<p>I was deferred AEM and am now hoping for RD…</p>
<p>96 UW GPA
98.5 W GPA
(top 5%)
2190 SAT
33 ACT
770 M2
750 USH
650 Bio E</p>
<p>I used the primary/alternate plan with CAS for economics; reeeaaally starting to freak out…</p>
<p>I’m also waiting on Penn, Brown, UNC and Georgetown.</p>
<p>Good luck to everyone. To the other AEMer’s, hopefully I’ll be seeing you guys there</p>
<p>Is it true that Cornell does not look favorably on applicants who used the primary/alternate option?</p>
<p>@needanap
Just a rumor I think, most likely not even close to true. However the reality is still that very few of the applicants end up actually “using” or “activating” their alternate option from what I hear. I didn’t use it because I saw no point in it, it was not likely anyways. </p>
<p>@needanap That’s exactly what I was looking to hear right now…</p>
<p>But, considering I’ve been Cornell-obsessed for the better part of the last year, I can also say that no, they do not look at them differently. It only seems to have a negative connotation because it can be difficult for people to convey fit to two different schools that would lend an admissions officer to think they are qualified for both schools. For me, though, it didn’t matter. I want to go for environmental economics. This was easy to convey my passion for AEM (considering its residence within CALS) and for CAS considering the essay prompt was to discuss a passion for multiple fields of interest (the environment and economics). Hopefully I can prove it on Thursday. Probably not, but hopefully.</p>
<p>Did you guys get interviews? I was not expecting one, since I applied to CAS, but an alum contacted me earlier this month for a phone interview. Is that common?</p>
<p>Yup. It is. Many people get them</p>
<p>@needanap
I got a interview offer back in February. I took it cause there was no reason not to! It was an amazing experience and I learned alot of Cornell because the alumni was also from my desired college (CHE). </p>
<p>I enjoyed mine too! It’s really great when colleges offer things like that.</p>
<p>Do you guys think acceptance to Dartmouth correlates with acceptance to Princeton?</p>
<p>Acceptances anywhere don’t correlate with acceptances anywhere else at single or lower double digit acceptance rates</p>
<p>@iloverainbowsyo
None of the ivies “correlate” with one another. The same goes for pretty much any school in the top 20 USNW rankings. I know of someone who got into Harvard, Yale, and Duke (full ride) but rejected at Penn and Cornell. I know of several people who got into Harvard but not Brown. Situations like these are fairly frequent because each school has their own “goals” in mind when they look over all of the applicants. Basically a Harvard acceptance might mean you are “up there” but doesn’t guarantee much in terms of getting into other places, same goes for vice-versa. </p>
<p>so as a URM who did not get a likely letter…things are looking bleak…</p>
<p>do you think CALS have a lower acceptance rate? easier to get in?</p>
<p>Same post…system malfunction</p>
<p>Might as well talk more about primary/alternate school. Does anyone other than me activated it?
I applied for CAS CS first choice and Engineering IS second choice, hoping to use as an insurance policy after my crazy Early round. It is probably better since this way my application could get multiple readings, reducing the factor of randomness. But still Cornell is probably different from other schools with this option ( CMU for example), I don’t think I’ve heard anyone who has been accepted into their second choice yet.</p>
<p>I applied for CAS first, and CALS second. Does Cornell look down on that?
And if an URM didn’t recieve a likely letter is it really bad?</p>
<p>@Keepyourshirton
I decided not to utilize the primary/alternate option because admission officers are known to be able to look at both essays and because I am applying to such a specialized college in CHE, I didn’t want to risk anything by selecting CAS or CALS as secondary option. Either way, I didn’t want to write another essay anyways. I doubt it will really make a difference for any of us because even Cornell says that they barely ever use it for applicants. </p>
<p>I just applied for mechanical engineering and I just wrote my essay from the heart. Writing down whatever came to my mind for that innovation thing.</p>
<p>@nb0717 Don’t stress out, people get in without it all the time!</p>
<p>@matrixsurgeon Good point, never heard of anyone who got into alternate choice. But I reckon it is a good way to show interest in the school, IF they actually care the slightest bit…</p>
<p>No, it’s really bad to do primary/alternate. That’s because Cornell REALLY cares about fit. If you’re applying to two different colleges, it makes you appear as if you don’t really care about your major/school, you just want to get into Cornell. The only time I think it’s smart is if you are truly exceptional (and I mean EXCEPTIONAL) in two areas. </p>