Decision: Rejected
Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 1460 (790M, 670 R&W)
ACT (breakdown):
SAT II: Physics-800, Chemistry-800, Maths 2- 790
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): top 5%
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Physics 1-5, AP Physics C mechanics-5, AP Chemistry- 4, AP Calc AB-4 ( All self studied)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics 2, AP Physics C E&M, AP calc BC, AP Statistics, AP EVS
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar with Honors
Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Student Council, School Cricket team, 2-3 Science Projects, MUNs, etc
Job/Work Experience: Part time intern at a Robotics startup.
Volunteer/Community service: Part of Bharat Scouts and Guides. Won Governor’s Award for commitment to community service.
Summer Activities: Worked with a friend to build a quadcopter which could effectively monitor waste and presented it to the City’s municipal Corporation along with a project report which summarized how drones could be effectively used to monitor landfill waste
Also worked with another friend to build a model of a thermocouple which could be used for generating electricity in an environment friendly manner. The model won us the third prize at a state level science fair.
Essays (rating 1-10, details):COMMONAPP- Wrote about my waste management initiatives and how my concern for the environment stemmed out of things which I witnessed on a daily basis (8/10)
Cornell Engineering: Wrote about how a cornell education would equip me with the best facilities to find solutions to present environmental issues.(9/10)
Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):
Teacher Rec #1: 9/10
Teacher Rec #2: 8/10
Counselor Rec: 9/10
Additional Rec: From my employer at Phoenix Robotix 7/10
Interview: Did not get one
Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes. I guess it was a mistake since Cornell is need-aware for international Students
Intended Major and College: Mechanical Engineering in CoE
State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant): India
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 50k-100k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Sibling Legacy. Don’t know if that counts though.
Reflection
Strengths: Essays, Recommendations, Subject SAT, AP Scores
Weaknesses: Low R&W score. I guess my ECs were not good enough to help me stand out in a competitive applicant pool.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: IDK. Maybe I was just under-qualified for Cornell Engineering. I also should not have applied for financial aid to a need sensitive college.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
General Comments :
Congratulations Class of 2023. You will love your Cornell experience and you will fall in love with Ithaca. I guess it’s time for me to get over Cornell now and focus on my Regular Application