<p>What do Cornell admissions people look for in students when they are looking through the applications? I am a junior, here is my resume so far:</p>
<p>GPA: 95.14 (unweighted)
SAT: 2090 (720 M, 620 E, 700 W) I will be retaking them in June.
SATII: Bio-720 (I will be taking US History and Math II in May)</p>
<p>11th grade: AP Physics, AP US History, AP Language and Composition
12th grade AP BC Calculus, AP European History, AP French, AP Biology
The rest of my classes are all honors and the highest possible I could have taken.
I will have 4 years or French and 4 year of Hebrew by the end of next year. I also know Russian fluently, but can’t read.</p>
<p>ECs:
Friendship Circle- I am one of ten buddies that spends two hours with a teenager with special needs and we do activities with them. This happens about once a month in my school.
FLJCC- delivered food to elders in my town so they can have a full day’s worth of meals over the weekend
Basketball- varsity team
Soccer- varsity team and NJ club team
Pre-Med Society
Chess Team- I will be captain next year. I have a few 2nd and 3rd place trophies in individual tournaments, and we won the high school championship in 9th grade.
Math Club/Team
Work- worked in camp last summer and will this summer, I ump in a junior baseball league. I was head of the General Managers in my camp last summer. </p>
<p>Extra: I was handpicked by a group of teachers to act as an advocate/mentor to the 8th graders of a middle school and talk to them about the high school experience. We discussed with them how to cope with the difficulties and stress of high school and acted as a guide on how to make the most of their experiences.</p>
<p>Volunteer: Right now I have 15 hours of volunteer services, but I will get at least 50 more this summer by volunteering in a hospital (hopefully I’ll get accepted). </p>
<p>I plan on applying early decision. What are my chances now and is there anything I can do to improve my chances besides obviously improving my SAT.</p>
<p>Class rank and course rigor are the most important things. Depending on the competitiveness of your high school, the admissions committee could expect you to be valedictorian or merely in the top 10% (there are no “set in stone” requirements, but there are general guidelines.). Take as many AP/honors/IB courses as you can manage, and do as well in them as you can.</p>
<p>SAT scores, the application essay / common app essay, and extracurricars are all very important. SAT scores for successful applicants have a large range; generally, you should aim for 1400+/1600 (R + M) to be competitive. Your ECs/extracurriculars are especially important because they demonstrate your “fit” at Cornell, which plays a huge role in the admissions decision. </p>
<p>It is a holistic process so do not get hung up on individual components of your application. Best of luck in the admissions process!</p>
<p>One bit of advice for a student such as yourself who has a significant difference between their math & CR SAT scores is to take the ACT. Colleges have to report seperate section scores from SAT, but not for ACT on common data set (which is used by many of the organizations who like to rate colleges). It is a little bit of a game…they want to base admissions on holistic criteria but they must be mindfull of their “stats”. My take is that your academic resume (grades, rank, SAT / ACT) get you into the conversation but your essays, letters of rec., & EC’s / uniqueness get you in.</p>
<p>My son got into Cornell ED engineering with what I would call a very average SAT (1400’s M and V). Thankfully for him, they don’t look at Writing (he got a 590). His math were strong and his English actually was 690. His SAT 2’s were all solid. Do you have those? I would suggest several in the math/science areas, since that looks like a strength for you.</p>
<p>I really believe that Cornell looks beyond the numbers. ED is definitely a possibility for you - do a GREAT job on your essays. I really think the months of rewrites my son did made that a strong part of his application. Make a good case as to why Cornell is a match for you - prove it. Show enthusiasm. Go ED - after this year’s bloodbath with admissions, I would think every junior out there would be looking for an ED match for the next admissions cycle.</p>
<p>"Weird?
I think you should look at the number of athletes and alum children cornell accepted last year.
They publish the info so you can easily find it.
I think they accepted approx 1200 - 1300 E.D. total this year
Then look at the number of athletes they recruit and accept and the number of alum children they accept. That is a large part of the total ED acceptances.
I think it can be safely said that most of the athletic recruits go E.D.
A lot of the legacy also go E.D.
There are not many places left for the unhooked applicants going E.D.
Look through the threads here at cc about the cornell ed myth.
Look at the number of people this year deferred early and accepted regular.
Look at the average stats of the unhooked ed applicants and the unhooked rd applicants here at cc - obviously not the most reliable - but at least an indication
Look at the huge number of recruited athletes accepted at cornell - most probably ED admits
I think you will see that the ED kids (with no hook) had way higher numbers than the RD kids (with no hook).
All this is my personal opinion - you do your own research.
Especially look at Cornell’s brochure on the amount of recruited athletes they take.
Nothing weird here.
It is what they call the cornell ed myth.
My opinion, most unhooked kids that got into cornell ed probably could have had a shot at HYPS RD.
again, all this my opinion.</p>
<p>No I see where you are coming from and it’s very interesting. I meant weird in the sense that usually ED gives you a better chance of getting accepted haha. What you’re saying is very interesting and I will have to talk to my counselor about it. Thanks for bringing it up.</p>
<p>My S’s college counselor recommended strongly that he go ED to Cornell once he decided it was his first choice. Cornell has a new website, but the old one talked about how important “match” was for the school. You have to make the case that Cornell is the place for you with good, thorough support for this in your essays. I still think ED is the way to go - even if you’re deferred…it still shows interest. Cornell’s old website said something like “SAT scores matter, but not as much as you think…” I don’ think that’s still there, because I’ve looked for it. I still think having an opportunity to go EA or ED at a school is something that should be done if someone has a first choice. Most kids who apply to top schools have similar grades and SAT’s - they all look the same. Setting yourself apart in some way is the key to success.</p>
<p>I would agree that those students who apply ED are the same students who would also get accepted into H, P, Y …they are schools that are in the same category. If you are certain that you want to attend Cornell, and you have discussed finances with your parents, than apply ED so you are done in December.</p>
<p>Regarding what Cornell is looking for: It seems to me that Cornell is looking for the obvious…great stats, EC’s that demonstrate your interest in your projected major, the most rigorous course selection available to you and if you are coming from a less rigorous district they are interested in seeing how you have sought out intellectual stimulation in other ways such as CC classes, on-line classes, summer involvement in jobs either paid or unpaid. Cornell likes interesting students so if you can demonstrate that in your essay it would be to your advantage. Good luck!</p>
<p>Just an added note:</p>
<p>The above stated criteria is in addition to the obvious…community service (preferably that matches your interest), competitions in math or other areas and great recommendations, so choose your recommendations carefully.</p>
<p>My D got accepted ED with marginal stats (1350 SAT / 31 ACT / SAT II’s of 590 & 640 / class rank of 8/163) unhooked. An earlier post claimed that stats for recruited athletes & legacies apllying ED are easy to find…I can’t find them. Until the stats are posted here I think it’s just opinion that their admission ED skews the ED stats, making it appear that ED chances are better for the unhooked than RD, but in reality they are not.</p>
<p>momma three is right. The unhooked kids who got into Cornell ed likely had a shot at HYPS etc type schools.
More than 20% of students admitted to cornell are recruited athletes or legacy
<a href=“http://dpb.cornell.edu/documents/1000001.pdf[/url]”>http://dpb.cornell.edu/documents/1000001.pdf</a>
assuming that most recruited athletes and many legacy are ed applicants, if you apply ed and are unhooked and get in, you are super well qualified.
not the best analysis, but look at the posts here at cc and you will see many unhooked applicants that got deferred ed only to get in rd at cornell.
it also looks pretty clear that the stats of the unhooked applicants that got in ed is way higher than the stats of those that got in rd.
Cornell loves to attract top students ed and I think they even say they give them an edge in admissions. Reality is that for the unhooked that got into cornell ed, they probably had a good shot at almost any school - HYPS etc.
all this, just my opinion, but the numbers to seem to support it.
good luck to everybody.</p>
Send Resume via snail mail in a big envelope - points for you and shows that you will pay a dollar if only just so that they can get a package from you and thus care about this particular college. Do not put that resume in the Common App “extra” thing. Screw that. People who whine and explain why they got a 1800 SAT score because their grandmother/cat died only put things there.
IMO!!!
Whatever field you’re going into… Have some sort of EC in that.
<p>How big a factor is not asking for financial aid in the ED process? Our college counselor told us that not applying for that is also a plus if our S went ED. What do you think about that? Cornell seems so generous to the RD admits, but someone has to pay full freight.</p>
<p>If you can afford it then why bother with FA in the first place? Don’t apply, increase your chances, and more money will be left to those who ACTUALLY need it. [hint]internationals[/hint]. That’s my opinion.</p>
<p>Swimmer… The ED accepted kids that I know applied for financial aid. These are kids who would have been accepted to any peer school but chose ED because they were sure that they wanted to attend Cornell. If you need financial aid than by all means apply. What will you do when the bill comes and you are expected to pay for something you can’t afford?</p>
<p>Hmm…not so sure about that. A kid in my school had a 3.2 UW (class rank 2 hundred something/548), 1850 SAT, and subpar ECs and got in. However, both of his brothers go to Cornell and his parents did too, and his dad donated 2million there.</p>