What do you think my chances of getting into Cornell AAP?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

I’m going to be a junior this coming year at a Catholic school in the Midwest. I’m planning to major in architecture and Cornell is my dream school. Based on my courses that I have taken, extracurricular activities, outside of school activities and awards could you give me a rough estimate of my chances being admitted into Cornell? Below are the courses that i have taken and will take this year. If you are wondering why I’m taking mid-level classes that’s because in middle school I was placed there because I didn’t care for homework. I was capable in understanding the content because I scored very high in fact was one of the highest scorers on my class but wouldn’t be able to keep up with the homework. The reason why my schedule doesn’t have many AP/ACC classes is because my school only offers 3 AP/ACC classes altogether including ACC Biology, ACC Chemistry, & AP Calc. I have not taken the ACT or the SAT yet but I have registered for the next ACT in Sep.

Unweighted GPA:
-Freshman year: 3.95
-Sophomore year: 4.0

Courses:

Freshman
-Algebra 1
-Pre Chem./Pre phys.
-Geography
-English 9
-Religion 9
-P.E.
-Orchestra B
-Band

Sophomore
-Geometry
-ACC Biology
-Government/ speech 10

  • English 10
    -Religion 10
    -P.E.
    -Orchestra A (higher)
    -Art

Junior

  • Algebra 2 ( or pre-calc because I might test out)
    -physics
    -American History
    -English 11
    -Religion 11
    -Spanish 1
    -Career Pathways Institute (Dual credit drafting course)

Extracurricular Activities
Band 9
Orchestra 9 10
Art Club 9 10 11
One Act Crew 9 10
Musical Crew 9 10 11
Set Painting 9 10 11
Student Council (Fine Arts Committee) 11
Color Guard 11
—Planning to Run for art club pres. and National Honors Society

Outside of School Activities
-Young Neighbors in Action (mission trips)
-Teach Catechism

State and National Awards
Band
-NSBA (Nebraska State Band Association)
-NMEA (Nebraska Music Educators Association)
-Playing at the Nebraska Capital Building hosted by NSBA

Art

  • 2 Scholastic Arts and Writing Gold Key

Service
-2 Presidential Bronze service award

Academic
-Presidential Academic Award

2

Excellent chance! Feel free to PM with any specific questions! :slight_smile:

3

Do you think that my chances of getting in will be lower because I’m not taking the high-level courses in math and science? This year I’m taking Algebra 2 while other in my class that are taking the high level courses are taking Pre-Calc. but I plan on taking Pre-calc in the summer next year so that i could take calculus my senior year.

4

No, just perform very strong in the regular ones :slight_smile:

5

It’s hard to judge based only on GPA because it’s unclear how rigorous and demanding your high school is. Class rank and SAT scores will also have a big impact.

Don’t worry so much about maths/science coursework- I’m in Cornell’s architecture program and the highest math I took in HS was precalc. I did well on math SAT and SAT II, though. Most of my classmates had calculus, but it’s definitely not necessary for any coursework in the arch major.

Much of the admissions process for Cornell architecture is based on your portfolio. I see you’re in art club, so I assume you are producing art works that you might include in a portfolio submission. If you aren’t already, I would recommend focusing on drawing and sketching technique, as well as works that exhibit your interest in spatial design, which usually means sculpture.

So cool that you’re into set painting!! That was my passion in high school. Good luck!

6

Thank you so much for your advice.