Transfer option class of 2022 at Cornell

Hey y’all. So I was given the TO for CALS. I’m a little bit confused on how the whole things works though. I’ve been doing research, and apparently we have to meet a certain GPA as well as course requirements at whatever college we are attending. Hopefully the email they said they were gonna send comes soon. Anyway, I just wanted to start a discussion on this. Congrats to all that go the TO!

My DD also got the TO for CALS biology major but she was also accepted from Bowdoin, Wesleyan and waiting for Tufts Result today. I do not know whether it is worth waiting for an year or move on. She also got in waitlist from Amherst, Vandy, and Middlebury. Any advise appreciated.

Hi all-
Is the transfer option the Spring 2019 option?

I think it is for Fall 2019.

I got transfer option from Human Ecology, does that still count as a “guaranteed” transfer?

There are threads from previous years about the transfer option that may answer many of your questions. Also, there usually will be a TO facebook group set-up by Cornell with an adviser that will answer your questions probably in the next few weeks.

From what I understand, there are basically 2 ways of approaching the TO and your plans next year:

  1. Go to your least expensive option such as your community college or state school. This is primarily for those students who want to go to Cornell no matter what and there is no doubt that Cornell is their number one choice. Just make sure you fulfill the class requirements and maintain the GPA, which is different depending on the college and major you applied to.

  2. Go to your top choice school with the thought that you will remain and graduate from there. Accept the TO and only use it if you decide that you regret the college you picked or think Cornell will be a better place. The beauty of the TO is that it is not binding and the application process is really easy - no LORs, no essays. I think the TO is a lot better than being rejected outright because it is a great back-up plan if you do not like the school you choose next year. The biggest drawback for this plan is that it may be more difficult to either fulfill the class requirements or obtain the necessary GPA. However, I believe there is some flexibility with the course requirements if necessary and you may take a class during the summer to satisfy it.

Got the TO option for ILR and planning on taking it. My problem is, for ILR it says that I must take macro and micro economics, but if I took it in high school I don’t get AP credit for it unless it was NOT a graduation requirement or not taught by a college professor. Econ at my school is a grad requirement for seniors, and it isnt taught by a professor. Do I not take the AP exams for econ this year and retake it at my state school to fulfill Cornell’s course requirements?

Transfer option seems weird to me. I wonder how many sign up for it but don’t end up doing it, i.e. staying at freshman year college? Like, leaving all your freshman year friends at whatever college you start at, seems daunting. Then trying to make all new friends at a new campus as a sophomore might be tough? Idk, I guess if I went to a Cornell feeder prep school and knew I had a decent amount of friends already there it would be OK. But going in blind sophomore year seems awful.

@lizzy1234 if you look at old CC posts about Cornell’s TO it says that transfers room with other transfers so it isnt difficult to make friends when you transfer. There’s also a significant amount of transfers in ILR @ Cornell (not sure about other schools within Cornell). You’ll be fine making friends at Cornell. As for leaving friends during your freshman year, well, thats just something we are all going to have to do if we really want Cornell.

What % of Cornell sophomores live on campus?

@lizzy1234 from what i’ve read, most freshmen and sophomores live on campus at Cornell. I couldn’t find an exact percentage.

@hanna2000 I think you are not interpreting the Econ requirement correctly. D received same TO to ILR. She does not have Econ AP credits so this doesn’t apply to her, but you CAN use a 4 or 5 AP Econ score to satisfy the ILR credit. You just can’t use it to substitute the credit hours required (you still have to do 15hrs for 2 semesters). You also have to take micro OR macro before you transfer, not both. You can do both, but not required. The thing it says about college level classes that are required in your HS refers to classes you might have taken outside of your school, but needed in order to graduate. Like if you took a community college course or summer program course at a university, and it was required by your school, then you can’t substitue an ILR requirement. The explanation specific to Econ credits and AP exams is in the ILR TO packet, in the paragraph dedicated to Econ. (In case anyone is interested, we’re contemplating doing all the credit at community college or some at community college and some at BU, which is where she would choose to go if she doesn’t take TO or get off the waitlist at Middlebury or Wellesley)

@maybeDmom Where can this IRL TO packet be found?

@College13567 we found it just by googling:

https://www.ilr.cornell.edu/admissions/undergraduate-admissions/ilr-transfer-option-fall-2019

@maybeDmom ohhh okay, thank you for the clarification!

I got TO to ILR - I will “accept” the offer but will only go through with it if I don’t like wherever I end up as a freshman - I will not go into college assuming I will transfer out after a year

I got the TO from human ecology. I got deferred early decision, so it just feels like im getting re-deferred. I know that some letters said that TO is guaranteed, but the humec one didn’t

Have all of the Cornell TO letters been sent? Wasn’t sure on the time frame for the program.

I got an email about the TO from ILR but I have not received a letter yet

Do those with the TO option get a physical letter in the mail regarding the option?