What are my chances? Cornell Applied Economics and Management (Dyson school) Regular Decision

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

Hey, I was just wondering what my chances are for the Dyson school at Cornell in the Regular decision round. I know this is a pretty selective school to apply to considering the Dyson school has only a 7% acceptance rate. Here are my stats. Thanks in advance

SAT Score: 1500 (780 Math / 720 Reading, Writing)
SAT subject: 780 Math level II, 730 Chemistry (will likely retake chemistry in January for other colleges)
GPA: 103.6 weighted on a 100 scale (it’s weird)
Class Rank: 2 of 400

Classes Taken: AP Biology (Freshman), AP Chemistry (Sophomore), AP World History (Sophomore), Entrepreneurship (Sophomore), AP Calculus, IB Business Managment, IB TOK, IB Chemistry, IB History, IB Arabic, IB Mathematics, IB Literature (All Junior)

Classes I am taking now: AP Statistics, IB Arabic, IB Math, IB Lit, IB History, IB TOK, IB Economics, IB Chemistry, Physics.

AP Scores: 4’s and 5’s

IB Score: 6 in IB Business

Volunteer Hours: Around 200 (150 required to graduate)

Notable Aspects:
Cofounded 2 Businesses (VP of Finance for one, President of the other)
State Winner and National Qualifier in FBLA Business Managment Competition
Intensively studied Arabic Abroad in Jordan for two months under a selective government national security initiative. (1 of 12 in the nation)

Sports:
Freshman and Sophomore year I played Ultimate Frisbee and was a member of the Varsity HS soccer team. For the past 2 and a half years, I have been on a crew team (varsity). The crew team is a local club now receiving recognition from multiple Ivy league schools. I am borderline recruitable for the ivies as a lightweight rower. Unlikely to get assistance. (Note crew takes up almost all my hours outside of school)

Clubs:
FBLA
Fellowship of Christian Athletes (leadership team member)
Mu Alpha Theta Honor Society (Senior Member)
National Honor Society
Investment Team Member and Fund Manager

Teacher Recommendations: Good (haven’t read though)

Career Aspirations:
I would like to go into finance but over high school, I have found that I enjoy most aspects of business management as well. I might wish to pursue consulting or a career in management at a large company instead of finance.

2

Based strictly on your stats you have a strong chance of getting accepted. The key, however, is your essays. Dyson is very focused on if you are a good fit for the program. As you stated, this is the most selective undergraduate business program in the Country. Its highly rated and highly sought after. However, if you can communicate why Dyson is critical to your success and career goals you will have a very solid chance of acceptance.

3

Let me make one more clarifying comment by “strong chance”. The reality is that with a 7% acceptance rate no one really has a strong chance, but likely compared to the other prospective Dyson applicants you have a solid chance. Again, focus on your essays as that will really be the key determining factor as the other applicants will also be strong in terms of stats.

4

Thanks spemmar1, I completely understand the fact that a “strong chance” doesn’t really exist for anyone. I think all I can say at this point is that I will make a competitive applicant and that I’ll have to leave it up to the admissions to decide. As far as the essay goes, I think I will talk about the two businesses I started (one was a success, the other a failure) and then how my interests changed more to finance after those ventures. Then I will explain how Cornell fits those interests and what I can bring to the table. Thanks again for the prompt comments

5

Strong chance.