<p>Question... How competitive is Cornell? I was just browsing their site and they said the competitive applicant for transfer admission has a 3.0...3.0 seems rather low if you ask me. Cornell's an Ivy and they are saying that an applicant is competitive with a 3.0 (3.5 if a biological science) and that they don't require SATs or ACTs? What's up with this? Does that mean if I have a 3.4 I have a good shot? Thanks for any information on this in advance...</p>
<p>well certainly it depends on the college/school within cornell, what were you thinking of applying for? cals?</p>
<p>I’m applying for Cornell too as a communication major which falls in to CALS. And I was wondering the same thing.</p>
<p>I have 3.7 in Honor Program from VSU (Local GA school). Is my GPA okay?</p>
<p>just my intuition, but if you don’t have a 3.5, you probably don’t have much of a shot.</p>
<p>What they’re basically saying is, if you don’t have at least a 3.0, save your $70. I guess to turn away the dumb-dumbs so they don’t have to bother with apps that aren’t worth looking at (no offense! but it’s cornell). </p>
<p>I would say 3.6+ is competitive for cornell, the higher the better. There was a thread a while ago where accepted/rejected students posted their stats, I noticed most accepted ones were 3.8-4.0, although one 4.0 was rejected. also, it depends on what school - the contract schools (ILR, CALS, Human Ecology) seem to take a more holistic approach and are fit-based. I’m applying to CAS and it’s more numbers based.</p>
<p>Cornell is NOT - NOT NOT NOT - lowering its standards.</p>
<p>I’m applying to Cornell ILR alongside with Columbia and Penn, and either of the three Ivies is a crapshoot.</p>
<p>I’d like to think that Cornell is a little less ‘elitist’ and takes a slightly more personal and holistic approach to your application - the whole school seems like a far more amiable place to me than either Penn or Columbia (and Penn is my dream school). Rather than looking at a 3.0, ask yourself, why did you end up with such a GPA? You must have either gotten consecutive B’s and B-'s, or you got a bunch of A’s/Bs and a few Cs. Cornell will want to know why you did badly in these subjects. If you are applying as a music major and have stellar Music/English/History grades and subpar math grades - that’s one story. Not to say it’ll save you, but at least they will understand that your strengths lie in the liberal arts and not the required math. It won’t get you in, but they might cut you some slack. On the other hand, if you have B-'s and B’s throughout, you might want to ask yourself why you’re not trying harder. You’re trying to transfer into an Ivy - you should be working harder than everybody else to achieve something so exceptional.</p>
<p>That’s the longer answer. In short, a 3.0 is fairly low. Unless you have an specific circumstances preventing you from doing better (severe family issues, illness, disability,) you had better find a way to explain such grades and balance them out with ECs and a brilliant essay.</p>
<p>A 3.0 won’t get your folder thrown into the trash right off, but you had better make the rest of what’s in there shine.</p>
<p>EDIT - Just noticed that you have a 3.4. That’s a heck of a lot better, but still not great. The unofficial cutoff for Ivies is 3.5-3.7, although it’s not set in stone. Everything I said still applies - work very hard on the rest of your application.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>