<p>Yes I am going to be a business major. Well there is no Lab portion, it was just a 4 credit class including a lab. And yes they are making me take another intro to chem course due to my C+. They just want an A or a B to stay strict to their policy of only As and Bs for required courses. The intro class I am taking at my CC covers material that I finished halfway through in my Intro to Chemical Principles at Lehigh… the only thing that irks me is the $1000 I have to pay merely for technicalities.</p>
<p>Could have just gotten a B- at Lehigh. <em>Shrugs</em></p>
<p>well obviously. I am grateful that I have another chance to make up for my mishap.</p>
<p>CayugaRed–Do you think pyune could have avoided the redo with a B-? Also, pyune–did they tell you that you must get the B or above this time, or no go? That’s going to be cutting things a little late for you, isn’t it, if so? (in terms of going back to your previous school, etc.). Cayuga–I’m just surprised that they’re making such a big deal out of Chemistry for a Business major. It’s unlikely he’d have to take any further courses in that area, I was thinking, so what is the overall educational value of repeating the course. What’s unfortunate is that any other college freshman could make his/her own decision about repeating it for a better grade. Geez!</p>
<p>^^Yes, pyune–I do see why you’d be grateful for the chance to keep your admission rather than lose it. I suppose it is fair in that respect. Cornell is only honoring its requirements–basically the “deal” they made with you with the GT.</p>
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<p>It’s not so much the particular situation. It’s the rules. Cornell’s a big complicated university, and certain rules are put into place as a result regarding a lot of academic policies. </p>
<p>Like them or hate them, you need to play by the rules. If Pyune read through all of his GT materials, he/she would have known full well that you need a grade in the B range or higher.</p>
<p>At the very worst, it’s annoying and will cost an extra $1k.</p>
<p>At the very best, it will build character, and make Pyune more studious and more adherent to future policies.</p>
<p>^I think a student, particularly a freshman, with a 3.5 GPA, all As and A-s besides one problematic class that will never be addressed again in one’s major or college career shows that s/he is studious and just found one subject particularly troublesome for some reason. There are many reasons why that might be the case. Maturity, character, and a willingness to study hard may not be among them. I’m glad that Cornell gave this student this additional opportunity. This speaks well for the university. They honor their commitment with other GT students who did earn all As and Bs but they also acknowledge that all kinds of things can happen in a student’s educational experience that result in it not going exactly as planned or hoped for, despite his/her best efforts.</p>
<p>I also think it speaks well of the University, and the policy is in line with everything that I experienced during my time at Cornell. The school will give you every opportunity to succeed, but you will have to do the work that is required of you. </p>
<p>Many students come to college expecting to have their hand held, by both their parents and by their teachers, as they were in high school. Cornell, in preparing students for the real world wonderfully, will take more of a tough love approach and expect students to play by the rules set forth in front of them. </p>
<p>Don’t drink in the dorms or you will have to do a lot of community service. Don’t cheat on a test or you will be placed on strict academic probation, etc. etc. </p>
<p>Freedom and responsibility is an inherently Cornellian tradition.</p>
<p><a href=“http://residential.alumni.cornell.edu/carl_becker_fr.pdf[/url]”>http://residential.alumni.cornell.edu/carl_becker_fr.pdf</a></p>
<p>I see my matter has caused quite a discussion. Well here is the thing. As my chemistry professor said… Lehigh does not have a “chem for society” course. I sat in the course with engineers and pre-professionals. As so, we were treated as students that already took 2 or 3 courses of AP Chem in both high school and possibly College. I was so used to studying for an exam the day before the test and performing well–thus, I got over confident with this course and didn’t realize how indepth and complicated the actual tests got in contrast with the lecture and practice problems (And the time factor… I did not finish my first exam) . We went into material that most introduction to chemistry courses do not go into. I learned from my first exam and started to prepare much earlier and learned the material thoroughly which allowed me to perform much better and above the average on the 2nd and first exam. If i had performed like that on my first exam I would of gotten an B or even an A as my final grade. My Chem professor knew that I was transfering to Cornell but was strict to the policy of the grade point system and had to give me a C+ as my final grade, however she did write a letter on my behalf to explain that I was not in an average intro to chem course. Thus, although I violated the terms, I did get a chance to take an actualy “chem for society” course at a local CC. I will get an A in this course and move on to my career at Cornell.<br>
Dr. Mom I will have Junior status at Cornell. I got my GT as a transfer student end of freshmen year. And CayugaRed2005 you can question my work ethic and you are right to do so. When I look back… I did lack the work ethic needed in a person that lacked such a science background to perform well in the course i was in. I did learn from this experience.</p>
<p>they said for me to get an A or a B… and trust me… with the amount of knowledge I retained from my Chem class at Lehigh, I will sweep through this intro to chem course at my local CC.</p>
<p>they said for me to get an A or a B… and trust me… with the amount of knowledge I retained from my Chem class at Lehigh, I will sweep through this intro to chem course at my local CC.</p>
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<p>And that, is what college is all about.</p>
<p>Pyune: good luck with your summer chem course. I’m sure you’ll have nothing to worry about</p>
<p>To all other GTs: Let this be a lesson to you that Cornell does take GT requirements seriously. No fooling around. Follow every requirement set forth.</p>
<p>pyune–Thank you for clarifying that you are not a freshman GT but a sophomore going into your junior year. That makes a more justifiable difference in expectations, I think. </p>
<p>dewdrop and Cayuga–I think most of the freshman GTs on this board know exactly what is at stake gradeswise for their GT to Cornell to be successful, and many have suffered through an otherwise unnecessarily stressful freshman year because they have made the choice to go through with it. Most really don’t need lessons or reminders about the importance of reaching the requirements. They need support and encouragement that the challenge they have set for themselves is a good thing–and worthy of their time and the extra aggravation. </p>
<p>There are many students who will not bother with any of this just to get into a college when there are so many other wonderful schools out there where they have been accepted or could transfer into. Sheesh, people! Cornell is a great school, but it is not, after all, Heaven (no matter how many proud and faithful alumni–and I have them in my family, Cayuga–who think it is pretty close!). It’s also important to remember that it is Cornell which offers these GT opportunities; the students did not ask for them. It’s the students who hold the power over the situation after the offer is made–it’s up to them to decide if they want to pursue the offer, or not. Colleges sometimes like to assume that they wield too much control over a student’s life and decisions. As a professor, I know how dangerous that kind of thinking can be.</p>
<p>pyune–I also think your situation points up an inherent problem with the GT program. As a large university with many colleges, Cornell has more different kinds of courses, such as “Chemistry in Society,” or whatever, that many other colleges will not have. These are survey courses–that is, their focus is not intended for majors but to serve as more general survey courses in a subject. When a GT student tries to find an equivalent course at his/her freshman year college, s/he often has to take a much harder course–that is, one that is geared toward majors in the subject who expect and need preparation for advanced study in that area. Then, the student is expected to achieve a B or better in this class intended for majors in a subject s/he may not be best prepared for and has no intention of studying further. </p>
<p>I’m glad you believe you learned from your experience. However, I don’t think you should blame yourself or your work ethic for not knowing what to expect in the Lehigh class, and I don’t think other GT students reading your story should think they have to brow-beat themselves over things like this. If you had been able to take the chem class at Cornell, it probably would have been just what you were expecting–tough, but not a class where you were sitting side-by-side as a business major competing for the same grades as engineering students. </p>
<p>I know some GTs who’ve had to take 4-credit hour courses to equate with 3-cr. hr. course requirements at Cornell. That’s another unfair aspect of the program that students considering the GT should think about when deciding how much they want to make the GT part of their freshman year experience, if at all.</p>
<p>The GT program is nice for those who would like to take advantage of the opportunity presented, but it’s not for everyone, and it’s not perfect. Most of all, I don’t think any serious, well-intentioned, and hardworking student should be made to feel s/he is begging for a spot in any university. Universities serve students–it’s not the other way around.</p>
<p>Funny…most of my friends who came in with GT had no issue meeting their requirements b/c they knew what they were getting into when they signed the agreement, worked with Cornell to choose the college that would help them fill their requirements and they said from day 1 they had their parents reminding them or what was at stake and it helped them.</p>
<p>Posters come on this board worrying about their GT when they have to no reason to b/c they met their requirements. Do you think that helps others who legitimately have grade issues and might be stressed about their GT?</p>
<p>Obviously, GT is not for everybody and this is something students need to realize. Thanks to programs like the one CALS hosted last week, students were able to make a more informed decision about pursuing GT (at least this is what some of them told me). </p>
<p>Now…I think we should close this “chapter” of the GT forum. Pretty soon we’re going to have the next wave of GT students come through and we should focus on helping them…not attacking each other. </p>
<p>Pyune’s story truly is a lesson to future to GTs. Cornell is strict on the GT policy, and they should be. It’s wonderful that Cornell is giving Pyune the chance he/she worked for. This should be a lesson to GTs so that they can decide if they really want to go to the GT route. Without lessons…how do you learn?</p>
<p>Now…I say we close this “chapter” of the GT thread. Pretty soon the next wave of GT students will come through and we should focus on helping them with their concerns…not attacking each other for telling the truth.</p>
<p>No offense intended, dewdrop. Sorry if I came across that way. </p>
<p>As I see it, this thread, or this board, is not an “official” word on any aspect of the GT process. It’s a place where those who want to know anecdotal information from others going through it can air their questions and complaints, frustrations, fears, and bewilderments. It’s expected in an open forum such as this one that some of the comments (see way earlier in the thread) may be negative against Cornell and the GT program, for whatever reason. There was a parent earlier on, for example, who complained about the Biology requirement for CALS and how her S had taken 9 credits, or something like that, of Biology, and it was not going to fulfill the 6 credits required at Cornell. They moved on, but the mother was an alum and was bitter and unhappy about how things turned out for her S in their particular case. Who knows who made the mistake there, but this kind of forum is where people come to hear anecdotes like that so they may know what to look out for in the future, what questions to ask, etc… It doesn’t mean everyone’s story will come out that poorly or that their story is in any way typical of the process.</p>
<p>Those currently going through the GT process who would like official information should go directly to their Cornell college admissions counselors and not depend on anonymous and open message boards like this one. What they’ll read here is anecdotal information and hearsay, at best. I think the meeting that CALS apparently had is an excellent idea for students to get official information, and I hope other colleges offering this opportunity at Cornell will consider doing the same. </p>
<p>I don’t have any need to keep this sub-discussion going, surely, so I’m with you there on closing it. I just hope that GT students will not feel that somehow Cornell is “watching” this thread, etc. and they and their family members cannot air their real concerns, etc. with one another. I know I (and possibly others) who have been active on the thread over the last year already receive several private messages from students and parents with many questions who don’t dare post them here. They need information, support, and encouragement. It’s clear from the over 55,000 views of this thread that there is a huge interest in this topic, so I’d hate to see those who would like to share their experience, whether positive or negative, feel like they cannot comfortably do so.</p>
<p>Thanks, dewdrop!</p>
<p>Dr_Mom, I’ve received numerous private message from prospective GTs, as well. I’m glad to share my experiences with them, especially considering I’m the only regular poster on this forum who went the community college route (as far as I know).</p>
<p>Now that we all know our admissions decisions for this coming fall, I kind of feel an obligation to stick around and field some of the 2012 GT questions, in the same way that Figgy and others did for us last year. Seeing post about the GT working out for him were truly reassuring, especially since I was so skeptical of the GT working out in the end.</p>
<p>^Thanks, indigo! I just think it’s important to remember that the experience of one person posting on here–grades problems and their outcome, for example–are not representative of Cornell’s policies regarding the GT overall or how the same situation might turn out for someone else. One student with a C+ may be retaking the same course over the summer to maintain admission; however, another student may not be given that opportunity and may lose his/her admission, or s/he may maintain admission through some other means or for some other particular, specific reason that both Cornell and the student negotiate to be fair. Each case is different, and each college within Cornell will have its own criteria and policies. If a student does not make a requirement, I still say s/he should not read what happened to any one student posting here and take that as a ‘lesson’ (sorry, dewdrop) that this is what will definitely happen to him/her in the same, or similar situation. I’m not saying that I think Cornell says it expects certain requirements to be met and then backs off on those requirements on a regular basis. I’m just saying you can’t take what you read on an anonymous message board as the whole truth and nothing but the truth in a matter that may be so important to one’s future. What’s to say any story posted here is “real” anyway, eh? We could all be a bunch of posers hanging around here because we’re all two blades shy of a full venetian blind, or some other whacky metaphor! Ha.</p>
<p>Even in the PMs I receive, I always refer the parent or student back to Cornell. I share what I know about my S’s experience and what I’ve heard off the board as well as on it, and offer support. However, I don’t pretend to know what Cornell would say to them about their own situation. </p>
<p>Glad to hear that you also feel the need to ‘pay it forward’ a bit since some of us have benefited from participating on this board for over a year now! I’m sure the new GTs who write to you are grateful that you take the time to respond!</p>
<p>Thanks most especially to Figgy, who is a 2010 GT (can you really be a junior now already?), and to all the 2011 GTs. My S’s final grades (finally) came in, and he has met all the last requirements for the transfer. He has now completed the GT process and is ready to move into the next phase of his college experience–in Ithaca. Much to many people’s relief, I’m sure, I’ll stop “haunting” this board so much now. Thanks, once again, though, for everyone’s support over the last 14 months. Good luck, 2012 GTs!</p>