what are my ED chances at cornell?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

<p>thanks guys.
i want to apply early decision to cornell college of human ecology.</p>

<p>Female
Korean-American
English first language</p>

<p>GPA:
-3.92 unweighted
-42/482 rank (top 9% or so)
-our school is competitive, but does not offer many ap courses. i took the most challenging classes our school has to offer. received B's in geometry (9th), euro history (10th), and chemistry (10th). i can understand the history one but i can't undrestand the math and science... i'm actually very good at math and science. i got all A's junior year with a challenging course load.</p>

<p>TESTS:
-SAT I (Critical Reading 710, Math 790, Writing 730), multiple sittings, 2230. highest composite single sitting: 2170.
-SAT II (Biology E 650 - going to retake, Math II 800, Spanish 730)
-ACT 34
-AP Statistics 5</p>

<p>EXTRACURRICULARS:
- district-wide research internship program at comprehensive cancer center, 14 students selected in the city, 35 hrs/week 11 wks/summer. currently working on poster, research paper for competitions. internship previous summer in chemistry lab also, 10 hrs./wk
- violin 5 years, 10 hrs/week, 50 wks/yr. state youth symphony orchestra, school orchestra, city chamber group, private lessons.
- design graphics 2-3 years, 10 hrs/week, 35 wks/yr., yearbook editor-in-chief, received school yearbook scholarship, wisconsin art education association regional art show "best in show (first place)"
- peer tutoring, 2-3 yrs at school volunteering to help freshmen and sophomores in their classes, 3 hrs./wk, 35 wks/yr., tutoring korean children in english since age 10, last summer tutored 4 kids 15 hrs./wk.
- piano 6 yrs., 10 hrs./wk for the sheer joy of playing, no awards or membership
- class council 3 yrs, 1-2 hrs./wk, 35 wks/yr, head of food drive/twirp committee
- freshman advisory 12th grade, 5 hrs./wk, 35 wks./yr
- senior citizen 12th grade, 5-6 hrs./wk, 35 wks/yr
- health occupational students of america, 1 hr./wk, 35 wks./yr, helped organize hiv/aids awareness week</p>

<p>HONORS/AWARDS:
-national honor society
-spanish honor society
-probable national merit semifinalist? (217)
-2005 wisc art education association regional art show first place
-west yearbook scholarship
-varsity math award</p>

<p>VOLUNTEER:
-univesrity hospital, 4 hrs./wk 30 wks./yr, 2 yrs.
-senior center, 4 hrs./wk 30 wks./yr, 1 yr
-peer tutoring at school, 3 hrs./wk 35 wks./yr, 2-3 yrs.</p>

<p>i dont know if i forgot anything.
thanks so much for helping me out guys :) i really appreciate your help. do you think it would be beneficial for me to apply early decision?</p>

2

<p>if it's your first choice, then ED might be a good route for you. You're certainly a good candidate for admission. The class rank might be a little subpar for a school like Cornell but as long as it's within the top 10% it won't hurt you too much...your test scores are solid too. Best of luck!</p>

3

<p>i hope so. thanks a lot.</p>

<p>do you think i could get into any other ivies? i'm an asian-american, which puts me at a disadvantage, but my mom is a waitress and my dad has been unemployed for many years... has never had a real job in his field (archaeology), and we are living way below the poverty level. my dad graduated from brown university grad and univ of wisc-madison. i need a full scholarship somewhere, if i have to pay then i can't go to college.</p>

<p>im applying to a lot of colleges but i need to narrow it down:
EARLY DECISION: either cornell, univ penn, columbia
REGULAR REACHES: harvard, brown, stanford, uc berkeley, duke, amherst, wellesley, wash u, ucla
REGULAR MIDDLES OR SAFETIES: univ southern calif, carnegie mellon, nyu, northwestern, univ wisc-madison, u michigan-ann arbor.</p>

<p>thanks so much guys.</p>

4

<p>could anyone else please help me?</p>

5

<p>bump........</p>

6

<p>I'd say you'd probably get eaten alive stats wise at a lot of those reach schools. Unfortunately, the B's and rank will stick out against every other applicants' perfect scores/grades/lives etc. I think your ECs are very interesting, however, the violin and piano bit is very stereotypical. Should you get in to any of the schools, your financial situation may put you in line for a lot of aid. But you have to get in first, good luck and be comfortable with your back ups.</p>

7

<p>thanks so much for your very thoughtful advice.
i took everything you said into perspective. i agree, my reach schools are very reach, but do you think that my financial situation may give me an advantage, or at least give them an idea of my background? i have had to quit so many extracurriculars that i dedicated my life to, such as dance (6 yrs until 3 yrs ago), and piano i had to quit 2 years ago. all extracurriculars i have done were on a full scholarship or free.
do you think that i could get into cornell, early decision? as long as i work hard on my essay, and such?</p>

8

<p>I think you have a fair chance. No guarantee, but definitely worth trying. All these Ivy League schools are not "guarantee-able." Your financial situation should help you, while your Asianness may hurt you. But don't worry, I'm Asian too...</p>

9

<p>thank you for responding...
a fair chance? erm is that more like the "mediocre fa'ir" or "yeah there's definitely a chance-fair"? what are you basing your opinion on? thanks, i'd really like to know because i've really got my heart set on this school... but don't worry, i have many backups that i love also.</p>

10

<p>hey I just realized your dad graduated from Brown. That will definitely actually help you get into Brown if you applied ED. I think that may actually be your best bet. If I were you, I'd definitely go with Brown because that is just like the safest route to take and the most profitable one... (You don't want to waste your ED chance when you can pretty much get into an Ivy League school (Brown) early... I'm not sure if you'll get into Brown if you apply RD since your stats seem ordinary to me...)</p>

<p>Also, if you haven't visited Cornell, applying for ED may not be a good choice. When I first visited, it turned me off. The location was VERY rural. They have a lot of things in Ithaca, but it's definitely different from say, Providence or New York City.</p>

11

<p>Hmm... I guess 50-50 chance? You defnitely have a chance of getting in, but it's just the colleges are very unpredictable... it's hard to say what your exact chance is...</p>

12

<p>i see. do you think that if i had higher scores, it would significantly raise my chance? what do you think gives me that edge that you based your 50-50 guess on?
by the way, are you in college or are you applying to cornell this fall?</p>

<p>about the visit. i live in a town of about 250,000 so i guess u could call it urban but its very suburban too... how would ithaca compare?</p>

13

<p>haha I'm applying for Cornell too... so maybe I don't really have the rights to say your chance...
I don't know... it just seems like you don't have a "hook"... your scores are definitely good (mucch better than mine) but I just didn't see anything that made me go "WOW!" maybe it's just the way you put your resume, though.</p>

<p>But if you really want to apply, go ahead! (I'm not trying to discourage you just because I'm applying; I'll be applying to a different college in Cornell anyway.)</p>

<p>If you really really love Cornell, go ahead and apply. But if you're unsure, like if you haven't visited, I'd definitely go with Brown. (If I had your legacy status, I'd already filled my app lol) But definitely definitely don't expect a city or suburban life in Ithaca. I mean, I was shocked and needed people to ASSURE me that I was not in the middle of nowhere when I went there to visit.</p>

14

<p>thanks for all your input.</p>

<p>maybe i should try to visit cornell, although it would be very hard on us financially... i don't know about that. but i will consider what you told me.</p>

<p>also, i hope you get in as well. ;) best of luck.</p>

<p>the reason why i haven't looked at brown closely is because i was discouraged by the extremely low acceptance rate compared with my statistics that are the same as everyone elses, and also i didn't think that my legacy status would help that much. i kind of didn't even consider that my dad went there. do you know the numbers/percentages for legacies who get into brown? thanks so much ~~</p>

15

<p>Thanks:)</p>

<p>I'm not sure about the percentage, but I'm pretty sure if you're a lagacy, you'll have a MUCH better chance of getting in.</p>

<p>Consider this:</p>

<p>If there were 10 applicants with the exact same stats as you applying for Brown, but you were the only legacy. That means they'll take you!</p>

<p>I think someone told me that your chance of acceptance increases by as much as 30 to 50% if you're a legacy. That's a LOT for a school like Brown.</p>

16

<p>i just went on the brown thread, and someone said that its like 54% for legacy acceptance! wow.</p>

<p>i need to contact my dad and ask him if brown would work for me.</p>

<p>thanks so much! u helped me out a lot.</p>

17

<p>No prob ;)</p>

18

<p>Just realize that they are using the legacy status a little less. I actually know a legacy of Brown who was pretty much perfect for the school, but was waitlisted and then rejected. and are you kidding me orange? Her financial situation is definitely a hook. A main reason people say that there is AA is so that it can even the playing ground for the people who just aren't there with finances to do all of the things that rich kids can do. I think she has done very well considering. I do think you have a chance at a top school if you get great recs and write a great essay. Best of luck! (and def post on the Brown forum and ask about ur legacy thing).</p>

<p>ps I just revisted the top to make sure I read it right. She has ABOVE A 3.9 AVERAGE. You can't say that she doesn't have a chance or else ur crazy. College Confidential gets into some peoples heads I guess, but having a 3.92 average is definitely a great average.</p>

19

<p>She definitely has a chance, but I think she may have a better chance getting into Brown. But I think you're right with the financial reason thing =)</p>

20

<p>Just make sure you love a school before you apply ED. Research it a lot and maybe even carpool with a friend looking at the same school.</p>