Although my gpa is a 3.0 I am planning on applying early decision to Cornell and I have a 2200 SAT score. I study is a private school in India and take the IB. I have published two books one of which is on politics which sell nationally and I donate all proceedings to help underprivileged children. I am also a political writer for an international literary magazine and I am the founding editor of my high school magazine and I got into a journalism program where only 60 out of 30,000 applicants get in. I am also the vice president of my school council and I attend international MUNs. Although its a long shot can an essay focusing on my literary strengths be enough to catch an admission officers eye and overlook my gpa.
Doubtful. But nothing is impossible. What college and discipline are you interested in? Cornell asks that you apply directly to some of their disciplines (in CALS for example).
The scatter graph of accepted students (google cornell and minimum gpa and click on the link that says "cornell gpa sat and act graph) shows acceptances that range that far down, but not many.
You may try starting at a community college and then transferring in. Depending on what you want to study, Cornell is relatively amenable to transfers and has articulation agreements with several community colleges throughout NY.
CCs with articulation agreements include TCCC in NY, BMCC, LaGuardia CC in NYC and several others. My feeling is that it would consider transfer from any rigorous CC or other four-year college even if it doesn't have an articulation agreement.
Cornell is also pretty warm and welcoming if you call the department that you're interested in and ask them the best approach. The most transfer-friendly disciplines seem to be in Cornell CALS, but it wouldn't hurt to ask the other colleges what their standards are.
That is exactly what it is but is it possible for the admission officers to accept me based on my literary accomplishments while overlooking my grades
They are much more likely to forgive lower than average test scores, rather than lower than average grades. Back when more HS’s ranked, something 94% of Cornell’s incoming freshman were in the top 10% of their class.
As others have noted, grades are one of the most important aspects of an application. No one part of an application is going to make them simply “overlook” your academic performance over the past four years. There are other factors, though- if you’ve been taking low level classes and getting B’s, your chances aren’t so great. They’ll know you’ve been neglecting your coursework in favor of your EC’s. On the other hand, if you’ve taken many advanced/IB classes and show a strong upward trend in grades, they might be a lot more forgiving.
Oh, and your SAT is fine. The 25/75 percentiles for the old SAT are 1970/2270, so you’re well within an acceptable range.
“That is exactly what it is but is it possible for the admission officers to accept me based on my literary accomplishments while overlooking my grades”
I give you credit for being honest and owning up to that one.
Cornell will reject hundreds of applicants from India with better scores and GPA than yours. Your ECs won’t set you apart. You need to look more broadly at US, Cdn or UK schools if that’s what you truly want. US Top 20 schools aren’t a viable option for you
Yeah it’s definitely possible. My acquaintance got in with a 2.99, and I got in with a 3.17 (college gpa though). These are just super small examples though. Anything is possible, but you’ll have to compensate for your low gpa. I think my acquaintance had a 2400 SAT score, and extracurriculars which made sense for the school and major that she was applying for. As for me, I won hackathons, had an internship with a top hospital organization, and built mobile apps.
Since you’re an international student, it’ll be very unlikely for you to get in due to your GPA.
I remember reading from an adcom that ivy schools have multiple rounds of “cuts” during admissions, and those with low GPAs will get their apps thrown out in the first round. I’m not sure if this is true, nor am I certain if Cornell follows this method, but a low GPA will hurt your application regardless.
You could call and ask if they’ll accept a piece of your writing for your application. It can’t hurt in your position.
Can your parents pay full price?
If so, attend a community college that Cornell has an agreement with, and follow the transfer path.
What’s your class rank?
I was going to suggest CC then transfer but @MYOS1634 beat me to it.
TC3 has a connection with Cornell; BMCC and LaGuardia CC in NYC have articulation agreements with Cornell. For the full list of articulation agreements, start at the Cornell site.
The person who posted about transferring in with an approx. 3.0 COLLEGE GPA also has a point. Start at a lower-tier senior college (4-year) and transfer in. Suggestions include any SUNY in the region, such as Cortland.
In my experience simply calling Cornel, the department that interests you, and asking them about possible transfer-in routes, might help. I’ve found them very friendly and helpful.
Like others suggested, transfer route might be your best option. You might get lucky and be offered the “guaranteed” transfer that @HereToTransferr mentioned. With Cornell, you apply to a specific college - many of the land grant colleges (ILR, ALS, etc.) accept a lot of transfer students - many through GT. You just need to get a minimum GPA (between 3.0 and 3.3 I believe depending on the college) during your first year at another college.
What is your class rank? Were there certain grades that pulled your GPA down? How are your letters of recommendation? With strong test scores, unusual ECs, strong recommendations and essays that stand out
you might stand a chance - that said, you need Plan B … and Plan C.
