<p>hey all. I was offered the GT to CALS for next year. I've gotten into Northwestern, Michigan, UNC, Texas, binghamton honors in the B school, wisconsin honors, maryland honors and scholars, delaware honors and Emory. I was offered scholarships to delaware and maryland. In order to go to Michigan, Northwestern or Emory I am going to have to pay for some of it myself. Do you think I should go to a lesser school planning on transferring, or go to the best school I've gotten into and plan on staying, unless I truly hate it there? Also, in order to transfer into cornell I need to take bio. Do you recommend I take bio this summer at a local community college to get it out of the way? If theres anyone that has transferred into cornell, was it hard to do? Although my education is very important to me, having an incredible experience is just as important, and if transferring will lead to a worse time then I don't know if it is worth it.</p>
<p>GT is awesome… id do it in a heartbeat… save two years of college money and go to cornell by junior year. doooo it</p>
<p>Since you’re getting a GT, I think it’d be best to go to a cheaper and easier place for the first year, so you save money, keep whatever GPA they want you to easier, and still get your requirements knocked out.</p>
<p>I was a GT. For what it’s worth, I went to a good school but not the best I could have before Cornell because it gave me a good financial package so I went with it.</p>
<p>In retrospect, I wish I would have gone to the best school I could have just for the enhanced experience. Then again, I was not committed to transferring, so if I was really happy somewhere else I may have never transferred.</p>
<p>A lot of people I know go the cheapest route possible and they don’t seem to regret it too much. It’s just kind of a lost year or two of college. Depends on whether you’re willing to accept that.</p>
<p>I took Bio at my first school and it kind of kicked my ass, but then again I had no interest in it and it catered to all the worst styles of learning for me personally. If you struggle with regurgitation of thousands of microscopic details, then might make sense to CC it.</p>
<p>I loved my time at Cornell after transferring. If you come in Sophomore year, adjusting won’t be that big of a deal. If you come in junior year, you’ll find that you’re kind of an outsider to the main campus culture because you’ve had a different experience and weren’t there when groups and friends were being formed. That, however, was back when all the transfers were living together, so we formed our own clique. I also made many friends outside the transfer community, it just took a little longer.</p>
<p>Good experience though. Don’t worry about it.</p>
<p>Btw - it’s spelled “guaranteed”.</p>
<p>I am a current GT for Fall 2009. I chose to come to a school significantly cheaper than Cornell with way less prestige. GT is a great opportunity but by no means it is easy. Not only do you have to take the classes Cornell tell you to…you can’t get anything below a B. I also found it hard socially just because knowing you’re transferring is kinda tough. Also, you may end up loving whatever school you go to for your first year (you have some great options) and stay. Cornell is a great school. Its a great opportunity. It is just a hard decision.</p>
<p>I went to my #2 choice for my first year. It wasn’t to Cornell’s level in terms of academics, but it’s a top-100 school. I paid quite a bit, $35,000 (after scholarships), per semester, but I got a great freshman-year experience that is really not possible at a local CC. That said, I got attached, and is making leaving much more difficult. Looking back, I should have probably gone to a state school (Rutgers, in my case) instead of attending a private school with the knowledge that I’d probably leave in a year.</p>
<p>I don’t think it would make sense to go to Northwestern or Emory. Both of those schools are arguably on Cornell’s level when it comes to academics, and the transfer process, in my opinion, wouldn’t be worth it. It takes a lot to leave a school you love, along with the friends you’ve made, to start all over again in a new place.</p>
<p>I’m a 2009 GT as well, and pretty much 2nd what applejack and norcalgirly said.</p>
<p>I stayed in state and only paid $2000 for tuition–to go to a school that I knew I would hate. In that respect, it kind of sucked because, essentially, I did “lose” a year of college. Even so, I think it’s worth it. The fact that I knew I was transferring made it easier to really immerse myself in the courses I had to do well in, so I’m really not attached here at all.</p>
<p>Unless you are interested in science…Bio WILL kick your ass. Definitely the hardest part of the GT requirements, in my opinion. I’m at a medical research university, so I was basically up against hundreds of pre-meds! If you plan on going to Cornell, (and obviously this is just my opinion) I certainly wouldn’t go to NW or Michigan…go to where you can get the most money.</p>
<p>I think that anyone who has gotten a GT will be upfront with you and tell you it is by no means easy… but I absolutely would not change my situation at all, and I think it was well worth all the work. I can’t wait to move to Ithaca in the fall :)</p>
<p>Some people even take the community college route to save them tons of money.</p>
<p>CC route is the easiest. If you are sure you want to transfer to cornell there is no reason to accumulate any debt whatsoever before hand. Plus CC will be less stressful.</p>
<p>yeah but the only problem to that route is that you won’t get that college feel or experience as a freshman.</p>
<p>And some Cornell colleges require that you attend a four year school</p>