Cornell First-Year Looking to Transfer

Transfer Students
1

<p>I'm a first-year economics major at Cornell, and after my first semester here, I can pretty confidently say that I want to transfer. Many reasons for such a decision obviously, but some of the bigger ones are location, the over-dominance of greek life, and the lack of a specified international relations major (in which I planned on majoring before coming to Cornell).
Some of my top choices are:
Brown, Columbia, Yale, Harvard, Stanford
I know this may seem like a ridiculous list, but these are the schools I looked into, visited (with the exception of Stanford), and loved the most. In Brown and Columbia's case, I applied last year and got denied (which already worries me because I heard once denied, you'll most likely be again). The rest I've never applied to before.</p>

<p>I went to a top boarding school in Connecticut, and maintained mostly A-'s with a few A's and B+'s here and there (with the exception of my sophomore year, which was my first year at prep school and I struggled a bit with the sudden increase in rigor). So I received High Honors in every term except my sophomore year.</p>

<p>Here are my statistics in general. Please note that my high school did not calculate or notify an official GPA to students and colleges, so the numbers are very approximate (and unweighted) that I got by punching in my grades in the calculator:
-SAT I: 2330 (CR: 780, M: 750, W: 800; Essay 12)
-SAT II French w/ Listening: 800
-SAT II Math 2c: 790
-SAT II Chemistry: 750
-HS Senior GPA (Unweighted): app. 3.7
-HS Junior GPA (Unweighted): app. 3.6
-HS Soph. GPA (Unweighted): app. 3.3 (The adjustment slump I mentioned above is pretty clear isn't it? At least I consistently improved, which i hope will shed some positive light on my application)
-AP/Honors Courses I took: Micro/MacroEconomics, French Language, English Literature, Calculus AB, Environmental Science, French III Honors, Geometry Honors, Bio II Honors, French V Honors
-AP Exams I took: Microeconomics (4), Macroeconomics (3), French Language (3), Environmental Science (4)</p>

<p>College Grades (First Semester):
-French 209/Intermediate (4 credits): B+
-Macroeconomics 112/Intro (3 credits): A-
-Writing Seminar (3 Credits): A-
-Hip Hop 239: Beats, Rhymes, and Life (3 credits): B+</p>

<p>Extracurriculars/Community Service:
-Resident Advisor/Prefect
-Tour Guide
-President, The Human Orchestra (my school's vocal percussion club)
-Soloist, Jazz Clarinet and Tenor Saxophone
-A Cappella Groups (Vocalist/Tenor & Vocal Percussionist)
-Volunteer Clarinet instructor at an underprivileged girls' elementary/middle school
-Model UN
-Participated in The Asian American Leadership Conference At Yale
-Volunteer Tutor/Caretaker at local public elementary school
-Intern, I translated and interpreted for a global electronics company and a travel agency
-Last but not least, I took the last 3 weeks of my senior year off to pursue a Senior Project (Independent Study) travelling across the country filming a documentary on Hip Hop culture and history. I definitely will send this piece in when, and if, I apply.</p>

<p>So, considering everything above, should I even bother applying to these top schools (Brown, Columbia, Yale, Harvard, Stanford)? I know it's a tough question to answer, but in your opinion do I have a shot, or should I wait out another year and transfer after my sophomore year?
Thank you in advance, and please let me know if you need any clarification/further information!</p>

2

<p>I say you apply to Brown out of your list. I believe your chances at the other colleges are near zero due to the competitiveness of the applicant pool. I mean there is one guy who posted here earlier. He also has a 3.5 and is applying to some of your schools, but he goes to Yale. Everyone else seems to have a 4.0 in advanced coursework relating to their major, and three of your four courses last semester have little to do with economics. Yes I understand you have a liberal arts core to fulfill but colleges want to evaluate you on your skill in your major, so taking liberal arts courses hurts your application. A lot. The most competitive freshmen take their major courses first and then move on to their liberal arts core in their upperclassmen years. With many introductory courses, you look like you wanted to get as high grades as possible to transfer out, which makes you less competitive compared to someone else who took the most challenging classes in their major and got perfect grades. I am exaggerating but so many people are so competitive. Since Brown and Cornell are peers I think you have a shot of trading colleges.</p>

<p>But before you apply you should realize the reasons you are applying are weak. Greek Life is everywhere, including every school you mentioned. Brown is in Providence, Rhode Island and Yale is in New Haven, Connecticut. At least Cornell is in New York state, although Ithaca is equal with regards to being in the middle of nowhere. Again, you are missing courses related to international relations; even though Cornell lacks the major you should be taking classes related to your declared interest. French and Hip Hop fail to backup your intention to study international relations. The writing seminar is mandatory, but then you should have taken 5 courses instead of 4 to compensate.</p>

<p>Closing up I think you have a chance at Brown because Cornell is equal in prestige. But the other schools… well you try and see what happens.</p>

3

<p>Thank you for your prompt response! It was helpful and pretty eye-opening.</p>

<p>But don’t you think Brown will be extra tough because I applied last year and got denied?</p>

<p>As far as my course load having little to do with economics, do you think it makes a difference that I’m planning on double majoring in French (regardless of having access to an IR major, I was pretty certain on pursuing a career in foreign service and/or internationally, so I was planning on mastering my fourth language)? In which case, I took a decently challenging non-introductory course counting toward my major. It’s not that I didn’t want to take another econ. course (my only other option would have been microeconomics), but I had AP credit for that so I skipped out. I am, in fact, taking intermediate microeconomics this coming semester (and another higher level course in French of course).</p>

<p>I do realize that greek life is everywhere, but not every school’s greek life dominates the entire social scene like Cornell’s. Here, students seem either to be in greek life or not party at all. Even the a cappella groups run on a exclusive highbrow system that resembles the greek one. There doesn’t seem to be much of a balance, which is precisely why I chose the schools that I did. Many of my friends attend these schools, and from their experience as well as the impression I got from visiting, it seems as though fraternities/sororities have at least slightly less of a presence and the social scene doesn’t completely revolve around them.
Even statistically, the percentage of the student population in greek life is much lower than that of Cornell’s.
For location, Columbia is obviously located in the city (where I used to live), and Yale is very close to where I used to go to school, and Brown just has a special place in my heart. It’s been my dream school for quite a long time. Plus, at least Rhode Island is a few hours closer to cities like Boston and New York. As much as that may not seem like a big deal, I have to fly in and out every break because I live in Argentina (I’m a domestic applicant/citizen; our family just lives abroad), and it’s such a pain that the closest city (NYC) is a 6 hour bus ride away.</p>

<p>I guess the most important thing for me is the lack of an international relations major (whose rigor/excellence can be affected pretty heavily by location: for a school like Columbia, there can’t possibly a better location to pursue IR than in the center of international trade and so close to the UN building). I’ve thought about this long and hard and I obviously have more than just these few reasons, but I’m not going to list every single reason on this post (I think this post might already be getting too long).</p>

<p>Most importantly, do you think that maybe I should apply my sophomore year then so I’ll have some time to improve my grades and take more rigorous classes related to my major? If you do think I will indeed have a better chance, would there be anything more difficult or confusing about transferring my sophomore year?</p>

<p>Thanks again! Your response was tremendously helpful. I wish I had known about this resource when I applied my freshmen year.</p>

4

<p>So, I actually disagree somewhat with what sometransfer said. I transferred into Yale but got denied at Brown after having applied as a freshman… and Yale is significantly more competitive. Moreover, I did NOT take my major classes first at all. Granted I am pre-med, so I took intro bio, chem, mobio, organic chem, etc., but my first year looked very similar to yours. I took a language and a writing seminar. And courses that had absolutely nothing to do with my major but fulfilled my core requirements (gender studies, international relations, etc. when I was a neuroscience major). This actually has HELPED me because I came in with all but 2 of Yale’s core requirements completed. So, taking a diverse liberal arts curriculum allowed me to take my more challenging major classes at Yale, rather than the reverse–where I would have taken the courses I’m most interested in at the school at disliked, and the courses I’m least interested in at Yale. I can’t say how admissions look at the curriculum, but I don’t think taking a liberal arts variety would hurt in your application to a liberal arts school (like Yale College, Harvard College, Brown, etc.).</p>

<p>Additionally, I think your reasons also sound justified. Ithaca is NOTHING like New Haven, Boston, Providence, or any of the other places you specified. Most notably because these are all urban campuses, with a lot more to do and see. Moreover, I hated greek life at my old school, and that was a big reason I wanted to leave. Yale’s greek life is present only in that it exists. No-one talks about it, no-one cares. Very, very different from my old school, and I’m sure from Cornell. Although the a capella groups are fairly insular, I do have to say that. </p>

<p>Otherwise, though, I will agree that your grades need to come up. Transfer admissions officers look primarily at how you have done in college, what you have gotten involved in to stand out, and how those activities contribute to your overall picture as a scholar. And I can honestly say most of my transfer class had 4.0s or close to it. My advice would be to perhaps wait another year and pull your grades up, then apply as a junior. I know that’s hard to hear, but it’s either that or consider some safety schools, because your chances aren’t great. </p>

<p>The one thing that could really save you is if you have gotten involved in some HUGELY significant leadership experience right off the bat at Cornell. If not, get going–even if you hate it there, throw yourself into your extracurriculars. Make the adcoms see what YOU could bring to THEM, not the other way around. It doesn’t matter anymore what you did in high school–the spotlight is going to be on what you’re doing now. The officers know that most of the applicants are unhappy with their current schools, but they want to see students who are thriving anyway. </p>

<p>Lastly, develop SPECIFIC reasons for why you are applying to each school. It is not enough to list general reasons like a good international relations department. Look up unique aspects of the programs each school offers that NO OTHER school offers–and make these (and why these aspects are crucial to your academic development) the focal point of your essays. </p>

<p>Best of luck, and please remember that applying after freshman year is tough–you only have one semester to make yourself shine. Try and consider applying after sophomore year. I know it sounds bad, but if you can take that extra year to really blossom at Cornell, you stand an even better chance of admission to a top school.</p>

5

<p>Hey, I’m on the same boat here! Cornell freshman, but pre-med, applying to all five schools as a transfer as well!</p>

6

<p>OP- Why don’t you actually research all IR programs at schools that are not Ivies, if that is what you really want to study? Just curious? Seton Hall and Georgetown (just ideas)…or do you have to graduate from an Ivy? I do understand leaving CU… I truly do, but… are you sure it is CU you dislike and not the Ivy culture itself? Something to think about… where will you thrive and be happy?</p>

7

<p>Thanks everyone for your answers! I think I have decided to wait out a year following angelsonthemoon’s advice, because I really do want to attend these schools and I’d probably stand a much better chance. But your response brought up a few more questions that I hope you can help me with.</p>

<p>Would there be anything more difficult or confusing about transferring my sophomore year (i.e. more standardized tests, etc.)? Also, could you give me some examples of “hugely significant leadership experiences?” I know they’ll differ by school, but I’m just not sure what would make one leadership position more significant than the other, so what could be some typical examples?</p>

<p>Oh, I of course understand that I must discuss specific reasons for my choices (I have already been through this process once after all. I’ve always researched stand-out courses, professors, programs, clubs/opportunities, etc.), I just didn’t think I’d ramble on about them on this post. My questions were already getting too long.</p>

<p>Thank you again! And best of luck to you CornellMedic2012!</p>

8

<p>Fairratings,</p>

<p>There was nothing more difficult about transferring sophomore year. I did not retake the SATs, or any other tests. The only more difficult thing is that you have an extra year to make yourself stand out, so be sure to get very involved at your school–and not just in resume-booster type activities. Show that you are passionate about something.</p>

<p>By “hugely significant” I meant more that if you are applying after freshman year, you need to have a leadership role significant to your interests/course of study (i.e. you can’t use the “i’m a freshman so I haven’t done much” excuse). As a sophomore, I was president of a club that was specific to my career intentions, was involved in research, and also participated in volunteer/club activities that tied into my interests. I guess I just mean don’t get involved in things that are random just for the sake of your resume. Make them meaningful. </p>

<p>Best of luck!</p>

9

<p>Good luck fairratings and cornellmedic! I’m on a similar boat. I’m a sophomore looking to transfer to Stanford/MIT/Harvard. There’s much less hope for me but let’s see how things go down.</p>