<p>Thanks Violaghost! Now is there any sort of advantage in applying in spring vs fall or vice versa? I did not know the applications were up yet. Where can I find it? By the way I am an international student.</p>
<p>There is no advantage to applying in the Spring. There are less applicants and less spots. The acceptance rates are roughly the same.</p>
<p>Violaghost, you took 20 credits per semester?</p>
<p>What kind of classes did you take? Do they line up with the ones Cornell makes freshman and sophomore take in the program you are applying to?</p>
<p>Yes, I took 21 credits my first semester and 20 the second. I made sure to fulfill the requirements ILR asked for. My first semester I took 4 4-credit classes (Microeconomics, Geology, English, Calculus) and a ton of music lessons (viola (2cr.), piano(2), composition(1)) + orchestra. It was pretty overwhelming. My second semester I took 3 4-credit classes (Macroeconomics, Statistics, Music Theory) and the same amount of music ensembles and lessons as before, but for more credits. While I fulfilled the requirements, it was very difficult to balance music with econ, and I wonder if the overwhelming amount of music classes I took turned the admissions committee off a bit.</p>
<p>i forgot that at bing each class is 4 credits. weird. my only 4 credit class was chem (ew). how many credits will you be applying with? i’ll have 58 done and another 15 - 17 in progress. i hope they don’t look down on that because i was really just trying to show that i could take a lot and still do well.</p>
<p>What are the prerequisite courses needed? I know you need macro, micro, and stats but what else?</p>
<p>tfn, you could probably find that online.</p>
<p>Yea I already did but could not find it anywhere. When are you guys starting your app?</p>
<p>Well, I need to completely revamp mine, so I’ve been working on it a bunch. The only real pre-reqs are Macro, Micro, Stats, and 2 English courses. I’m gonna get in touch with Ian (ask me if you don’t know who he is, because for ILR - he’s your guy) and see what else I can take to stay on par.</p>
<p>violoa:</p>
<p>jus a parent here, but it seems to me that your background still screams music, or at least double major, neither of which ILR offers. Thus, I’m not so sure if your essays matter as much as your lack of EC’s in labor, etc., of which ILR is about. In other words, don’t TELL me that you want to change majors (from music) but SHOW me through your actions. To make such a change from conservatory type to labor relations (or any other specialized function) entails activities, too. For example, starting a business would be a great way to demonstrate real passion for AEM.</p>
<p>Just my $0.02. Good luck.</p>
<p>Thank you, blue. There is a lot of truth to your words. I’ve been working on that issue a lot. In truth (as far as I know,) a lot of people go into ILR either to pursue law or because they don’t really know what they want to do in the social sciences. My friends in ILR tell me that the only thing that really ties the students together is the fact that everybody is an activist of some sort of another. However, while the curriculum is very expansive but focuses on a less-common area of study, it’s hard to find ILR-type activities. I don’t mean to make an excuse… I’ve been looking for internship/volunteer opportunities with unions and non-profit organizations.</p>
<p>You do bring up an issue I’ve given a lot of thought though. Ideally, I’d love to double major music/ILR. I do have an earnest desire to explore the ILR approach - the human aspect of business, the econ/psych/social stats combination. However, I’ve done music for so long, it has made up the majority of my accomplishments and taken up most of my time. I hope that my desire as expressed in my essays, coupled with the ILR-type activities I’m trying to get into will help me. I am going to downplay my music stuff on this application and hope for the best.</p>
<p>I really hope it works. This is my last chance and I really, really, want to be at Cornell.</p>
<p>I have a question: Why are you planning to transfer into the spring instead of the fall? Can you do both?</p>
<p>You can do both. I don’t want to wait till the Fall - it will make it all the harder to transfer credits.</p>
<p>viola, it’s not your last chance. i’m applying now so that i don’t need to wait for fall, but at least i would have fall to try one last time. obviously i really hope that we get in for spring, but i like knowing that there’s one more shot. can you do research with someone in an econ or business department at a school close to you? even psych research having to do with buying stuff or how people spend money would help you, and most people are eager to take on researchers who don’t want to get credit or get paid. that would count as something ILR related i think. when you go back to bing, consider doing model UN because i know a lot of ILRies who had experience with that. econ clubs, debate teams, anything like that.</p>
<p>Hi!
I’m applying to Cornell Spring 2010 to the College of Arts and Sciences; mine is kind of a weird situation.
First, story…
I am an Asian-American, Chinese and English are both interchangeably spoken at home, but I am very, very fluent in English…not so much Chinese. I recently completed freshman year at the Rhode Island School of Design, to be an Illustration major next year (to make my way into the video game industry, believe it or not). I then realized for a few reasons that art school was probably not right for me, given that my favorite classes were not actually my art classes but my liberal arts classes, and I was feeling extremely bored and unchallenged. Long story short, I want to go into Pre-veterinary, complete the required credits for Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences transfer for juniors during Spring 2010, and do an internal transfer into that. Yup.</p>
<p>Previous to going to RISD, I was accepted into Northwestern University, NYU School of Nursing, and Carnegie Mellon (for art, though). I never applied to Cornell for some reason (I think I was under the impression it was a desolate and dead place…not anymore), but was seriously torn between RISD and Northwestern when deciding where to go. It was a war between if I should go into art or academics.</p>
<p>Now, stats:
High School GPA, unweighted: 3.76/4.0 (I think…), weighted: 3.9/4.0
SATS: Cumulative? Math: 680, Reading: 750, Writing: 800
SAT IIs: Biology M: 750, Math I: 680, US Hist: 650 (Lol…well, I didn’t really like the SAT IIs xD)
AP tests:
Art - 5
Chem - 5
Macroecon - 4
Eng Lit/Comp - 5
Calculus BC - 4, Calc AB Subgrade - 4
Physics C (Mechanics) - 4
Physics C (Electricity and Magnetism) - 2 (heh)
US History - 4
Biology - 5
Eng Lang/Comp - 5
Euro History - 4</p>
<p>Honors and Whatnot:
AP Scholar with Distinction, Nat’l AP Scholar, National Merit Scholarship - Commended, some art awards/exhibitions/scholarships
Extracurriculars:
Secretary of Asian American Cultural Club in high school, National Art Honor Society in high school, resident artist of the Dance Theatre Club, some school leadership thing where you help freshmen adjust, the NYU Steinhardt Summer Art Intensive…basically, much of my extracurriculars were art-related, a testament to my focus on art in high school.</p>
<p>Work Experience:
Tour guide at RISD, and I was a private tutor for biology/chemistry in high school.</p>
<p>The short answer essay on the common app is about my personal activity of taking in stray cats and feeding them, occasionally raising them.</p>
<p>The personal essay is a heartfelt explanation as to why I want to transfer to Cornell and what I hope to achieve there (to be edited very thoroughly, I do have until October haha).</p>
<p>Explanations…Well, RISD basically has very few extracurricular opportunities, as well as the highest freshman work hours/sleep hours…This gives you very few opportunities to go out and pretty much do anything outside of work/eat/sleep. So sadly, didn’t do much in college. Also, as a freshman it’s pretty much impossible to take the offered shared classes at Brown, and RISD liberal arts are laughable…
So I didn’t do very well first semester =x <em>shame</em>:
GPA: 3.4, I got A’s in my favorite studio classes (2D and Drawing) and B’s in 3D Design/the liberal arts classes they chose for us upon acceptance (for me, Intro to African American Lit/Art History)
Then there’s this thing called Wintersession, basically a mini semester. I took a Graphic Novel class and Ethnography (art history), and got a 4.0 for that semester.
2nd semester I got straight A’s except for 3D…C+ lol but 3.660 GPA. I took Ecology at RISD that semester under a professor from Brown University. It was her class that made me realize how much I really wanted to do veterinary or something animal-related. She told me she would love to write me a letter of recommendation, so this will probably be the letter of rec I am going to use =).</p>
<p>All in all, I do realize that it is very bizarre for an art student to suddenly want to become a veterinarian, but I DESPERATELY want this to happen. The reason I am transferring to Arts and Sciences first is because to do Pre-vet at Agri and Life Sci, you have to have Bio 1/2, Chem 1/2, Writing 1/2, and Calc credits when you transfer in with 3 or 4 completed semesters of college behind you. My APs cover most of this, but I’d like to get comfortable with the level of work at Cornell/get more credits for a semester before I transfer in.</p>
<p>Please let me know how you think I’ll do! Thank you =) Best of luck to you guys as well!</p>
<p>Do they count repeated courses as part of you CGPA? Who is Ian? Is he the guy that does the ILR interviews? Viloaghost can you tell us what sort of questions they ask in the interview?</p>
<p>The interview is not all that important. Ian is the transfer counselor. He conducts the interview and will answer any of your questions (by phone or email) about the transfer process.</p>
<p>Ian is very chill - he is fairly young (30 or a little under?) and very down to earth. The interview is mainly to establish a timeline. If you have taken time off since HS or during college, what was the reason, etc?</p>
<p>If you are applying out of a college you began to attend after HS, the questions are “why ILR?” “Have you visited Cornell before,” “What classes are you taking/like the most,” “Explain your (poor?) HS record?”</p>
<p>(I am aware this is a little off topic - please excuse me.)</p>
<p>In the winter il’l be applying for a sophmore Fall '10 transfer to Cornell’s School of Engineering (Biological Engineering) from Binghamton University. I was wondering what my chances of being accepted are.</p>
<p>Stats:</p>
<p>Homeschooled;
- GPA 3.84 (Unweighted)
SAT Score; - 1440/1600 - 800 Verbal, 640 Math ( But I had alot of Math difficulties early in highschool)
Community College; - GPA 4.0
- Credits 25
- Psych 101
- Hi 111<br>
- En 101,102<br>
- Chem 141,142
- Bio 101</p>
<p>At Binghamton for this fall semester I will be taking:
- 16 Credits
- Calculus I
- Organic Chem I
- Cinema (Art elective)
- Two Engineering Classes
- Bio 117 ( Possibly, if I do, I will be takign 20 Credits)
Note: I plan to finish above referenced semester with a 4.0</p>
<p>Consul, I can’t tell you your chances. I think you’ll definitely be in the running. You have a great GPA and nice SAT scores, but Engineering i very selective. Your essays and activities will matter a lot.</p>
<p>I wish you the best of luck!</p>
<p>How are you guys writing these essays? It seems as if the two essays; academic interest and reasons for transfer are practically the same. How are you guys tackling them? Would anybody be interested in critiquing my essays once it is done?</p>