Hi. I was accepted ED in December and we paid the deposit right away and then the next thing was a very basic envelope with a couple brochures. All that anticipation and now it’s sort of anti-climatic. What happens next? Seems like there’s this long lull before the next action. I know we’re still waiting for RD to come out, but I was wondering what I can expect next in terms of picking dorms, getting an ID, getting assigned a counselor, etc. I reasoned from stuff I read that April is the next time I’ll get a communication. Anyone go through this the last couple of years? Does everything happen in the summer or before? I’m just curious what I can look forward to. Thanks.
In April you will get your Net ID and be directed to a new student portal. In it you will be given a list of to dos. You will send in your dorm preference in May and be assigned to one over the summer. One thing you could do ahead of other RDers is to reserve for hotels for move in and parents weekend.
There are pre-orientation programs if you would like to participate, but not necessary.
If you want a job on campus, even if you are not on work study, you can start search over the summer on the Career site so you could apply ahead of other students. My kids were able to secure a job as soon as they showed up on campus.
The orientation week will be a fun week for you. There will be a lot of parties for you to meet people. Take the opportunity to sign up for some clubs.
Congrats.
@oldfort Thank you for the reply. What do you mean by orientation “week?” From what I can figure out from the academic calendar, it looks like dorm move in is August 19th and then classes start on the 21st. Is there something different for freshman? Is it before or after dorm move in? I want to be able to tell my parents which days to reserve for hotel. Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks again.
Expect to sign up for Orientation sometime around the mid/end of summer. They offer different orientation times I think once or twice a week every week (for my school anyways). Not sure if your orientation will be similar to mine but we were not allowed to sign up for classes unless you attended the entire orientation (which lasted for about two days). So the earlier you do your orientation the earlier you can choose your classes before everyone else takes up all the class slots. Your ID you will get during the orientation. Also they make you learn all the school’s chants and give you a small tour and make you listen to a bunch of people talk about rules and stuff like that.
Waterangell501- Cornell’s orientation is only offered once- right before classes begin.
OP- So yes, orientation is August 19th to the 20th. But there are first year events going on that whole week and it is traditionally called “O Week.” There are lots of parties that week too.
You will choose your classes in the summer and register from home. You will communicate with your advisor via email. From my daughter’s experience you may not have much assistance or input from your advisor.
Depending on how far you are traveling, your parents don’t necessarily have to stay overnight at all. You will move in during an assigned time on move-in day and there will be a reception in the late afternoon. Then there is really not much more for parents to stick around for. There is a brunch the morning after move-in and a convocation, but it is not a must-do. Keep in mind that hotels will be pricy for that weekend and may require a minimum stay.
OP - you will also get a nice “official” acceptance certificate after regular decision is out. Other than that you will not hear much from Cornell iirc. It is a bit of a letdown.
You can look for a roommate on Facebook but you will not be able to choose your dorm - assignments are random.
The move in day is Aug 18th.
https://www.cornell.edu/academics/calendar/?year=2017-18
Most families come the night before. Based on your last name, you will be assigned a move in time on Fri. All day Fri there will be college sponsored orientation events. On Sat morning there is the Convocation. I highly recommend it for you to attend. Some parents leave on Sat, but many parents leave Sun morning. I would recommend for your parents to book hotel room from Thu - Sun. Many hotels have 3 days minimum.
Few hotel recommendations:
Statler on campus is most likely completly booked
Hilton, Marriott, Hotel Ithaca (downtown Ithaca, Common)
Argos (beautiful Inn) has 13 rooms, a great place to have drinks
OP, you can also attend an Accepted Students day in April, even though you already know for sure that you’ll be attending Cornell. My D attended after being accepted ED, and she enjoyed the visit.
Regarding dorms, there is some choice – women can request the all-female dorm, Balch. People who list it as a choice are usually assigned there.
Finally, as alluded to above, Cornell offers a wide variety of pre-orientation programs. They are a great way to by to know your future classmates – my D Is still close to the friends she made during pre-orientation. They run 2-7 days, iirc, and you can pick from experiences such as local service work, backpacking in the Adirondack, biking in the Finger Lakes, and many others.
Yeah, other than financial aid perhaps as an ED, you cannot really expect much until after RD. Then you’ll have that To Do list. Pay attention to that, it’s exactly everything you need to know and do up until you step onto campus.
Here’s a few specific points you may need/want to know.
You will need health forms sent out to Cornell, as well as sign up for student insurance or waive it by swearing you have your own adequate insurance.
You’ll register for fall classes in July. Unfortunately you don’t have advisors available then, so figuring out what to do requires familiarizing yourself with the freshman engineering requirements (I remember you’re a BME - we require slightly different stuff from other engineers) and what you may be skipping with AP credit you may have is your responsibility here. Fortunately, when you’re assigned a freshman advisor, they’ll look over your schedule and tell you if you made some bad blunder.
Related to classes is that you can take placement exams if you think you know it well enough but did not get credit for it. Tread lightly and carefully with this - these are not easy (I tried the calc 2 one after doing well in calculus BC junior year and couldn’t really do it - forgot too much).
Also you have an add drop period for the first few week or two where you can freely change classes.
It’s true orientation days (as in no class) is short in a way, but you’ll be too busy to notice if you go to even some events. Because you have to do things like meet your advisor with your fellow students who also have that advisor. You have to attend their lessons on classes for engineers and the like. You have to possibly prepare for your classes(I remember things like getting software). I remember wishing I didn’t have to go so many places for boring administrative stuff, personally, from my orientation. But at least it forces you to learn the campus a bit - I remember being a bit confused at first with where North Campus was relative to Central, and where my dorm was in North, at first, but I quickly learned out of necessity.
You have to really look at the orientation schedule carefully and do go to everything required. Also, listen to your RA for events as well.
Activities continue for a while afterward. Try to do at least a little - people really are just as lonely and unfamiliar with Cornell as you are, and some of these people really will become your people. Many of my friends were from my freshman fall, and I feel it’s a bit harder later on.