Hello Class of 2020!
First off, I’d like to say, BEST OF LUCK! I truly hope each and every one of you get into Cornell—it’s almost time!!
I am a current high school senior who got offered the TO to CALS. I will be attending UC Davis for my freshman year and I will be pursuing the TO in hopes to transfer into Cornell next year. However, my question is, how difficult (or easy) was it for you all to stay at your current institution while knowing that you were most likely going to transfer? Were you able to make friends easily, did you get attached to your school, or did you simply work hard knowing that a Cornell acceptance was at stake? I’m sorry for all the questions but I am a little bit scared about not enjoying my freshman year fully because I would always keep in my mind the fact that I’m most likely leaving after one year. Any and all advice/experience will be greatly appreciated, thank you! 
@soulsurfer99 Hey! This is a question I’ve thought about a lot with regards to my own situation so sorry for the long response. Also I’m running on very little sleep right now, apologies if it’s literally incoherent haha.
For background: I chose a school that I was never really in love with mainly because I thought it would be easier to transfer after a year if I never got attached in the first place. I passed on an opportunity to attend the school I probably would have gone to if Cornell had outright rejected me and I never had to think about transferring- I could see myself there for four years and I was really excited about many aspects of it. Not choosing that school is probably one of my biggest regrets, and I was recently accepted as a transfer there and if Cornell doesn’t work out for some reason that’s where I’ll be next fall.
It will be extremely easy for me to leave my current university, I’m counting down the days until the semester is finally over- in addition to Cornell, I applied to six other schools as a transfer because of how badly I want to leave. It would not be an overstatement to say that my freshman year of college has been the worst year of my life. I don’t have many close friends, I basically shut myself off socially after a falling-out with the friend group I made at the beginning of the year and decided that having no friends was probably for the best anyways because I was aware that I would most likely be leaving after a year. For me, not making friends was partly the fault of the school I attend (lack of a cohesive social environment, city school, extensive off-campus programs means people are constantly leaving and coming) but mostly my own issue connected to the Cornell offer- I did not want to get attached to the school or the people because I was so sure I would be transferring. I think this started some sort of feedback mechanism where I just kept myself away from events because I had no one to go with but also kept myself from making friends because I was so focused on remaining unattached because of the TO.
I worked very hard on the TO requirements- I’m making huge sacrifices both academically (currently taking 18 credits, only 4 of them go towards my major at my current school while 14 go to Cornell’s requirements) and financially (paying exorbitant amounts of tuition for classes that have no real value to me except for fulfilling the TO reqs). Taking bio labs as a political science major is something I never wanted to do, and it’s extremely hard to motivate myself to study for them when I know that all of the info I’m learning is basically useless for anything I want to pursue in the future. I think that intensely working on the TO courses has distracted me from all the other terrible stuff that’s happened this year though so I guess that’s a positive experience.
The short version of my advice for future TO students would basically be: forget about the TO, go somewhere that makes you happy, don’t bend over backwards to meet the requirements until you’re 100% sure that this is something you want to pursue. Also don’t tell anyone at your current school that you have the TO it’ll only make things awkward (only my roommate and one other person know about it and I’ll be keeping it that way until I (hopefully) get a formal acceptance).
TLDR; my freshman year sucked and I’ve psychoanalyzed myself to the point where I can trace that back to my attitude towards the TO and I would advise current seniors to do literally the exact opposite of what I did
@soulsurfer99 I’m actually at UC Davis now and hoping to transfer as a TO to Cornell this fall (there is one issue that makes me worry the offer isn’t guaranteed anymore but I’m optimistic).
A lot of people say it’s best not to say anything to the friends you make in your first year but I have actually found the opposite. I made a few friends at the beginning of the year that I’ve become close with over time, but I told them pretty early on what my situation was. That way there are no abrupt surprises once the transfer is official and you don’t feel like you’re keeping secrets. You also then avoid the awkward period in January when everyone is leasing apartments for next year and you have to explain why you don’t want to live with them. My friends have been very understanding and supportive throughout the year and I’m very thankful I told them.
Keeping my grades to the standards Cornell expects were absolutely no problem. Both Cornell and UC Davis are excellent schools and as long as you figure out what study method works best for you, meeting requirements will be easy…Cornell wants you for a reason, just keep doing what you’ve been doing
As for getting attached - I haven’t had any problems. I actually came to Davis thinking I would end up staying here and Cornell was just an unlikely backup plan in case things went south. I ended up having a very difficult year for various personal reasons and am now very eager for the fresh start at Cornell. Also being from the east coast, I did not connect to Davis the way I did to Cornell. You may have a totally different experience and absolutely love Davis. I would suggest you come with an open mind and don’t automatically assume you will want to transfer at the end of the year. Give Davis enough time to make an impression and then it will be very clear what you want.
Whether or not you love Davis, you absolutely have to make the most of your time here. Even knowing I wanted to leave, I got involved - I have a job at the vet hospital and an internship at a microbio lab on campus. Find things you enjoy because otherwise it is going to be a really long year, trust me.
@aihcxx - I’m sorry that you had a bad first year experience at your university. It is a useful data point for anyone considering that option.
However, one thing I would like to suggest is that no matter which course you take it can potentially have some use later in life. You mention Bio course while taking PolScience. What if in future you are working on the staff of a Congressman and a legislation related to biomedical field comes up and you are tasked to research it. I know 1 Bio course as a college freshman does not make you an expert in Biology, but at least you would know where to look for more information based on your experience.
My major is going to be Economics and I feel that every subject that I learn can be connected to it in some way.
@cricketfan I do agree that classes outside the major can be very beneficial and I have learned some things that I think I’ll be able to apply elsewhere, but sitting in the library at 2:30 AM memorizing hundreds of bone features for an anatomy practical isn’t something that’s going to help me at all. I’m not really gaining any useful skills or experience, I’m only gaining (hopefully) a Cornell acceptance. The courses I’m in are a step above into bio (I had AP credit already or I would have just taken the most basic classes) and they’re mainly geared towards pre-med or nursing students. I would have loved to take a health policy class and count that towards the science requirement but unfortunately Cornell’s lab requirement prevented me from doing so.
This year has been 0/10. I’ve had a count down on my phone for over a year for when I’ll leave this school and go to Cornell. I’d say act like this is a rejection and don’t focus on the TO
Should we expect news this week or the week after?
Has anyone gotten an email that their financial aid to do list was completed?
@aihcxx @theACThatesme I’ve had similar experiences to both of you and would offer the same advice to TO students for the class of 2021- make your happiness your first priority. That way, if the transfer offer doesn’t pan out, you’re still content with where you are.
@throwaway2101 I hope this week but given a response by one of the Cornell officers it sounds like next. For some reason my forms are still not marked but the officer told me that my application and forms are all complete and he said reach out to him before the end of the week if they aren’t in. So with that being said if he is waiting till the end of the week then they are probably still getting their stuff together
@redbluegreen19 Awesome thanks for letting me know! Yikes this is nerve-wracking. Have there been any instances where someone given TO was rejected?
I GOT ACCEPTED I GOT ACCEPTED I GOT ACCEPTED I GOT ACCEPTED OH MY GOD I GOT ACCEPTED
My mom opened a letter from HumEc that got sent to our house- she called me and I literally broke down crying in the common room of my dorm. No exaggeration, this is the happiest I’ve been all year- I’m beyond grateful and excited to officially say that I’m a member of the Cornell University class of 2020!!!
@aihcxx congrats!
wait woah did anyone else hear back?
I am so confused I thought we were getting emails to tell us when our decisions were available.
@cuhopeful16 so did I, which is why it totally caught me off guard- the link they told me to access for my credit eval isn’t working so I’m wondering if I heard way earlier than everyone else and they haven’t even activated it yet.
Maybe the endless emails I sent them worked in my favor??? The letter was dated April 6th though which is wayyyyy sooner than I would have expected to hear from them.
This is actually super weird- I can’t do anything on their website. I can’t even reply to my offer of admission because they haven’t emailed me my PIN yet for the “decision.applyyourself” website. The letter stated that I’ll be receiving a welcome packet soon with more info so maybe we’ll all get emails with decisions before that reaches my house.
Hopefully this is an indication that y’all will be hearing back soon as well!!!
@aihcxx You didn’t get anything in your email? I applied to HumEc too but haven’t heard anything at all!
@aihcxx - Many Congratulations !!!
We all know how important this was for you.
Please update this forum with the other information as you get them (specifically about FA).
I don’t know how Cornell treats the transfer students when it comes to FA.
@aihcxx CONGRATS! I remember you saying that you were waiting for your forms to be checked off on the application. When did you submit those forms? Happy to hear a TO get accepted
@throwaway2101 Nope, I’ve checked multiple times and there’s not even anything in spam. Maybe I’ll get it tomorrow?
I thought the letter would give me a sense of relief that this whole process was finally over but now it still feels like I’m in a weird limbo period because I can’t access anything without that PIN.