Unconventional situation, want to try again for transfer to Cornell?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

I was rejected from Cornell CAS as a Comp Sci transfer, and wanted to apply again next year, as I will be leaving my 4 year for a 2 year community college. I just wanted some input on pre-reqs and what I could do better next year, because I had a lower hs GPA, around a 3.8 weighted, and I am also applying from OOS, which can be a disadvantage for CALS. I also had some things happen this semester which were out of my control, and I want to recover from that.

When I applied, I had: 3.76 GPA at a 4 year in the honors college, with 2 semesters completed at the time of application. 32 ACT, 33 superscore. Submitted 4 of my 5 AP tests, and took the maximum course rigor in high school. Had an academic reason for transferring, program and courses that I wanted were not offered at my school. Wrote about hardship and growing up on a farm in a very poor community and family with no parents, father died from substance abuse issues when I was a kid, how struggles throughout my life instilled intellectual curiosity within me and how I have grown from it. I am 19 by the way, not non-trad.

Multiple Awards and ECs: AP Scholar with Honor, Honors program, used to have full time retail job, 100+ community service hours in HS Stem club, Scholastic Gold Key for LGBT piece, Leadership Award, Intl. Philanthropy conference, multiple hackathons, 2 different Science fair awards from HS for independent biology research, president and founder of LGBT club, student council in HS and college, worked since I was 16 to help support me and my family so multiple jobs, now working in IT and upcoming research at a national lab, AI/ML research presented to top 5 HUGE tech company, paper submitted for publication, Leadership position in language club, taught myself violin at 18, then got an an instructor and have performed several concerts.

I plan on applying as a double major for Info Sci and Biological Sciences. I wanted to study Neuroscience, and that is not available here. I also have things that make college difficult for me, like C- PTSD, Autism, and ADHD, which is why I am choosing community college this fall, and hoping I will fare better. Now, here is the kicker.

While I had all A’s in all my other classes pretty much up until this point, with one B- in Calc 1 for math and science majors, this past semester was difficult for me, my college was not following my disability accomodations, and I did not have stable living arrangements. I withdrew from 2 classes, after already having one W from my first semester summer, when I had a death in my family. I was taking 11 credits, and ended with 2 A’s, a B, and a C in the dreaded Calc 2, which I was taking at community college, as it was full at my 4 year. Now, my cummulative GPA is a 3.56, but I will most likely end summer semester with a 3.65.

I have an A for every other pre-requsitive for Info science, and I got an A in statistics. I am about to start the rest of my pre-reqs for Bio, so I am going to apply info sci. I was very dedicated to self studying math, after struggling in Calc 1, and understood the majority of what was going on in Calc 2. I frequently went to office hours, and tutoring, and was told by all the tutors that I understood the material, and my problem sets were correct. My professor graded me more harshly because he said, “I was too afraid of failing, and needed to fail in order to learn.”

I am going to take the classes that I withdrew from again in the fall, I am not worried about those. My issue is math. Should I take Calc III, since I got a C in Calc 2? I am not allowed to retake Calc 2, for reference. I’ve never gotten a C in college before, so I’m not really sure if that 1 C will be a dealbreaker, or the B- in a pre req class (Calc 1).

I will have a set in stone place to live next semester and will not struggle with finances due to greater assistance and a support system in place, nor have to work as many hours in IT, so I know I will be able to recover from this. I will also be in the honors program at community college, most likely, and I’ve already been contacted about doing Bio research. My question is, is this spring semester going to be the nail in the coffin for someplace like Cornell, Emory, or Barnard?

2

I am sorry if what I’m going to say is not what you expect to hear.

I don’t think your professor can down-grade you just because he dislikes you. Math is simple that you end up with the correct answer or not. I always argue with my professor to get back the score I deserve, every test. Because I studied Math about 15 years ago in my country, I did not follow all the techniques to solve the problem as other American students. That’s why he thought I did it wrong. I had to explain to him the way I answered it and proved that the final result was logically come from my process, and most important that result match the key answer. He ever said that “your way is so weird but it is technically right, so I give you your credit.”

Because I always fight for my grades during the semester, I did not care as my class was A even though my final was about 80 or so. I was sure he kept grading me wrong. Anyway, the only thing I want to encourage you that we must fight for our grade because we work hard to earn it. Then you will get the correct answer for the unexpected low score.

3

@Bibihcmvn I actually had the same problem, or my professor could not remember the answers to the questions that he had written up for homework, and he apologized for not knowing them/being organized for our class, he said he had never taught at community college before,

I actually sat down with him and did an entire problem set together, so that I could try to see how to work out problems in the format that he wanted them. Had him check the answers. Still got a 70.

I fought really hard to work harder and try to get a better grade, I was told that I was “annoying” for coming to office hours so much. I never had this problem in a class before, but hoping Calc III will be better.

4

I think its certainly possible to get in. A CS degree is very employable, and there’s no need to go anywhere prestigious. You’ve got a lot going for you. A good affordable state school should be more than sufficient to get a good entry level job.

5

It’s tough getting into Cornell. Their transfer figures are inflated because they issue a number of guaranteed transfer offers if certain freshman year gpa is met to kids they turn down for freshman admissions. So it’s a game of chance. You come after those kids.

Give it another try if you want it but you should also be working at getting some schools on your list with more realistic chances.