Is Cornell the right choice for me?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
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<p>Hey all, so I too have been interested lately in the transfer admissions (it's hard, I know :P), so help me out here for a bit =). I will be visiting Cornell soon, but the things I'm doing for accounts for the title of this topic I guess ;p</p>

<p>I've been accepted to a few colleges, SUNY Buffalo being among them. I really want to transfer into CALS (College of Agriculture and Life Sciences), but I need to know something:</p>

<p>-Should I go to one of the colleges they have transfer agreements with (CC's/Two year colleges mainly), and then basically get a guaranteed transfer after I have met the GPA/reqs?</p>

<p>-OR, should I go to SUNY Buffalo, get a GPA a bit higher than 3.0, meet their req. courses, and then transfer into CALS after finishing my freshman year.</p>

<ul>
<li>I really don't want to go into one of their two year colleges, and sort of be 'guaranteed' a transfer, it just wouldn't feel right to me. I want to actually work for it, etc. but at times I might be worried if I'll go through with the grades, even if I believe in myself. BTW, CALS doesn't require SAT grades/stuff from HS, so yeah.</li>
</ul>

<p>CALS is pretty friendly in terms of transferring, but is there a particular choice they prefer? Do they prefer certain types (SUNY, private, public) over others? The only SUNY I have so far is Buffalo, but I also have other publics such as Penn State, etc. Those are out-of-state though, so I think I'm better off staying in NY to kind of increase my chances a bit.</p>

<p>So which should it be? SUNY Buffalo, and sort of actually earn my transfer admission, or one of their two year/CC colleges with GUARANTEED transnfer admissions? It doesn't really matter about the colleges themselves, I just wouldn't feel so good with the guaranteed thing, but then again what if things go wrong with SUNY Buffalo, and then there goes my chance at transferring! Can I just transfer AGAIN from SUNY Buffalo to one of their listed colleges, and then gain a guaranteed admission during my third year?</p>

<p>Thanks a lot! What are transfer rates for CALS btw, I heard it was kind of high?</p>

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<p>external transfer rates: <a href="http://dpb.cornell.edu/documents/1000156.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://dpb.cornell.edu/documents/1000156.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>as for your dilemna, if really depends on you. if your ultimate goal is simply to go to cornell, and that's all you care about, then go to CC and you'll have GT. But If I were you, I would rather go to a college I love and enjoy it there, and do well. that way, after a year you might not even want to transfer anymore, and if you do, you can always try. </p>

<p>you said you didn't really want to go to a 2 yr college and transfer, so I guess you answered your own question.</p>

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<p>I do simply and reallllly want to go to Cornell, but I just need the statistics of GPA's, etc of transfer students into CALS. If I think I can honestly do it, then I can just go to SUNY Buffalo and transfer from there. Then again, all of this depends on the statistics!</p>

<p>Any idea on whether or not CALS will go from being VERY transfer-friendly, to being not-so-transfer friendly in the upcoming year or so? The link was for the year 2007, any idea on whether the numbers should be the same for 2008? Thanks for the link btw!</p>

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<p>you're welcome. I couldn't find anything with a list of gpa's, but I wouldn't be surprised if one isn't available, b/c admissions might not want to release that. I've heard that cornell cals is good with transfers from ny public schools. If it helps, I know someone who transferred from stonybrook to cals with a 3.8. </p>

<p>I doubt cals will go from transfer friendly to unfriendly in a year, but it seems like every year, acceptance rates get a little lower as it gets more competitive. If I were you, I would go to buffalo, work my ass off, and then apply for cals.</p>

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<p>Yeah, that's what I'm stuck with lol =(. It's not that the listed colleges are bad or anything, but I just don't want to attend any of them because I personally don't think they're so great. At least if I go to UB, it'd be not-so-bad telling friends/family that I go there; whereas if I attended one of their listed colleges, I honestly wouldn't feel the same way, and probably wouldn't want to tell them =/.</p>

<p>I need to figure out what the GPA was for the transfer acceptances into CALS. I called, and got told it was around a 3.0-3.8, but I forgot to ask what the MAJORITY of them have. Guess I'll do that tomorrow.</p>

<p>Oh, and recommendations, EC's, etc. Would that be of any help into getting in, or is it basically something they look at if they really, realllllly need more information/an evaluation on you? I heard all transfer students get a complete evaluation, so those people with 4.0 GPA's who just don't care about anything else, and don't have anything to add onto it are surprised at times.</p>

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<p>I know that if you transfer after your 1 yr at college, they will look at your hs transcript. I think you should get involved in college as well, it doesn't look good if you have a 4.0 and no activities, it makes it look like you haven't left your dorm room for the past yr. transfer students get a complete evaluation.</p>

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<p>Transfer students generally need to express a committed and enthusiastic interest in Cornell and the course of study they wish to follow at Cornell. Beyond numbers (e.g. GPA) the most important part of your Cornell application will be your personal essay explaining why you want to attend Cornell, as well as examples in your application that attest to this fact. Letters of recommendation are also considered strongly in your application, and if at all possible it would make sense to get a letter of recommendation from a current professor or teaching assistant of yours.</p>

<p>Coincidentally, it was my experience at Cornell that transfers often take greater advantage of the rich amount of resources on campus, simply because they are better able to appreciate everything at Cornell relative to their previous institution. </p>

<p>Best of luck in your academic career.</p>

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<p>Hmmm, do they look at your HS transcript for CALS too? When I called, I got told they don't require or need SAT scores, and that the GPA, etc. should be around the ones listed for the Transfer-Agreement schools, even if we aren't going to one of them and are attending another college. I'll ask about the HS transcript tomorrow.</p>

<p>Thanks CayugaRed2005, that was the basic idea I had in mind too. See the thing is, I need to know how all of this would work out if I were to attend one of their transfer-agreement schools, I'm not sure whether or not the same rules would apply.</p>

<p>I'll call again tomorrow, but if anyone has more information/advice feel free to continue posting. Thanks!</p>

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<p>Oh, how would all of this work out by the way? It says we need two semesters of those certain classes, do what happens if by the end of my freshman year, I'm <em>almost</em> done, but not quite done. Like, when do transfers usually apply?</p>

<p>If it's something like March, how would it work out? In March, I would ALMOST be done with two semesters of the required courses, but would probably be around2-3 months away, would I still be able to apply, or would I have to apply in the very beginning of my sophomore year then? =/ I was hoping I'd be at Cornell by Soph. year, and not just in the middle of it.</p>

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<p>I go to UB now, and am hoping to transfer to Cornell next semester (as a Junior). I can honestly say UB is an ideal school for fulfilling your core requirements. And by going to a school that has a larger student body than Cornell, you will be significantly less intimidated when you do decide to transfer.</p>

<p>Thats just my two cents.</p>

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<p>Oooh :O</p>

<p>So JdC42, how are the classes for most freshman? I'm accepted with an undeclared (I'll go check soon to make sure :P), but how would you rate the difficulty of the classes individually?</p>

<p>Also, what courses would I usually be taking as a freshman? I need to figure out how I'll do in each of the courses. I'm around a 93% student, that's my GPA, so how would you compare UB courses (Difficulty, etc.) to say, your typical high school student. If we were good throughout highschool, and kept up with everything nicely, would you say we'd do the same in UB (given we put in the effort)? Kind of hard to word, hopefully you can figure it out =)</p>

<p>I also need this done by the END of freshman year:
"Students considering transfer are required to complete a two semester general introductory biology sequence i.e. Biology 1 and Biology 2 with hands on labs prior to transfer.</p>

<p>Students are also required to complete two academic writing/English composition (not literature) courses or one academic writing and one public speaking course prior to transfer.
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<p>Would that be possible typically? I'll probably also ask their Admissions Office, but I guess I'll ask here too :P.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

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<p>It all depends. I am currently in their business program, fulfilling core requirements for Cornell's ILR school. I haven't taken Bio since high school, but I have taken 2 writing courses (my first 2 semesters). UB is HUGE, so finding your prereqs won't be hard at all. </p>

<p>Also, UB can be pretty competitive, but it seriously depends on what you are in. Business isn't too bad, but I have buddies in the engineering school who routinely get their asses handed to them (academically) by international students. But if you actually study and work hard, a 3.8 isn't out of reach. I had a high school GPA in the low 3's too, but I admittedly slacked off a little. My cumulative GPA at UB is a 3.89.</p>

<p>Either way, if you live in-state, it's a bargain. Oh and definately call admissions, I'm no expert.</p>

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<p>Did you get into Penn State main campus or a branch campus? Sounds like a branch campus. In that case, you should definitely stay in NY for the SUNYs.</p>