a few questions

Transfer Students
1

<p>I'm a high school senior who was just rejected from my 1st choice school (cornell) and because I love the school and feel like it's the perfect fit for me, I am considering transferring there after my freshman year of college. But I'm totally unfamiliar with the whole transfer process, maybe someone can answer my questions:</p>

<p>1)I’m going to NYU next year and I’ll be in their gsp program; will cornell not take me as ‘seriously’ as other applicants since I’m in the gsp program? (if you know little to nothing about gsp just ignore this question)</p>

<p>2)I know my high school transcript will be included; will they look mostly at my senior and junior year grades or also at grades I got in 8th, 9th, and 10th grade? (I took 3 high school classes in 8th grade so yes, they are on my transcript).</p>

<p>3)Will Cornell take my AP exam scores into consideration at all?</p>

<p>4)Should I retake the SAT’s? I got a 2150 (740R 770W 640M). I think that’s about average for cornell except for the math part. </p>

<p>5)Do transfer students have the choice of ED like high school applicants do? I didn’t do ED in high school and kind of regret it but would definitely do it if I had the option as a transfer.</p>

2

<p>1)I have no idea what the gsp program is so I dont know.</p>

<p>2)Colleges will look at your college GPA and coursework a lot but will take from your high school transcript too. They will look for upward trend/ senior & junior gpa and courseload/ etc.</p>

<p>3)Cornell will consider you AP test scores for college credit</p>

<p>4)SAT I's are mainly used for a cut off. As long as you are in the range, it cant hurt you. I dont think retaking the SAT is necessary at all, your SAT's are fine.</p>

<p>5)Transfer students do not have an ED option. Some schools do rolling admission and some schools do two cycles of admissions. Cornell does neither of these.</p>

3

<p>thanks sfjohson.
I was definitely not looking forward to retake the SAT's.</p>

4

<p>I'm answering questions I can provide helpful info on - I attended a visiting student program at NYU so I'm pretty familiar with the university in general:</p>

<p>1) I don't think they are going to look down upon the fact that you were accepted into GSP - NYU is a decently ranked school to begin with, and the GSP curriculum is liberal arts based and provides a great foundation for future studies at a university like Cornell. Just select the right courses, (especially courses that will transfer over and are of moderate difficulty), maintain a high GPA, enjoy the fact that you are living in MANHATTAN (!), (don't mope around hating NYU and the fact that you are 'stuck' there for a year or two, stay positive), get involved with extracurricular activities on/off campus, (NYU has great community service activities, programs, etc), and you'll be fine.</p>

<p>2) If you apply as a sophomore transfer, they place more emphasis on your HS record than if you were to apply as a junior transfer. I'm not really sure how they review the transcript, I'm guessing each year, your courses, and your overall GPA will all be considered rather than just focusing in on junior year or senior year... If you have a great HS record/ranking, the better off you are during application review time.</p>

<p>3) You should direct cornell specific questions, such as AP scores, to a transfer director within the school you would be potentially applying. I recall contacting them last summer and they were very nice and informative. It's best to get the right info, straight from the source.</p>

<p>5) I'm not sure of any transfer program that does an Early Action/ED program, except for Columbia's General Studies program... Other people might be able to contribute to this area...</p>

<p>FYI, studying in Bobst Library is bananas! The view of Manhattan from the higher floors was worth the tuition cost, well, maybe worth a bit of the tuition, lol.</p>

<p>Good luck! :)</p>

5

<p>I don't think you need to retake the SATs. It implies that all you've been focussing on in college was transferring to another college. Yes there are 2370s but you got a great score already. Focus on strengthening other aspects of your application.</p>

6

<p>My senior year, I was in a similar situation and spent my freshman year at a school I knew wasn't a good fit. My advice is to approach college as positively as possible but to ensure that your grades and activities remain above average so that, should you still want to transfer, the option is there.</p>

7

<p>thanks tanya! and everyone else too.
tanya, just curious, are you a transfer student?
I'm actually really excited about nyu next year - I grew up on LI so I go to the city all the time, but I've never lived in manhatten so I'm excited and nyu has lots to offer.
so i'll spend a year in the city, and then hopefully three years in rural ithaca..should be fun. the thing that worries me is that they only accept such a small percentage of applicants and perfectly good kids each year.</p>

8

<p>Yes, I'm a transfer. I originally attended Stony Brook, made a pit stop at NYU, and now I'm at Hopkins... </p>

<p>To avoid being in the same predicament as you are in right now, I'd apply to several schools next year, (or whenever you plan to transfer), to at least give yourself some options. </p>

<p>While Cornell is an excellent school and based upon your research, it would be a great fit for you, I would recommend identifying several potential schools as contenders, as transfer acceptance rates are notoriously low, wherever you go, when you are looking at at top-tier institutions.</p>

<p>Good luck and enjoy NYU! :)</p>

9

<p>thanks tanya</p>

<p>I don't know where else I would transfer, though. I applied to all the colleges I like, and I was accepted to all except cornell. I wish I could do ED there to convince them it's my first choice, but I guess I can always write them a letter. I wonder if I should mention at all that I applied there previously and decided to reapply later because I feel I've improved as an applicant. But that might be bad because then they realize they already rejected me once.</p>

<p>Just curious, why did you go from stonybrook to nyu to JH? I mean if you were at nyu so briefly, I guess you really hated it lol. Or were you just there because it was an easier transition from nyu to jh?</p>

10

<p>It would depend on what your major is, what you plan on doing post graduation. If your heart is set on Cornell, then Cornell it is lol.</p>

<p>I don't think you need to advertise you were a former applicant, I think there is a box on the application that asks if you have applied before, and I believe they are required to keep your application on file for a while.</p>

<p>I made a pitstop at NYU during last spring, as part of a visiting student program. All of the schools I was interested in transferring to only permitted transfers for the fall semester, and I couldn't bear to stick around Stony Brook for an additional semester. Plus, I wasn't sure if I'd ever have a chance to live in Manhattan, so, I jumped on the opportunity, lol. I liked NYU and considered staying after I was accepted for the fall, however, tuition was just too darned expensive.</p>