<p>Hi, I am a senior in high school, and I have just been flat out rejected from Cornell, Early Decision.
I want to know if it is still worth applying to ivy leagues/prestigious schools despite this deterrent.
Here are my stats:
GPA: 3.95 Weighted (My weakest point)
(4.36 this quarter)
Class rank: 30/155 I think. (My school is public, but pretty competitive and highly regarded)
SAT Try no 1:
Reading: 670
Math: 740
Writing: 800
Total: 2210</p>
<p>SAT Try no 2:
Reading: 700
Math: 750
Writing: 690
Total: 2140</p>
<p>SAT II’s
Chemistry: 710
French: 580 (I was unprepared, which is why I took literature to make up for this)
Math Level 1: 700
Literature: 700</p>
<p>ACT: 32 both times, I will use my SAT scores, they translate higher.</p>
<p>AP Exams:
AP statistics: 4
AP government: 3 (low, but my interest is in Biological Sciences and Music, not Politics or History)
AP chemistry: 4
AP Macroeconomics: 5</p>
<p>I also currently take AP Calculus BC, AP English Literature and Compositon, AP French, AP European History, and honors Physics.</p>
<p>I have 100+ volunteering hours (doctor’s office, local park, etc.)</p>
<p>I have been playing piano since I was five, so I play pretty well. I have not competed, despite being a student for 9 years of a very competitive and prestigious teacher. I have also not completed the entire set of piano exams (scored only A’s and B’s), but I do play far more difficult pieces than those I have performed at recitals and exams. I will submit a recording with my application of myself playing Rachmaninoff’s prelude in C# minor. I have lived in france for half my life, and have had some trouble adjusting as a small child due to lack of a single predominant language: my dad’s first language is arabic, my mom’s is polish, and I was raised at a french bilingual montessori school where they only spoke bad english. Thus, I transfered to a public french school where I learned to read/write french, and then moved to britain for two more years where I learned to read/write english. And here I am, in the US, since 4rth grade.</p>
<p>I am also a composer: I have a bunch of local winnings, and one as a national finalist. I have had a professional recording done by my institute of music for one of these compositions, which I will send along with my application.</p>
<p>I was first chair cellist at our school for a year, I have done a year of public forum style debate, I am currently environmental club vice president (our club has totally redone the recycling program at our school), french club president, a member of the national honors society, a staff writer for the school newspaper, and have two upcoming performances of one of my string orchestra pieces.</p>
<p>My college essays are really good, and I have 3 teacher recommendations, 2 of which the teacher insisted on reading to me just to prove how highly the speak of me.</p>
<p>I have been obsessively educating myself since I was four years old in the realm of animals. I have had tons of pets, and went through every reptile book at the library, and read about everything from frogs to marsupial lions online. I have always had this insatiable passion for nature.</p>
<p>Lastly, I have a couple local winnings in photography and literature.</p>
<p>I feel like everything is centered around my gpa, is it just too low? I don’t know what it is unweighted, which really worries me. I can’t convert it using a simple ratio, because I have a mixture of normal, honors, and AP classes. My school does not release the unweighted version.</p>
<p>Could someone tell me if it’s worth it to apply? Or should I just give up and apply early decision II to Tufts University? (Which I know is a selective school in itself, but is focused on political sciences and veterinary studies. Though I am interested in animals, I do not wish to be a vet. I want to go into genetic research, and perhaps on to Pre-Med after double majoring in herpetology and musical composition.)</p>
<p>Thanks for everyone’s time.</p>