Accepted Arts and Sciences for physics!
[asize=4]Decision: Accepted [/size]
Objective:
ACT (breakdown): 36/36/36/36, 8/12 Essay
SAT II: 800 on Physics, Math II, Chem, Bio E
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): School does it weird, but my GPA was fine
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A (def at least top 5%)
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 on US History, World History, Chem, Physics 1, Psych, Lang
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Calc BC, Physics C, AP French, AP US Gov, AP Micro, AP Lit
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NMSF and nothing else big RIP
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Average Asian STEM stuff lol: Scioly, Mathletes (VP), Robotics, Physics club (VP), etc. Received some awards for them though.
Job/Work Experience: N/A
Volunteer/Community service: Taught young kids about problem solving at a math camp/class every weekend
Summer Activities: Research internships at bio and physics labs, used for local competitions and Renegeron (didn’t get results back yet)
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App: 8/10, Not related to my ECs at all lol, they were too stereotypical. Instead I wrote about how my interest in origami evolved as I matured.
Cornell supplement: 8/10, REALLY detailed
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: Physics teacher 7/10, did really well in her class
Teacher Rec #2: US history teacher 8/10, really liked me
Counselor Rec: 9/10, really liked me
Additional Rec: N/A
Interview: 7/10, My interviewer had a lot to say about Cornell!
Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: No
Intended Major and College: Physics
State (if domestic applicant): Don’t want to specify
Country (if international applicant): N/A
School Type: pretty competitive public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: Too much for need based aid
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Nothing
Reflection
Strengths: Test scores, GPA, ECs were very directed in what I am interested in.
Weaknesses: ECs too stereotypical, no big awards, I made the resume that I sent too long (3 pgs lol)
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: See comments
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: First decision!
General Comments : It just goes to show you that you still can get into a top school even if you seem stereotypical…it depends on how you portray yourself through your essays!