I'll Never Get Into Cornell, Grinnell, and Trinity at this rate

Chance Me / Match Me
1

<p>Asian Female
Rochester, NY
Hooks: None
Anti-hooks: Race, $0 EFC</p>

<p>Major: English, maybe environmental science</p>

<p>WGPA: 97%
(No unweighted GPA, but in terms of “unweightness,” in 28 classes I’ve taken (incl. community college classes in my HS GPA), 25 A’s/A+'s, 2 A-'s, 1 B)
Class Rank: None.</p>

<p>**Courseload<a href=“Awful?”>/b</a>
AP:
World History-3 (self-study, not available at my school)
Psychology-3 (self-study, not available at my school)
US History-4
US Government and Politics
English Literature
Statistics</p>

<p>Honors:
World History I, World History II, French III, French IV, English 11</p>

<p>*College Classes <a href=“on%20my%20own,%20not%20for%20HS%20graduation%20requirements”>/i</a>:
101 Anthropology-A (summer)
105 Early American History-A (summer)
101 Geology-B (during school year) (ughhh!!!)</p>

<p>Test Scores:
ACT: Superscore: (32 E, 27 M, 29 R, 32 S, 9 E)
SAT II: 680 World History (sophomore), Literature (pending), Math Level I (pending)</p>

<p>**Extracurricular Activities<a href=“Hey,%20I%20don’t%20know%20what%20to%20say%20about%20these.%20And%20yes,%20no%20leadership%20positions.”>/b</a>
Volunteer Genealogical Researcher at local museum (Gr. 9-12)
Volunteer Genealogical Database Indexer (Gr. 10-12)
(I think I have 400+ hours of devotion to these two activities and have published some genealogical articles on Yahoo! as a result of them).</p>

<p>Then the rest aren’t really good…
Environmental Science Team (Gr. 11-12)
Junior Prom Committee (Gr. 11)
French Peer Tutor (Gr. 12)
National Honor Society (Gr. 11-12)</p>

<p>**Awards<a href=“by%20level”>/b</a>:
International:
Won an international handwriting contest (Gr. 10)
Won bronze medal in writing category at International H.S. Environment Project Olympiad (Gr. 11)</p>

<p>National:
Named finalist at a national writing contest (Gr. 12)
QuestBridge Scholar (Gr. 11-12?)
Discus Award for achievement in academics, environment, community service and arts (Gr. 11-12)
Got creative writing and genealogical articles published on Yahoo! (Gr. 11-12)</p>

<p>Regional:
Got articles published in local newspaper (Gr. 9-10)
Regional scholarship (not special…lol) (Gr. 9-12)</p>

<p>*School:{/i]
Stereotypical book award, honor roll, etc.</p>

<p>**Schools Applying To<a href=“by%20choice”>/b</a>:

  1. Cornell University
  2. Washington and Lee
  3. Grinnell College
  4. Trinity College
  5. Lafayette College
  6. Syracuse University
  7. SUNY Oswego
  8. SUNY Oneonta
  9. Le Moyne College
  10. Hartwick College</p>
2

<p>bump please!!!</p>

3

<p>You’re unweighted GPA would be around a 3.96.</p>

4

<p>Oh that sounds great! But can you or anyone chance me?</p>

5

<p>To assess your chances, you best bet is to look at Section C of the Common Data Set for each of these schools (google it) to see how you compare to other admitted students. For Grinnell, I think you look like a strong applicant, and asians are URMs in the midwest, so that’s a hook. The issue for all of these schools isn’t whether you are strong enough to be admitted, but rather whether you can get sufficient financial aid to meet your needs. Have you got a financial safety on this list?</p>

6

<p>I’d say you’ve got a good shot at Grinnell, Questbridge is an advantage, Asian status is URM. Among Questbridge schools have you looked at Davidson which also needs more Asians.</p>

7

<p>@M’s Mom…Number 7-10 are my financial and academic safeties. </p>

<p>More questions for everyone:

  1. Do you think Cornell is a massive reach though?
  2. Is that B in 101 Geology going to hurt my chances?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

8

<p>No one cares about the B. Schools routinely turn down straight A students in favor of those who have more to offer them.</p>

<p>You have two issues with Cornell: Your ACT (32) is smack in the middle for them. Not bad, but not a stand-out. And you need a lot of financial aid.</p>

<p>On the plus side, your genealogical research is unusual, interesting and you’ve managed to take it to a higher level with your publishing it on Yahoo. Good for you!</p>

<p>So Cornell is a reach - which means you have a reasonable chance but shouldn’t get hung on it as a ‘dream school.’</p>

9

<p>Cornell CALS should not be a reach. CALS routinely takes students in our area with far less impressive grades and course rigor than the OP. Most of those students come from families with much greater wealth as well. Now if you were talking the School of Architecture or Art & Sciences that might be another matter, but someone interested in environmental science sounds like a CALS candidate.</p>

10

<p>Blair – </p>

<p>I don’t think Cornell superscores the ACT – what’s your best top-line numbe (i.e., the Composite).</p>

11

<p>I am an international student from Vietnam thinking of financial aid as the only way to get to Trinity.
My sister has just graduated from Trinity and I am deeply in love with this beautiful college according to what my sister told me about the Faculty.
My stats:

  1. TOEFL ibt : 115/120
  2. SAT I : CR 690, Maths 710, Writing 660. Total: 2060.
  3. GPA: 3.8 (weighted)
  4. Activity: Class president ( 12 years )
  5. Honors: third prize in English competition in 2009 and 2011, second prize in 2012, highest GPA among peers.
  6. 3 recommendation letters, 1 essay.
    Assuming that the recommendation letters are strong enough, my essay is (hopefully) a touching one, what chances would I have at this magnificent college?
    Best regards,
    Dam.</p>
12

<p>OP, you’re most likely in at Trinity. You have a good chance at Grinnell, and a decent chance at Cornell, too.</p>

13

<p>Thank you for your timely response! :D</p>