@ruby21 if you were a GT, why did you have an essay with your application?
@bambujr8 You give me so much hope! As I’ve seen in previous threads, the majority of STEM majors don’t have a perfect 4.0. Thank you for giving me hope!
@ruby21 How was the application process so far for Human Ecology? I hear they accept more transfers than usual, aside from A&S… Thank you for your time/reply and great luck btw! 
Decision: Rejected
Were you a “Guaranteed Transfer” (Transfer Option) student?: No
College applied to (ex. CALS, CAS): Dyson
Major: Applied Economics & Management
School attended before transferring: Miami Dade College
College GPA (out of 4.0): 4.00
Courses taken in college: Too many to list, I had 86 credits (although not all of them would’ve counted for Cornell)
Any grades below a B?: No
High school senior year grades (give GPA or just good/bad): 4.00 unweighted / 4.87 weighted
If you’re a GT/TO, did you meet all of the requirements? (ex. full time student, GPA, and course requirements): N/A
Extracurriculars:
Essays, if any (rate them 1-10, details): I thought my essays were great and really insightful, it showed that I heavily researched Cornell and described my ties to them. Probably an 8.5-9 / 10
Hooks (URM, first gen): First gen
Any other comments about your application: I thought I had a solid application.
Why you think you were accepted/rejected: I honestly don’t know. I really thought I had a chance. It was probably the extracurriculars. I had a bunch of extracurriculars in high school (with high positions ex. Manager (of 3), President (of 2), Treasurer (of 1), Secretary (of 1)), but in college I worked full time and studied full time, so I didn’t have time for any clubs.
General Comments: Extremely bummed. I dreamt of this for so long and have been picturing myself there since the day I submitted my app.
Decision: Accepted
Were you a “Guaranteed Transfer” (Transfer Option) student?: No
College applied to (ex. CALS, CAS): CALS
Major: Agricultural Science
School attended before transferring: Small liberal arts school in NYS (I do not live in NYS)
College GPA (out of 4.0): My first semester was a 3.68, my midterm report for this semester was a 3.85.
Courses taken in college:
Semester 1: Microeconomics, German, First year seminar, and Intro to Geoscience.
Semester 2: two biology courses with lab, Calculus I, and a writing class.
Any grades below a B?: No
High school senior year grades (give GPA or just good/bad): 8.8/11 (competitive boarding school)
Extracurriculars:
Essays, if any (rate them 1-10, details): Since Cornell was the only school I applied to, I tailored both the Common App essay and the Cornell-specific essay to why I wanted to go to Cornell. My current school doesn’t have any agriculture classes and their biology department is very good for biomedical but not so extensive in animal & plant sciences. I also talked a lot about my concern for the growing population, climate change, and biodiversity loss.
Hooks (URM, first gen): None
Any other comments about your application:
I also did an internship at my school’s dining hall this semester working to make it more sustainable. I wrote about what I was doing in the internship in the additional information section in the Common App. A
All four of my professors wrote nice comments on my midterm report, such as “excellent performance,” “pleasure to have in class,” ect. I think that helped because they really didn’t have to do that but they did it anyway.
When I visited Cornell back in February, I sat in on two classes and had nice conversations with the professors.
Why you think you were accepted/rejected: Cornell is a really good fit for me, with their lab of orno (I’m a huge birder!) as well as their focus on sustainable agriculture. It was clear that there was no other school like Cornell that would give me what I want.
Oops I forgot to post my extracurriculars! The most relevant ones were probably beekeeping and sustainability committee.
Decision: Accepted
Were you a “Guaranteed Transfer” (Transfer Option) student?: No
College applied to (ex. CALS, CAS): HumEc
Major: PAM
School attended before transferring: Top 5 Public Schools
College GPA (out of 4.0): Hovered around 3.7 throughout the year
Courses taken in college:
Quarter 1: Eng Comp 3, Intro to World Politics, Calc 2
Quarter 2: Intermediate Micro Economics, Intro to Comparative Politics, Critical Reading and Writing
Quarter 3: Calc 3, Management (Financial Accounting), Intro to Psych
Any grades below a B?: Yes
High school senior year grades (give GPA or just good/bad): UK system, Really good grades in iGCSEs and A-Levels
Extracurriculars:
-Independent Online Blog
-HS Editor for Yearbook and Newspaper
-Internship/Shadowing at a Social Policy Development Centre
-Volunteer work at Women’s Shelter in Pakistan, Moneythink, Project Literacy etc
Essays, if any (rate them 1-10, details): Cornell was the only school I applied to and the reason was PAM! Its such a unique curriculum and genuinely matches my interests/academic profile and I was able to get my interest across. Generally a strong writer so I think my essays helped me compensate for my low GPA also.
Hooks (URM, first gen): None
Any other comments about your application:
-Recommendation from a TA (I was nervous about this since she was a TA not a Professor but I think they understood because classes are huge at my school. However, she really made the effort to get to know me so that might’ve helped)
Why you think you were accepted/rejected: I think I made it explicit how genuine my interest was!
@transfer9692,
Sorry for the bad news. However, you chose the most difficult school to get in. The chance to get into Dyson is extremely slim for anyone.
@rphcfb Thanks for the support! I didn’t think it would be so difficult honestly, since Cornell is one of the ivies with the higher acceptance rate. My mistake was not looking into the acceptance rate for Dyson.
Decision: Accepted
Were you a “Guaranteed Transfer” (Transfer Option) student?: No
College applied to (ex. CALS, CAS): CoE
Major: Mechanical Engineeirng
School attended before transferring: Community College (2 years), Syracuse University (2 years)
College GPA (out of 4.0): 3.78
Courses taken in college:
While at community college I mostly took general education courses to establish a solid GPA while working full time as a laborer.
At SU I followed a typical Mech. E. curriculum and had just about completed my sophomore year. (Took a semester off for a co-op)
Any grades below a B?: One B in a intro writing course
High school senior year grades (give GPA or just good/bad): 2.0 GPA throughout high school (tough family situation, but I didn’t explain it away in any of my essays considering I’ve been out of HS for 4 years now)
Extracurriculars:
- I have a job during the school year as a design engineer for the physics department where I design and prototype
manufacturing fixtures to assemble several thousand sensors modules for the CERN LHCb project. The work I do for the department is pretty extensive and I am given a lot of freedom, and I included some of my designs in a portfolio I sent in to the eng admissions office. - Lead manufacturing engineer for the Formula SAE team at SU. I also included some photos of things I’ve designed and machined for the team in my portfolio.
- Co-op in Ithaca NY at a large automotive company where I worked in on a team doing design experimental R&D.
- Worked as project adviser for the engineering capstone project teams and faculty research groups in the machine shop at SU.
- Machinist for both physics and engineering research departments.
I also do a lot of personal design projects that I included in my portfolio. I’m currently designing a bench top metal lathe which I plan to machine out of bar stock from scratch after validating my designs through hand calculations and FEA/Modal analysis.
Essays, if any (rate them 1-10, details): 8-9/10 - I worked for over a month perfecting my essays. I had feedback from a journalism/writing major, a writing professor, and a close family friend who graduated with some kind of writing degree.
Hooks (URM, first gen): I don’t know if income bracket has any effect on your acceptance but I would consider my family low income.
Why you think you were accepted/rejected: Honestly I think everything other than my GPA. Participating in unique EC’s at SU and getting incredible LOR’s from professors and industry engineers who I work with closely.
I guess this is the first post for a CAS applicant
Major: Sociology
School attended before transferring: University of Virginia
College GPA (out of 4.0): 3.85
SAT: 1570 (converted from old) Essay: (old) 12
Courses taken in college: All major level courses/ graduate level seminars (e.g. 3xx, 5xx courses)
Any grades below a B?: No
High school senior year grades (give GPA or just good/bad): 3.9 UW
Extracurriculars:
Independent research at my school, presented at a few conferences
School newspaper
HS Mock Trial captain
HS newspaper editor
President of HS orchestra
Young Dems
Recommendations: Probably good, one of them is a renowned prof in his field. I visited their office frequently.
Essays, if any (rate them 1-10, details): 9~10
Hooks (URM, first gen): none.
Why you think you were accepted/rejected: No idea.
General Comments :
(from my UChicago post, also applies to this case since Cornell was my second choice after UC and got rejected RD.)
For those of you who are stressed about the college process or are let down by released decisions, keep your head up. I know it sounds cliché, but I learned this after getting rejected from 15 different colleges (and no waitlists) last year and was lucky enough to study for one year at my current school. UChicago has been my top choice. I applied early to UChicago in December 2016, was deferred then rejected. So I came here and worked hard, built great relationships with profs, joined interesting clubs, and got the GPA I wanted. Although I still wanted to transfer out due to several solid reasons, by the end of May I really liked my school and the quality of education there. I honestly thought this was impossible but trust me, your work will eventually pay off–not just in college admissions process but also in graduate school apps and so on. GL to you all.
Hi Everyone, I am new to this thread. My D was just offered the TO on Friday for Human Ecology. She has to register for classes today or tomorrow at the latest for the University of Pittsburgh. As of right now, there is no information on the TO sites they’ve given her access to that address AP exams in AP Biology and AP Psychology. She already has a 5 for Bio, and she could very well have a 5 on the Psych exam, but she won’t know until July. Her orientation at Pitt is coming up, so her online class registration needs to be done now.
As you know, an Intro. Bio with lab and and Intro. to Psych class are both on the required courses for her to take her freshman year at Pitt for a successful transfer. Does anyone have any information on this type of a situation who has had to deal with this already? I am going to have her call admissions after school today, but I thought I’d put this question out there.
Best of luck to all of you! Thanks.
Were you a “Guaranteed Transfer” (Transfer Option) student?: No
College applied to (ex. CALS, CAS): CALS
Major: Environmental and Sustainability Sciences
School attended before transferring: Broward College
College GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8
Courses taken in college: Chem 1 & 2, Bio 1, Calc 1, Micro & Macro, Stats
Any grades below a B?: No
High school senior year grades (give GPA or just good/bad): 4.77 weighted
If you’re a GT/TO, did you meet all of the requirements? (ex. full time student, GPA, and course requirements): Yes
Extracurriculars: Event Coordinator of Ronald McDonald, Event Coordinator of Humane Society Club, did volunteer hours at local sea turtle rehabilitation center, was apart of National Science Honor Society.
Essays, if any (rate them 1-10, details): 10, I wrote mine about my passion of environmental science and how I want to become an environmental lawyer. I mentioned a school trip to Italy with my environmental science teacher and an internship I received right out of high school. I talked about how I developed an interest in environmental science after taking AP Enviro Science in high school.
Hooks (URM, first gen): N/A, both of my parents went to college and I’m caucasian.
Any other comments about your application: I did a lot of dual enrollment courses, as I graduated high school in June 2017 and by December 2017 I had my A.A.
Why you think you were accepted/rejected: I have no idea. I have a high GPA and did an internship right out of high school relating to environmental science. I received good recommendation letters and have only gotten 3 B’s in college. I applied to Cornell because I read it was the Ivy that accepted the most transfer students. I worked at Starbucks on average 25 hours a week from my junior year of high school to my freshman year of college. I’m really not sure what I could’ve done more for them to accept me as all of my time was occupied with either my job, extracurriculars or coursework, and especially for me to go for a major that isn’t that competitive or common.
General Comments : N/A
[B][size=4][color=#008000]Decision: Accepted[/color][/size][/b]
Were you a “Guaranteed Transfer” (Transfer Option) student?: Not sure… What is that?
College applied to (ex. CALS, CAS): Engineering
Major: Biological Engineering
School attended before transferring: Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. A very young university that is doing increasingly better on most of the world rankings.
College GPA (out of 4.0): By the time of application: 3.7 (4.63/5.0)
Courses taken in college:
Sem 1
Molecular Cell Biology, Math, Physics, Chemistry, Economics Intro, Lab
Sem 2
Anatomy & Physiology, Math, Materials Science, Engineering Communication, Bioprinting (Elective), Creative Writing (Elective), Russian (Elective)
[I really pushed to the course load limit for Sem 2 because I wanted to present a challenging course choice to colleges, although my grades did suffer a little.]
Any grades below a B?: No.
High school senior year grades (give GPA or just good/bad):
~3.7? It was a Chinese High School Curriculum. I don’t know tho if the AOs knew it was a very challenging curriculum.
If you’re a GT/TO, did you meet all of the requirements? (ex. full time student, GPA, and course requirements):
Again what is this…?
Extracurriculars:
(Nothing spectacular)
Residential Hall Council. Tutoring. CPR AED First-Aid Certificate from AHA.
Essays, if any (rate them 1-10, details):
7-8?
I would’ve given it 9-10 had I not been rejected by Brown, Columbia, Duke, Rice, Stanford, and Yale. LOL
It was deeply emotional and personal (I had tears when I was writing it lol) that up until now only 3 people other than myself have read it, one of them being a professor who wanted to get to know me before writing me a recommendation.
Hooks (URM, first gen): First gen.
Any other comments about your application:
I treated all my applications as an art piece, almost like a poetry to pour myself onto the paper, although Cornell’s questions were a bit normal and did not allow for too much creativity.
Why you think you were accepted/rejected:
Still it is a mystery to me how I got into Cornell. I did get a 36 on ACT and four 800s on SAT Math 2, Physics, Chem and Bio. But I also did get rejected by 6 other schools I applied to. So I don’t know.
General Comments :
Just don’t take admission results too seriously, especially we transfers who should already know that a college experience is what we make of it. There are gonna be opportunities wherever you go and if you are a star you will shine anywhere. For my case, I actually struggled for two weeks whether I should give up what I would have at my current school (research opportunities, high reputation within Asia) and leave the environment that I have been familiar and comfortable with. In the end, I decided to go, because firstly my professor said I should always have the courage to face a new environment, and secondly, a sad truth is that as an international student (I’m originally from China), you just gotta have a degree from a world-known school to make things a bit easier in the future.
HI there. I was searching CC for posts about TO to Cornell and came across yours. My daughter is considering the transfer option. She is also studying in Pittsburgh. Is your daughter still going to go through with the application process? We were so frustrated with Cornell by the end of last spring that we did not read her letter very carefully and did not realize she had this option for Fall 2019. Now she is considering it and she needs to reach out to the transfer coordinator to see if the classes she is currently taking are even in line with what she will need at Cornell. What have you found out about the process?
@winky1 HI there. I was searching CC for posts about TO to Cornell and came across yours. My daughter is considering the transfer option. She is also studying in Pittsburgh. Is your daughter still going to go through with the application process? We were so frustrated with Cornell by the end of last spring that we did not read her letter very carefully and did not realize she had this option for Fall 2019. Now she is considering it and she needs to reach out to the transfer coordinator to see if the classes she is currently taking are even in line with what she will need at Cornell. What have you found out about the process?
Hi @victoriaaaaaa , I will pm you with what I know. Best of luck