<p>oh yeahh…i took sociology and it was lec/lab… but ur right i just remembered the last two from the Cornell science req. sheet…not sure lol I don’t think I told Ian that my sociology class was lab/lec hmmmm …donna if I should ask him about that cuz last sem. I kindda got stuck with that class, but I enjoyed it a lot nevertheless!</p>
<p>Figgy!!
You said you visited Cornell. When did you visit Cornell?
Did you make an appointment with transfer counselors before you go?
I would like to visit Cornell as a '11 GT, but I don’t know when would be a good time to do so… hmmmm… any advice on when I should go/what I should do/what questions to ask/what I must know, etc?</p>
<p>transfer2011–</p>
<p>To jump in to your question for Figgy–I think the best thing is to call the admissions office of the college that offered you the GT. They told us they’d rather do questions, etc. about the program over the phone and reserve f2f (face-to-face) meetings for students who are closer to completing the transfer requirements and coming on campus that fall. If you’ve never been to campus before, though, and want/need to visit in order to make your decision about the GT, it might be good to mention that to them when/if you call. They might meet with you or make other suggestions about a visit. Figgy might have more experience with this, of course–and his experience would be especially relevant to you if you are ILR (my son is not). </p>
<p>Right now, Cornell is busy with its “Cornell Days,” which are special visitation days for fall admits. That might be why we were told they’d rather handle our questions by phone (we live close enough in NYS to Ithaca that we can drive there almost any time and on short notice with little to no planning needed).</p>
<p>Thanks for your long reply to my earlier question (a few pages ago!). I think I forgot to thank you before. Anyway, I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling grateful that you are here sharing your GT experience with those new to the GT program and their parents/families. Cornell’s ILR should give you some $ or cr. hrs. for being such a good online advocate for their program! Ha. </p>
<p>So, thanks for being here!</p>
<p>Dr_Mom- I will certainly let you, and everyone else who’s interested in this topic, know what CALS admissions says about our courses. I’m hoping that they look favorably upon our Bio courses sinces those are the only two intro courses that have a two course sequence- all of our other courses are upper level courses or courses that are for non-science majors. What type of school will your son be attending school this fall?</p>
<p>Figgy, I too want to thank you for all of your helpful and most importantly positive comments regarding GT. They really helped convince my d that the GT offer was a really, really great thing! (oh and I mentioned to her about the Facebook thing…)</p>
<p>Thanks so much, aveesmom! I’ll be sure to do the same. Our son is still in the process of deciding which school to go to for the 1 year. The most likely candidates are either a community college or a 4-year SUNY. We’re thinking the NYS schools might have a smoother transfer of courses to Cornell. We’d like to send course descrips. from both of these schools to get Cornell’s opinion (before he enrolls and we find out there is some problem!), but I’m not sure if they’d be willing to evaluate 2 sets of courses. We’ll keep in touch!</p>
<p>If it’s safe to money wise I’d go with the SUNY. I think I would go crazy at a community college. College is such a valuable 4 year period where u learn so much about urself and have the time of ur life that “wasting” a whole year at a CC instead of being off on ur own would kinda suck. A year is a much longer time then you might think. I feel like I have been in college for a very long time. So i’d recommend a SUNY if it’s financially viable of course. (this is also assuming u mean being in a dorm (SUNY) vs. being home (CC). If u mean being home either way then it’s a different story.)</p>
<p>NP about answering, thanks for showing ur appreciation! This forum helped me learn about Cornell so I’m just returning the favor. Cornell is giving me the opportunity of a life time with this GT system so I’m just extremely happy about everything. :)</p>
<p>When I visited ILR it was a student who had the 1-on-1 w/ me but I’m sure if u call Ian he can tell u if he can meet with u for a little. The student was actually really helpful and knew all the info about GT even though he wasn’t one (probably trained to know it I guess). I guess I’d call ahead b4 u visit. </p>
<p>If ur lucky enough there is this AMAZING little breakfast place in Ithaca I went to. I have no clue wat it’s called but it was like “old-jewish mother cooking”. My dad LOVED the jewish food lol. I loved the french toast and eggs, mmmm so good. It had a really homey feel. It had Ithaca College student pictures around it on the inside if that helps you identify it. With a little old lady waitress. It was great :)</p>
<p>Have fun on ur visit! When the weather is nice out it can’t be beat! I went when everything was just blooming so Cornell and Ithaca looked amazing!</p>
<p>Yep, Figgy–That’s exactly my son’s choice, living at home and attending the CC for 1 year or getting the dorm experience and heading off to a 4-year SUNY a bit farther away. One thought was that he didn’t want to arrive on Cornell’s campus as a sophomore and still be learning how to live away from home for the first time, when most all the other transfers, and certainly the other campus Cornellians, would be entering their second year of that campus living experience. Money’s not a factor in this decision, thankfully. The state schools are pretty reasonable for in-state students, and some even offer merit money for academics. The biggest concern is the ability of the courses to transfer–which school’s classes would transfer the smoothest, etc…We’re in the process of trying to find that out now.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>I’m kinda biased when it comes to community colleges having started there myself and now working there for the past 17 years. Figgy, I can understand where you are coming from because there is something to be said for living in a dorm on your own versus being under your parent’s watchful eye for another year. However, you should know that many students report back that the attention they get from the faculty due the relatively small classes really gave them an edge when they transferred. They could learn the material during class rather than having to teach it to themselves. The other thing is that there are other activities going on at the community college other than just classes. I have students who are active in sports, student senate, honors classes and capstone projects,Phi Theta Cappa, clubs for every major and interest, theatre productions and so much more. It’s true that many drive to school, take classes, go to work and do nothing more, but so many get their money’s worth and take advantage of so much. Interestingly, I learned that the chair of our communications department is a CALS Cornell grad herself after transferring from another local community college. She said that she credits her success at Cornell to the nurturing environment at her transfer school and that the classes at Cornell weren’t necessarily harder- it was just that the environment was so much more stressful. So there are certainly + and - to both. For us, it couldn’t have worked out any better.( My d might disagree slightly with that statement )</p>
<p>aveesmom–Thank you for your comments. I’ve actually had quite a similar experience to yours, (starting at a 2-year school in my own educational “journey”–ha–very long journey; don’t ask! <g>) and also teaching at CCs as well as at 4-year state schools and private universities over the years). I agree with everything you’re saying. What have you done to convince (?) your d about the values of this choice vs. where else she may want to go? 
Is she “sold” on the CC?</g></p>
<p>The only thing I know for certain in this whole GT process after many years fairly closely associated with formal college education is that our local CC would absolutely commit to helping our s meet his transfer requirements for Cornell and would also go out of its way to give him all the help he needed with the classes themselves. I’ve also heard the research (from a study in California) about what you’re saying in terms of confidence of CC students in the end and coming onto the 4-year campus with a firmer knowledge base. I’m assuming if you work at the CC, perhaps even the typical lower cost is even a better deal for your family as well. That would be great for all of you! </p>
<p>I also know that at a small 4-year SUNY (or other small college) that has few graduate programs as well as at the CC, our s would be taught by profs. and not TAs/graduate students. In my book, this is a big advantage that GTs who attend CCs, small SUNYs (or any small college) could potentially have in moving on to Cornell’s campus in a year. Our local CC is a good school (some may be more questionable, I’m sure). It is known (both at Cornell and in our town) to already have a good working and transfer relationship with Cornell. That counts big time in my book with this awkward and potentially problematic GT process.</p>
<p>Why not turn the GT into as much of an advantage for the student as possible, given its obvious disadvantages at the outset? But…is your d seeing all of these advantages and thinking it is the best decision for her? I’m losing ground in this discussion in our house so far because my husband and older son think the experience of college living is better to get under your belt first (they both started at, and graduated from, their respective 4-year colleges). I’m not sure if I’m being biased because this was not my experience, but I’m arguing that the adjustment will have to happen no matter what (transfer school to Cornell), so why not get the advantages the CC has to offer. This is only 1 year.</p>
<p>I’m also wondering if the transfer from the 4-year school, where there are just more entanglements in general–coursewise, major-wise, emotionally, etc. would end up being harder than my s is anticipating. Conversely, I’m sure he would be more than eager to move to Cornell’s campus in a year, leaving from home! Ha. I keep making the case to him that the CC is more of a sure thing in getting his requirements and doing well in the GT process. In the end, though, we know it has to be his decision, or he will not feel good about it and do well at either school! ;)</p>
<p>Ooh! This is tough!</p>
<p>I’m feeling the love! </p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?p=3927067&posted=1#post3927067[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?p=3927067&posted=1#post3927067</a>
“tazerfuzz, of the few people I know who were offered Guaranteed Transfer at Cornell, none of them actually ended up transferring there. Usually they liked where they were first year and just stayed on. In another case, he got off the waitlist in June of a school higher on his list. And I’ve read on CC of people who ended up not meeting the complex transfer rules Cornell requires for coursework. Some things to think about for how you decide where to enroll.”</p>
<p>Figgy, Dr_Mom, or whoever: im a GT hotelie. Is it possible to take nontransferable credits at Cornell Summer College?? and take the transferable ones in the fall at another school?? Also what are the chances of cornell opening the doors for me as a second semester freshman? I know a lot of freshmen in the Cornell 2011 class and I would like to still be considered in the class, also I dont want to be left behind in course work at Cornell. I really want to transfer as soon as possible.</p>
<p>hm not sure…, I would call ur transfer counselor. We are still considered the same year as normal btw. You will be w/ ur friends, just maybe not in as many classes as normal. U can still room w/ them and hang out w/ them as much as you would like (well once u get there) I’d give ur counselor a call tho. gl</p>
<p>azl20428–I’m certainly not qualified to answer your questions; I’m sorry. Figgy’s advice sounds appropriate to me. Make sure the information you act on comes from the college itself, not anecdotal evidence from message boards (though the posts here can be helpful in thinking about things to watch out for, questions to ask, support, etc.). Good Luck!</p>
<p>My d was accepted to two other schools, both private, which would have cost about $40k for the one year(after taking into consideration merit $). Had we been eligible for need-based aid, then maybe it would make sense. That seems like an awful lot so that she could get an “experience”. So since no state schools had ever been on the list, she realized that SUNY CC was going to be the first stop in the journey- she came to that conclusion on her own.
I agree that a small SUNY is going to be a lot different than a SUNY University. Her dad went to one of the SUNY U’s and did not recommend that as a good starting place for a freshman. I also agree that not all CC’s are the same. We happen to fortunate to be the one that has the highest rate of persistence, which is a measure of student success, among transfer students to four-year schools. Either way that your s goes, it will be an academic and financial smart move!</p>
<p>Ya I’d say you took the correct path in ur situation aves. 40k for a year at a college ur not even gonna stay at doesn’t make any sense. That’s why I decided not to go to Northeastern for my first year. Stonehill worked out because I got the most money from them and because I knew I could have a great experience there. Congrats w/ the CC working out, I’m sure she’ll be prepared for Cornell and love it there!</p>
<p>It’s specifically no grade below a B(get a B- and you’re out). I don’t know the real numbers but after a year of discussing GT’s on cc, I suspect that only a small percentage of those offered GT actually enroll. Once a student gets comfortable at a 4 year college, it’s very difficult to leave after the first year.</p>
<p>Dr_Mom- Received email today from CALS. They said that our General Bio I & II sequence (which are 4 credits each) are the sequence that will fulfill the requirements. Also, they said they would accept our Gen Chem I and II, Statistics, English 101 and one other writing/speech class. So far so good I guess. Hope you hear from them soon.</p>
<p>Acerbic-</p>
<p>You made me laugh when I saw you were checking the admissions site twice a day for your “official” word…think we’ve been on 3-4 times a day! We had been told that the word would be posted anytime between April 9 - beginning of May. Figgy, hopefully we’ll see you in the fall.</p>
<p>Dr. Mom - my daughter is at SUNY Binghamton. A GT friend of hers went a community college; the courses were easier and she met the qualifications no problem. It will be interesting to see how the transition is for them.</p>
<p>The trick for all GT’s no matter which college is to keep in close communication with the CORNELL GT admissions counselor. There is overlap with many of the courses - ie does a particular class count as science or english (really!). The Cornell info on classes needed were helpful; but we found that they were asking for a class syllabus on some to figure out where they fit. Keeping in close contact via email or in person helps to keep your name in their minds, too!</p>
<p>Hang in there all, the word will be out soon!</p>
<p>Thank you, aveesmom–It’s good to hear that your d’s proposed courses are working out! It’s good to hear, also, that you’ve heard back already. Good luck to her and to you. Our son was also accepted at more expensive colleges than the NY state schools; like your d, he also almost immediately ruled them out as possible 1-year schools for him in conjunction with the GT program. Luckily, he had also applied to state schools, so he has several options as he moves forward with his decision.</p>
<p>TrilliumCB–Thank you for sharing your d’s experience as well and for the advice about keeping in touch. Makes sense! I think many students who are Cornell hopefuls go to Binghamton; good school, and tough! It will be interesting for your families to compare her experience to her friend’s next year at Cornell.</p>