What type of student is cornell looking for

Here are tips to consider:. Tip 2: In your essay, help us understand your thoughts and feelings about something that is important to you. We are interested in the topic you choose, how you develop your idea, and how well you express yourself. What Cornell Looks For.

So what do we look for? Essays Students also frequently ask us what we are looking for in the application essays they submit. Application Deadlines.

If you dream of getting accepted to Cornell, you will need to earn the highest possible grades in all of your high school classes and achieve top scores on the SAT or ACT. The university is extremely selective, so you will also need to write compelling essays and participate in quality activities both inside and outside of high school. Cornell has a total enrollment of 24, students, including 15, undergraduates, 6, graduate students, and 2, professional students.

The campus has more than 2, acres with buildings. Cornell University is ranked at number 17 by U. Many notable people graduated from Cornell and have gone on to change the world. Mae Jemison, Christopher Reeve, E. White, and Bill Nye. The admissions advisors at Going Ivy receive many questions from students who want to attend Cornell University.

Want to know how to get into Cornell? We have created a frequently asked questions list below that should help you as you work to accomplish your goal of gaining admission to Cornell University. You will need to earn the highest GPA that you can in high school if you want to be accepted to Cornell. You should work to earn an A in nearly all of the classes that you take in high school.

If your school does not weight the GPAs of students, this means that you should strive to achieve a 3. If your school does use a weighted GPA system in which more credit is given for AP or IB courses, you should try to earn higher than a 4.

It is best to earn top grades in difficult classes. It will not help your application if you earn a 4. If you enroll in a class in high school that you are struggling to understand, reach out for help as soon as possible. An academic subject-matter tutor might help you to salvage your grade and to get a higher score. However, you will need to be willing to put in the work that will be required of you.

In and of itself, hiring an academic tutor will not guarantee the results that you want without work from you. The school does not state a preference for one of these two tests. While Cornell states that it does not use score cutoffs, you must get the highest possible score that you can on either the ACT or SAT. To understand what these scores mean, it helps to know that the SAT composite score, which includes both the math and EBRW subsections, is The maximum score that can be earned on the ACT is When you look at the middle portion of the entering class of as shown above, you should aim to score toward the higher end of the range instead of the lower end.

You can be accepted by Cornell with a score that falls below the range, but it is not very likely. While your test score is only one of the things that are evaluated by the admissions officers, it is important. You should then concentrate your preparations on the test that you achieved a higher score on or the one that you like better. Both standardized tests contain information that you should have learned during the first two years of high school, but they have some differences.

The ACT has four subsections, including mathematics, science reasoning, reading, and English. The SAT has two sections, including math and evidence-based reading and writing. There are also some slight timing differences between the two tests.

Taking a practice test of each test can help you get a feel for each test so that you can make a more informed decision. After you have decided on a test, include regular practice sessions in your schedule. Practice tests are available online, or you can purchase books at your local book store that have practice tests.

When you take a practice test, time yourself. Make sure that you take the test without distractions. Score the test, paying careful attention to the questions that you miss. If you see that you tend to miss the same types of questions, schedule time to work on building the information to increase your accuracy rate.

If you are chosen, you will receive a scholarship and increase the strength of your application to Cornell. If you do not receive the scores that you need on your practice tests, an ACT or SAT tutor might give you some strategies and tips for increasing your score. Because of the importance of your standardized test scores, you should begin practicing with them as early in high school as possible. When you reach your junior year of high school, you should begin taking the actual test.

Sitting for the ACT or SAT early in your junior year will provide you with more opportunities to retake the test and improve your scores.

The curriculum that you should follow in high school will depend on which college you plan to apply to at Cornell. If you plan to pursue a degree in the college of arts and sciences, Cornell wants you to have taken the following classes in high school:. If you plan to pursue an engineering degree at Cornell, the school requires you to have taken the following classes in high school:.

Cornell also recommends that prospective engineering students take the following courses in high school:. Otherwise, your classes should track the requirements for the school of arts and sciences.

If you do not take one of the required units in high school, Cornell asks you to provide a written explanation of why. For example, if you take French during your freshman and sophomore years, but the third year of French is not offered at your high school, you will want to explain that on your application to Cornell.

You are expected to take a rigorous curriculum in high school. The classes that you choose in each subject area should increase in difficulty as you progress through high school.

If your school offers AP or IB classes, you should take them instead of taking easier versions of the classes. You can talk to your guidance counselor for help with choosing the right classes to increase your chances of getting admitted to Cornell. While you are not required to take AP classes to be admitted to Cornell, you must report your scores if you take the AP exams. Some schools do not offer AP classes. However, if your school does, you should take them.

Taking AP classes and performing well in them demonstrates to the admissions officials at Cornell that you are prepared for the more difficult college classes that you will take.

High schools that do not offer AP or IB classes may have contracts with local colleges or universities to offer dual enrollment classes. These are courses that allow you to earn college credit at some schools while you are still in high school.

While Cornell does not grant credit for the credit that you earned while you were in high school, taking these classes still demonstrates your preparedness for college. You might also be able to earn advanced placement at Cornell after taking dual enrollment classes by scoring well on a departmental exam after you enroll. However, whether you will receive credits for advanced placement will depend on the tests that you take and the scores that you receive.

Cornell encourages students to accept the advanced placement from the credits that they have earned. To earn credit at Cornell for your AP exams, you will need to obtain the following scores on the different tests:. Other AP exams may result in credit as determined by the various colleges at Cornell University. Some AP exams do not provide the opportunity for any credit at Cornell. If you are granted credit for your AP scores, you will be allowed to skip past some of the introductory classes.

If you choose to take the classes and forfeit the credit, the grades that you receive in your classes will replace any AP credit you have earned. Cornell does not grant credit for dual enrollment classes that you take in high school. However, you might be able to earn credit in those subjects by taking departmental exams at Cornell. Most do not require applicants to take SAT subject tests. However, if you intend to apply to the college of engineering at Cornell, SAT subject tests are recommended but not required.

While you are not required to take SAT subject tests, taking them can help the admissions officials during the evaluation process. Scoring well on SAT subject tests might help your application to stand out. Take SAT subject tests in the subjects in which you would like to major or that you are very good at. However, if you cannot take the tests because of economic hardship, you will not be penalized by the school.

If you do take subject tests, you must ask the College Board to submit your scores directly to Cornell. Cornell will super score your SAT results by considering the highest scores that you secured on the subtests over multiple test dates. However, it does not super score ACT scores. Instead, the admissions officials will evaluate you based on the highest ACT composite score that you received. The school also participates in the score choice program for the SAT.

All freshman applicants are required to submit the questions and essays that are included in either the Cornell Supplement for the Universal College Application or the Cornell Writing Supplement for the Common Application. Different prompts are provided for the different colleges at Cornell, so you will need to respond to the questions that are specific to the college that you would like to attend.

On the Cornell Writing Supplement with the Common Application, you must answer the question for the college that you would like to attend in words or fewer.

For the Cornell Supplement with the Universal College Application, you will also be asked to write an essay of or fewer words in response to the prompts for the college for which you are applying.

Cornell says that when you write your essay, you should write it with purpose. Overall, This number is over 20 points lower than Harvard but higher than many other selective universities. If you plan on joining the almost 67, Big Red hopefuls for the next admissions cycle, you should know the following:. In the online Common Application Writing Supplement, please respond to the essay question below maximum of words that corresponds to the undergraduate college or school to which you are applying.

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences: Why are you drawn to studying the major you have selected? Please discuss how your interests and related experiences have influenced your choice. What energizes you or engages you so deeply that you lose track of time?

Everyone has different passions, obsessions, quirks, inspirations. What are yours? Tell us about the areas of study you are excited to explore, and specifically why you wish to pursue them in our College. Please describe how your interests and ambitions can be met through one or both of the Schools within the College. How do you see yourself becoming a part of the Cornell Engineering community? College of Human Ecology: How has your decision to apply to the College of Human Ecology been influenced by your related experiences?

How will your choice of major impact your goals and plans for the future? Your response should show us that your interests align with the ILR School. The key to tackling this word beast is to do your homework on the college within Cornell University to which you are applying. He has previously served as a high school counselor, consultant and author for Kaplan Test Prep, and advisor to U.