<p>I don't think oldfort was addressing your concerns or your situation. He was writing to the OP and had good intentions in doing so. Whether you agree or not, it's just an opinion - which is what the OP sought.</p>
<p>Perhaps you should start a separate thread addressing your specific concerns.</p>
<p>Fwiw, I was in the same situation with GT. I was really questioning whether or not to leave for the same reasons: highly respected regional liberal arts college, solid group of friends, and at that point in my life I was rebelling against the "prep school" culture obsessed with ranking and prestige so I was sort of eager to prove none of that mattered to me...</p>
<p>Then it struck me. I was content at my previous school, but not really happy. </p>
<p>For me, transferring really opened my world up. I felt like I moved from a student body that kind of stumbled out of high school and never really left it behind to one that actively chose to be in college. It's hard to explain, but Cornell's student body was just a lot more "mature". Cornell provided a world of diverse educational directions for me to explore and exposed me to a plethora of different worldviews and backgrounds.</p>
<p>Everyone's different, but looking back I am eternally grateful that I followed through on the transfer. You have to decide for yourself, though. </p>
<p>From what you wrote, you sound a lot like I did at that point. Your reasons don't seem to be sound enough to justify not transferring (as opposed to Loupre who may well be better suited staying put).</p>
<p>Loupre- I really don't think there was anything wrong with what OldFort said.
He/she was answering the OP's question with a very valid answer. You may not agree with it, but I didn't the feel her answer to be "pretensious"</p>
<p>Monydad- I found what you said to be really interesting. It's hard to believe a 3.9+ student would only barely pass at ILR (especially frightening to me since I am in a similar situation). But from what I understand, college GPA doesn't change too drastically from school to school. Can anyone elaborate on this?</p>
<p>grant- as an oswego alum, and mom of an ILR alum, I'm rooting for you and only want you to have a successful time at Cornell. If you have good study and time management skills, you should do fine. Just be aware that you will have to put in alot of effort to get those B+/A- grades. But if you are willing to work hard, you'll be ok.</p>
<p>is there really gonna be another foot of snow in Oswego today? Al Roker (oswego alum) mentioned it this AM on Today.</p>
<p>and as a personal note to OP and other ILR GT's. I think the cornell degree really opened doors and helped my kid get her first job. She wanted to work for a union for a few years before starting law school. She had no trouble landing a job. I know ILR is a very specialized field, but for those interested in working for unions or Human Resources in a corporate setting (well maybe not this year), an ILR degree is very valuable.</p>
<p>Some time back, Gomestar (where IS he??), who had been himself a transfer student into ILR, posted some info he'd obtained/ heard on typical GPA drops experienced by transfers to ILR. Maybe you can find it via search.</p>
<p>I don't find it hard to believe. Well first of all, since I observed this guy. But also: after freshman year, having done poorly, by my standards, in some intro science classes at Cornell, I took second semester chemistry at a local college of decent reputation. The class discussion was practically a one-on-one conversation between me & the professor. I came away feeling that I would have a 4.0 if I attended that college. I was not getting anything resembling a 4.0 at Cornell. The same experience has been repeated at other colleges and grad programs I attended subsequently. The degree of difference in the various peer groups has at times been stark.</p>
<p>Perhaps it is not typical to be barely passing. But the GPA drop reported by Gomestar was significant. My personal direct knowledge is limited to that guy.</p>
<p>
[quote]
It's hard to believe a 3.9+ student would only barely pass at ILR (especially frightening to me since I am in a similar situation). But from what I understand, college GPA doesn't change too drastically from school to school. Can anyone elaborate on this?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Depends what you are doing to currently get a 3.9. If you don't have to do much reading/studying, you will be in for a rude awakening. If you have to put in a decent amount of effort to comprehend the material for a paper or a test, and feel that you can adequately scale that effort to the task at hand, you will do just fine.</p>
<p>But generally speaking, you will be expected to digest and comprehend more at Cornell than at Oswego. That's not to say that quality of education you receive at Oswego is inferior -- just less demanding.</p>
<p>I can't comment on any other schools because I haven't attended any other colleges but I personally don't think Cornell is this evil or unfair place in terms of grading. I did premed here and I thought that a reasonably intelligent and hardworking person should be able to get a 3.5 fairly easily.</p>
<p>"I thought that a reasonably intelligent and hardworking person should be able to get a 3.5 fairly easily."</p>
<p>Things may be quite a bit different now than when I attended; in my day Dean's List for Arts & Sciences was a 3.5, and obviously not every "reasonably intelligent and hardworking person" made Dean's List. Moreover, grading in each college was different; for example Dean's List in Engineering was a 3.25. Don't know about ILR. But not that many people outside ILR took courses there. Which goes the degree to which experiences at other colleges are transferable.</p>
<p>Gomestar's post, based on recent experience specific to ILR , would be the best info regarding the point at hand.</p>
<p>
[quote]
But from what I understand, college GPA doesn't change too drastically from school to school. Can anyone elaborate on this?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I had a 3.9 at my first college....definitely didn't finish anywhere near that at Cornell :) However, I did finish with a respectable GPA and considering that I had to balance my school work, part-time job and ECs, I am not upset with myself and wouldn't have done anything different.</p>
<p>Most of my transfer friends maintained their old GPA or did better...but, none of them had a job and one was not involved in any sort of EC activity. However, I am not insinuating that in order to do well you have to give up any prospects of campus involvement. It all comes down to time management, creating effective study skills and knowing when to seek out help if you need it.</p>
<p>
[quote]
cornell really sucks with all these cutbacks lately...
[/quote]
</p>
<p>sorry for being too general. cutbacks i was talking about were appel closing for dinner on friday and saturday. rerouting of the tcat buses. SA funding down. </p>
<p>on the other hand Cornell finAID is up, especially for URMs. but i think the OP said she wasnt concered too much about finaid.</p>
<p>All in all, Cornell must b a fantastic experience to have such dedicated alums.</p>
<p>But no one on this anonymous board can really tell you whether its worth $30-45K more (over three years). That's a whole lot of money and, its value depends on your personal family financial situation.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>
[quote]
was talking about were appel closing for dinner on friday and saturday..
<p>I've only been in ILR for this semester, but it has not been all that difficult of a transition. I am from the southeast (florida), and the weather has been the most depressing thing for me. I had never lived on my own before and that part has not been a big deal. </p>
<p>I came in with a very small ILR spring transfer group and have become friends with most of them, and have also become friends with people that transferred last semester and as freshman. These include people in and out of ILR. I am not an overtly social person, but fitting and making friends has been really easy.</p>
<p>It is hard to say based on having only been through 5 weeks of class, but I expect to pull a very good gpa this semester based on how I have done on papers and prelims to this point. The workload has definitely been higher than I am used to, but I am also accustomed to working 25-30 hours a week while going to school, so even with more schoolwork to do, I still have a ton of free time (way more than I had back home since I am not working anymore). I've been in Ithaca for only 6 weeks, but I am very happy with my decision to transfer here at this point, and honestly, I thought it would take much longer than this.</p>
<p>Hermanns, thanks for that post. That really alleviates a lot of my worries, both socially, and academically. I'll be going into CALS, not ILR, but I assume/hope most transfers have similar experiences.</p>
<p>As a former transfer and alum I'm very happy to hear that hermanns is transitioning well. One of the reasons I was attracted to Cornell was the strong transfer community...due in great part to the Transfer Center (a transfer-only dormitory that was torn down in 2007). A group of us fought for the creation of another center because we were worried about the effect the loss of the Transfer Center would have on the formation of a transfer community.</p>
<p>Anyway...good luck with the rest of the semester hermanns!</p>
<p>ok, since none of you did it, I went and found that old post of gomestar I mentioned. It was posted 9/17/06, the last time I brought up that story about my suitemate, in a similar context.</p>
<p>This is what gomestar posted:</p>
<p>"on a more serious note, during a presentation last fall for ILR's transfer orientation, we were warned by somebody high up in the totem pole (i'll leave out names) to study hard because the typical GPA drop for ILR transfers compared to their previous GPA is 1 full point. If you loved your 3.8, be ready for a solid 2.8. Ta-ta!</p>
<p>That didn't happen to me though. I pulled a 3.85 taking 32 credits per semester and working 24 hours a week at another top-50 school ... my GPA dropped only to a 3.62 while not employed and taking a solid 13 credits my first semester in ILR. "</p>
<p>
[quote]
Things may be quite a bit different now than when I attended; in my day Dean's List for Arts & Sciences was a 3.5, and obviously not every "reasonably intelligent and hardworking person" made Dean's List. Moreover, grading in each college was different; for example Dean's List in Engineering was a 3.25. Don't know about ILR. But not that many people outside ILR took courses there. Which goes the degree to which experiences at other colleges are transferable.</p>
<p>Gomestar's post, based on recent experience specific to ILR , would be the best info regarding the point at hand.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I'm not sure how old you are but the GPA situation should be much different from when you attended. Cornell was already experiencing grade inflation but with the publication of median grade reports, the average GPA has skyrocketed. Dean's List is no longer 3.5 in CAS. I had over a 3.5 in my worst semester at Cornell and that was the only semester I didn't make the Dean's List.</p>
<p>Keep in mind, I did premed so while I can't speak for all of the Cornell colleges, I likely faced tougher curves than most other students.</p>
<p>"I'm not sure how old you are "
Let's just say my advisor was Andrew Dickson White.
So what are Dean's List cutoffs at CAS these days? And ILR, since that's come up here.</p>
<p>I'm not sure. I think it's posted online somewhere. I also believe that it's scaled based on the number of credits you take (the more credits, the more lenient on the GPA).</p>
<p>Arts Requirements for Dean's List:
* 12 Credits --- 3.85 or higher
* 13 or 14 credits --- 3.75 or higher
* 15 or 16 credits --- 3.65 or higher
* 17 or more credits --- 3.55 or higher</p>
<p>I think it's totally natural to be getting cold feet at this point. Restarting college is obviously going to be a huge transition, especially when you feel like you have finally just settled in.</p>
<p>On the other hand, it's hard for me to relate. I've been busting my ass all year so that I can transfer, because I am really unhappy here. Because of the heavy course load Cornell required (Bio here is <em>impossible</em>), I really didn't get to have much fun this year. Which is fine-- I just always had to tell myself that there was a point to all this hard work, and in the end, it would be worth it.</p>
<p>It seems like you have put in a lot of effort trying to get the reqs completed as well....to be honest, it would seem like a waste to me. I know it's hard to give up what you've become used to, but I think you will be okay. If you make an effort, you can adjust anywhere. Plus, we will all be here to help you out :)</p>