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)
- 2025 National Merit Scholarship Semi-Finalist (finalist consideration upcoming) (12th)
- Presidential Volunteer Service Award Gold (2 years, 3rd year would have gotten it but the program was put on hold). (9th, 10th, 11th)
- AP Scholar With Honor and CollegeBoard National Recognition Program (11th)
- 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)
- National Science & English Honor Societies, Honor Roll, Principal's List (9th, 10th, 11th)
Extracurriculars
(vauge on purpose and not ordered)
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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).
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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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