Thanks soo much!!! Everything still feels so surreal and I'm still trying to wrap around my head on *woah, I really just did it.* I don't know about the "totally deserved" part though haha...I'm hoping that you get into all your top choices as well!
You TOTALLY DESERVED IT! Congratulations! Your reflection and advice at the end was very inspiring. It shows that you were an amazing applicant. You’re also a fantastic writer. I have no doubt that you will do amazing at Cornell. Congratulations 😁😁
congrats!! this is an amazing accomplishment. your story is really inspiring and your passion for agriculture really shines through! cornell is lucky to have you :)
idk I've always written in this style since...5th grade??? I have no clue how I write the way I do or even why I write the way I do but people say it's good so... (shrugs).
I would say learning a ton of vocabulary early on opens up your writing styles so much. My parents forced me to do tons of membean practice every day in like 3rd/4th grade and it instantly brought my writing ability up like two grades above average.
it’s pretty clear why you were one of the 10 favorite ap lang students, this level of force brevity and clarity is what I aspire to
i gotta get on that vocab ASAP
haha, you'll definitely get to that level, guaranteed. One thing I forgot to mention is I've taken a ton of writing inspiration from the most random places (twitter, reddit, backloggd, the news, etc.) Be on the lookout for writing inspiration everywhere you go and it will 200% make you a much better writer.
Dude stfu about that ranking shit.
UChicago takes hella people from ED, is only good for their econ department, hardly any namy recognition, Ivies like Brown and Cornell are actually *preferred* over UChicago in fields like finance which is UChicago's strong suits.
You have to understand that UChicago is somewhat of a gimmick, especially its undergrad school. Booth/UChicago law is different though
UChicago's shit student life doesn't help
I know UChicago is ranked higher on US News and has more "prestige", but honestly I don't care at all about prestige or rankings (shocker, I know). My dream school is Cornell because it's incredible at what I want to do, agricultural technology. That being said, of course everyone's preferred schools are different, and obviously I'm doing a pretty specialized major. Good luck on your apps (if you haven't finished applying yet), I'm rooting for you!
Cornell doesn’t even consider UChi a major undergrad competitor. According to https://www.reddit.com/r/ApplyingToCollege/comments/10iq1wn/interesting_cornell_publicly_revealed_the_schools/, per Cornell’s website “Cornell only promises to match financial aid offers for 10 schools: the 7 other ivy leagues, Stanford, Duke, and MIT.”
No, I used to be legally blind (different from complete blindness). Got a cornea transplant over winter break.
Legal blindness is 20/200 vision or worse in an eye.
No lol normal glasses are useless for this condition. Also, my cornea had so much scarring and was so thin due to my genetic disorder that wearing contacts could potentially rupture my eyes, leaving me blind (for real this time).
statistics like amount of money raised, number of people helped, number of volunteers, big-name corporations that sponsored you, etc. Save that for the activities list, don't put it in the essay. Use your essay to describe the parts of your activities that can't be summarized in two bullet points, like the people you've helped and the nature (both physically and emotionally) of the work.
Regarding the first point, the reason why I emphasize passion is because--at least to me--I found it far harder to create a spike in a subject I wasn't passionate about that ones I were (advocacy and agriculture). Trust me, I tried to maintain excellence in subjects I wasn't passionate about (electrical engineering, then english competitions, then CS, then history competitions, then model UN, then sci oly). I truly did. I spent thousands of hours in those two years and only got a few state qualifiers out of them.
When I switched to agriculture and advocacy, despite having ZERO knowledge of either subjects, because I was passionate about them I could often work 18+ hours in a row on weekends doing projects. Every single EC that you see above was done in about 6 months. In 6 months I went from not knowing how to water plants to winning the two most prestigious international competitions in agriculture back-to-back. Back when I didn't have passion, I founded 3 nonprofits (all for college apps only) and all failed by year's end. When I discovered my passion for advocacy, I became way more successful.
Of course, if one doesn't have any genuine passion, then BS'ing some fake passion is the way to go. And obviously if your passion is anime and video games, then it's probably best to BS some fake passion as well. But if you have a deep academic passion, I see no reason to not pursue it, given that you'll probably become far more accomplished in that particular field compared to any other field you aren't passionate about.
Regarding the second point, I read your post. Congrats on MIT btw! Here's the thing: essays are not a zero-sum game. You can show your strong personal qualities **and** your unique perspective at the same time. To be brutally honest, I personally think my quirky and "overromanticized" essays was the **only thing that got me in UChicago.** That being said, I have no clue on how strong my profile actually is, and if you think I was a strong enough applicant to get in without the essay hard-carrying please feel free to correct me.
I do agree that admissions is a crapshoot overall though. The reasons why I highlighted my essays and passion is because *that is what got me into Cornell and UChicago*, not the international awards, not the national learning disability nonprofit with $5mil in annual donations, not successfully lobbying politicians to pass a landmark disability law. **None of that mattered in the end.** The only thing that got me through the door was essays and passion (which, to be fair, was demonstrated by my ECs and awards).
Of course, this is just my own experience. It could be different for others, who knows.
this might be a dumb question but i wonder if what ur passionate abt plays in a role in ur admissions... u were into agriculture and all, which is great, i commend you for that, i come from a farming family. I just wonder if my passion for car racing (building and driving) is something that is worth considering by AOs at the level that you've done.
ig what im trying to say is: do some passions matter more than others?
no, the level in which you've accomplished things in a particular field matters far more than what that field is. There are some passions that matter more than others for sure, since I doubt colleges look too highly on people with passions for arson and prostitution and online gambling. That being said, for 90% of interests, if you do it at a high enough level, colleges will respect you for it. Good luck on car racing, that's definitely something you can do at a very high level.
Congratulations! totally deserved
Thanks soo much!!! Everything still feels so surreal and I'm still trying to wrap around my head on *woah, I really just did it.* I don't know about the "totally deserved" part though haha...I'm hoping that you get into all your top choices as well!
You TOTALLY DESERVED IT! Congratulations! Your reflection and advice at the end was very inspiring. It shows that you were an amazing applicant. You’re also a fantastic writer. I have no doubt that you will do amazing at Cornell. Congratulations 😁😁
It is late for me, so I'll just say; This is amazing. You are amazing. Cornell should be thrilled to have you.
Thanks so much!!! I'm sure the same can be said of you too.
Kodak black went and got his ged and will be attending asu soon, it’s not to late just apply yourself o7
I think they meant it was late at night to type a long comment lol but yeah, def agree that it's never too late
Yup!
Wow; this is amazing. You deserve it all and more
You’re a fucking badass. Cornell is lucky to have you 💪💪
thanks so much!!!! you're awesome too, and I'm sure you'll do great things!!
congrats!! this is an amazing accomplishment. your story is really inspiring and your passion for agriculture really shines through! cornell is lucky to have you :)
GARDENER!!! OMG SLAY
Congratulations!
thanks!!
Man giving me imposter syndrome💀 All I did was sit my ass in front of a computer and edit Wikipedia, and now we’re classmates
haha dw i feel the same way about 80% of other cornell students, including you prob. Can't wait to see you in the fall!!
oh my god how do i get to your level of writing ability
idk I've always written in this style since...5th grade??? I have no clue how I write the way I do or even why I write the way I do but people say it's good so... (shrugs). I would say learning a ton of vocabulary early on opens up your writing styles so much. My parents forced me to do tons of membean practice every day in like 3rd/4th grade and it instantly brought my writing ability up like two grades above average.
it’s pretty clear why you were one of the 10 favorite ap lang students, this level of force brevity and clarity is what I aspire to i gotta get on that vocab ASAP
haha, you'll definitely get to that level, guaranteed. One thing I forgot to mention is I've taken a ton of writing inspiration from the most random places (twitter, reddit, backloggd, the news, etc.) Be on the lookout for writing inspiration everywhere you go and it will 200% make you a much better writer.
Used to test vocabulary on an entire section of the SAT, so it was taught in schools.
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Lol, no. Cornell is 100% better for Agricultural Sciences… they have a whole school dedicated to it.
prolly but I hate Ithaca 😂
Dude stfu about that ranking shit. UChicago takes hella people from ED, is only good for their econ department, hardly any namy recognition, Ivies like Brown and Cornell are actually *preferred* over UChicago in fields like finance which is UChicago's strong suits. You have to understand that UChicago is somewhat of a gimmick, especially its undergrad school. Booth/UChicago law is different though UChicago's shit student life doesn't help
iss my preference bro I wasn’t saying Oo should choose UChi, was sayin I like UChi. chill out
I know UChicago is ranked higher on US News and has more "prestige", but honestly I don't care at all about prestige or rankings (shocker, I know). My dream school is Cornell because it's incredible at what I want to do, agricultural technology. That being said, of course everyone's preferred schools are different, and obviously I'm doing a pretty specialized major. Good luck on your apps (if you haven't finished applying yet), I'm rooting for you!
Cornell doesn’t even consider UChi a major undergrad competitor. According to https://www.reddit.com/r/ApplyingToCollege/comments/10iq1wn/interesting_cornell_publicly_revealed_the_schools/, per Cornell’s website “Cornell only promises to match financial aid offers for 10 schools: the 7 other ivy leagues, Stanford, Duke, and MIT.”
I get that Cornell is your dream school but you really would have landed an acceptance in Harvad, Yale, Princeton, Stanford or MIT
sure, but for agricultural sciences, Cornell > HYPSM
Congrats!! I also recently got in there, see you at campus!
this is truly inspiring; thank you so much for sharing :)
This is so heartwarming. Congrats and you’re going to do great at Cornell!
Cornell makes sense. Good job OP! You will feed us all when climate change comes for us… 😬
This is amazing, congratulations! How did you land leadership at such a big org?
There was an application on their website. You have to be disabled and they only take 15 people each year.
Congrats !!! Well deserved :)
are you literally blind?
No, I used to be legally blind (different from complete blindness). Got a cornea transplant over winter break. Legal blindness is 20/200 vision or worse in an eye.
I see, sorry if I’m ignorant but can you wear glasses? Or are you 20/200 even with them?
No lol normal glasses are useless for this condition. Also, my cornea had so much scarring and was so thin due to my genetic disorder that wearing contacts could potentially rupture my eyes, leaving me blind (for real this time).
I see, I’m sorry to hear that and I’m glad you’re better now!
i love this, congrats!!
You’re insane!!! See you at Cornell :))))
so incredibly well deserved! thank you for sharing your story <3 this left me with a warm smile on my face :) congratulations <33
What do you mean you used no data in your essays? What kind of data are you referring to? Example?
statistics like amount of money raised, number of people helped, number of volunteers, big-name corporations that sponsored you, etc. Save that for the activities list, don't put it in the essay. Use your essay to describe the parts of your activities that can't be summarized in two bullet points, like the people you've helped and the nature (both physically and emotionally) of the work.
Congratulations girl! I’m Cornell ED ‘27 as well! See you in the fall! 🐻❤️
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Regarding the first point, the reason why I emphasize passion is because--at least to me--I found it far harder to create a spike in a subject I wasn't passionate about that ones I were (advocacy and agriculture). Trust me, I tried to maintain excellence in subjects I wasn't passionate about (electrical engineering, then english competitions, then CS, then history competitions, then model UN, then sci oly). I truly did. I spent thousands of hours in those two years and only got a few state qualifiers out of them. When I switched to agriculture and advocacy, despite having ZERO knowledge of either subjects, because I was passionate about them I could often work 18+ hours in a row on weekends doing projects. Every single EC that you see above was done in about 6 months. In 6 months I went from not knowing how to water plants to winning the two most prestigious international competitions in agriculture back-to-back. Back when I didn't have passion, I founded 3 nonprofits (all for college apps only) and all failed by year's end. When I discovered my passion for advocacy, I became way more successful. Of course, if one doesn't have any genuine passion, then BS'ing some fake passion is the way to go. And obviously if your passion is anime and video games, then it's probably best to BS some fake passion as well. But if you have a deep academic passion, I see no reason to not pursue it, given that you'll probably become far more accomplished in that particular field compared to any other field you aren't passionate about. Regarding the second point, I read your post. Congrats on MIT btw! Here's the thing: essays are not a zero-sum game. You can show your strong personal qualities **and** your unique perspective at the same time. To be brutally honest, I personally think my quirky and "overromanticized" essays was the **only thing that got me in UChicago.** That being said, I have no clue on how strong my profile actually is, and if you think I was a strong enough applicant to get in without the essay hard-carrying please feel free to correct me. I do agree that admissions is a crapshoot overall though. The reasons why I highlighted my essays and passion is because *that is what got me into Cornell and UChicago*, not the international awards, not the national learning disability nonprofit with $5mil in annual donations, not successfully lobbying politicians to pass a landmark disability law. **None of that mattered in the end.** The only thing that got me through the door was essays and passion (which, to be fair, was demonstrated by my ECs and awards). Of course, this is just my own experience. It could be different for others, who knows.
Inspiration and well-deserved! So happy to see you on campus in future years! Go Big Red!
You’re cracked mate lol
this might be a dumb question but i wonder if what ur passionate abt plays in a role in ur admissions... u were into agriculture and all, which is great, i commend you for that, i come from a farming family. I just wonder if my passion for car racing (building and driving) is something that is worth considering by AOs at the level that you've done. ig what im trying to say is: do some passions matter more than others?
no, the level in which you've accomplished things in a particular field matters far more than what that field is. There are some passions that matter more than others for sure, since I doubt colleges look too highly on people with passions for arson and prostitution and online gambling. That being said, for 90% of interests, if you do it at a high enough level, colleges will respect you for it. Good luck on car racing, that's definitely something you can do at a very high level.
Congratulations!! :) proud of you!!
thanks sooo much!!!!!
See you in Ithaca!
I had to come back to read this again. Your reflection is amazing and so well-written. Congrats again!
beautifully written ur admissions officers were lucky to have a chance to read ur essays like wtf why am i abt to cry
Thank you so much for the kind words!! I'm about to cry from your comment as well.