Stay at UVA or transfer to Cornell?

<p>I am currently a rising second year at UVA. I just got accepted to Cornell's Arts and Sciences through GT. Nevertheless, I realize that I really want to major in something that is business oriented, such as accounting or finance. Thus, I am interested at the AEM program at Cornell. I checked the AEM website and it says internal transfer student must at least spend a year at Cornell before transferring. Also, it states that "External transfer students who have already transferred to other Cornell colleges are rarely considered for internal transfer." Is it going to be very difficult to get into AEM if I decide to matriculate at CAS and apply to AEM at the end of my sophomore year? Furthermore, I aced all the prerequisite courses for UVA business program during the previous semesters. Is it actually more wise for me to stay at UVA and attend its McIntire School of Commerce? Does the ivy status make that much of a difference in the eyes of Wall Street recruiters?</p>

<p>you could major in Economics in CAS at cornell which is just as good as AEM if not better...
but if you really like UVA and want to transfer to cornell just for prestige, it really won't make a huge difference since both of these schools look good on paper.</p>

<p>Honestly, the Commerce School at UVa is better than AEM at Cornell. In many respects, Cornell and UVa are similar, but Cornell's academics are a notch above in certain programs, whereas UVa is better in others. The Commerce School is pretty well established, but AEM is more up and coming. </p>

<p>I would only transfer to Cornell under a couple of conditions:</p>

<p>1) You were interested in the humnanities, hard sciences, or engineering, all of which are better at Cornell, to varying degrees. The general social sciences at Cornell are no better than UVa, but generally I would say Cornell Arts and Sciences is better than UVa Arts and Sciences from a strictly academic perspective.</p>

<p>2) You are unhappy with your social experience at UVa and are looking for a more diverse and/or engaged student body. I know one student from UVA who had a GT to Cornell CAS and was very happy that he made the transfer, just because he found Cornell a bit more accepting of him. (He was pretty quirky.)</p>

<p>3) You are interested in one of the niche majors at Cornell -- e.g. human development, international agriculture, human resources, or Hotel Management. </p>

<p>Otherwise stay at UVa. It's a great school.</p>

<p>Hey, just a quick question:</p>

<p>You said you got a GT for Cornell but you're at your second year at UVA. I thought GT's were only given to freshman who applied, and they had to spend their first year at another college and enter in as GT's during soph year.</p>

<p>Did you somehow get GT as you applied DURING your time at UVA? I'm confused about it now.</p>

<p>Micny, Maybe I didn't make it clear, I am a rising second year, which means I am going to be a sophomore in August.</p>

<p>Does anyone know how good is the AEM program and how competitive is it to get into it, especially in my case? I actually don't want to major in Economics. I feel like Economics is a bit too broad. I really wish to major in something like accounting or finance. If it is almost impossible for me to get into the AEM program, I would rather to stay at UVA and graduate with a McIntire degree. On the other hand, I feel the ivy status would make me stand out in the job market. I doubt if job recruiters actually know that UVA's business program is stellar.</p>

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I doubt if job recruiters actually know that UVA's business program is stellar.

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<p>Absolutely not true.</p>

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If it is almost impossible for me to get into the AEM program.

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<p>Not true. It's very possible and about a hundred kids or so do it every year. </p>

<p>If you are really set on attending Cornell AEM for whatever 'Ivy pedigree' you think it will bestow upon you, I would just contact the CALS/AEM admissions department, say you have a GT to CAS, but was wondering if CALS/AEM would honor it.</p>

<p>It's not worth the trouble and cost of transferring if all you want is the Ivy League status. Stay at UVA.</p>

<p>Any GT offered is strictly for the major you applied to. So CALS/AEM won't honor a CAS GT. You can apply to AEM, but your transfer is not guaranteed.</p>

<p>given your circumstances, I think u should stay at uva. First, uva bschool will just provide you as good of employment opportunities as cornell. another thing is that u will be able to study what you want to study and will enjoy your college experience way more than Cornell CAS. I would ONLY consider transfer to Cornell if they are offering you ridiculously generous fin aid in this case.</p>

<p>supposedly a lot of people at Cornell thought they would be clever and get accepted to one of the other colleges/majors and then get into AEM through internal transfer. apparently cornell has recently wised up to the backdoor approach and has gotten a lot stricter about internal transfer to AEM. I would say as an external transfer, you won't get the AEM transfer no matter how qualified you are.</p>

<p>The funny thing is that when I was on campus, AEM was routinely derided as the <em>worst</em> major at Cornell. </p>

<p>In my opinion, a joint economics/math degree will prepare you better for life after Cornell than AEM, no matter what you end up doing.</p>

<p>I didn't know CAS offered GT. Accounting and Finance are not part of liberal arts education. They are are considered more as pre-professional (or trade school).. Without offending AEM students, it's not considered as hard as CAS. I think most recruiters on Wall Street know that, and that's the case for most of undergraduate business schools. Ivy or top tier schools are known for liberal arts education, not for accounting.</p>

<p>I will leave to the experts the comparisons of the programs you are considering at each school. Based on their thoughts, if you are a VA resident this is a no brainer. Stay at UVA.</p>

<p>You realize that UVA's commerce school is rated second in the country, just under Wharton? While the layperson may not know the difference, you will be much more highly regarded by people within the business field with a degree from commschool.</p>

<p>My sister is going to enter it next year, but it is still very competitive to get into. You should look into the prereqs soon if you're considering it.</p>

<p>I am actually a NY resident. Yet, I actually got a full ride to UVA through grants. While I still have not received Cornell's financial aid package, I am pretty sure that Cornell is not going to be as generous as UVA. And I am still trying to come up reasons for me to transfer to Cornell.</p>

<p>So you're a Jefferson or Echols scholar at UVa and you are still thinking of transferring to Cornell for a program that isn't as good as the Commerce School?</p>

<p>Well, maybe you really aren't satisfied at UVa and want to come to Cornell. Then come. We'll be glad to have you.</p>

<p>And Dewdrop is right... ordinarily they will not honor a GT to another college. But you never know until they ask.</p>

<p>Wow. Stay UVA. It's an incredible school (and so much rich history to absorb). College is far more what you do with your time there than where you go.</p>

<p>Like Cayuga said, unless you are personally discontent within, on paper there's no reason to switch. Just my opinion, though.</p>