rocketsfan2804

hey incoming high school senior here. applying early decision to cornell. 2170 SAT (m-720, cr-730, w-720), subject tests 780 (math 2) and 750 (us history). Have an average to good gpa (school has not released). Will also probably be a national merit commended or semi depending on score (213) in Texas. I taught a 6th grade English class for 18 weeks and they all passed the TAKS test. I also shadowed a orthopedic surgeon for 18 weeks. I have lab experience (this summer and last summer) and will be included in at least two publications. Also located in the houston metro area. What are my chances?

FLtoWashu

This is WashU Bears country, not Cornell. Gpa needs to be very good to superb and challenging courses. SAT is competetive. Good luck at Cornell.

Atemporal

I know a lot of Houstoners. Depends on the rigor of your high school course load also, since there's a lot of applicants from that area.

Lab experience and shadowing will be a plus, and the teaching also, but what constitutes "average" GPA? You'll need to clarify that, because in theory, a 2.0 is "average" since C's are "average." If you're applying with C's, it'll be very difficult without other supplemental factors to bolster your application.

The only thing I can say is your SAT score is average to slightly above average for the competitiveness of a top 20 school. We might have a higher acceptance (20% vs 7%) compared to somewhere like Harvard, but that's not indicative, since it's still a low chance.

rocketsfan2804

My gpa is around an 92

chaseholl

Wash U is not that difficult to get into. Probably easier than Cornell. The applicant pool is also smaller (IIRC - there are numbers on the NYTimes "The Choice" blog somewhere) and they waitlist a bunch of overqualified people every year, possibly (and this is speculation) because they know those people will likely go elsewhere.

Eight people from my school got accepted there for Fall 2012. Which is a lot for an average public school.