<p>Okay, I think I'll do okay in English, but I'm very skeptical about the other subjects. If anyone found any SAT II particularly easy, please let me know</p>
<p>@jamiek - I appreciate your input but I don't think that's true. Just because I don't have perfect grades does not mean I will not stand out. My teacher told me that colleges really like students who will be the first in their family to go to college. I think I have pretty good ECs and I hope to somehow demonstrate that I have a great interest in their school (which can be validated by the amount of hours I spend researching it and asking current students and alumni about it). I also hope to have excellent recommendations and plan on writing an essay that is well-written and properly portrays my immense interest in their school.
And I'd also like to point out that I am not applying to the "harder" schools (such as architecture or engineering). I plan to apply to CAS or ILR, which, I have heard, is not as competitive as the others.
However, I do realize that my grades are not where they should be, which is why I have been doing my best to ace all my tests in every subject to bring it up as much as possible (which I have been doing successfully so far).</p>
<p>Also my guidance counselor told me that because of the competitive atmosphere of the school, they don't report rankings unless they are required (i.e. for scholarship etc.). Will this hurt my chances? I saw in Cornell's admission statistics that there was a high percentage of students who were admitted without reporting their ranking.</p>
<p>@urmomgoes2colege - If that's the case then do they average my first quarter grades? Because my first quarter grades are always 90+.</p>
<p>Let me put it this way: If they know that even if you aced all your classes in the first semester, that it would not affect their decision (be it accepted or rejected), they will not require your first semester grades. If the think that maybe your first semester grades COULD sway their decision to be either accepted or rejected, they will most likely defer you until those grades are availiable, at which point you may have to compete with all the other RD applicants who got rejected ED from HYP and are applying to Cornell as their safety school.</p>
<p>^ That doesn't sound right. You're required to readily have available your first semester/first two quarter grades. You send them in at different times. Midyears are basically just to check to see whether applicants have slacked off or not.</p>
<p>Basically, most universities like Cornell require a transcript that shows your freshmen to (some of your) senior grades. When you first apply, since you're in quarters, they'll see up to your first quarter grades. Then you or your counselor are/is required to send in the midyear report around February of your senior year.</p>
<p>Also, does going to Cornell's summer school improve your chances of getting accepted to the college the following year? I plan on applying there so I can get an idea of what life at Cornell would be like if I was accepted.</p>