<p>Stats:
SAT: 800CR, 750 M, 800W
SAT IIs: 790M2, 750 US History, 750 Bio
UW GPA: ~4.0
W GPA: ~5.0
Rank: #1, 2, or 3 out of ~500 kids in class</p>
<p>Subjective:
Essays: idk, excellent, i guess
Teacher Recs: Excellent
Counselor Rec: Excellent
Hook (if any): three season all-city Athlete; taught myself three languages; organized and led a one-month service trip to help those affected by hurricane Katrina; wrote a few political editorials in established newspaper; organized youth rally for democratic party</p>
<p>Location/Person:
State or Country: CA
School Type: public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male</p>
<p>Other Factors: None</p>
<p>I am worried by the whole "they won't accept you if you're too qualified" theory. Granted Cornell is extremely selective and I wouldn't be surpised if they rejected me, but how do I make sure that it's not b/c they thought I wouldn't enroll? (I can't apply ED b/c (a) I wanna keep my options open and (b) I can't take the financial risk).</p>
<p>You have excellent stats. I would focus on writing thoughtful, profound essays that demonstrate your passion, personality, intellectual ambition, etc. But, do you have some solid leadership positions? Solid ECs? Those are very important. also, btw, Cornell doesn’t practice the method of rejecting candidates who are too qualified. There is a certain school in the Midwest region that does this, however. Assuming that you have good ecs and write good essays, I think that you would have a very solid shot at Cornell.</p>
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<p>I hope they still follow this practice, for the integrity of the school. </p>
<p>Are you a recruited athlete? What do you want to study? Even if you don’t want to be an athlete, get in touch with a coach and see if you can be a recruited athlete. With stats like yours, coaches will be knocking down your door just so you can <em>be recruited</em> and bring up the University’s AI. </p>
<p>Don’t forget, if you come right out and say that Cornell is your top choice in your essays and your alumni interview, Cornell will take your word for it.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies.</p>
<p>I can be recruited, but I don’t want to get in that way. I am planning on applying to either ILR or CAS. ILR is my top choice, but I don’t know if I can get in. I have the stats, but I don’t exactly have the extra curriculurs they’re looking for (mock trial, debate, etc.). So I guess, I’ll just apply to CAS and hope for the best. </p>
<p>And also, I certainly will let them know that this is my top choice, but I just can’t guarantee that I will enroll. </p>
<p>What’s the University’s AI?</p>
<p>AI – Academic Index. Every school in the Ivy League needs to calculate the academic index for its incoming student body, and the average AI of incoming recruited athletes can be no lower than one standard deviation below the average of the entire class. It’s therefore to a coach’s advantage to recruit some high AI athletes.</p>
<p>I think you have a very good shot, just from a numbers perspective. I would apply to CAS and choose ILR as your alternate. Make certain to identify in your essays why you are so interested in CAS and ILR; I would go so far as to identify certain courses in CAS and ILR that sound appealing to you. That you didn’t have Mock Trial or Debate isn’t that big of an issue.</p>
<p>And if you are as good as an athlete as you suggest, I would at least let the Cornell coaches know; the worst that would happen is you would get a free visit to Ithaca. There is absolutely nothing wrong with getting into Cornell as a recruited athlete. Some of the smartest people I knew at Cornell were recruited athletes.</p>