I don’t know how many applicants are given the transfer option, but unless I’m missing something it seems like they didn’t give one to you, right?
Do you have reason to believe that they are still passing these out, this far after the admissions cycle?
I mean maybe that’s true, I wouldn’t know. But I would have thought they do this pretty much during, or immediately after, the admissions process. No?
All that matters, ultimately, is not how many people are offered a Transfer Option, but rather whether you have one.
However Cornell accepts transfer applicants completely unrelated to this program. So it is definitely possible to be admitted for transfer without having been offered this option.
My own uninformed opinion is, provided your test stats were within the range of students they accept for freshman admission , if you take a similar course sequence to that which the TO students have to take, and do great there, and apply to CALS as a communications major, you would have a chance. But there are no guarantees. From what I recall reading, Communications is not considered to be one of most competitive CALS majors for admission.
The thing though is, if you get in you will actually be a Communications major. Taking the required courses, major and otherwise, and in-college credit requirements that the college and the major specifies. So you’d better look into that and make sure that’s the education you want. If you haven’t already.
Assuming you are not applying with a transfer option, I believe it would be helpful to you if your application showed why your current school is a suboptimal fit for you, and why Cornell specifically (better yet, uniquely) is among ( or just is, period) the best choice(s) for you going forward.
If I’m not mistaken, those people who were reaching out to admissions people were students who were waitlisted. For you, having been rejected, to do likewise might be considered outright annoying to them. I would guess. But that’s just me.