You could have an ED2 application ready to submit or ready to withdraw. If you don’t have a super flexible GC at your school, the second could be the better bet.
We didn’t do this but I understand why some might.
Sure - but you wouldn’t have an ED1 and an ED2 application under consideration at the same time.
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As I understand it, the question is whether Cornell will allow you to initiate an ED2 application at BC by their scholarship deadline, which you then withdraw if admitted to Cornell ED1, or will Cornell make you initiate an RD application by their scholarship deadline, which you can then convert to an ED2 if not admitted to Cornell ED1.
As I read Cornell’s policy, strictly applied it would seem you should go the conversion route. But plausibly it does not matter to Cornell which way you go, so I would not find it surprising if they told an applicant it was OK to just go straight to the ED2 at BC.
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For some reason, I don’t believe that the switch from regular decision to ED2 was an outlined option last year, although it could have been and maybe we just did not see it. Moreover, the thought was in order to qualify for Gabelli Scholarship one would have the best opportunity to both get into the school and for the scholarship by applying ED. My daughter did not want to take the chance of missing out on the opportunity of applying ED2 if a switch was not possible. Nevertheless, either way, even with both admissions officers allowing it, it did not matter. She was waitlisted at both and ultimately rejected by BC and given TO at Cornell. She is now happily at Berkeley, which has been a good experience so far.
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Wonder what given TO at Cornell means? I associate TO with test optional but can’t see how it makes sense here.
Transfer option: Transfer Option Applicants | Undergraduate Admissions
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Thanks! Never heard of this. I’m still confused as there wasn’t much information on that page.
The page says students need to respond by March 15th but acceptances are usually sent out around that time so when is this option provided ie. is it only for ED students or also RD students and when would the latter be notified about it since they need to respond by March 15?
They also mention that students will be notified on a rolling basis starting mid April so could the acceptance occur after the standard May 1 acceptance deadline? That seems to give much less time to make a decision. It’s possible that students who are given this option are much more likely to be accepted into the transfer school but that may be an incorrect assumption to make so wondering if there are statistics which show admission rates for the students offered a transfer pathway.
Also how often would this option be offered and what are some examples of when the transfer pathway is offered? I would think it’s to help increase the numbers in some of the less popular schools so some students interested in life science might be offered a transfer option to the school of Agriculture for instance but this guess may not be reflective of the process.
There isn’t much information on the transfer option at Cornell. Basically, a small percentage of students who are not accepted in the fall of their freshman year receive an option to apply as a transfer student. This transfer option is for the following year in college, their second year. It sounds like, although not a guarantee, there’s a high percentage of people who do get into the college as long as you fulfill the requirements. Each, specific major may have a slightly different requirement and GPA. For example, my daughter received the TO option for the Nolan School. Her requirements are: Enroll as a full-time student for the fall and spring semesters of the 2024-25 academic year at another accredited college or university.
• Earn a 3.3 (B+) cumulative grade point average with no final course grades below ‘B’.
• Complete the following courses during the 2024-25 academic year with a ‘B’ or better:
• One college writing/English composition course
• Microeconomics
• Remain in good academic and disciplinary standing.
• Complete and submit a Transfer Option application in spring 2025.
Again, they do not guarantee a spot, however, it is my understanding that the majority of students who opt into the TO option and fulfill these requirements will be accepted into the school.
If my daughter does not meet these requirements, but still decides to Complete the transfer application, the admissions will be made aware that she was offered the TO option. Apparently, being offered this TO option does provide a higher possibility of acceptance than if a student was to transfer without this particular option or transfer application.
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Oh I see. I thought it was a transfer of the student’s application between schools so a student who applied to say computer science in the engineering school might have their application transferred to the school of arts and science.
So the deadline of March 15th would be the date a student would have to submit a transfer application. So if your daughter meets these requirements, she’ll basically have a very good chance of being able to transfer in and even if she does not, she would still have a higher possibility of being accepted? That’s a really good option to have and there doesn’t seem to be any downside ie. your daughter didn’t have to agree that she plans to seek a transfer after a year elsewhere to guarantee that spot.
Yes, outside of being admitted for the fall, it has many advantages. In fact, it’s not binding. If my daughter submits her application to transfer, she can decide not to actually attend and remain at her present school (which she currently enjoys). If you do get in and decide to transfer, you do, however, miss out on the first year experience at Cornell and would have to make new friends, join new clubs, get familiar to the culture and surroundings, etc. of you have your heart and eyes set on Cornell and do not get in the fall freshman year, one option is that you could attend a less competitive and less expensive college to make your grades and apply. However, my daughter decided to go to a school she wanted to attend with the likelihood of staying all four years. Although extremely competitive, it was an opportunity that she could not turn down, Berkeley Haas, arguably the best undergrad business program in the country considering cost, ROI, education, and resources. And so far so good. She’s made friends and likes it. I’m happy for her.
Anyway, sorry for getting off topic from the OP. To bring it back to topic, although Cornell only has ED1, they do have the TO opportunity that is given to a fortunate few who do not get into the school in the freshman fall, and have a very good second bite of the apple the following year.
The March 15, 2024 date appears to be for the previous 2024 transfer option applicants and not the 2025 applicants. The school has a particular AO who seems to be the contact for the TO applicants and the school/major.
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