@kmissymay I was thinking about that too, and I’m really not sure. I think I’m most comfortable with nonchalantly (an attempt to be, at least) saying “I’m going to (first-year school) then Cornell.” If they bother to inquire further then I’ll probably say “Cornell offered me a guaranteed transfer” and leave it at that.
I know it sounds kinda pretentious, but my pride is getting in the way I’m not comfortable enough saying only my first-year school given where all the people around me are going.
@tocollege182 I totally relate to the whole pretentious thing! My group of friends is very accomplished and I go to a pretty competitive high school, so because of my pride I can’t help but emphasize that I am (hopefully) going to end up at an Ivy League.
@tocollege182 Dude totally! I’m trying to be careful about how I tell people; I don’t want to seem like I’m bragging, and I don’t want people to think I’m just making something up bc I’m embarrassed. I really shouldn’t care, but I want people to at least respect what I’m doing.
@kmissymay@littlehorn3@soulsurfer99@tocollege182@forest2021
Good to know that I am not alone in the awkward position of describing to inquiring adults something which even I did not know existed up until last Thursday
People from whom I have not heard in centuries are asking (on FB) what my college choice is. I know that they don’t give a hoot about me or my future but feel this compelling urge to pry.
I am still searching for a simple and concise way to tell this to someone when I am face to face with them.
Everyone expects a 1 word answer and giving a long winded explanation makes them think that I am BSing them.
So here is what I have come up with:
Q) So which college are you going to?
A) Cornell, but next year as a sophomore.
I feel that it is important to give them the college name first which is what their antenna is tuned for, then give a short disclaimer. They might ask a follow up at which time you can tell about the TO and how you will be completing your 1st year at a UC or CC or wherever.
Speaking from experience as a college freshman currently waiting on my TO decision, just… don’t tell people about it. It’s only going to complicate things and it can make people think that you’re not happy with your options for your first-year school and you’re trying to compensate for that by saying you’ll eventually be going to a “more prestigious” college. Tell your closest friends and family if you really want, but honestly my advice would be to tell people that you didn’t get in or that you got a “conditional offer” and leave it at that. Definitely tell no one at your first-year college.
Also, you’re technically NOT admitted to Cornell until you complete every single TO requirement and you receive a formal offer of admission next spring. So don’t say “I’ll be going to Cornell my sophomore year” because you might not be!
@aihcxx - I understand what you are saying and you are technically correct. However, I am talking about people who will probably never ask this question again in my life or their’s.
For my first year I am going to a CC so I have no issues of concealing this TO thing from anyone over there either. Just about everyone at a CC is looking to transfer somewhere so TO is not a taboo in that group.
If, god forbid, Cornell admission does not materialize next year then I will worry about it at that time. Hopefully, I will have another option ready and then that will be my answer if someone asks.
If next year some people think that I bluffed them with Cornell a year ago then let then think what they want. I did not con anyone out of money or anything so my conscience is clear.
@cricketfan You’re right, I think I was approaching the issue from the standpoint of someone at a 4-year college where transferring out is very uncommon and therefore not talked about a lot, since that’s been my own experience. I had a lot of nosy people who wanted to know all of my college details at the end of my senior year (random people, like my mom’s cousin’s friend lol) and I just decided that it wasn’t worth it to go through an explanation- imo, the fewer people that know, the better. Just know that the people who you do tell about the transfer option will keep asking about it as the year goes on- especially as my freshman year comes to a close a lot of them are asking incessant questions about whether I’ve heard from Cornell yet. It gets annoying to field those questions constantly, so just keep that in mind if you decide to tell people who will want to keep in touch.
I also did not tell people because I’m lowkey terrified of still being rejected and I never want to deal with telling them “actually never mind I’m not going to Cornell anymore” because that just sounds like a terrible convo to have.
@cricketfan@aihcxx I hate how this causes us so much stress, lol. Both of you make really good points about telling others, and I definitely don’t think I’ll tell anyone at my first-year college. Still, I don’t think I’ll be able to help but tell my high school classmates about it bc, like I said earlier, I have too much pride.
This was posted on the CALS chatter site by one of the faculty. It’s a bit worrying…
“Do your homework on if you will be able to complete your requirements. While this should not be the driving force of your decision, it is something to pay attention too if you are interested in pursuing the TO. In years past, students have faced challenges when attending University of California Schools (i.e. UC Davis, UCLA, etc) and NYS schools like Stony Brook and Binghamton. This does not mean that it is impossible to transfer from these schools, many students do, but due to their curriculum and/or AP policies, you may need to plan on taking summer coursework either this coming summer (2017) or next summer (2018). I encourage you all to start the conversation with your first-year institution now:
What will your freshman year will look like?
Can you take both Biology and Chemistry together?
When is the add/drop period?
Can you take a course even if you tested out of it with AP or dual enrollment credit?
Things will go wrong and its OK. Just like everything in life, it never goes as expected. Maybe you won’t be able to get into a certain biology class, maybe you really struggle in math for the first time. Whatever it is, please know that we are here to work with you however, it is your responsibility to communicate any issues early so we can work together.”
@forest2021 That makes me really anxious…thank you for letting me know. What were you thinking? I mean, if so many are attending UC’s, I’m sure we’ll have Cornell’s support? I can’t help but be worried about the TO falling through, and it’ll honestly ruin everything for me if that happens. I’m going to try looking into summer coursework and dual enrollment during the year I haven’t made any progress on finding how to meet the lab requirements for HumEc.
I am so with you on the pride thing! I won’t tell anyone at Texas Tech (the school im attending) that I’m gonna transfer but I feel so bad saying that I’m going to Tech when all my classmates are going to Ivy League Schools… Plus! The school publishes in the newspaper where all the seniors are going. Yikes! I think I’m gonna chat with my counselor and get his opinion.
@tocollege182 Yeah it made me feel pretty worried, but with the amount of people going to UCs I don’t think they’ll just leave us hanging. I’m guessing we’ll just be having to put in extra work to really fulfill the requirements. I’m going to ask the questions they suggested at Davis Day this weekend and see if I’ll have to enroll in some classes over the summer.
@forest2021 That’s what I’m hoping too! I’m more than willing to put in the extra work to meet the requirements, I’m just frustrated with how complicated it all is.
Just curious - How many of you have visited Cornell?
I have not done it yet but was planning on doing it sometime this summer. Will look for some advice from those who have done it already.
I don’t know if any of you might have some insight on this, but is it true that quarter credits equate to semester credits by a factor of 1.5? As in 36 quarter credits (at a UC, for example) equate to 24 semester credits (at Cornell)? Or am I completely off lol
Received GT from ILR yesterday and planning to accept. Am from NY and still up in the air where to go for freshman year. Got into some other very decent schools and worried I won’t want to leave after spending a year there. However, too good an opportunity to pass up. Would really like to chat w other ILR people who made the transition successfully.
@tocollege182 here’s another thing from the faculty running the CALS chatter, hopefully it helps:
“Students at quarter system schools do face some unique challenges. Courses must be equivalent to 3 semester credits (one semester) to transfer to Cornell. for quarter systems students you need to make sure to take a course that is at least 4 credits. (4 quarter credits x .67 = 2.68 and we round up to 3). For students in the life science majors (not Communication) Biology and math can be especially tricky because we need to ensure you are covering the same amount of content as would be covered in a one semester course.”
I’m not comfortable enough saying only my first-year school given where all the people around me are going.