@oldfort , thank you so much.
I have been offered an option to join Cornell CALS Biology and Society major. Any insight into how the major is rated and it’s reputation.
I currently am planning to attend Berkeley for the freshman year and plan to attend/start Cornell in Fall 2016.
Anything else you can share? Berkeley versus Cornell for California resident.
Got a GT in Fall 2016 for AEM. Most likely won’t take it though, as I’m in-state UMich Ross (pre-admit) and I can’t see any huge advantage in AEM vs. Ross, especially with the in-state tuition. If anyone has some more info or opinions on this, please tell, as Cornell is pretty appealing.
Given Berkeley in-state vs. Cornell I would definetly opt for Berkeley. Especially if grad school is in the wings.
Don’t want to miss out on Ivy education.
I will most likely be on the Premed track.
My son just received a formal rejection letter from Cornell in the (snail) mail dated June 12th. He was CAS - Chemistry/pre-med and waitlisted. He will be attending UCLA– accepted to their Honors Program– this fall, instead.
Cornell’s rejection letter read, “We now have a clear picture of the number of students who will be enrolling for the 2015 fall semester…” so it doesn’t make any mention of Spring or 2016 Fall transfer options. It’s a “no space in Fall of 2015” letter. It also says that if he remains interested in Cornell, they hope he will apply as a transfer student in one or two years as they enroll 600-700 transfer students each year.
Wishing the best to all of you in your future college adventures! Anyone who was waitlisted for Cornell, even if they don’t get in, has great prospects. 
If your son was offered an option for Fall 2016, would he take it while attending UCLA?
I wish you/your son all the best at UCLA.
@Giveback - I think Cornell is a great school, but if you are in-state for Berkeley I think it would be hard to pass up. If finance is not an issue then Cornell maybe a better alternative for you. I think you are aware of CA’s budget issue, a lot of cut back, and the school is very much dominated by Asians. It maybe better to have more diversity. On the other hand, how much is it worth to you?
Why is Cornell a great school?
Also I intend to go to a graduate school after Berkeley.
Any input from you is greatly appreciated?
Giveback - you can Google and also read through some threads on CC about Cornell. I hope you did get to know Cornell before you applied. If you have any specific question, I would be happy to answer, but “Why is Cornell a great school?” is too broad. What’s great to one person may not necessary be the case for another person.
My younger daughter did consider Berkeley, but as an out of state I was not going to pay the full fare for her to attend Berkeley because I didn’t think it was worth it. As an in-state, it is a different situation for you.
@oldfort, I am going to be on the premed track.
How is Cornell for premed students?
Has anyone heard back from the College of Engineering?
@Giveback, thank you for the well wishes. Yes, my son would take a transfer option from UCLA to Cornell if it were offered to him. He did personally ask to be considered for it, but was told one can’t ask for it and it’s only available under certain highly specific circumstances. I happened to have read, elsewhere, that quarter system colleges (UCLA) don’t mesh well with transfer credits to Cornell’s semester system, especially for freshmen year STEM courses. May or may not be true, I don’t know. Berkeley is on semester system, so that works better. I attended both UCLA and Berkeley, myself, and saw no difference in the two colleges as far as academics go. UC classes are overly impacted, though, especially for STEM majors. The quality is excellent… it’s just over crowded.
I am not familiar with premed, but medical school application is all about GPA and test score. I know there are some posters here who do not believe there is grade deflation at Cornell, but from what I have seen the school does not hand out As like candies. I don’t know Berkeley’s grading system, but you could save a lot of money by going in-state.
One thing I do often point out to students is that many people do change their minds about what they want to major/future profession while in college. I wouldn’t pick an UG for one particular department or purpose.
Thanks for sharing. It will be Cal for me.
Just received snail mail saying that I got a GT option to SHA for fall 2016!!
I got a letter too saying I had a “transfer option” but it said nothing about guaranteed and the whole thing was super vague. Can anyone clarify.