What to do after being accepted early decision and what to expect

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

So I was accepted early decision and have been anticipating on choosing roommates, dorms, etc like my other friends who have been accepted to other schools but I haven’t heard anything from Cornell besides cuonthehill. I look on their website and everything is for the last school year and they say they won’t update until April.

so i was wondering if any of you can give me a rough timeline of what you did after being accepted and how things will work like moving in, orientation, etc since it’s different for every school

I want to live in the CBK dorms but I read somewhere that as freshmen, you can’t choose your dorms since it’s more of a lottery…any ways to guarantee or increase the chances of getting into CBK or Mews and a single room? I have allergies so I don’t do well in old buildings and i’m very serious about personal space haha. I want to make sure I’m not behind on anything like choosing housing, roommates, and whatever’s left. I can only think of housing at the top of my head

and while i’m at it, any tips? like what to bring, what sororities/fraternities to steer clear of, etc. i feel like i’m going to bring too much stuff and end up not using any of it and need stuff i didn’t bring haha

thanks :slight_smile:

2

You’re correct that you can’t choose your dorm as a freshman. The only options you have for that are to select that you want to live in a residence hall (in which case they will randomly assign you to either CKB, Mews, High Rise, Low Rise, Donlon, or Dickson), a townhouse (sort of like apartment-style living while still being on campus and on the meal plan), Balch (the all-female dorm, definitely the best dorm on campus in my extremely biased opinion - it’s where I live), or you can apply to live in a program house (each is different and is centered around a theme such as music, theater, ecology, etc.)

So there’s no way to ensure you will get into the residence hall of your choice, which is the problem with gambling and selecting residence hall as your top pick, because some are definitely better than others. As for a single, if you put down that as your top choice, I believe you’re fairly likely to get it.

As far as picking a roommate goes, obviously if you’re planning on living in a single you don’t really have to worry about this. But there will be a Facebook page for your class dedicated to finding a roommate (ours was simple called "Cornell Class of 2018 - Find a Roommate). There are also different websites dedicated to helping students match up with and talk to potential roommates.

There should be a checklist coming out online that lists all of the steps you have to take to ensure you’re ready for move-in day. I’m not sure exactly when that comes out, but it’s very handy and checks off all the steps you’ve completed and tells you the timeframe for everything you have left to do.

When it comes to stuff to bring, I would suggest just paying attention to everything you use on a daily basis now. For the most part, the things you need now and the things you will need in college won’t change too much, as far as basic clothing/toiletry items go. If you’re from a warm climate, make sure to invest in winter clothing. Buy a really warm coat and boots/gloves/hats in the summer when they’re on sale. I’m from Ithaca, so I already had everything I needed in terms of clothing, but a lot of people were freaking out because they didn’t know how to dress warmly. Other things you may wish to bring would include a laptop, school supplies (pens, pencils, notebooks, etc.), a bedspread, a shower caddy, shower shoes, decorations for your room, a mini-fridge, and probably some other things that I can’t think of right now. There will be a list Cornell posts of suggested and prohibited things for your dorm.

If you have any other questions at all, or would like me to elaborate further on anything, please let me know! I would be more than happy to.

3

I seem to recall from last year that more information comes out in April. I believe for now there’s not much to do except wait…maybe collect some winter clothing if you’re from a warmer climate. Just relax in knowing where you’ll be next fall, compared to your many peers who are anxiously waiting for their news.

4

The housing app goes live the day RD decisions come out if I remember correctly. If you have really severe allergies (to mold/environmental allergies) and you send housing an email after the application goes up to let them know, they will put you in a newer dorm though I believe you have to get a doctor to sign off on it and send it to them.

5

Mid you have allergy, you should work on it now. I would contact housing to see what documents are required. Housing questionnaires come out after RD is out. It is very easy to get a single at Cornell, but not so easy to get into one of those newer dorms. They are often given out to legacies or students who need AC.