<p>I applied RD to Cornell’s AEM program. Last week I was interviewed by a Cornell engineering graduate. He said that I was a “good match” and had “good chances.” How seriously should I take his assessment? He and I had the same SAT score (crazy coincidence), but his ECs were distinctly better than mine.</p>
<p>My stats:
White/Non Hispanic
Applying for financial aid
Superscore 2160: SAT CR 720 M 770 WR 670
(2150 was my highest score from a single test, but the above scores are my best)
Math II 790
Spanish w/listening 680
GPA unweighted 3.88, High Honor Roll
All honors classes, 7 AP classes total</p>
<p>ECs:
Marching Band (9-10)
Bank Internship (10-12)
Robotics Club (11)
Badminton Club (11-12)
Computer Club (12)</p>
<p>Summer:
Marketing Job (9)
Theater Internship (10)
Boys State Program (11)
Food Pantry Volunteering (11)</p>
<p>I’d say my essays are strong and my two teacher recs are major-appropriate. (calculus and economics)</p>
<p>This raises a few questions.
Does his positive assessment of my chances carry any weight as a graduate?
Since he majored in (and I assume applied to) engineering, are we completely incomparable?
Will a generally positive interview affect me significantly? And more broadly, how do interviews factor into my admission in general?
And the most dirty to ask in the university-specific thread (but ultimately the most important question to me)… what are my chances?</p>
<p>Alumni interviewers have hardly any pull, and we certainly aren’t making any admissions decisions. In fact, we’re told not to be evaluative in our reports on the interviews (i.e., we’re not supposed to say things like, “I think this applicant should be admitted”). Moreover, we’re told explicitly not to evaluate an applicant’s chance of admission. </p>
<p>It sounds like he will give you a positive review, but my understanding is that this isn’t an important part of the admissions process at all since alumni interviewers usually give good reviews. </p>
<p>I’m not saying that you won’t get into Cornell, but you shouldn’t evaluate your chances based on what your interviewer told you. He’s not at all in a position to predict your chances, and he shouldn’t have even tried to do so.</p>
<p>Edit: No one else here is in a position to predict your chances either. You could get in. Or you could not get in. More qualified people have gotten rejected, and less qualified people have gotten in. There’s just no way to know without being a member of the admissions committee.</p>
<p>We’re really just supposed to describe how the meeting went, not offer our analysis or our evaluation of the applicant. </p>
<p>I believe the admissions counselors and the admissions committee is the same thing, although I don’t really know how the admissions process works behind the scenes (I’m not sure who makes the decisions, or how they’re made).</p>
<p>Your stats are good enough to get you into the conversation. However male admission to COE is one of the most difficult of Cornell’s 7 colleges.</p>
<p>My situation is abit weird. I didn’t apply to the engineering school but I applied to the college of agriculture and life science as a biological engineering major. Would it still apply to my situation too or does it only work for the engineering school only?</p>
<p>If my interviewer actually added a note to my application, how much pull could that potentially have?
When I was talking to her, I mentioned that I considered music as an option going into my sophomore year, so I took music theory instead of computer programming II. She said she’d put this in, as it could better explain this choice in curriculum.
I understand that the interview itself doesn’t necessarily have much pull, but how about something like that? (I know it depends, just asking for what you guys think.)</p>
<p>She didn’t really “add a note”. She submitted her write up which noted that issue – all standard stuff. It’s up to admissions to act/not act upon it.</p>