r/chanceme•
m278163

Chance Me: Cornell ED

It would be great to get some college application recommendations, as well as what would be considered "reasonable" for me to apply to. I want to have a good gauge and realistic expectations in the process. I've detailed some of my stats below for reference. Also, I am highly considering an ED to Cornell and any feedback on that would be helpful too.

Demographics

  • Personal: Male, East Asian, U.S. Citizen, Northeast, English is my first language, both parents attended College, and upper middle class income.
  • School: Medium-sized public school with around 265 kids in my grade. Limited amount of APs offered (only 1 allowed sophomore year, 4ish junior year and 4ish senior year).
  • Intended major: Philosophy and Cognitive Science (Double major). Philosophy is emphasized the most through my application.
  • Legacy at Cornell

Academics

  • SAT: 1520 (750 Evidence-Based Reading & Writing, 770 Math 1st attempt August 2024)
  • PSAT/NMSQT: 1520 (760 Evidence-Based Reading & Writing, 760 Math)
  • GPA: 96.5/100 (2 B’s in 9th grade, 1 B sophomore, all A’s since). Freshman GPA: 94/100 -> Junior GPA: 99/100. Note: The school does not have severe grade inflation and does not offer extremely advanced classes. GPA is only calculated weighted. 
  • School does not rank, but I'm within the top 10% of my grade and perhaps even within the top 5-7%, and definitely taking one of the most rigorous course loads (within the top 5% in terms of class rigor). (Rankings in my school are broken up by 10%, nothing more specific is released)
  • Relevant Coursework: Dual Enrollment Psychology, AP Statistics (Score: 5), AP Computer Science Principles (Score: 5), AP US History (Score: 5), AP Language and Composition (Score: 5), AP Chemistry, AP Biology, AP Literature and Composition, AP Calculus BC, Dual Enrollment Sociology. 

Awards/Honors

(Nothing that stands out and not a strong section)

  1. 2025 National Merit Scholarship Semi-Finalist (finalist consideration upcoming) (12th)
  2. Presidential Volunteer Service Award Gold (2 years, 3rd year would have gotten it but the program was put on hold). (9th, 10th, 11th) 
  3. AP Scholar With Honor and CollegeBoard National Recognition Program (11th) 
  4. Kukkiwon Black Belt 1st Dan (15/300 at my dojang who received it) and maybe some state competition medals I received at the end of 8th grade, early 9th grade. (9th, 11th) 
  5. National Science & English Honor Societies, Honor Roll, Principal's List (9th, 10th, 11th) 

Extracurriculars

(vauge on purpose and not ordered)

  1. Founder of a Peer Tutoring Initiative (10-12) 5 hr/week, 36 weeks/year. Lead group study sessions and tutoring for students, boosted scores and created full year class reviews and custom study plans.
  2. Philosophy Club (11-12) 2 hr/week, 30 weeks/year. I organized and led socratic seminars as well as presented mini lectures. We tend to focus on applied ethics or contemporary ethical problems. Medium amount of members.
  3. Independent Philosophy Research and Self Study (10-12) 4 hr/week, 50 weeks/year. Analyzed a good number of primary source texts and lit works around a specific philosophical theme. I also integrated lectures and research pubs. Listed under "academic" as I don't think it fully qualifies as "research." Shared and worked with undergrads, and school teachers.
  4. Taekwondo Assistant Instructor and Student  (9-12) 4 hr/week, 48 weeks/year. Assisted classes with many students and was one of only a couple of black belts in the dojang of a few hundred total students (due to competition focused dojang that is much more difficult than the norm).
  5. Hospital Internship (12) 7 hr/week, 30 weeks/year through my school. Basic internship mostly oriented toward helping patients along with partaking in some basic clinical procedures. During the school day.
  6. Counselor in Training Leadership Program (11-12) 8 hr/week, 30 weeks/year. Managed a cabin of youth. Also volunteered throughout most of the year as part of the organization that runs the camp, helping out with the planning.
  7. National Honor Society Treasurer (12) 1.5 hr/week, 28 weeks/year. Basic responsibilities for NHS including budgeting and accounting for the club's financials. We currently have 70+ members and only juniors are able to join at the end of the year meaning club is limited to basically all seniors.
  8. Youth Group Leader, Volunteer (9-12) 4 hr/week, 35 weeks/year. I help a lot with the planning for a large youth group including for missions trips, events, decoration/interior design, retreats, Media A/V, etc. I also volunteer as part of the larger church.
  9. Cornell College Summer Program (11) 30 hr/week, 3 weeks. Completed the 3 week summer program. Not really that competitive, but still had to apply to get in and did some college level coursework and familiarized myself with the campus/professors.
  10. Korean Drums and Sword Dance Practitioner and Performer (11-12) 3 hr/week, 27 weeks/year. Performed for 150-250 people, along with practices and volunteer sessions too. Pretty fun and chill most of the time (besides performances) and I've had a lot of fun learning the diff techniques.

Writing and Recommendations

  • Guidance Counselor Rec: Talked to him about philosophy and psychology/cog sci in our meetings. Thinks well of me and has worked with me all 4 years of high school.
  • AP Calc Teacher: Probably my most unique. I used to scribble philosophy/lit stuff on his math tests, and we bonded over that. We often went to extra help to speak with him, though one time we had a pretty deep conversation where he ended up telling me his political standings (without being too direct), we talked about enlightenment, philosophy (a bit), and college.
  • APUSH Teacher: More of a standard rec letter. One of his best students from my grade highlighted my unique interests in the rec form.
  • AP Comp Sci Teacher: Runs Philosophy Club with me and I expect this letter to have a decent amount of unique things to say about me though I cannot be 100% sure.
  • Personal Statement: About my journey cultivating empathy, reflection, and meaningful connection inspired by a character's compassion and outlook in a specific work of litreature. I trace how reading the novel sparked self awareness and sensitivity toward others, leading me to engage thoughtfully with friends/peers.

Posted Oct 6, 2025, 7:05 PM UTC

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