Am I On the Right Track To Get Into Cornell Engineering?

Colleges & Universities Cornell University
1

I’ll be a junior this fall and I want to make sure I’m going in the right direction. Cornell is my dream school and I plan on applying to the College of Engineering ED next year, hopefully pursuing aerospace or chemical. If I do not end up going for engineering I would apply ED to CAS or Human Ecology as pre-med. I am a middle-class female and attend a private high school

***Since I still have time before applying, I’m just looking for advice on how to make myself more “College of Engineering Material”. I’m including my stats so you can tell me what needs to be improved/added. Any advice is greatly appreciated :slight_smile: But please be nice, I’m a tad soft.

GPA Freshman/Sophomore year (Haven’t taken APs yet):
GPA unweighted: 4.0
GPA weighted: 4.38
Not sure of my ranking. My school doesn’t let you know your class rank unless you’re in the top 6 at the end of senior year

Classes:
I’m only including Honors/AP. I’ll also include the classes I am registered to take junior and senior year
Freshman: H Bio, H Algebra I, H English I
Sophomore: H Chem, H Geometry, H English II, H Western Civ, H Spanish III
Junior: AP Chem, AP Lang & Comp, AP USH, H Alg II/Precalc, H Spanish Flim & Lit
Senior: AP Bio, AP Physics, AP Lit, AP Calc AB, AP Spanish, H Biotech Research Project
Tests:
I took the PSAT last fall without preparing (I should have since I had no Geometry, Alg II or Precalc background) and scored a 610 on math (94th percentile) and a 620 on reading and writing (93rd percentile)
I am taking the SAT next spring and am already preparing for it. Hopefully, I’ll get much better scores. I will be taking the ACT next spring as well. (I know it’s hard to give an estimate on my chances of getting in without SAT/ACT scores) I will also be taking subject SATs but I haven’t decided which ones I should take.

Awards/Societies:
-First place H Chem science fair (I’m planning on doing science fair again next year with something engineering-oriented)
-Member of NHS, Science NHS, and Mu Alpha Theta (Math NHS)

EC (not sure how much they look into them for engineering but I’ll list them anyway)
-Varsity softball 4-year starter (will be captain senior year)
-Class president sophomore year, teacher-appointed executive board member junior year, hopeful student body president senior year
-Catechism teacher, regular volunteer for peer ministry at Church (300+ hours)
-Part-time job
-Volunteered at nursing home last summer
-President and founder of chess club (although I’m not very good haha)
-Member of medical researchers club, campus ministry, math league, academic team

Letters of Rec:
I’m planning on getting my recs from my AP Chem, AP Calc/H Alg II/H Precalc, and STUCO advisor/H Geometry/H Algebra teachers. I am aiming to (hopefully!) get good recommendations. I get along and am very friendly with my teachers and they know me well since I go to a fairly small school.

Once again, thank you for anyone who helps! It is very much appreciated!!!

2

What you do in the summers matters for any Ivy admission. So try to figure out a good summer plan that you can write about, be it advanced training in music, mathematics , or sports, or travel.

If you want to challenge yourself in math, apply to Hampshire Math summer program in Massachusetts:
http://hcssim.org/

Engineers do a lot of math. You may want to consider taking Calculus BC, if your school offers it. It will
be twice the material, though, so decide if you can handle that. You can then repeat some of calculus at college if you need to. Its best to expose yourself to as much mathematics as possible.

if there is a Math Circle program near you, join it. Math skills are a key factor to success for anyone trying to get a aerospace degree.

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You should note that aerospace engineering is a graduate program at Cornell; undergrads may only minor in it.

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While #2 is true, the aerospace industry is commonly accessed via a mechanical engineering degree.

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@Coloradomama Unfortunately, I am not able to take Calculus BC at my school because I had to take Algebra 1 freshman year. The only way I can get ahead and take Calculus AB is by taking Algebra II and Precalc in the same year, which is offered by my school. I will definitely look into a Math Circle program, though. Thank you so much for your input!

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@quarkcharm Just FYI: Its Ok to take Algebra 2 and precalculus in the same year, but some of precalculus assumes you know algebra . Since algebra 1 and 2 overlap so much, you will be OK.

Calculus BC is not a follow on class to Calculus AB. The BC class starts at the very beginning but teaches more material. So it will often meet every day in the fall and every other day in the spring, offering more lectures than the Calculus AB course. The final AP exam is in two parts, so all students take the AB portion, then some students leave and the BC students take a second exam. You could study on your own and try to take the BC test as well, bu that may not be in your best interests, it just depends on how hard you can work to learn the additional BC material. So ask your counselor. Both calculus classes have the same prerequisite: trig and precalc.

Its ok if your school does not offer BC, just take AB calculus, its still a good start on the math you need.

I also agree with moneydad that mechanical engineering is a strong major for an aerospace engineer.

If you want a strong aerospace program look at Georgia Tech, U of Michigan and Case Western, which offer
the aerospace major as well as mechanical engineering. There are some advantages of studying mechanical engineering as its a little less specialized but you can still choose fluid dynamics and other aeronautics related classes.