School: College of Agricultural & Life Sciences (CALS)
Early Decision
Major: Environmental Engineering
Minor: Entomology
Goal: model/predict the spread of insects as vectors of disease based on climate data
HS: Public, NY state
HS average (weighted): 101.3
Rank: top 10% (HS ranks by deciles)
ACT 35 (36 superstore)
APs: 10
ECs:
4 yrs XCTF, captain senior year; member of numerous HS bands all 4 years; member of building crew for plays & musicals
Member of cover band (guitar/vocals), raised thousands of dollars for charitable organizations, including a nature center
HS science research program; placed 3rd in environmental science in county science fair; award from an environmental organization in a regional science fair; placed 1st in regional science fair for environmental science
Invited by a Cornell principal investigator and team to present the results of my science research at a regional conference (poster presentation), which built on their work
Member of a state-funded environmental research team (wildlife technician, 100s of hours of field research and data analysis)
Book award from a college for community engagement
County legislator’s certificate of achievement for charitable work
President of HS environmental club; President of HS english honor society; member of other HS clubs
Please be honest and give me perspective so I can set my expectations! (I initially felt good about it, but now have my doubts).
I know I’ll have great opportunities elsewhere if I don’t get in.
You will get your ED decision soon enough. I think at this point, just be patient and wait and see. You are a strong student…but so are many others who apply.
You have a great profile and an obvious passion for insects and the environment. Cornell would be a great place to further your studies. While you could be admitted ED, it’s very possible you could be deferred to RD. Many of the ED acceptances are recruited athletes, children of donors, kids deemed to be institutional priorities, and other hooked applicants. If deferred, this doesn’t mean it’s over for you at Cornell as an RD acceptance or a transfer option are still very real possibilities. Good luck to you!
I agree with other answers that you are a very strong applicant, and that there is really no way that you can predict whether or not you will get into Cornell. This could go either way.
At this point you need to make sure that you also have applications in to schools where admissions is way more likely, including safeties, and be patient and wait and see where you get in. Regarding Cornell, you will know quite soon unless you are deferred to RD (which is certainly possible).
And this is very true. There are a lot of very good universities in the US, and you would be a very strong applicant to any school. There are a lot of schools that are dream school reaches for some students but where you would get in if you apply with your superb record. Also, if you ever get to the point of considering graduate school, even the very highest ranked graduate programs have students who got their bachelor’s degree at a very, very wide range of schools.
One last point: One small advantage of your superb high school results is that you have a chance at Cornell and will be accepted to some other very good universities. However the main advantage is that you are prepared to do well in university regardless of where you attend.
Best wishes. I expect you to get some very good acceptances, but cannot predict whether Cornell will be one of them.
Thank you for this. I’ve thought about this a lot. The reason that I applied ED to Cornell is because of the research opportunities there which are relevant to me, and because I figured it would increase my odds compared to RD. My connection to Cornell was just a coincidence - I became involved in research that happened to have a connection to a professor there. It is not about having the name that it has.
For example, I applied to Penn State because of the relevant research opportunities there. And to Dickinson, even though it does not have an engineering program, because there is more than one path to my end goal and I would be able to find research opportunities on their farm.
for you! Please let us know!