I was elated to receive a likely letter in the mail a few weeks ago, and was even more excited to see that I received enough aid to consider the school. However the acceptance is conditional, I must attend the prefreshman summer program. What does this mean? I mean, I understand that it’s a great opportunity, but I don’t want to spend this summer in Ithaca when I can be home with my family and friends, enjoying what may be our last summer together. Is mandating that I must attend this program mean I’m on some sort of probation before I even decide to attend? Seven weeks is a long time to be away for something like this, I’m curious if anyone else received something similar and if there’s any way I could not be forced to attend.
Since your offer is conditional, this is a required event. If you do not attend, you will not be attending Cornell in the fall. If Cornell is where you want to be, then attend the program! It doesn’t sound as bad as you might think, and you’ll already have friends going into the semester.
I have also received this offer because I was admitted to Cornell through the HEOP program. If you do not attend the Prefreshmen summer program, you cannot attend Cornell. The program is designed to help students have a smooth transition from high school to college, not as a probation
I know many people who went through this and they all loved the experience. It is not in any sort of way a probation. You probably came from a small, rural school, first-generation, or something similar. But for whatever reason your college wants to give you a leg up so that you can make the transition to college easier, whether that is certain classes that weren’t available to your high school (specifically for engineering), they want to make sure everyone makes a good transition into college. This program is amazing and I really wish I was required to go so that my transition could’ve been a little smoother.