turtle888

Hi I am going to apply to Cornell University Early Decision. I go to a very prestigious public high school (top 10 consistently in NJ).

Basics:
--Gender: Male
--Ethnicity: Mixed (White, hispanic)
--School applying to: College of Human Ecology

GPA: 3.55 UW, 3.93 W

School does not rank class (31 students from last year's class now are attending Ivy league schools out of a class of roughly 350)

ACT:
31 Composite (30 Science, 28 Reading, 35 Math, 30 English)
I took it a second time and got a 30 composite. However, superscored it is a 32.

SAT IIs:
Math Level II: 730
I will be taking the Literature and Spanish Language tests in October.


Classes

--Freshman Year:
Geometry I, Biology Accelerated, Spanish III Accelerated, English I, Intro to Economics, US History I, and Band.
UW GPA: 3.2
W GPA: 3.5
I ran into some really tough teachers and was did not know how to approach these challenges.

--Sophomore Year:
Algebra II Accelerated, Chemistry I, US History II, Spanish IV Accelerated, English II, AP Macroeconomics, and AP Microeconomics (4s on both exams).
UW GPA: 3.56
W GPA: 3.98
I started to turn things around academically and pushed myself to do better. Started an upward trend.

--Junior Year:
Pre-Calculus Accelerated, Physics I, AP World History, Spanish V Accelerated, English III, Computer Graphics
UW GPA: 3.9
W GPA: 4.33


--Senior Year Course-load:
AP Calculus AB, AP Biology to make amends for my poor Freshman Bio grade, AP Government and Politics, AP English IV, Spanish VI Accelerated, Peer Group Program

The Peer Group Program is a very selective program in my high school which requires an application and try out. As a Peer Group leader, I will be mentoring freshman and helping them adjust to high school life.


Extracurriculars:

-Varsity Basketball (10, 11, 12th grade)
-Varsity Baseball (started all 3 years on varsity: 10, 11, and 12th)
-Jewish Peer Leadership program in local synagogues (11 and 12th)
-Hebrew High school (9, 10th) --> Took a community service trip to New Orleans to help residents of the Lower Ninth Ward improve their houses and their neighborhood
-volunteer at a local organization that helps children with mental disabilities play sports (11, 12th)
-AAU/rec baseball in offseason (9, 10, 11, 12th)
-AAU/rec basketball in offseason (9, 10, 11, 12th)
-volunteer at a local Physical Therapy office

Work experience:

I worked as a camp counsellor at a sleepaway summer camp as well as local basketball camps for middle schoolers. I have also coached a youth summer basketball team, however I did not get paid.

One other factor is that my father went to Cornell in the College of Engineering!

I know I do not have a very high GPA compared to other prospective Cornell students, however I did have a very solid upward trend and decent scores. I hope my commitment to my extra curriculars help make up the lack of quality.

Thank you very much!

turtle888

wow I didnt realize it was that long. Sorry guys!

cortana431

GPA is pretty low but I don't know how good that is at your school. What percentile do you think you lie at? ACT is ok, you might want to try the SAT in October.

csdad

Good advice, seeing that you are much stronger in math, you may score higher on the SAT than the ACT.

turtle888

Thanks for the feedback. I dont think I would be able to get a good enough score the first time I took the SATs and I would not have a second chance.

csdad

Think of it this way; your Math section of the ACT only accounts for 25% of the score that is most used in admission (composite score). On the SAT your math score will account for 50% of the score used (CR + M). You have nothing to lose, Cornell will use the higher (of the SAT or ACT) score.

turtle888

That's true. My only issue is I must take the SAT IIs in October because CHE requires 2 of them

MomofNEA

You can take the subject tests in November. My son is considering applying ED and he didn't have the math SATII that is required and he was told that he could take it in November and still be okay for ED. I think I read that somewhere here, too. Or you could just take the SAT in November and only send it if it's good.

himanshusahay

You'll do just fine for Cornell, I reckon. They accept about 1/3 rd of the ED students so don't worry.

csdad

....admission rate for ED is inflated by legacies & recruited athletes. In addition Engineering for males is one of the most difficult admits for Cornell. "No sense in worrying" if poster has done all he can do, but to infer that he will be easily admitted is way off the mark.