I just finished my first semester of sophomore year and am so miserable at this school that I am considering transferring out of Cornell for next year.
I’m a physics major in Arts & Sciences wanting to do astronomy/astrophysics stuff. My GPA is a 3.2, involved with several extracurricular activities (a sorority, 2 club sports teams, one of which I am Vice President of next year).
Last year at Cornell as a freshman was great, mostly because of the closeness that North Campus fostered. Now as a sophomore, everyone is spread out and I don’t see any of my friends from last year. The school is very isolating, competitive and intense academically (which I can handle) which is made worse by the isolating social atmosphere I am feeling. No one has free time to hang out and everyone is stuck in friend groups they made last year as a freshman so my attempts to join social organizations and clubs such as my sorority and club teams have failed to remedy any social situation. I’m very far from home, which I didn’t think would be a problem but it’s much harder to deal with than I thought. Ithaca is pretty isolating as well and I’ve found that Cornell is very competitive and exclusive in joining extracurricular groups because of the sheer size of the school, which sucks. I thought I wanted a big school when going to college but I wanted around 8-10,000 and Cornell is frankly a little too large for me and I feel like a lonely fish in a very large sea. These are only a few of my reasons.
I’m thinking of applying as a transfer student to a few schools in the spring just to see if I get in anywhere and if I can create any options for myself. I’d like to stay in the Northeast somewhere, ideally not that far from Boston, and would like to find a prestigious school where I can study astronomy/astrophysics and not step down in reputation since I feel like the only thing keeping me at Cornell right now is the name.
I’m thinking right now of Tufts (got accepted as a senior in high school and was going to go there before getting into Cornel), Harvard (my original first choice), Brown, maybe Penn (got waitlisted there as a senior), Boston University. Thoughts on that list and any schools I might not be thinking of?
I feel like I’ve tried everything this past semester to make Cornell as enjoyable as it was for me last year and am coming up empty handed. As much as a sucker for prestige I am, I don’t think I can make myself stay and pretend to enjoy going to school here for another 2 and a half years.
I’m sorry you’re having that experience at Cornell. As a prospective transfer applicant, (applying to the same college/major no less…), your post helped me see another facet to the college.
All the colleges you’re looking at are there. Furthermore, check each one of their common data sets to gauge your likelihood of being admitted with the current grades you have. As it stands, your GPA is slightly on the low side, but the rigor of your course(Physics ain’t a joke, I know) and college in general can possibly give you some leverage.
I’d say you have a pretty solid shot at Tufts, which is a fantastic college for the area you’re in. Boston University is almost a definite go. Now in the case of Penn and Brown… I’d say APPLY, if your case is compelling enough, a chance, as small as it may be, can exist. If you have a large financial need, then remove Brown from your list.
Harvard… Well, ya’ know.
If you prefer smaller colleges, maybe look into LACs, such as Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, Wellesley, etc. Dartmouth is also smaller and an Ivy.
Honestly, the size thing is precisely why I didn’t choose to attend Cornell when I got in my senior year of high school. I wouldn’t go for Penn either because it’s probably just as big as Cornell.
You should apply to BC. It has a very inclusive culture, great science programmes and almost everybody stays on campus senior year (many go off campus for jr, year or go abroad.)
My D’s friend was unhappy at Cornell and rushed a sorority soph. year. Joining that dramatically improved her experience at Cornell for her last two and a half years - it gave her a base of friends, a sense of belonging somewhere etc., She really didn’t see herself as a sorority person and she didn’t love the whole rush process but in the end it was the best thing she did. Just a thought…
Of course transferring can be a good option if you are really miserable. Just keep in mind that the grass isn’t always greener elsewhere. Being a transfer student can be difficult as many friendships are formed freshman year, you will be thrust into a new environment where others are already comfortable etc. And in all honesty, I don’t think your college GPA will get you into Penn, Harvard, Brown. You would really need to do some serious research to determine what schools take a decent number of transfers and what grades etc. you would need to have a shot. Also if finances are an issue that component would need to be considered as well.
If you do follow-up on @londondad’s suggestion of BC I would strongly encourage you to go through the core curriculum of BC very carefully to see if you can complete the extensive core as well as all of the courses needed for your major in your remaining 2 years. My S went to a different Jesuit university and a friend who transferred in needed to take an additional semester to complete the core. http://www.bc.edu/sites/core/core_requirements.html Of course for any college you consider transferring into you would need to go through the general graduation requirements as well as your major requirements to determine if you can graduate in time, but the Jesuit core is particularly extensive.
Hi. I am also a freshman at your school and I too am applying for transfer. I feel the same way as you. Do not worry. Some other schools you might be interested in are MIT or Cooper Union in NYC. I know some people that go there for astrophysics. Good luck in applying!
OP, I reread your post and you should have a look at Northwestern. It has the size that you are looking for (8,000), great science programmes, many other big school attributes (sports, Greek, etc) and is in a much less isolated environment due to its proximity to the City of Evanston and of course, Chicago