I have MANY questions that I'm hoping current Cornell students or those accepted may be able to answer. First off, I know that you are probably sick of reading the "chance me" threads, but I really need a reality check. I have taken the ACT three times and just registered to take it one last time. I cannot get the score I really want. What ACT score do I need for Cornell if I have the following?:
4.010 GPA (weighted)
National Honor Society
Editor-in-Chief of school newspaper
Student Council
Piano
Math Tutor
Employment
Volunteer at hospital
Solid application essay
Second, I was wondering if anyone could provide their favorite thing about Cornell. I plan on studying pre-med so if your advice corrosponds that would be helpful too. Thanks a million!!!!
What is your class rank or estimated percentile? Your GPA alone doesn't tell us much.
In any case, you should have at least 32 to be competitive, you may be able to get accepted with a 30 or 31 if you are hooked (legacy, minority applicant, or recruited athlete) and/or you apply early decision, but not to the college of arts and sciences or the college of engineering.
What exactly is your act score and from all three sittings?
And are you and your family prepared to pay for Cornell, or are you expecting enough financial aid if accepted? Since you are taking the pre med route, medical school is an additional 4 years and is also a fortune; you really don't want to enter medical school with debt.
You really have not included any substantive information on which to base an evaluation.
Every high school weights gpas differently, so simply stating 4.01 represents nothing.
What does "piano" mean? What does "employment" mean? These broad headings could indicate a deep commitment over many years, or they might be mere titles that are nothing but fluff on your resume.
I guess the answer you are looking for is that Cornell's middle 50% (25/75) range for ACT scores is 31-34.
I glanced over your other posts and saw that your aiming for a 27-28 on the next ACT. Unfortunately, as other posters have stated, this is probably not competitive enough for Cornell.
As long as "Piano, Math Tutor, Employment, Volunteer at hospital" all are more than just activities to fill up your application, I'd say that you NEED a 30+ to bother applying as an unhooked applicant.
If the ACT doesn't work out next time you take it, you have two choices (assuming you want to be competitive for cornell):
Take the SAT
Apply RD and take the ACT one last time
I have taken the ACT three time and just registered for the last time in September. I got a 24 the first two times and a 23 the last time
With those scores, I unfortunately think Cornell is unrealistic for you. You need a 30+ to have any chance, and it is very difficult to increase your score by about 6 points, especially since you have taken it 3 times and your scores have been pretty consistent. Good news is that there are plenty of other colleges you can get a great education at and then hopefully look at Cornell for graduate school.
I put your chances at very, very low. Your EC's are good, but nothing amazing that would compensate. It's hard to judge your GPA. 4.0 weighted can be either good or bad. Have you taken the most rigorous courses possible? What is your class rank (rough idea works if your school doesn't rank)?
If the ACT isn't doing it for you, I'd try the SAT. Realistically, if you've been putting real effort into studying for the ACT and are still scoring that low, I don't see you as being someone who could be successful at Cornell. Especially as a pre-med, your grades will depend on how well you do relative to everyone else. If you heartily disagree with what I just said, then you need to learn HOW to study for standardized test. Simply describing yourself as "not a good test taker" isn't a real answer. For college you need to learn to become a good test taker if that's the case. And practicing studying the "right" way will pay dividends for college. If that happens, maybe you won't get into Cornell, but you'll have picked up a great skill for college.
Agreed, the MCAT (medical college admissions test) is a huge factor in medical school admissions. Not doing good enough on the mcat may mean you won't get accepted to ANY medical school.
