What good schools can I get into?

<p>Ok, so I didn't mature until 11th grade. Give me a break.
UW GPA: 3.7 (that's with electives how my hs reports it) (Without electives it's 3.6)
I ended hs with about 93 avrg. Avrg for my school going to Cornell is 95.75 BUT I IMPROVED SOPH TO JR YR SO MUCH!!!
My academic avrg SOPH yr was 89. My academic avrg JR yr is 98.5!!!!!!
I AM IN FULL IB AS WELL.
Classes:
ESS-100
English-98
French-98
History-96
Trig-100
TOK-100
Theatre-100</p>

<p>2250 on SAT</p>

<p>4 yrs of XC, indoor and outdoor track, 2 yrs varsity for those. (captain once)
Lead in musical for 11th grade (secretary)
NHS
Environmental Club
FOUNDER and PRESIDENT of French Speaking Club
AP World History Club (secretary)</p>

<p>Sadly, not in top 10% of class due to not great early grades, however, i am close and my avrg JR is almost valedictorian of entire school.
So....can I get into Cornell, and how to improve?</p>

<p>Your odds for Cornell are about 1 in 20 to 1 in 30 right now. Full IB helps but just the upward trend won’t help for a school such as Cornell and not being top 10% won’t helpeither , nor the fact you have good-but-not spectacular EC’s. In short, this isn’t the type of application that gets into Cornell or any top 30 school.
You need to recalibrate your list. It’s fine to include Cornell as a dream school but the rest should include two schools you like, can afford, and are 100% sure you’ll get into + 3-5 match schools (ranked 35-50 national Us and LACs) + a few reaches (ranked 20-35 national Us and LACs).
Where are you in-state?</p>

<p>NY</p>

<p>Okay then, for your safeties it’s a no-brainer: Geneseo plus your pick among SUNY Bing, SUNY B, SUNY Albany, SUNY SB. You could add St Lawrence and/or Ithaca after running the net price calculators … they would also likely be safeties for you as long as you demonstrate interest (ie., fill out the “request info” questionnaire, then email them in the Fall to ask questions. If you don’t live far, try to visit). Remember that your safety should be a school where you’re well above the top 25% threshold and can afford, but one you like, too (essentially, a school where you’d enjoy spending 4 years as cream of the crop).</p>

<p>ok if i do well in these undergraduate schools can i go to cornell for grad studies?</p>

<p>if you do well, of course! Geneseo as the Honors College of the State of NY may have a slight edge over the other SUNYs but all 4 are also excellent in their respective branches, so you can’t choose wrong. Ithaca and St Lawrence have very strong advising systems and excellent preparation for grad school, provided you can take advantage of the opportunities. Ithaca, of course, is in the same city as Cornell, so you are allowed to take a couple courses there (can be a good idea junior year to “test the waters”… and get a recommendation in from a seminar professor).</p>

<p>Ok. Thankyou. But i understand that I do not have a 4.0. I just didn’t mature until this year. If I had FR yr, I would definetly be top 10 of class. I might even be saludictorian. Maybe. </p>

<p>Valedictorian/Salutatorian status doesn’t matter much outside of high school. Top 10% is what matters. INvestigate all the schools above. Those would be good safeties for you. Build your list from the ground up - once you have at least 2 safeties you like, look for matches, and then add as many reaches as you wish or can afford. A reach is either a school there you’re “average” (meaning your odds are below 50%) or where selectivity is under 30%.</p>

<p>OK. Thanks. I am also looking at Boston College. It has a higher IB acceptance rate. What do you think of that?</p>

<p>All Ivy League colleges are “reaches” for everyone nowadays. You should apply to Cornell, but cast a wide net. Are financial considerations significant? What is it abouf Cornell that particularly appeals to you? I always suggest that you put together a list of colleges that satisfy your personal criteria, with a range of admissions scenarios. The SUNY system is a good place to start. How far from home do you want to look? If you like the Boston area, consider Clark and Holy Cross, also. Tufts is highly selective, but I’m not sure it’s quite as selective as Cornell. One word of caution: if many of your classmates plan to apply to Cornell, you might want to look at schools where you will be considered as an individual, not in comparison to classmates (whose stats and rankings might be slightly higher). </p>