You do not hear of many spring admits. Assume that he is to take a ‘gap’ first semester and not enrolled in classes the way the GTs are?
Thanks guys!!! 
I am super happy because with my stats, I deserved to be rejected. :))
@CT1417 On Admissions Blog Post:
New spring admission program
Cornell begins a new admission option this year, the First-Year Spring Admission program. A small number of students were notified March 31 that they had been admitted for entry in January 2016. Cornell anticipates enrolling 125 new students in this inaugural class, as freshmen in the Colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Arts and Sciences, and Human Ecology; and the School of Hotel Administration.
“During a time when we are turning away tens of thousands of applicants, the First-Year Spring Admission program will allow us to expand access to a Cornell education,” said Locke
I was just about to say, is spring admission a thing now? Interesting…
So now there are spring admits, guaranteed transfers and (voluntary) gap year-ers in the mix. I’m guessing the only thing missing now are a couple of Z-listed students 
Obviously I’m all for alternative offers of admission, and I think it’s great that Cornell is expanding its program in a time when so many other schools are slamming the proverbial door shut. Congrats to your S and everyone else, and I hope you’re all happy with the way things turned out!
@jamesjunkers I heard of applicants seeing that exact wording when I got in last year. Pretty sure you’ll hear about your GTO in the next few days.
@3rdsontocollege – Thanks for the info. I did not realize Cornell had added that option, although you always heard of random students who started in January, back in my day.
My kids know quite a few GT students. They all transitioned to Cornell very well. Most of those GT students go to their in state school for a years then transfer. One thing to keep in mind is Cornell is very strict on students to meet their minimum requirements (required courses and GPA). I know a student who went to a very rigorous school freshman year, due to difficulty of the school he was not able to meet Cornell’s GPA requirement, and was not able to transfer. If you plan on taking Cornell’s GT, I would suggest for you to go to a school that offered required courses and without grade deflation.
For students who received Spring admission, you may want to be in touch with the adcom to see if a spot should open up in fall.
Good luck to all of you. It is an exciting time.
Thanks @oldfort! The decision description said that I would receive a notification about a transfer option. Does that mean there’s a chance of it being a spring transfer option? :-SS
@artisticnative reading through the information given to us on the Spring Admission Process, it seems there may be some “waitlisted” students offered this option as well. The GT will not be offered Spring Admission.
For the spring admission, are you required to go someplace else the first semester? If not, it’s not a transfer option. It’s just starting college second semester of the year instead of first.
@brantly that is correct. It is a “gap” semester. You can take classes, travel, intern or work. My son was offered this admission. His AP credits should cover most of the first semester requirements in his program. With a few additional credits/classes needed he will be able to graduate in 3.5 years and still be Class of 2019.