<p>Hi,
I was wondering what my chances were at:
Columbia, Dartmouth, UPenn </p>
<p>I am currently a freshman attending Cornell University (engineering), but turns out
I really dislike engineering. I always wanted to go to Dartmouth or UPenn, but I thought that since I was going to major in engineering I should go to Cornell. Turns out that that was a bad idea. I am probably applying as a bio major. </p>
<p>My college courses: engineering calculus, bio lecture, bio lab, writing seminar, engineering introduction: biometerials class
GPA: 3.8
Activities at college:
-Intramural basketball
-Intramural soccer
- Church Bassist
- Academy school program coordinator (for winter) </p>
<p>High school
I am a Canadian citizen, went to a highschool in Canada.
SATI: 2260 superscore
SATII: Bio 800, Math II 800, Chem 760, Korean 800
GPA: N/A Rank: top 3%
IB: 41/45
Activities:
- Founded an international club in my communitity, received recognitions from multicultural society and local newspapers
- Internship at a church, tutoring at an after school Academy
- Peer helper at my school
- Varsity soccer, tennis, basketball team
- Jazz Band 1st saxophone, Berklee summer school scholarship
- Volunteering at various school events, communitity events, blood donation center etc.
- Job as a janitor
- Probably more, but I would have to look at my resume </p>
<p>Could anyone chance me for above schools? </p>
<p>Also, could anyone tell me if it's ok to receive recommendation letters from TAs? My TAs would be able to write me a solid recommendation letter, but I don't think my professors know me that well since this was my first year.</p>
<p>getting recs. from your ta should be fine...what matters most is what is written about you, not who writes it</p>
<p>your hs stats are superb...your college gpa is fine...but if we're talking about schools with single digit acceptance rates of an incredibly qualified applicant pool, it doesnt appear that youve been too active at your school or have the outstanding list of college ec's usually needed to distinguish yourself from other applicants...i think you'll have a shot at all the schools however, but really try to get some meaningful ec's on there</p>
<p>gl</p>
<p>With your list of college ECs, I'm almost definitely going to have to say no to all 3. Also, as a Biology major, you should almost definitely stay at Cornell. I'm from Dartmouth, and I can tell you that our program probably isn't as rigorous as yours (our strength is undergraduate teaching, not research prowess). One of my best friends from Cornell also got a research position in BioChem pretty easily as a freshman, so you should definitely try to take advantage of everything your school has to offer (which is a lot). </p>
<p>I highly suspect that you're trying to 'trade up' with the Ivies, but personally, I would go to Cornell over Penn - just so you know.</p>
<p>Cornell University has about seven or more different colleges and offers courses in every subject.</p>
<p>If you don't like engineering, check out one of the other colleges; speak with your advisor.</p>
<p>However, if it just that you do not like the neighborhood, the beautiful lakes and gorges, the landscaping, or the weather, then you should consider transferring. I'm sure there will be another student who would love to take your place.</p>
<p>Cornell has really beautiful landscapes... but it's really in the middle of nowhere and I simply don't fit in well. I did not visit Cornell before applying, but I did visit UPenn and Dartmouth and felt that I would really fit in well at both colleges. The mistake was that I thought I loved engineering and would pursue engineering degree for my undergrad. Thus, I just applied ED to Cornell, which is well known for engineering, thinking that the "fit" would not matter much...
Well, it does matter as I realized... it matters very much. </p>
<p>For ECs, what kind of ECs would be ideal for biology transfer? Would I be wasting my time and money applying to the above schools? Should I try transferring for the junior year instead?</p>
<p>You want to transfer to an Ivy League school, and you're asking us what ECs you should do? Think about that for a moment.</p>
<p>Dartmouth is also in the middle of nowhere, so that's completely a wash. At least you guys have the much nicer campus (trust me, you get used to things here after a while). </p>
<p>Wait a year until you accumulate a more impressive profile. You're just not ready yet right now.</p>