I’m in crisis mode after being rejected from my dream school. I was born in Ithaca and moved away as an infant, but still feel a personal connection to the town. My parents went to school there and they made me fall in love with Cornell. I plan on applying as a transfer student after my freshman year elsewhere, but I can’t seem to get over the current rejection. Please don’t try to tell me that its only good for hotel admin/eng because I applied for engineering. Thanks in advance
We toured a lot of colleges and the most stressed students I saw were at Cornell. Anecdotal but it’s what I sensed. And the best time of year in Ithaca is summer when most students aren’t there.
My D.'s friend last year got GT to Cornell for this coming year as a Sophomore but turned it down – she’d fallen in love with her college and her friends and couldn’t imagine leaving. Embrace the college that chose you!!
Oh, also – for a private school it’s very big so you’re paying a LOT of money to sit in classes with hundreds of students at the intro levels of disciplines. My D was WL, but she actually had taken it off her list for that reason. Once she was accepted into our in-state flagship Honors program she knew she’d pick that over Cornell if she landed with a large school b/c they were same size and she couldn’t justify that $$ for a similar big college experience. (She ended up picking a LAC.)
The people I see who get hurt by the college admission process are the ones who focus on one or two hyper-competitive schools and then don’t get in and I’m sorry this happened to you. The whole idea of having one “dream school” is off-putting to me because there are so many amazing colleges and universities out there where a person can have a great four year experience and get wherever they want to go in life. IMO it is time to get over Cornell and embrace the schools that embraced you. Don’t try to make yourself feel better by knocking Cornell – it would be better to get excited about the opportunities you will have as an engineering major at college you will be attending.
And in general I think it is a terrible idea to start one college with the intent of transferring out. This will stand in the way of your making meaningful friendships, developing relationships with professors, and getting involved on campus. Then if your transfer doesn’t work out as planned you will be really stuck. I’d go to the college you enroll in with the intent of staying all four years. It is fine to throw in a transfer application but don’t count on it working out – if you didn’t get into Cornell as a freshman you should not expect to get in as a sophomore unless you have a guaranteed transfer agreement in place (which from your post I’m guessing is not the case).
The weather is horrible and getting there takes all day via planes, trains and automobiles. Also, other posters talked about how much certain dorms need updating (as in just getting more electrical outlets in the rooms).
It is bloody expensive when your parents are not poor enough for a need-based scholarship or not rich enough not to sting.
Instead of making you hate Cornell, why don’t we work instead on making you love your current choices?
SO many kids get rejected from their number one choice; you’re in good company. My own daughter, many of her friends and lots of the kids I teach are all in the same boat as you.
So, first and foremost, I’m going to suggest a pity party. Ice cream therapy is a vital part of the healing process, with extra points for hot fudge. Rail against humanity, yell that it’s not fair and that you really should have been accepted.
For one day. You’ve got 24 hours to enjoy a massive pity party.
Then, after those 24 hours are over, you’re done. You get up out of bed, look at your choices and decide where you’re going to spend the next 4 years.
You don’t “decide” to transfer to Cornell after a year. You may “hope” or “pray”, but you don’t “decide.” You still haven’t been accepted, and there’s no way to know whether or not you’ll be accepted as a transfer. And spending all next year dreaming of Cornell means you’ll miss all that next year’s school has to offer.
Instead, you look at the hand you’ve been dealt. From the list of schools that have accepted you, you choose the one your gut is pointing you towards. And here’s the hard part: you commit to that school with your whole heart. You buy the T shirt or the hoodiie. You join the Facebook group for the class of 2022. You find a roommate there who sounds like he or she could become a friend. You talk to other kids who are SO EXCITED to be going to the same school you feel you’re settling for. And you decide to love it. You’ve heard the saying “bloom where you’re planted.”… it’s time to plant those seeds.
Sometimes God-- or the Universe if you prefer-- puts you exactly where you need to be.
So enjoy your ice cream. Sing sad songs and have a good cry if you think it will help.
And get up tomorrow with the courage to try a path you hadn’t envisioned.
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Don’t waste headspace on a place that rejected you, it’s not healthy.
Other than to say that they made a dumb admissions decision.
Back in the dark ages, there was a troubadour named Stephen Stills who famously sang out, “Love the one you’re with”. Do that.
My daughter goes and cant wait to graduate. She hates the weather and the town.
@lisaol If your older daughter hates Cornell, why did your younger daughter apply ED Cornell? I’m not trying to hate on you, I’m just curious since my daughter is very interested in applying to CHE in the fall and have been following the forum. Is your attitude that a subpar environment is worth putting up with for an excellent education?
Really hard to get to…cold…cold…cold. Did I mention it’s really hard to get to?
I am an alumna, and I can tell you it ain’t all that. You are clearly idealizing the place. Almost everyone there has an inferiority complex. I can’t tell you how many times my friends said to me, “Am I smart because no one else thinks its an ivy?” The med school (in NYC) doesn’t even interview all its undergrads who apply unlike Harvard and Yale. They don’t even treat their own nicely, so why should any one else? It’s cold and gloomy and it can be cut throat and competitive. Students sabotaging each other’s experiments to get ahead does happen there. Everyone feels like a failure if they don’t get into HYPS for grad school. Forget about it…there are far nicer and better regarded places. I got very little support from Career Counseling and had no support applying to med schools. Luckily by my own wits and by dint of hard work got in. No thanks to anyone at Cornell who was ever helpful.
I understand the somewhat tongue in cheek nature of this thread, but I also think its somewhat inappropriate. Cornell is a fantastic University. However, like all Universities there are pros and cons. Yes, even Harvard and Stanford have pros and cons. What I find troubling are some of the very broad and generalized statements like, “Everyone feels like a failure if they don’t get into HYPS for grad school” or “Almost everyone there has an inferiority complex”.
That’s both incredibly inaccurate and a sad statement reflective of one person’s perception. The bottom line is that the OP should move on rather than looking to have random people tear down a great school because it makes them feel better about being rejected. This is thread is illogical and nonconstructive.
It’s difficult to empathize with @preppedparent because my daughter and I both attended a different university. Evidently. We attended Cornell University.
YMMV and all.
But neither of us was premed.
I take it premed was no lovefest for said poster. But then I rarely hear great things about that experience, from anyplace. And she got in to medical school ! So it seems the university didn’t serve her that poorly, at the end of the day. Albeit apparently along the lines of castor oil, to her.
For a different take on premed at Cornell, look at posts of former CC poster @norcalguy, who attended there and went through that process much more recently.
I’m trying to help the OP “hate Cornell.” Eventually I got into med school, but no thanks to Cornell. I think LACs are a better way to go if you are pre-med. Smaller class sizes and much more support in the process. Don’t cry for what might have been, look ahead and think about all the new possibility that lies in wait. Good Luck OP. I’m not here to debate the merits of the school high above Cayuga’s waters. It’s not a debate society.
Andy Bernard
@preppedparent is on the money, if a prof degree is what your after LACs (and SOME of the ivies) are the way to go.
My daughters have very different personalities. My DD who applied this year loves the cold and isn’t into night life.My other daughter is much more outgoing and always looking to do something. She cant wait to graduate.
Oh Cornell, you mysterious grand dame. You have widely different effects on people. May you live to tell your story another 153 years.
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For what it’s worth, my D turned down Cornell this year because she said it gave her a “sick feeling” in her stomach. My husband and I wanted her to love it…and we wanted her to go there. But when your child is telling you something about that place is making her feel sick…BEFORE even starting, this cannot be ignored. For one thing, the suicide nets are very unnerving. The weather was grey and cold when we visited…yet a local at the farmers market told me that this was the nicest weather they’ve had in months. It is undoubtedly an outstanding institution however these other variables do not make it an easy place to attend for some.