Violaghost

Yeah, I figure I'll start another one. I won't be on half as much this time, but I figure it'll be nice to keep in touch with people.

Post your thoughts, stats, where you are from and where you are applying. As always, best of luck.

To those who haven't seem my old thread, I applied to Cornell as a freshman for CAS and then consequently as a fall transfer to ILR. Over my freshman year of college, I did pretty extensive research on Cornell (which is how I realized that ILR is right for me) and pulled my grades up high. I was really hoping to make it, but it didn't work out for me. I was pretty disillusioned, since I put everything I had into the application, but I figured I may as well give it another shot. My stats are as following.

HS GPA: 87/100 (3.3-ish)
College GPA (over 2 semesters): 3.83
College GPA: hoping for a 3.8 - 4.0

ACT (doesn't count in transfer admissions): 31

Recs: Good, as far as I know.

Essays: I am going to revise the ones I used for my previous transfer app heavily to make them more goal- and career-oriented.

Common app about a summer music festival I did and how it helped me define my educational needs and the value of a diverse, passionate college community

Cornell supplement was very, very specific, about how I got to know Cornell and the people I met, how different it was from my own college (only an hour and a half away), and how much passion and opportunity I discovered. I spent too little time talking about my fascination with the ILR curriculum. I feel I should have spent more time on that.

EC's:
1. Conservatory-level violist. Two full music festival scholarships, three Carnegie Hall performances, principal in many orchestras, first violist in HS's history to perform a concerto. (8 years)
2. Composer, concert and film - several performances and independent collaborations with film-makers.
3. Fencing team - HS captain. (4 years)

Some minor work experience - camp counselor over the summer, waiter.

150 hours of volunteer service at Carnegie Hall.

Collegework:
21 Credits first semester, + orchestra, chamber music, writing music for university TV station and collaborating with the film department to write soundtracks for their students.
20 credits 2nd semester.
20+ credits 3rd semester.

pitbulls3

Ah, Vio, I just replied to you on the other Cornell thread! I am SO glad you are getting back to working hard and your drive and determination are back!!! Remember- 3rd time is a charm!!! Maybe you should also look into a few other schools to apply to so you have some other options incase you need to fall back on something else.

Violaghost

Are you gonna apply, pit?

ironicallyunsure

good to see you made another one viola and it's great to know that you'll be in it with me again. i'm sure this round will be better. message me on facebook if you have anything you want to talk about (if you're stressed or whatever). i think i'm going to go up to visit a bunch of times in the fall, and maybe during summer orientation since i have to take the boy anyway.

so now, a few new questions:
1. i'm going to the ILR thing in the city. would it be appropriate for a humec applicant to reference another school's get-together? i was thinking if i add something about loving the extensive alumni network or something, i could actually talk about something i went to.
2. am i allowed to schedule another appointment with the transfer advisor? i don't see why not, but if i do, what should i take with me?
3. what questions did you ask ian about your app? i'm going to ask what the weakest parts were and then ask about what summer courses and fall courses i should take, since i finished all the pre-reqs.
4. even though i'll have enough credits to be a junior, i want to apply for soph standing. do i need to tell them that, or will they just go by semesters completed?

iuvo10

I think I'll be applying as well!

My stats are as such:
High School: <3.0 (High school was an international school overseas, three AP courses with all As, freshman and sophomore years horrible and improved dramatically for junior and senior, but alas it wasn't enough)
SAT score: 1850
College: 3.78 (also went to a 4 year SUNY for 1 semester)
Major: Philosophy and Sociology

I am half Asian half Caucasian.

Extracurricular:
Had a string of part time and full time jobs for the past two years since I graduated from high school including cashiering, computer lab assistant, research assistant, painting and what not.
First Aid certificate
Varsity Soccer and Volleyball in high school
Model UN
Band (rock band, played at school festivals)
Philosophy Club
Tsunami relief in Thailand (helped rebuild houses and translate for doctors)
Web design for various tour companies and university departments
Various other forms of community service like helping in homeless shelters

Honors:
Phi Theta Kappa
Dean's List

Van Chowder

Um op..
Just so you know, if you have a 3.8X now, you have 0%chance of ever having an overall GPA of 4.0

pitbulls3

No, Vio, I am not appyling again to Cornell. I wish you the best this time, though!!

jemmayale2009

Hey everybody!

I am applying for Spring Transfer 2010 . I study at a very unknown private university (Inter American University of Puerto Rico). I will be taking next semester off because I already have more than enough credits to apply as a transfer (63 credits). I am also applying to Cornell (also to Emory and Amherst) wish the best of luck to everyone here.

My Stats:

Ethnicity: Hispanic/Puerto Rican
Major: Political Science/Government
Standing: Junior
College GPA: 3.86
Courses:

Spring Semester 08 (All core curriculum classes)
*Spanish 1 (In PR this is our primary language)- B
*Writing and Literature aka English level 2- A (This is an advance class)
*Appreciation of Art- A
*Computer Literacy- A
*Dimensions of Contemporary Ethics- A
*Religion- A

Summer
*Spanish 2- B
*Quality of Life (Sorta like a mix between PE and Biology)- A

Fall Semester 08
*Intro to Poli Sci- A
*United States Government- A
*Global Society- A
*Science, technology and environment- A

Spring Semester 09
*Political Research 400 level- A
*Middle East Politics 300 level- A
*Classical Political Thought 400 level- A
*Constitutional Law 400 level-A
*Contemporary and Modern Civilization 300 level- A

EC's

President and founder of Universitario Pasandola Sanamente (loosely translated- University students having a good clean time)
Vice President of the Honor Program
Dean's List
Outstanding Leadership Award in the Honor and International Studies Program
I was a participator in the 17th International Youth Leadership Conference in Prague. (Very selective only 80 were chosen of 1500+ student who applied worldwide)
I was chosen to become part of the exclusive Civics International Czech Leadership Alumni Associates (They chose a group of 70 students who were the most promising and ambitious future leaders that have attended all of Civic Concepts International's conference. That's over 2000 alumni)

Reasons for transfer: My school lacks what I want, an academic challenge. I can easily coast my way through this university but that is not my intention. I want to learn and grow. I also don't fit well with the student population. I can socialize but I'd rather be in a environment were people have actual opinions and are not afraid to voice them. The facilities are appalling. Some professors are good but most of them are in desperate need of retirement. Overall, I hate it. I also plan to continue my studies into Law School (preferably Yale Law School) and I need a good preparation for that.

High School GPA: 3.50
SAT: R 510 M 390 W 440= 1340 out of 2400
AP: English 4 and Math 4 (This APs are specifically made for Puerto Rico)
Honors: High School Spelling Bee Champion
First place in school-wide essay competition
Third place in Oratory Comepetition

Comments: I know my SAT score is awful awful awful. 95% of schools in PR do not prepare you for the SAT instead they prepare you for the Spanish version of the SAT, the College Board. I barely studied for it and my knowledge of Math was abysmal. I know I can do MUCH MUCH better. However, since I am a junior transfer I do not see that it will make any difference. Also, since I got a 4 in both English and Math, my university validated 12 credits (6 credits for English and 6 Credits for Math) out my core curriculum that is why I have 63 credits. Another note of interest is that I started studying in the Spring Semester because I decided to take my first semester off so I could travel the US and visit the campuses of the universities I was interested

jemmayale2009

Btw, Viola I think is amazing that you are still giving it another shot. Who tries nothing, and doesnt stumble, has nothing. I hope December will be a great month for you.

BrandNew70x7

hey vi! im not applying for spring, but i'll be starting there instead of the fall, so hopeffullyyyy things will work out! <333

ironicallyunsure

i have a phone appointment with my college's transfer advisor tomorrow. here we go again! good luck everyone!

Wateradept

Since I got accepted for Fall, but we can't pay for it, I'll be reapplying for Spring transfer to CALS.

Luckily for me, CALS doesn't care about HS grades, just college progress, so I'm just going to do great at my CC this fall for a solid transfer.

Good luck to everyone applying!

BrandNew70x7

why dont you just defer water?

zSquared

Ha, I was just about to start a thread about spring transfer to Cornell, and then I found this one after searching.

I'm inspired by your determination, Violaghost.

I'm going to apply to transfer to Cornell CAS in spring 2010. I'm also applying to Rice and Washington University in St. Louis, but Cornell and Rice are my top choices (with Cornell a bit above Rice, but not much). I've finished just now my first year of college. So if I'm accepted to Cornell I'll have completed three semesters upon matriculation. Here are my stats:

College:

GPA: 3.98 (A+s in everything except one A- in a class ironically called "learning strategies")
Major: initially computer science, but I've switched to math (although technically I still have the CS major as well)
Course load: After next semester, I'll have done five honors courses, five 4000 level math courses, calculus-based physics, and four computer science classes.
Recs: I haven't gotten these yet (I'll be getting one very soon in fact), but just last semester two of my professors had the Honors College here send me letters congratulating me on my success in their courses, so I should be able to get good recs
ECs: I'm a programmer in and primary contact for the Game Design Club here; we're just an independent development team that develops games in our spare time. I'm a member of the math club and have been pushing to get my school to participate in the Putnam exam, but nothing's come through yet.
Work: I work at a software development company and develop semantic networks for an online automated essay grading service. Some of the assignments I've developed are used at universities throughout the nation (that part's pretty intimidating).

High school:

GPA: It was something like 3.98 as well. I have no idea why both my GPAs are exactly the same. Haha.
ACT: 34E, 34M, 30R, 30S, 11 Writing (32 composite)
Course load: I took the hardest courses offered, but I have no APs because my school didn't offer any!
ECs: I participated in Science Olympiad all four years, and got way too many medals to list here. I also got 1st place in a programming competition at a nearby state university all four years of high school. I also did community service. We set up recycling bins around the school and at football games and maintained them, and every weekend we cleaned up trash off the side of a road (different road each time). I also spent a really significant amount of my spare time teaching myself to program. My school offered no programming classes at all. I taught myself when I was 11 or 12 without any teachers or mentors or guides or peers. I'm pretty proud of those 1st place finishes because of this.
Work: I didn't work at a paid job but I did some other community service stuff in the summers, like packing clothes to be sent to the Ukraine for people in need.

Essays: I haven't written these just yet, but I'm brainstorming them.

I have extremely specific educational goals I want to accomplish as an undergraduate. My overall goal is to become a research mathematician. I have a list of topics I want to study as an undergraduate before going to graduate school, and I want to transfer to Cornell because their math program is strong enough to let me accomplish this. They have a strong curriculum in algebra, topology, and algebraic topology. I also want to study differential geometry (and calculus on manifolds). I studied this in my spare time in high school, and I'm very disappointed that there are no undergraduate courses in this at my current school. However, Cornell has strong undergraduate and graduate offerings in this subject. I also thoroughly enjoy proofs and proof-based reasoning, and Cornell's courses are significantly more proof-based than those at my current school. I feel this is very important since I want to go to graduate school, and I hope the admissions committee will understand. I also want to participate in the Putnam exam, and Cornell participates (and does very well) whereas my current school doesn't.

I want to communicate all this in my essays so they know exactly why I want to go to Cornell, what I want to do there, and why I believe it will help me meet my goals.

I hope to hear updates on everybody's progress through the grueling admissions process! Good luck to everyone!

ironicallyunsure

i get really excited when i see this thread up on the first page again.

my progress since last time has been as follows: i attended a welcome event for a different cornell college than the one to which i am applying and got the promise of their dean of admissions to put in a "good word" for me with my college, i had another appointment with my college to see if my improvements will be noticed and asked how i could strengthen my application, i will have 2 new letters of recommendation, which will mean i'll have 3 alumni (including 2 who graduated from the program i want to be in) and my writing instructor who thinks i'm extremely talented writing me my letters. i'm taking 3 summer classes which should bring my gpa up as well. i'm fairly certain that i know how to approach my essays this time, so i'm pretty confident. *crossing my fingers for this time!*

viola - what's new with you?