<p>Why are we supposedly so looked down upon? Is it because we're assumed to have gone to a "bad" school before Cornell?!? That we couldn't "make it in" originally?!? Whatever ther reasons, it's truly absurd and absolutely ridiculous. I'll have to see for myself; if so, this isn't the Cornell that I thought it was (and I know it isn't).</p>
<p>I was offered guaranteed transfer in high school, so I don't know if that group falls into the same category as other transfers discussed above as inferior party animals. But, in my experience:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I don't recall being looked down upon. One time a girl I was dating made a comment, but that was more because I suggested that she'd drunk a little too deeply of the Big Red kool aid and it made her upset.</p></li>
<li><p>Most of your friends will be transfers (more so as juniors than sophomores), since most other cliques are established. If you join a group, such as a fraternity, this will not be as true. In the end, I had a healthy mix of transfer friends I made when I first got there and friends from my fraternity. Though, to be honest, transfer students in my fraternity were kind of perceived as numbers boosters and not truly immersed in the culture since we were really only there for about a year and a half.</p></li>
<li><p>It's a little harder to climb the ranks of organizations because you simply have less time, but you typically know better what you want out of college and pursue it.</p></li>
<li><p>I had no experience to suggest that transfer students took school any less seriously or were any less intelligent. I have no evidence one way or another, though. I, personally, was clearly favored in some of my classes by professors, so I guess it depends on the individual.</p></li>
<li><p>I found transferees to be a little more worldly and less indoctrinated by the unique arrogance-insecurity that afflicts Cornell students who don't know where they fit in the hierarchy of pretigious schools. Transferees seem to understand the value of Cornell without attaching their entire sense of self to its identity. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>In short - relax, diehldun. They're not going to stick a bell around your neck and pelt tomatoes at you. I took classes across 3 different schools (two endowed, one contract) and never encountered any animosity or arrogance. Just don't be stupid and people won't treat you as if you are stupid. It's a great experience.</p>
<p>Thank you gomestar... dontno name says it all... I wonder if HYP feel the same about their transfer? Some how I dont think so, but what I do think, dontno really doesnt know.</p>
<p>Thank you for this thread. I've been looking around for something like this for a bit. :)</p>
<p>Professors don't care if you transfered to Cornell. They're too focused on their work and research to waste time on finding out who's a transfer and who isn't.</p>
<p>As long as you do your job right, you won't have any problems - no one checks your background.</p>
<p>The only downside of transferring is that you'll have to work on your social network. Most of the friendships are made during freshman year. Orientation week is a great opportunity to meet a lot of people.</p>
<p>From my experience as a transfer, I recommend meeting as many people as possible in that time span before classes. Once school begins, everybody's studying like crazy. They won't have time to hang out with you any more.</p>
<p>There's also an awesome transfer fraternity, Theta Xi, that could also help you a lot in adjusting to college life here.</p>
<p>Email me back for further clarification.</p>
<p>are transfer students really looked down upon? I mean, transfer acceptance rates are much lower than the acceptance rates for incoming freshmen, so it's even more competitive...I don't think the incoming transfers are unqualified.</p>
<p>But I guess I'm biased; I have GT to Cornell and will spend my freshman college year at NYU. Not sure if I will transfer to Cornell or not after a year. While I love Cornell, I'm not sure if I'll be able to handle moving from NYC, one of the largest and most vibrant cities in the world, to slushy Ithaca.</p>
<p>The more you worry about it, the more real the "problem" will seem to you. People judge each other all the time for much smaller reasons, and nobody will even know you're a transfer unless you tell them. If someone "looks down" on me because I am a transfer student, it just makes it even easier for me to not give that person the time of day. I'll just figure, hey, thanks for not having me waste time on trying to be friends with you!</p>
<p>Basically, the only people who would think less of me are the people I would never want to be associating with in the first place. Kind of simplifies the whole process, actually!</p>
<p>In my expirience, I did not feel looked down upon. Perhaps, there is some of tthis though, but I think if you do well then no one will look down on you; its not like people are going to be like omg, he's a transfer, he's terrible.</p>
<p>Another side-comment in regard to the quality of transfer students talked about above. I think there are good students and bad students in the transfer class and from the ragular freshmen class. I've met some pretty dumb reg students and pretty smart transfers. Moreover, I know of many transfer who are doing very very well (as for my I ended the gear /w 4.1+ cum). Of course this is only a reflection of my expiriences but I do not feel as though transfer are many tiers below reg students. A slight aside, i honestly thought everyone else (reg + transfer) would be quite a bit more intelligent</p>
<p>
[quote]
A slight aside, i honestly thought everyone else (reg + transfer) would be quite a bit more intelligent
[/quote]
</p>
<p>You would be surprised what Daddy's money can buy in terms of SAT tutoring and trips to third world countries to have a "life changing" experience.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I'm not sure if I'll be able to handle moving from NYC, one of the largest and most vibrant cities in the world, to slushy Ithaca.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>You will have very few opportunities live in a life in an environment as pristine and as naturally unique as Ithaca. I suggest you consider this fact strongly.</p>
<p>"You would be surprised what Daddy's money can buy in terms of SAT tutoring and trips to third world countries to have a "life changing" experience."</p>
<p>I am going to Latin America this summer. Hope I learn this life-changing lesson.</p>
<p>Ithaca is beautiful, but it is a rural environment and I'm not sure if I would be as happy there as NYC. One thing I love about NYU is that there is no greek system - in the city, there's no need for one, whereas my friends who attend Cornell say that the greek system is huge, and on weekends they basically just go to frat parties and get wasted. </p>
<p>So while Ithaca is beautiful, I don't know if I would want to leave NYC to go live in a large upstate town where it's always cold and where everyone pretty much gets wasted due to lack of anything to do/anyplace to go. There are some nice things about Ithaca, but it just can't compare to NYC. That said, I love Cornell and may transfer over after a year. Depends how much I end up loving NYU. I like having GT to fall back upon.</p>
<p>Yeah, you are right, Ithaca is so much colder than NYC. I keep on forgetting that when everybody is digging out of five feet of snow in Ithaca, the kids in NYC are basking around in bikinis.</p>
<p>Climatology</a> Comparison for New York, NY (10034) - weather.com</p>
<p>Guess what? It's college. People drink. No more than in Boston or New York. And guess what? It's a college town. People go to independent movies, art gallery openings, dinner at great restaurants, and go out to eat at some pretty damn good restaurants and coffee bars. So good that all the peeps in NYC are raving about the Ithaca coffee stores these days.</p>
<p>Gimme</a>! Coffee - GQ 50th Anniversary </p>
<p>And when you're not doing those things, you should be getting an education. And I happen to think that the quality of the education at Cornell is a notch above NYU. Or so, at least, that's what everybody at Cornell who transferred from NYU told me.</p>
<p>Yeah, you are right, Ithaca is so much colder than NYC. I keep on forgetting that when everybody is digging out of five feet of snow in Ithaca, the kids in NYC are basking around in bikinis.</p>
<p>Climatology</a> Comparison for New York, NY (10034) - weather.com</p>
<p>Guess what? It's college. People drink. No more than in Boston or New York. And guess what? It's a college town. People go to independent movies, art gallery openings, dinner at great restaurants, and go out to eat at some pretty damn good restaurants and coffee bars. So good that all the peeps in NYC are raving about the Ithaca coffee stores these days.</p>
<p>Gimme</a>! Coffee - GQ 50th Anniversary </p>
<p>And when you're not doing those things, you should be getting an education. And I happen to think that the quality of the education at Cornell is a notch above NYU. Or so, at least, that's what everybody at Cornell who transferred from NYU told me.</p>
<p>Crazy whoa. I didn't mean to blow up the Internets. Apologies to all.</p>
<p>
[quote]
A slight aside, i honestly thought everyone else (reg + transfer) would be quite a bit more intelligent.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Be careful mentioning this opinion. Last time that happened, everyone got very agitated and offended. It's a hidden truth at Cornell that many of the smartest students are disappointed at their peers' lack of intellectual ability and/or desire.</p>
<p>
[quote]
You would be surprised what Daddy's money can buy in terms of SAT tutoring and trips to third world countries to have a "life changing" experience.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I'm sorry Cayuga, but this is crap. The test prep companies have fooled everyone into believing that their incredibly overpriced courses and private tutoring actually work. I've trained to be a Kaplan teacher. I also took an SAT course but studied on my own for the GRE.</p>
<p>The Kaplan teacher simply reads the book to you. That's it. He doesn't do much else. I found my self-studying for the GRE to be much more beneficial and of course, feasible economically. A Kaplan or Princeton Review book, with endless tips and tricks and clearly mapped out guides, are just as good. That's also ignoring the wealth of information and practice material available for free online. </p>
<p>Finally, what's wrong with using "Daddy's money"? Rich kids shouldn't be able to benefit from their parents' success? I've noticed several times in your postings that you have a bias against well to due people. I'm not sure why. It's called capitalism. (BTW: I'm lower middle class.)</p>
<p>Whoa Cayugared no need to get so defensive. I'm not trying to insult cornell - I love the school - all I did was point out the weather sucks. Yeah, nyc is cold too, but my friends who go to cornell are from long island and complain about the weather all the time, so it's not something I'm looking forward to. I know there's stuff to do in Ithaca, but the truth is, Ithaca is a nice college town and NYC is one of the largest cities in the world. </p>
<p>A superior education is obviously the reason I would transfer from one school to another. I would hope that the quality of education at cornell is a notch above nyu if I transfer there but I suppose I'll find out when (and if) I go there.
[quote]
many of the smartest students are disappointed at their peers' lack of intellectual ability and/or desire.
[/quote]
It's a huge, very diverse school so that doesn't surprise me. Some of the smartest students I've met go to Cornell, but I know of a few genuinally dumb kids with low gpa's/SAT scores who got in because of lacrosse.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Yeah, nyc is cold too, but my friends who go to cornell are from long island and complain about the weather all the time, so it's not something I'm looking forward to.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>The kids who complain about the weather from Long Island complain because they have nothing else to complain about. No offense to people from Long Island, but a fair number of the Long Island folks have a very sheltered life/attitude.</p>
<p>
[quote]
The Kaplan teacher simply reads the book to you. That's it. He doesn't do much else. I found my self-studying for the GRE to be much more beneficial and of course, feasible economically.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I don't disagree, but the value of using one's parent's money to shell out $500+ for test prep is that it forces you to sit down and study, with all sorts of expectations from your parents and your tutor that you will do better. Sure, you can say that you can have that without shelling out a lot of money, but it's significantly harder if that environment isn't created for you.</p>
<p>To add insult to injury, the SAT just announced that students can selectively report which test sittings they have taken. That's a great idea, guys.</p>
<p>
[quote]
It's a hidden truth at Cornell that many of the smartest students are disappointed at their peers' lack of intellectual ability and/or desire.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I think this is a problem everywhere. The main issue is whether or not you can surround yourself with like-minded individuals, which you can do at Cornell in droves. Let me know what your experiences are like at Princeton regarding their own undergrads, then we can chat.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I know there's stuff to do in Ithaca, but the truth is, Ithaca is a nice college town and NYC is one of the largest cities in the world.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Andy you don't find any value in being in an intimate campus environment where everybody revolves around their academic life?</p>
<p>
[quote]
whereas my friends who attend Cornell say that the greek system is huge, and on weekends they basically just go to frat parties and get wasted.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Those are your friends. Plenty of people never step foot in a fraternity. You wouldn't if you didn't want to.</p>
<p>"The kids who complain about the weather from Long Island complain because they have nothing else to complain about. No offense to people from Long Island, but a fair number of the Long Island folks have a very sheltered life/attitude."</p>
<p>haha, yeahhhh, I've noticed this quite a bit. Granted, some of my best friends are from Long Island, some of them are just disconnected with the rest of the world!</p>
<p>"Those are your friends. Plenty of people never step foot in a fraternity. You wouldn't if you didn't want to."</p>
<p>Yeah, I actually didn't go to a single frat party during my junior or senior year. There's plenty of activities going on otherwise, it was just a big waste of time for me. Still, when I did go to frat parties, it was never a big drunk fest, I'd always go with a group of my friends and we'd hang out, dance, get massive burgers at 4 am - anything fun!</p>