p>

<p>Temple Youth Group- 3 years
Temple Youth Group board member- 3 years -social action vp
Hebrew School- 3 years
NFTY- North American Federation of Temple Youth 3 years.
Girl Scouts- working on Gold Award
Lobbying- I’ve been to Washington twice with the RAC.</p>

<p>3 summers as Swim Club Day Camp Counselor
Summer Reading Program at Library
Urban Mitzvah Corps- 6 week program at Rutgers- two 3 week community service programs- Inner City Day camp, Central New Jersey Jewish Home for the Aged-program focused on community service, Reform Judaism, went to congress/senate to lobby for a week, speakers came in, etc.</p>

<p>Humanities Program at High School (our district has 5 high schools and you can get accepted to other high schools and be in the special program.)French Honors Society
National Honors Society
Nominated by High School for Governor’s School of Arts
Nominated for NJSP, Semi-finalist
Girls State
Joining editorial staff of teen health magazine</p>

<p>I love Cornell (applying there ED).
Intended major: Biology (genetics/neuroscience)</p>

<p>and now for my questions
1. Is Cornell still a HUGE reach for me?
2. Do you think it will matter if I take the Math 2 SAt II because I've been studying, but I would rather just forget about it and focus all my energy on the bio?
3. I'm not sure whether to mention the SEx,etc. magazine bc I'm just starting it this year. Should I list it on the common app or discuss it at all?
4. I plan to major in bio, but most of my activities are social action related. I know this will hurt me. On the common app should I put math or sci league as one of the activities or should I leave those out and instead put the activities I've been more devoted to like Girl Scouts or Social Action VP? </p>

<p>Sorry for the laundry list of questions. I'd really appreciate any advice you can give me!
Thanks again.
E</p>

<p>You say you want to major in biology, but you did not say which school you are applying to (CAS or CALS). This is important for SAT IIs. If you are applying to CAS, you need not take any SAT IIs that you don't want to; you already have two, which is all they ask for (though that US History is a bit low, so you might want to take one more to see if you can score higher). If you're applying to CALS, you need math and a science, and you haven't taken either of those yet, so you do need to take both Math IIC and Bio.</p>

<p>CAS- and of course I'm trying for an 800 on the bio, but I think realistically my score could be as low as 700, but I'm studying hard so maybe the 800 is possible too. What score would be respectable? Also the reason I'm thinking about the Math II still is bc my history is a 690 and if I could do better then that in math they'll only see the lit, math and bio. Is it worth all the extra work and worry or can I forget about the math?</p>

<p>Definitely put girl scouts because I constantly hear that colleges love to c eagle or gold. Social activism is an AMAZING quality, no matter wat ur major. If it is a major where you will see it less (I think science is one of these) than it will make you unique and even more desirable. Colleges like Cornell want people who will change the world, and social activism is definitely a step towards that. Best of luck!</p>

<p>Emilie,</p>

<p>I don't think cornell is a huge reach for you. It is definitely within your selectivity range, and I think applying ED is a good idea if you really want Cornell.</p>

<p>Also, remember that schools like to see long-term commitment. I noticed that in school your activities never lasted more than two years. Something like the following would look more impressive, showing commitment and leadership.</p>

<p>Varsity sport (captain) - 4 years
Math league (president) - 4 years
Misc Club (treasurer) - 4 years</p>

<p>All in all though, I think you have an average to above-average application for Cornell. Remember to be creative and and let the app show who you really are, and what makes you different from anyone else.</p>

<p>Also, from your grading description and HS district description it looks like you go to a Freehold Regional High School Disctict School. Forgive me if I'm wrong, but if this is the case, I may be able to provide you some assistance when applying. If your school is in another district, my apologies.</p>

<p>Best of luck.</p>

<p>i am in frhsd</p>

<p>A lot of your extracurriculars are pretty similar to what mine were. I had Teen Court and Mock Trial amongst other things, and Eagle Scout. What Figgy said is true; I wrote two of my essays about scouting and getting Eagle, and I'm pretty sure it was a big factor in me getting in. Cornell likes well rounded people and leadership and community involvement go a long way.</p>

<p>I would suggest forgetting about the math and concentrating on bio -- unless some of the other schools that you plan to apply to require a math SAT II.</p>