How did I get denied.... Forum

[Lavitz]

This is not just unusual, this is almost irrational on Cornell's part. OP is above or at both medians; I don't see why his/her numbers didn't at least warrant a WL if this was truly YP.

What the hell is going on with Cornell this cycle, and how do they plan on maintaining their class size? It's one thing to try and increase your medians and increase selectivity, but being this unpredictable and unrealistically picky is going to affect their class size. I can only guess that they plan on taking a lot of people off their waitlist later on in the cycle.

You're right. How DARE a school reject someone above both medians. No possible explanation.

[Npret]

Cornell just denied me with a 3.87 and a 168. I figured I had about a 50/50 shot at waitlist/accept, but I did not think I would get denied because I was at both 75ths. I have pretty good ECs (leadership in 2 clubs, legal internships, volunteer work), and my personal statement was good (at least according to my English professors and advisor). What could have caused them to deny me?

Were you going to attend if accepted?

[rsox5000]

It would have come down to financial aid. I also got waitlisted at Penn, my number one choice, and still haven't heard back from a few other schools as of now. I don't see how it could have been my PS or LORs (I sent the same 3 letters to every school I applied to) because I got accepted to schools that are objectively harder to get into. I also had 2 friends read over my application itself, and they found no errors.

[rsox5000]

I would have had no problem getting waitlisted; it's a top school and they receive applications from a myriad of talented individuals. I'm just stunned that I got a flat out denial when I was above both medians. I used the same PS template for every school I applied to (making a few changes to cater to the school of course) and sent the same LORs to every school.

[Npret]

I would have had no problem getting waitlisted; it's a top school and they receive applications from a myriad of talented individuals. I'm just stunned that I got a flat out denial when I was above both medians. I used the same PS template for every school I applied to (making a few changes to cater to the school of course) and sent the same LORs to every school.

You are never going to know why you were denied.
If you want to attend maybe retake is your only option. You werent an autoadmit.
Waitlist purgatory can be tough too for people who need certainty and clarity.
I know getting rejected feels bad.

[call-me-bubbles]

.

[Npret]

OP applied late?

[jjcorvino]

Cornell's going for an entering class of 24 this year. Don't take it personally.

I laughed

It's true; don't take it personally, OP. There's just not much space left in the c/o 2020 mini-bus.

Just check out their graph of admitted students this year. I was also denied, but there are some really crazy rejections in there.

http://cornell.lawschoolnumbers.com/stats/1617

[HYPSM]

.

[somedeadman]

Cornell's going for an entering class of 24 this year. Don't take it personally.

I laughed

It's true; don't take it personally, OP. There's just not much space left in the c/o 2020 mini-bus.

Just check out their graph of admitted students this year. I was also denied, but there are some really crazy rejections in there.

http://cornell.lawschoolnumbers.com/stats/1617

Huh. Noticed my profile isn't showing up on any graphs. Wonder why that is...

[whysooseriousbiglaw]

I didn't even get an interview..... I actually have an idea of what might have done it. I go to a decent school (the average SAT for reading and math is about 600) that gets about 1-2 kids into the T14 each year. One of my friends (3.90 and 170) applied ED to Cornell and got in. Do you think I might have gotten denied because they didn't want to take multiple kids from a school that's not top tier? That's honestly all I can think of. I got into Michigan, Berkeley, and Georgetown and my friend did not apply to any of those.

Wow your friend fucked up, but that's besides the point.

Underrated post. ED to Cornell = terrible life choice.

Yeah especially with those numbers, OP you should be a friend and convince him to drop/apply next cycle

+1 billion

[waldorf]

Cornell's going for an entering class of 24 this year. Don't take it personally.

I laughed

It's true; don't take it personally, OP. There's just not much space left in the c/o 2020 mini-bus.

Just check out their graph of admitted students this year. I was also denied, but there are some really crazy rejections in there.

http://cornell.lawschoolnumbers.com/stats/1617

Holy crap, a WL to someone with a 177 and 3.9? Good grief.

[Rigo]

Holy crap, a WL to someone with a 177 and 3.9? Good grief.

Not surprising. Yield protection.

[guynourmin]

Cornell's going for an entering class of 24 this year. Don't take it personally.

I laughed

It's true; don't take it personally, OP. There's just not much space left in the c/o 2020 mini-bus.

Just check out their graph of admitted students this year. I was also denied, but there are some really crazy rejections in there.

http://cornell.lawschoolnumbers.com/stats/1617

Huh. Noticed my profile isn't showing up on any graphs. Wonder why that is...

whats your profile?

[dyebri]

CASH ME OUSSIDE HOW ABOUD DAHHHH

[Lavitz]

Yep, that's precisely what I was implying. NO POSSIBLE EXPLANATION.

No, but seriously, a straight-ding is pretty surprising for his numbers.

I've been following Cornell admissions cycles for 4 years, and a straight ding is not that surprising even for people above both medians. It's bound to happen for a few people with OP's numbers. There are outliers like this every cycle. I was one of them, albeit at different schools. I agree there may have been a slight increase for Cornell this cycle, but it doesn't mean Cornell is being "irrational." We don't know what OP's app looks like, what the rest of the applicant pool looks like, whether Cornell has decided to try a different strategy this cycle, etc.

OP, I don't think anyone here can say why exactly you got denied. It could just be Cornell, or it could be a sign of underperforming generally. The undergrad thing may have been a factor to the extent Cornell could be looking for geographic / UG diversity, although I doubt it was determinative. If you want to send me your PS, I can look at it and give feedback. Other than that, I'm not sure what else we can tell you.