<p>Yup transfers do participate in family weekend. I had my parents up and they had a blast. Ithaca is really a great place to hang with the fam.</p>
<p>I haven’t seen their agenda so I’m not too sure what’s happening on transfer day. Definitely visit West Campus tho b/c that’s where ur d will probably end up plus they are easily some of the nicest dorms on campus. Becker is a fun one to tour around (really nice bottom floor). I would then walk around to see the gorges…north campus ones (various bridges), west campus (go down or suspension bridge view it), then there is the gorge walk right when u enter college town where the bridge is across from college town bagles. I’d also maybe eat once at a dining hall (definitely try rpcc/rpu or appel on north if u want a crazy giant selection) and then make sure to go out and sample Ithaca’s food. Ithaca has the most restaurants per capita in the US so there are TONS of selections. Thai Cuisine across from Wegmans in downtown Ithaca is my favorite. Is ur daughter an ILR transfer?</p>
<p>Here’s to hoping there will be good weather! For ILR freshman open house last weekendit was raining half the day but then the next day it was beautiful out so that sucked for them lol. </p>
<p>But ya the visit will be loads of fun I’m sure!</p>
<p>Thanks Figgy for your reply- she’s a CALS GT. Thanks for the recommendations. I hope we get some decent weather. I’ve got a couple more questions, if you don’t mind… How many credits did you transfer in and how many credits are you taking this term? Is the work load comparable to what you had at your first year school? It looks like after she completes her requirements for GT that she’ll only have a courseload of 11 credits (she took a course last summer), did you take a course not on the GT list but that fulfilled one of the distribution requirements? Thanks.</p>
<p>I transfered in w/ 40 credits (max u can is 60 [usually for a junior to worry about] and norm is 30 [for soph] unless u have APs). </p>
<p>I am taking 4 courses - 13 credits this year and definitely like that I’m not taking 5. The work load is not comparable at all to my first year school…ppl would do maybe a half n hour of work a day there…mayyyybe an hour. Here it’s definitely a lot more…but worth it. The education I’m getting here is def worth the time. </p>
<p>She needs to take a min of 12 credits so she’ll have to work that out. When I came in they had already made me a 5 class schedule so they might do that w/ her (I dropped labor econ during the first week).</p>
<p>I arranged it so that i took all of the courses on the gt list so it wasn’t ever just a coincidence…but wat was nice was that some AP credits took the place of those courses (and in ILR AP U.S. History counts as 4 credits which is really cool).</p>
<p>diehldun–Can you remind me if you’re at a 4-year or a 2-year school this year? I wish you good luck on the grades front. This is a concern I’ve had all along with the GT arrangement.</p>
<p>Interesting about the Ithaca High School GTs. That’s something local, though–I don’t think it takes anything away from the qualifications of the students coming from further away on the GT offer. I know my S had much better stats than those, for example. Same thing with the community college–TC3 is not the only one Cornell recognizes–it’s just the closest in location and probably does have a lot of local students attend, then transfer.</p>
<p>I’m at a 4-year school right now that was always my No. 2 choice; it’s actually a highly regarded private school (so the classes are actually hard and work-intensive), and I would not have minded staying… but Cornell is Cornell! Hope your son is doing well too?</p>
<p>Oh, I am going to Cornell during the winter break; I took your advice to avoid the March “gloom”. Thanks!</p>
<p>Thanks, diehldun. He’s at a 4-year school, too, but it was a lower choice than his 2nd (he thought he might be too tempted to stay at his 2nd choice school, which was also out of state and had other reasons that made it less practical to attend for only 1 year). He’s concerned about 1 grade in particular at the moment, like you, so I hope things turn out ok for him…[mother biting nails and holding her breath, here]. I’m beginning to worry (I’m a worrier, anyway) that he should have gone to his 2nd choice school in case this whole GT thing doesn’t work out for some reason…it still seems like it will, though.</p>
<p>I’m glad you’re avoiding March in upstate NY–blah! Ha! I hope you have a good visit to the area over break!</p>
<p>I don’t see where anyone else has mentioned this yet, but the visitors they’ve had at Cornell this fall have been absolutely astounding! What a line-up: Sandra Day O’Connor, the Dalai Lama, Stephen Colbert, William Kennedy, Salman Rushdie, Angela Davis–and that’s just off the top of my head! They always have a great list of visitors, but it seems like this fall has been exceptional, even for Cornell! Makes it hard to think of what the GTs are missing by not being there this year. [Sigh].</p>
<p>Well, I just received my midterm grade for the concerned class in question, and I didn’t do that well at all and neither did the rest of the class; the average was about 65. I probably should have known/expected this by picking my No 2. choice, which is a relatively difficult school. I did really bad on the midterm despite studying a lot, and while knowing that the midterm isn’t the final score, it’s still rather depressing because it adds all the more pressure to do better when the entire class wants to too. Should I relay this concern to Ian/GT counselor, or wait it out? So frustrated/worried over the “nothing-lower-than-a-B” GT requirement, since all my other classes are going by really smoothly and easily… OMG bad day.</p>
<p>diehldun, I know that this is not saying much but calm down. You are not the only one. We all have bad days and receive bad grades. The only thing you can do is take a deep breath and move on. Make the best of your current school and if your GT works out, then so be it. I know how much you want to go to Cornell (so do I), but relax and focus more on your next exam.</p>
<p>Btw, anyone in CALS? I want to know if there is a set workload or do students just take classes for their major and/or if they are pre-med and then they take whatever other classes they want, such as art, history, psychology, etc. Also are the TAs available if one needs help and such. Thanks.</p>
<p>diehldun;
You may need to search this board but last year there was someone whose daugter was a GT who ended up with a “C” in one of the required classes. </p>
<p>If I recall they ultimatelly got into Cornell not thru the GT but thru the normal transfer process.
The fathers opinion was that if they wanted you before, then they still wanted you. One “C” in one class did not detter her chances, it only changes the acceptance process.</p>
<p>xNYer, thanks. However, my teacher’s “projected grade” for me this semester is currently a “B-” and is NOT one of Cornell ILR’s required classes. Will that be a slight “advantage” or help, since it’s not a required course in the first place? And given that every other class (that ARE Cornell-required classes) are "A"s, I remain cautiously optimistic. </p>
<p>It doesn’t help that I’m in the most competitive freshman business course (it’s mandatory where I’m at this year) with a notorious curve; but ultimately, we’ll have to see come late-April.</p>
<p>diehldun–Reread your GT papers–I know for my S, he needs to get and maintain a certain overall GPA, but the required grade per course is ONLY for the Cornell-required courses, not the others. He is not in ILR, however, but I have a feeling this rule may cover most/all of the colleges. Check it out–things may not be so bad! btw: We continue to share your worries over this pressure for grades in freshman year. It’s tough because the Cornell-required classes for his major are tough to begin with, and college freshmen notoriously do more poorly than they will in their later years in college after they’ve gotten used to things. The class my S is worried about IS a Cornell-required class, and his classmates aren’t doing that much better than he is in it either. A real nail-biter (for moms, too!). I can’t tell you how worried I am, especially after the long and grueling process of all of this admissions process last year. One thing I know, though–he’s working <em>very hard</em> to get his GT! The pressure’s on, big time! Poor guy.</p>
<p>Good luck, diehldun! Hang in there–and keep studying! ;)</p>
<p>I finally made it back home for a rather long Thanksgiving break, and got a nice thick envelope from Cornell regarding my GT; I don’t know if your son has received one yet, but mine’s already contains the GT Transfer Supplement and Spring Midterm Grade Report. Thank goodness, when they said no more essays, they really meant it; the closest thing is “please list significant activities/work experience since submitting your freshman application.” Nevertheless, it seems like the deadlines are already coming so soon! </p>
<p>Back at home, I got to take a look at my original ILR contract, which mentions “…a cumulative grade point average of at least a 3.3, with a grade of B or better in each course with no incompletes or withdrawals.” It sounds like it’s a bit different than your son’s requirements (CALS?), but I’ll take its wording at face-value. </p>
<p>I hope your son is have a successful first semester in college! And the same to Figgy (or any other ex-GTs) currently at Cornell; is the weather turning cold already?</p>
<p>Also is it difficult to get classes in Cornell or does everyone get whatever classes they want? Is it possible to be excluded from a class because it is full? Also does CALS have a set curriculum or can you choose whatever classes you need to take, such as for your major or pre-med?</p>
<p>Hi, diehldun! Sorry I didn’t see your message before now. I just got a new laptop and am still recovering all of my “favorites” pages and passwords, etc. Anyway, that’s neat that you have your packet already. I haven’t said which college my S’s GT is for out of respect for his privacy, but it is not ILR. He has not yet received his packet that I know of (I’ll be talking with him tonight and will ask). He had a close call last week with pre-registering for spring (they got to freshmen in late November). One of his Cornell-required courses was FULL in all of the sections that fit with his schedule (even revamping the whole schedule)! It was a hectic week, to say the least, but in the end it all worked out. I was afraid he’d have to get another course approved by Cornell, or whatever–more hassle. But that crisis was solved.</p>
<p>I’m glad to hear there are no more essays. I wouldn’t think so for GTs! Goodness–you’ve already planned your whole freshman year around their requirements–and transfer is guaranteed if the requirements are met. What more would they need to know at this point, you know?</p>
<p>Yes; it’s cold here now. My H and I shoveled our driveway this morning–about 4-5" of snow.</p>
<p>^^^ Yes! Represent Upstate! Well, I’m sort of an upstate poser (mid-upper Hudson Valley) I guess I’m more of an Easterner (try telling the cityfolk that!
It’s great to see upstaters on this site getting into Cornell, gives me a ray of hope. It’s freezing raining here right now, we had 3 " of snow, hopefully no school if there is enough ice!!!</p>
<p>Another word on the GT packets–I was just talking with my S, and he said Cornell told him his transfer packet would come in mid-December. So, those of you not in ILR may not need to worry at this point either. We’re not concerned–we trust the packet will come; we’ll just stay on the look-out for it.</p>
<p>And we’re getting an ice storm tonight–just so you know! Ha. Winter seems to have arrived here in central upstate NY!</p>
and neither did the rest of the class; the average was about 65. I probably should have known/expected this by picking my No 2. choice, which is a relatively difficult school. I did really bad on the midterm despite studying a lot, and while knowing that the midterm isn’t the final score, it’s still rather depressing because it adds all the more pressure to do better when the entire class wants to too. Should I relay this concern to Ian/GT counselor, or wait it out? So frustrated/worried over the “nothing-lower-than-a-B” GT requirement, since all my other classes are going by really smoothly and easily… OMG bad day.</p>