<p>So I'm a freshman at Cornell in the ILR School and have really noticed it's not for me. I think Cornell is too large, I've had some bad experiences with profs, it's a really pre-professional place and I feel like I haven't found my intellectual or social niche here yet. I've decided to transfer to smaller, undergraduate focused universities (Brown, Columbia) and liberal arts colleges, but I really want to go to Williams. Does anyone know if a 3.8 from Cornell will make me competitive? Is transferring to Williams really possible? Thanks!</p>
<p>Its certainly possible, but 3.8 isn’t the only stat they are going to look at…</p>
<p>For transfers, aside from having the academic chops, the reason for wanting to both leave where you are and the reason to come to where you want to go will be of prime importance. A college wants to make sure that you know why you want to transfer to it-- and it wants to make sure that you aren’t going to be someone who will be serially unhappy wherever you attend. Your letters from your professors endorsing your decision will also play a critical role in the admissions process.</p>
<p>Finally, something over which, unfortunately, you have no control is what needs the college has in terms of numbers of transfers and into what fields and with what other backgrounds will play a strong role–transfers are the final icing on a cake–that cake being a class that reflects the needs and desires of the college. </p>
<p>Everything has to match up. </p>
<p>Best of luck. I hope you find a program–perhaps Williams-- that will fulfill your academic desires.</p>
<p>Hi Supersonic10,
I am a sophomore at Williams. I’m familiar with ILR too…when it came down to making my final decision in the spring of my senior year of high school, I was choosing between ILR at Cornell and Williams. Williams has been an excellent choice for me academically–I have still been able to take classes in fields similar to ILR (history, constitutional law, economics, political economy, labor law/rights) and I am very close with my professors. </p>
<p>Professors are uber accessible and interested in you and your life beyond the classroom. (I am applying for a summer research fellowship this summer and my sociology professor has read and reviewed two drafts of my proposal, even though it is not directly related to my sociology class). I am taking a history tutorial this semester (a class with only 2 students and one professor) and it has been the most fantastic academic experience of my life thus far.</p>
<p>Two of my best friends here at Williams are transfer students (one from Middlebury and one from Columbia University). I know transfer students from UPenn, Swathmore, MIT, University of Oregon, and Hamilton. My two best friends had high GPAs (I don’t know them exactly) and took very rigorous classes (my friend from Middlebury took a 400 level senior seminar as a freshman at Middlebury and my friend from Columbia took 6 classes one semester). You can see the transfer statistics here ([Admissions</a> – Williams College| Transfer Applicants](<a href=“http://admission.williams.edu/apply/transfer]Admissions”>Information for Transfer Applicants – Admission & Financial Aid)). I think etondad said it well-- your reason for transferring matters to the admissions office. </p>
<p>Good luck! Feel free to shoot me a message on this College Confidential website and I can put you in touch with one of my transfer friends if you would like.</p>
<p>Thanks! That was actually very helpful; I think I might have met you during Cornell Days two years ago (I’m 20 years old; I’m currently on leave and am skipping a year). If you’re the person I remember, I think we sat in on a labor law class together. If you remember how boring and inaccessible that class was, that’s been my experience in ILR. And he’s known as one of the better teachers…</p>
<p>Glad the post was helpful. Hm…definitely possible that we crossed paths at Cornell’s Admitted Students Days (though I think they offer more than one session per year?). The one ILR class I sat in on was a lecture with about 80 students and the professor was handing back papers to the students; the class didn’t seem half bad, actually! The primary reason I didn’t choose Cornell was because I was turned off by the Greek life, though. I stayed with a friend from high school who is now the president of her sorority. We went out one night and we had to walk across campus, jump over a fence in heels and band-aid skirts to get into a grody basement frat party. Totalllllllllly not my scene. (I’d rather spend my Friday nights skinny dipping in the Green River at Williamz).</p>
<p>Does anyone know if Williams has a Model UN team? Just wondering-I’d really like to attend a school with one and I can’t find any info on Williams.</p>
<p>^Williams has a MUN team</p>